SAN DIEGO — For much of the 2008 season, the San Diego Chargers have treated LaDainian Tomlinson kind of like your Aunt Eileen’s fruitcake — highly decorative but apparently best served in small pieces.
Just over a week ago, Tomlinson expressed concern that he wasn’t going to reach 1,000 yards rushing for the season, an outrageous thought for a man who has been the gold standard for running backs since he entered the NFL in 2001. But Tomlinson wasn’t kidding. However, his 90-yard output last Sunday against Tampa Bay pushed him to 1,014. It would take a 223-yard effort today against the Broncos to avoid finishing the season with the lowest output of his career.
Of course, that’s not to say it can’t be done against a Denver defense ranked 27th against the run. The Broncos did limit Tomlinson to just 26 yards on 10 carries in the teams’ first meeting this season, but that’s hardly been a trend. The great L.T. has just two 100-yard games in a season that’s been a mixture of recuperation and frustration.
“It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with,” Tomlinson said of his season. “Every player goes through it; you just have to deal with it. I love the game, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”
The Chargers’ 2007 season ended with Tomlinson hobbled and unable to perform in an AFC title game loss to New England. Even at the start of this season, the 29-year-old was bothered by knee and foot problems.
The Chargers say they never deliberately went away from Tomlinson, but they didn’t sit around and wait for him to return as the dominant focal point of the offense, either. Apart from a brief run by Keenan McCardell, for much of Tomlinson’s career, San Diego didn’t really have a home run hitter at wide receiver, relying largely on tight end Antonio Gates as the team’s main receiving threat.
That began changing last season, with the acquisition of Chris Chambers from Miami and the development of Malcom Floyd and former Northern Colorado star Vincent Jackson. There has also been the further emergence of Philip Rivers, the top-rated quarterback in the NFL. Rivers has earned a more prominent role in the team’s offense, but he says there are other considerations at work in explaining Tomlinson’s reduced workload — like the topsy-turvy, underachieving nature of the Chargers’ 7-8 season.
“There’s nothing scheme-wise that we’re trying to do differently, and nobody put anybody in a room and said things were going to change. More than anything, it’s just how things have happened this year,” Rivers said. “I think we’ve shown how diverse we can be, but next year, it may be back to where it was last year. It’s just been a weird year this year.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
