Should Tomlinson Have Played?
by Eric Yuan
LaDainian Tomlinson claimed he was healthy all week and that he would definitely play in the AFC Championship game despite suffering a hyperextended knee the prior week . Tomlinson however, sat himself for most of the game against the Patriots after participating in only a handful of plays on the field. For the rest of the game Tomlinson sat on the bench, wrapped, tightly in a warm jacket, and watched as his Chargers team lost to the Patriots 21-12 in a hard fought effort.
After the game, people questioned Tomlinson’s toughness and believed that the Chargers could have won the game had he played. Tomlinson heard remarks that he hid behind his Darth Vader Helmet (left) and watched his team lose. To make matters worse, Tomlinson’s teammates, QB Philip Rivers (knee) and TE Antonio Gates (toe) who were listed as doubtful and probable, respectively, for the whole week played the entire game despite their injuries. Tomlinson carried the ball twice early in the game for five yards but benched himself for the rest of the game and sat quietly as the Patriots grinded out a 21-12 victory Sunday that sent them back to the NFL title game for the fourth time in seven seasons.
Should Tomlinson have geared up and played like his teammates did? No. Despite heavy criticism from fans and former players such as Deion Sanders claiming that the the Chargers star let down the team and the city of San Diego, LT definitely made the right decision of sitting. Perhaps Tomlinson himself said it best, after the game Tomlinson said that running backs Michael Turner and Darren Sproles would have much better productivity than a 50% healthy Tomlinson. In addition, LT would not have wanted to aggravate the injury further and have the knee injury linger throughout the offseason. With LaDainian or not, the Patriots seemed to have the game in control and, in my opinion, would have won the game either way. Tomlinson probably even showed more unselfishness by letting his teammate Michael Turner shine in the game. Turner will most likely leave the Chargers this offseason by signing with another team to be a starting back.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of 4-H Youth Mentor, Eric Yuan. Do you disagree or have something to add? Click here to have your message posted on our website.
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