AndyJohnson

None of us really know the answer. I disagree though that LT should be defended by saying you were better without him, as if to imply some grandiose benevolence in him begging out. We do not know if he asked out or was benched. IMO, if he could play the first 2 series, he could have tried to get back out there again. I find it hard to believe Turner would tell him he cannot play another snap.
If what you are implying were correct, that Tomlinson for the good of the team decided to not play because he was less than 100%, why did he act like a child on the sidelines and not act like a teammtate supporting the other players?

TheSparks1

First of all, I'm a Pats fan, not a Chargers fan. Read my last post that has the article from Yahoo. His post game comments said he reinjured his knee on the first play of the game. "IMO, if he could play the first 2 series, he could have tried to get back out there again."??? What would have satisfied you? Play a whole half and then realize that a 100% Michael Turned was the best option? Fortunately, I have the entire Chargers coaching staff of my side of this argument, including LT.
They wanted what was best for their team in order to win. If that was benching LT, then that was the move to make.

Second, Tomlinson not playing for the good of the team and how he acted on the sidelines are in no way related. Were you expecting him to act like a cheerleader? This reminds me of Bobby Knight's comment about a "game face". How is he supposed to act? Did he not seem enough in to the game to make you think that he wanted to win? Were you watching him the whole game?

Deus Irae

So a team that lied about the injury report wouldn't later lie about why LdT was sitting his ass on the bench instead of playing football?


Hey, did you know that the word gullible is not in the dictionary?

__________________
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
- Marcus Aurelius

TheSparks1

Where did the Chargers lie about their injury report? L.T. wasn't listed on Friday. He said he reinjured his knee on the first play of the game. You have no way to prove otherwise. Considering he completed a full practice on Friday, why wouldn't he be able to go on Sunday?....UNLESS HE GOT HURT ON THE FIRST PLAY OF THE GAME LIKE HE SAID!!!

You're basing your argument on speculation. I'm basing it on the facts surrounding the issue. There are no holes in the Chargers story. You can accuse them of lying about their injury report, but it's strictly speculative.

The original argument was that L.T. didn't have heart for not playing. My point was that L.T. wasn't the best option for the Chargers to put them in the best position to win the game. Therefore, him not playing doesn't mean he doesn't have heart or can't suck up the pain.

Should everyone be expected to play regardless of injury? or do they need to meet your standards before they can sit out?

dhamz

Cleary LT is made out of glass and cannot be counted on. The Chargers need to use their #1 pick on a RB. What good is Tomlinson if he can't carry the team in the big games?

patsox23

To the uninitiated and/or dim Charger fans:

"Made of glass" is a sarcastic reference that has to do with Maroney-haters on this board. We don't actually think LT is made of glass, brittle, a *****, etc... It was a joke. Relax.

TheSparks1

I can't argue this any more. We'll agree to disagree.

But saying that the Chargers need to use their #1 pick on a RB because of ONE GAME! How quickly you forget last season when the league MVP (L.T.) nearly single-handedly beat the Patriots in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. Tomlinson ran for 123 yards and two scores, and caught two passes for 64 yards. I'd classify that as "carrying his team in the big game"?

You just don't understand the game. Go put on your pink hat and pink Brady jersey, just don't pollute these message boards.

Dragda

You missed the inside joke. I think you are a Chargers fan incognito, btw. If you visited here at times other than when we played the Chargers, you'd know what these posts are about. We'd have a long maroney thread every other day that contained these general themes.

Deus Irae

Hmmm... now you're calling conflicting comments "facts" as if they support you. Let me start with a simple fact:

"Hyperextended knee" is NOT a synonymous term for "sprained MCL"

As for the pain thing, I know quite a bit about playing through it. Perhaps you don't. People have different thresholds. In fact, the same person will have different thresholds depending upon circumstances. I don't blame players for that, but I do blame a player for pussing out in a game of that magnitude after just a couple of runs, because sometimes the pain gets easier to deal with when you play through it a bit. LdT attempted a whopping 2 runs and one catch.

Lastly, you're kidding yourself if you think that the best player on the Chargers couldn't have successfully have lobbied his coach to give him another run or two. After all, LdT is the best option for the Chargers, not Turner.

__________________
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
- Marcus Aurelius

TheSparks1

OK, Al Bundy. You played football at Polk High so that qualifies you to comment on LT's health status and threshold for pain. I'll take your word for it.

And you're also right that LT should have lobbied his coach for more playing time, even if Michael Turner was the better option for the team. Seeing how LT ran on his two carries and one reception, he certainly didn't move any piles like Michael Turner did. But again, the big concern for the Chargers coaches was 'How is LT going to be portrayed after the game?', right? It had nothing to do with the best interest of the team.

At this point, I can't argue with ignorance and incompetence. Despite having no evidence other than speculation to support your claim, I concede because in the end, any non-biased football fan that reads this thread knows what the right move was.

From the San Diego Union Tribune:
http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/spo...es/018675.html

Whatever the speculation was on TV or the lie the Chargers announced to the media at Gillette Stadium, here's the bottom line from LaDainian Tomlinson:

"It's obvious that I couldn't play. If I could have played, I would have been in there.''

Tomlinson, who suffered a hyperextended left knee in last week's win over Indianapolis, got hit on the same knee on the first play of the AFC Championship Game and said he sprained the medial collateral ligament. The Chargers announced he could have returned to the game, but Tomlinson said that wasn't the case. Coach Norv Turner confirmed that after the game.

"It was just the impact of getting hit that first play, right on it,'' Tomlinson said. "I thought that would be the test, taking a hit on it. I don't know how I get direct hits on it ... it's just been two bad weeks for me. I usually don't take shots like that. It just happened.''

Tomlinson was in for a total of four plays -- two carries, a reception and one play where he stayed into block. He did not play after the Chargers' second series.

"LT tried to go and he just couldn't go,'' Turner said. "The pain in the knee, what he felt, he couldn't push off it and he couldn't go. ... The doctors and trainers said he couldn't go.''

Meanwhile, QB Philip Rivers confirmed he has a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in addition to a sprained MCL. Rivers said he "probably'' would need surgery.