Slow start long in past for L.T.

By: MIKE SULLIVAN - North County Times | Sunday, December 16, 2007 12:39 AM PST ∞

SAN DIEGO - This really is the same season that saw LaDainian Tomlinson sporting 130 rushing yards and averaging 2.3 yards per carry through three games.

It's also a fact that Tomlinson failed to reach 100 rushing yards nine times in the Chargers' first 11 games.

But Tomlinson is back in his customary place with three games remaining in the regular season, residing near the top of the NFL's rushing charts and gaining yards with regularity and in large chunks.

As the Chargers (8-5) prepare to host Detroit (6-7) today at Qualcomm Stadium, last season's NFL MVP sits third in the league with 1,195 rushing yards, trailing only Pittsburgh's Willie Parker (1,217) and Minnesota's Adrian Peterson (1,200). That once-soft average is now at 4.5 yards, equaling Tomlinson's career average.

After struggling to find the end zone early in the season, the player who scored an NFL record 31 times last season has scored 14 touchdowns (12 rushing, two receiving). Only New England's Randy Moss (19) has more.

The rise up the rushing charts was prompted by Tomlinson's best back-to-back rushing games of the season - 177 yards against Kansas City two weeks ago and 146 yards last week against Tennessee.

Coach Norv Turner, who coordinated a Dallas Cowboys' offense that featured the sport's all-time rushing leader in Emmitt Smith and was part of the Los Angeles' Rams staff when Eric Dickerson was the game's top back, said that Tomlinson is currently playing at as high a level as he has seen from a running back.

Tomlinson, though, is thrown for a loss. But this time, it's not behind the line of scrimmage. He just can't explain the reasoning for his recent stellar play.

"I don't know," Tomlinson said. "The last two weeks, I've gotten a chance to get the ball a little bit more than I have been. In the first part of the season, if you look at my carries, I've gotten the carries and it's been at opportune times.

"(Lately) it's been when we needed to run the football, and the offensive line has stepped up for me and they've done a great job of blocking. When they do that, I'm able to gain yards."

Tomlinson needs just 5 yards today to join Dickerson as the only backs with 1,200 or more rushing yards in each of their first seven NFL seasons.

Tomlinson also could move into the top 20 on the career rushing lists. He sits 21st with 10,371 yards and needs 71 yards to pass 20th place Eddie George and 79 yards to pass Tiki Barber for 19th.

Tomlinson has topped 100 yards just four times this season, and three of the outings came against lower-level teams Oakland (198 yards) and Kansas City (132 and 177). Last Sunday's outing against Tennessee was a much different story.

The Titans had only allowed one 100-yard rusher all season and had been particularly stout when standout tackle Albert Haynesworth was in the lineup. Yet Tomlinson ran for 146 yards, including the game-winning score, a 16-yard run in overtime.

Watching film of that game might prompt Joe Barry to question his choice of careers. Detroit's first-year defensive coordinator couldn't stop throwing out superlatives after breaking down Tomlinson's array of skills.

"No disrespect to the year Adrian Peterson is having and all those guys are having, but this guy, he's a special back," Barry said of Tomlinson. "I think what makes him special is all the things he can do. This guy is unbelievable.

"He's an unbelievable ball carrier, both outside the tackles and inside the tackles. He's unbelievable at catching the ball, whether it be out of the backfield on screens or swing passes. He can leave the backfield and go run routes as good as most receivers in this league.

"They ask him to do a great deal in protection. He's a tough guy, he can block. He demands the respect of every defensive player on the field, no doubt about it, because he can do so many things, and he's so dangerous when he has the ball in his hands. So, yeah, we've talked a great deal about No. 21, because he's a beast."

One thing that will be different today for Tomlinson is the absence of Pro Bowl fullback Lorenzo Neal, who is sidelined after breaking his right fibula last Sunday. Andrew Pinnock will replace Neal, and Tomlinson said he doesn't foresee any drop-off.

And why would anybody expect a decline in production after Tomlinson's recent play? He has resembled the player who had a season of the ages just last year.

Yet Tomlinson cautions that the team's impending playoff push doesn't just rely on him.

"I wouldn't say it's just on my shoulders," Tomlinson said. "It's on all of our shoulders. We've all got to do our part. We've got to remember that. Don't rely on just one person."

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