The Jets season has been over for nearly three weeks, yet the fallout from their 8-8 failure continues.
The latest comes from respected running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who said the relationship between quarterback Mark Sanchez and wide receiver Santonio Holmes and the Jets locker room as a whole was “as bad as I’ve ever been around.”
Tomlinson, appearing on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL,” described the strain that existed between Sanchez and Holmes.
“You know it was at the point where I think the players could no longer do anything about it,” said Tomlinson, who is a free agent and contemplating retirement. “There was nothing that the players could do. So when it gets to that point there are certain changes that need to happen. Can it be fixed? I think absolutely it can be. But they’re going to have to make some tough decisions.”
Tomlinson, who spent two seasons with the Jets, was asked if he would bring both players back for 2012.
“Whew, that is a tough one,” Tomlinson said. “I would really have to sit down with them and see if they can co-exist, honestly. I mean that is a decision that I really have to make. And if I really feel like they can’t, then you have to make a move.”
Tomlinson said the problems in the locker room started in the third or fourth week of the season. He blamed head coach Rex Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum for creating the atmosphere.
“They [the Jets organization] created this,” Tomlinson said. “This is the type of football team that they wanted.”
As for Sanchez, Tomlinson repeated he believes Sanchez is not helped by the fact the team does not have a backup that will push him. The Jets have had 41-year-old Mark Brunell serve as his backup the last two years. The team is contemplating an upgrade for next year.
“He is, I would say a bit pampered because he has no competition,” Tomlinson said. “He has no real threat to say this guy may take my job.”
Tomlinson questioned Ryan’s decision to name Holmes a captain and said the players joked about the feud between Sanchez and Holmes being like the fights between rappers in the 1990s.
“Everybody heard about the Santonio and Mark Sanchez kind of beef, so we called it East Coast-West Coast beef,” Tomlinson said. “Santonio being the East Coast from Florida, Mark Sanchez being the West Coast from California. So we poked fun at it being the East Coast-West Coast beef. But in all seriousness, Santonio, obviously, he is a great player. There are some things that obviously he needs to work on as far as being a leader.”
Tomlinson said he loved playing for Ryan, but wished the brash coach would have toned down the title talk.
“I would prefer him not to say it as much as he did,” he said. “I don’t mind every now and again saying we are going to win a championship. Maybe at the beginning of the year just saying, ‘Hey, our goal is to win a championship.’ But at the same time every week if you are calling out a team on certain things, I think it puts a little extra on your team.
“Guys really want to go out there and say, ‘Let’s shut this guy up. Let’s shut these Jets up, just end their season.’ I think that adds to that when Rex speaks up like that because, you know, everybody doesn’t like that type of style, and they’re not supposed to. But at the same time there are certain things that you can do to not have it come off like that.”