One day last week, LaDainian Tomlinson was in the Jets training room when Marty Schottenheimer, his former coach with the Chargers and father of his current offensive coordinator Brian, walked in.
“He said, ‘I’m sorry kid. I just wore you out when you were young,’ ” Tomlinson said yesterday with a smile. “I said, ‘Hey coach, I took it and I’m glad you gave me the ball.’ ”
During his prime, no one carried the ball more than Tomlinson. His 3,145 career carries are the most among active players. But the days of Marty-ball for Tomlinson are a thing of the past.
The Jets greatly reduced Tomlinson’s role this season, limiting him to third-down duties behind Shonn Greene. Even before Tomlinson suffered a knee injury three weeks ago, he was on pace to have a career low in carries. The injury that caused him to miss the last two games slowed that pace even more.
Now, Tomlinson finds himself in an unfamiliar spot. As December begins, Tomlinson has carried the ball just 46 times. He once carried the ball 39 times in a game in San Diego. He also has 25 catches this year.
The 32-year-old returns for the Jets this week, hoping the reduced work he has had this season leads to a strong finish.
“That was pretty much the game plan for the year to keep me fresh and down the stretch possibly increase my workload,” Tomlinson said. “I am fresh and feeling good. The coaches have that option if they want to use me more.”
It’s an idea coach Rex Ryan finds intriguing.
“I mentioned that to him [yesterday],” Ryan said. “I said, ‘This is going to be interesting for you.’ When I saw him [Wednesday] in practice I was like, ‘Wow.’ I mean, he looked fresh as can be. That could be interesting getting a fresh L.T. for the last part of the season. I think [that] would be great for us.”
It’s a formula Ryan used the last two years with Greene, going easy on him early in the season and increasing his carries late. In 2009, Greene became a force in the playoffs. This year, Tomlinson could be the Jets’ well-rested weapon.
Tomlinson’s coaches said he has looked good in practice this week, his first practices since spraining his MCL on Nov. 13 against the Patriots. Tomlinson has been forced to watch the last two weeks, something the durable back is unaccustomed to.
“I think the first game [in Denver] I missed was probably the toughest,” Tomlinson said. “They’re on the road in a hostile environment. There’s nothing you can say. You’re just watching it on television like everyone else. At least this past game [against the Bills] I was on the sideline so I could talk to guys and keep guys encouraged and keep them in the game.”
The Jets got decent performances from Greene and Joe McKnight filling Tomlinson’s role, but missed both the threat of Tomlinson coming out of the backfield as a receiver and his pass-blocking skills.
It has been a year of adjustment for Tomlinson, who has gone from being a league MVP to a role player. He finished in the top five in the NFL in carries in 2001, 2002 and 2005-07. In the history of the NFL, only four men have carried the ball more: Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Curtis Martin and Jerome Bettis.
“I had the mindset of just get the job done, just get it done,” Tomlinson said. “I really didn’t care how many times I carried the ball. I just got the job done.”
The Jets hope he can do that again over their final five games this season.
“We’ve got to win games now,” Tomlinson said. “We have to pretty much go undefeated or 4-1. We want to be undefeated this last stretch. That’s why I’m excited. We play our best football when our backs are against the wall.”