Tomlinson closes in on 100 touchdowns in record fashion

By: JAY PARIS - Staff Writer | Friday, November 17, 2006 12:04 AM PST ∞

SAN DIEGO --Everyone recognizes San Diego's unparalleled beauty. But only one man has the best view of the best NFL back slicing through yet another defense.

"TV doesn't do it justice,'' Philip Rivers said.

Every week, Rivers has the most scenic view of LaDainian Tomlinson. After placing the ball in Tomlinson's midsection, the Chargers quarterback steps back and watches with amazement.

"Some of those cuts,'' Rivers said. "He jumps, but he is only in the air for two seconds.''

Tomlinson is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame --and then some.

As the Chargers prepare to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday night, Tomlinson's mile-high resume continues to grow. With two touchdowns --he's had 15 in his last five games --he will seize a cherished NFL record: Tomlinson would become the quickest player to 100 touchdowns, doing it in 89 games.

Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith danced to that mark in 93 games.

Tomlinson brushed past Brown last week when he scored four touchdowns in a thrilling win over the Bengals. That gave Tomlinson 15 scores in five games --one more than Brown had in 1958.

"For me, it's kind of an unreal situation because when you talk about Jim Brown and what he's meant to not only me, but a lot of other guys, it's kind of like a heroic figure that you have in a guy like Jim Brown,'' said Tomlinson, who met Brown before the Chargers hosted Cleveland on Nov. 5.

"Just to be mentioned and to break his record, I mean, it's just a great accomplishment. It's one of the biggest things that later on in your life you can brag to your kids about.''

Same goes for hitting the century mark faster than anyone else. But the record Tomlinson focuses on is the won-lost mark; if the Chargers improve to 8-2 with a win on Sunday, they would claim sole possession of the AFC West lead.

Still, milestones --and being an MVP candidate --aren't what drives Tomlinson.

"The season is so long and you've got to stay focused on each week, and so I really don't have the time to get caught up in thinking about records and all this kind of stuff because it's just too hard,'' said Tomlinson, the NFL's second-leading rusher with a league-high 18 touchdowns.

Some speculate that before Tomlinson exits, he will surpass Jerry Rice's all-time standard of 208 touchdowns. But there's many holes to run through before that occurs.

"I don't know really what to think about it,'' Tomlinson said politely. "It's obviously something that people are going to start to talk about, but again, it's not something I'm going to think about or even talk about because I'm only in my sixth year. I've still got hopefully a lot of years left, and so I think it's too early to even think about it.''

And playing at Denver? It's been a rocky road, with Tomlinson scoring only twice in five games a mile above sea level.

But Broncos coach Mike Shanahan isn't putting much faith in Tomlinson's Denver downers.

"To be honest with you, I don't even look (at the stats),'' he said. "We just know how good he is, and what's been done in the past, I always look at as part of the past. We just know that if you don't have one gap and you make one mistake, he's going to have a big-time gain, just like the one time we played there he had well over 200 yards rushing.

"We know what he's done over the last five games, over the last number of years. We know for us to have a chance, we've got to play one of our better games defensively and we've got to try to slow him down.''

Good luck. Rivers knows how special his teammate really is.

"You kind of catch yourself sometimes when you are out there and you look over and he is right there besides you,'' Rivers said. "For one thing, it is comforting to know and the other thing is, 'Golly, I used to watch the guy,' and this is a lot of fun.''

Except if you're trying to tackle Tomlinson.

"In my mind he is one of the best, if not the best player, in the league,'' said Denver safety John Lynch, the former Torrey Pines High standout.

Added Rivers: "We say it all the time that we are going to leave one guy for (Tomlinson) and that is the way it is in a bunch of places. But in a bunch of places that guy can't beat that other guy. But here, we take our chances with that matchup.''

The pairing of Tomlinson at Denver hasn't been pleasant. Tomlinson has averaged 52.8 rushing yards per game against the Broncos on the road, and he has never trotted off the field a winner.

"Well, they take me out of the game,'' he said. "I haven't had the ball much in Denver. They end up taking me out of the game, whether we get behind and we're not running the ball much. That's been the case.

"I know that one thing they do well is they know us. They know exactly what we like to do, and so they play well against what we do well. When you play a team twice a year, that's going to tend to happen. With the kind of (talent) that they have on defense, it's really hard to have success against teams that know you and have great players.''

And that even goes for a player stiff-arming Brown and Smith, two of the NFL's best runners ever. But the dangerous Tomlinson could change that come Sunday --and, in the process, vault the Bolts into the AFC West penthouse.

"The motivation is for first place,'' he said. "That's motivation in itself. Two teams that are 7-2, playing for the top of their division.''

That's a view all the Chargers could enjoy.

CHARGERS NOTES: -- Luis Castillo (foot) didn't work again Thursday, and it's unlikely he will go Sunday. Jacques Cesaire would replace Castillo, who has five sacks. ... WR Eric Parker (neck) wasn't able to complete the entire practice, although coach Marty Schottenheimer and Parker said it's expected he will go Sunday. If Parker, who is still moving stiffly, isn't able to handle his punt-return duties, he would be replaced by Keenan McCardell. Rookie Antonio Cromartie was getting some extra work fielding punts after practice, but Schottenheimer indicated McCardell is the first choice to spell Parker.

-- Contact staff writer Jay Paris at jparis8@aol.com.