Ladanian Tomlinson on New England?

[CbrewEra]

As reported by realgm, he has been released by San Diego.
After 9 seasons, maybe he'd want a shot at the Super Bowl.  And New England is in need of a really solid running back, as Laurence Maroney has not came into his own.

As shown this year, we relied far too much on the long ball, and should probably get back to how we won super bowls.  This being with Brady's beautiful short passes, and running the ball down other teams throats.  We were a lot tougher when we won, and now we seem to have taken on more of a finesse game.

Thoughts?

[footey]

Tank is empty, don't you think?

[Neurotic Guy]

Tank is empty, don't you think?

One would think he has as much left as Antwan Smith and Corey Dillon had, but maybe not.   And since Adailus Thomas will be gone, they can add LT and not worry about confusing their names.

[CbrewEra]

In a system where he won't be expected to be the focal point of the offense, and accept a lesser role, I think he could be fantastic.  For so many years San Diego did squeeze the metaphorical juice outta him.

[cavman]

He's done.  Serious drop off in the last few years, unlike Corey.

The shelf life of RBs is getting shorter.

[Toine43]

But he hates the Pats.

http://www.faniq.com/blog/LaDainian-Tomlinson-on-Patriots-Cheating-Im-Not-Surprised-Blog-4139

He's come out publicly a number of times and spoken bitterly about the Patriots organization.

[Meds]

Maybe you don't remember this; http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs06/news/story?id=2731727

It was bad enough losing to New England, but the way the Patriots reacted to their AFC divisional playoff win is what made LaDainian Tomlinson lose his cool. The San Diego Chargers' running back, upset that some Patriots were dancing on the Chargers' logo at midfield after they had silenced the record crowd of 68,810 at Qualcomm Stadium, went after an unidentified Patriots player, yelling and pointing, and had to be restrained by a teammate and former Charger Reche Caldwell, who had a huge game for the Patriots.

"I would never react in that way. I was very upset," Tomlinson said. "When you go to the middle of our field and start doing the dance Shawne Merriman is known for, that is disrespectful. They showed no class and maybe that comes from the head coach."

Not the best way to get on Bill's good side...

[connerhenry43]

Maybe you don't remember this; http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs06/news/story?id=2731727

It was bad enough losing to New England, but the way the Patriots reacted to their AFC divisional playoff win is what made LaDainian Tomlinson lose his cool. The San Diego Chargers' running back, upset that some Patriots were dancing on the Chargers' logo at midfield after they had silenced the record crowd of 68,810 at Qualcomm Stadium, went after an unidentified Patriots player, yelling and pointing, and had to be restrained by a teammate and former Charger Reche Caldwell, who had a huge game for the Patriots.

"I would never react in that way. I was very upset," Tomlinson said. "When you go to the middle of our field and start doing the dance Shawne Merriman is known for, that is disrespectful. They showed no class and maybe that comes from the head coach."

Not the best way to get on Bill's good side...

means nothing. the pats would sign him if they thought he could help. he would sign here if we offered him the best deal.

that being said, he is done. he is not coming here.

[GreenFaith1819]

Well, I can honestly say that Pats fans would LOVE Ladainlian Tomlinson. He walked on water in San Diego..great character, extremely loyal..hard worker.

I was stationed in San Diego, and the man could do no wrong.

Has his performance dropped some? Sure. Can he help a Contending Team? I believe he can. He is not that depreciated that he cannot produce.

I don't follow football as much as basketball (lifelong Redskins fan), but if I were New England I'd get the guy. He can definitely help some teams, and he is still hungry for a ring.

[GreenFaith1819]

I'm telling ya, NE...get the man (Ladanian Tomlinson)....

[birdwatcher]

he does totally hate the pats & bill belicheck. If he was willing to play the role, he'd be the perfect replacement for Kevin Faulk--third down back, has great hands, can make people miss, and would excel as a specialist and not as a premier back. Hell, I think Maroney could play the same role--he makes people miss, he just doesn't hit holes hard every play and tried to run around his blocks and breaks the plays instead of trusting his line...

[celticsclay]

I want him. I am pretty sure he is younger then both morris and taylor. Taylor is what 34? If he takes short money why not.

[byennie]

Meh. I like LT and I would root for him to have a comeback year wherever he signs, but NE needs to go out and get a running back that's young. Enough marginal veterans already, this team needs a refresh of young talent all around.

He looked pretty bad last year. Don't count him out, but do you really want to count ON him?

[Overrated]

I think there are other teams who'd give him more money than what the Pats would offer.

Also, I heard on a radio interview with him where he said he wouldn't mind playing for Dallas...

[Eja117]

LT is making a mistake if he doesn't sign by the draft. I assume his agent is asking for too much money and LT is sitting deciding what he wants to do.

I expect the Pats were like "The offer is X amount AND we want to bring him in for a physical and workout"

Then the agent was like "Thanks. We'll call you back if things change."

I bet the agent had about 25 calls like that and that's why he visited the two teams he did.

I agree he'd be an upgrade over what we got, but he's not coming to a team he hates for less money than he needs to, and the Pats aren't giving more money than they need to for a player quickly falling off the cliff.