It’s official. The San Diego Chargers and LaDainian Tomlinson have parted ways. The inevitable release of LT has finally came. I don’t blame the Chargers for making this move because of his declining numbers and emergence of Darren Sproles, it just makes me kind of sad. The shelf-life of NFL running backs is becoming shorter and shorter. With the physicality of the NFL, long, healthy careers at the running back position (Emmitt Smith) are becoming anomalies. And you can even accredit his long career to the offensive line he ran behind. Which also makes me think of how Barry Sanders would have been the undoubted best running back of all-time had he ran behind a line like that, but I digress.
It’s hard to decide where LT will fall in the “greatest running back of all-time” conversation. The game has evolved so much over time, and there are so many variables in the equation that there really is no wrong answer. Jim Brown was probably the most dominant, but you could argue that he has the Wilt Chamberlain complex, where he was just physically ahead of his time and was pretty much a man among boys on the field, which doesn’t always reflect the true talent of a player. O.J. Simpson’s greatness has been so overshadowed by his off-field actions that it is hard to judge his career objectively. Walter Payton was as tough of a runner as there ever was, and probably would hold a multitude of records if he played in 16-game seasons. And although he won a Super Bowl ring in 1985, the teams he played on were sub-par, compiling a 61-70 career record. Emmitt Smith has many career rushing records, but as I alluded to earlier, he had the luxury of running behind an all-pro line as well as 16-game seasons. I could argue until I’m blue in the face why Sir Barry Sanders is the greatest off all-time, but I’m sure non-Lions fans could make arguments against it, like his inability to block and his lack of playoff success.
The fact is, LT is the best running back of my generation (side-note: players whose prime was before I hit middle school are not my generation. I could not fully appreciate their greatness at that age, with all due respect to Barry Sanders, Michael Jordan and Ken Griffey Jr.) and it is too early to rank him on the all-time list. But what he accomplished in the short amount of time he did is absolutely remarkable. Where ever he ranks on your list, I don’t think there is any argument that he is by far the most versatile back of all-time. I hope LT, the once perennial number one fantasy pick, resurrects his career. But as much as I hate to do this, I am declaring Ladainian Tomlinson a dead running back. Thanks for the great years, you’ll always be my generation’s “LT”.
Please give your respects to Ladainian Tomlinson and the rest of the fallen running backs who expired before their time:
Edgerrin James
Shaun Alexander
Priest Holmes
Terrell Davis
Jamal Lewis
Marshal Faulk
Take care of yourself, Adrian Peterson.
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