There is a general consensus among fans that the New York Jets will get the most out of LaDainian Tomlinson by limiting his touches. This is based on his fast start to the season and the Playoffs when he had rest and was fresh. During the regular season, he seemed to wear down when not rested.
Since the Jets are bringing him back, it begs the question of how the team plans to use the back. Last year Rex Ryan was pretty vocal that he viewed Tomlinson as a costarter with Shonn Greene. That did not seem like the brightest idea then. The way the season played out showed why. LT is best with a reduced role.
Do you think Brian Schottenheimer will realize this, though? He is the offensive coordinator who gave Greene and Tomlinson virtually the same number of carries, even when Greene was vastly more productive against the Bears and in the AFC Championship Game against the Steelers. It seems like a leap of faith to trust the offensive coaching staff to figure this out.
The best hope is probably the continued development of Joe McKnight. The running back from USC is dangerous. If he plays up to his potential in camp and the preseason, the coaching staff might feel itself compelled to take carries away from Tomlinson and reduce LT into a third down back role. Cheap Football Jerseys.That would probably be for the best.
Tag Archives: New York Jets
Will the New York Jets Reduce LaDainian Tomlinson’s Carries?
Posted by admin
on March 7, 2011
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Wild turkey: Pats come back, Saints steal win in Dallas, Jets roll
Posted by admin
on November 27, 2010
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NFL fans were treated to a football feast on Thursday, with three competetive games, one of which featured the wildest Thanksgiving finish in years. A rundown of the day’s action:
The appetizer: New England Patriots 45, Detroit Lions 24
When this game was announced in March, we ran the following headline about the game: “Patriots get to maul Lions on Thanksgiving.” Judging by the score of Thursday’s game in the Motor City, you’d think we were a mix of Nostradamus and Jimmy the Greek. But despite the 21-point margin of victory, this game was a pretty competitive affair that was in doubt for the first 45 minutes.
The Pats only pulled away after a 79-yard touchdown on third down tied the game and broke the Lions’ spirits. Second-year veteran Alphonso Smith(notes) played the role of turkey on that play, getting burned by Deion Branch(notes) and wildly flailing all over the field in his pursuit.
Tom Brady(notes) finished the game 21 for 27 with 341 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, giving him a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 (the second time in his career he’s achieved that mark).
Detroit lost its seventh straight Thanksgiving Day game, the longest streak in franchise history. The team has been outscored by an average of 23 points in those games.
The main course: New Orleans Saints 30, Dallas Cowboys 27
New Orleans stormed to an early 17-point lead and it looked like Thanksgiving in Dallas would be as exciting as your typical Turkey Day in Detroit. But a late first-half field goal gave the Cowboys a bit of momentum headed into the locker room and the team rallied in the second half to take a 27-23 lead.
It was to be one of Dallas’ great Thanksgiving comebacks, on par with Clint Longley’s 1974 miracle against the Washington Redskins. When Roy Williams snagged a key third-down catch, the game appeared all but over. New Orleans had one timeout and Dallas could have run down the clock to under a minute. But before Williams went down, the Saints’ Malcolm Jenkins(notes) somehow wrestled the ball away from him (above). The Saints recovered and Drew Brees(notes) quickly led the team 89 yards en route to a touchdown and a 30-27 lead.
New Orleans left 1:55 for Dallas to score, but the team mismanaged the two-minute drill (maybe it was poor cardiovascular endurance) and couldn’t get close enough for kicker David Buehler(notes), who yanked a potentially game-tying 59-yard field goal a little left. That let Saints coach Sean Payton breathe a sigh of relief. The coach has tried to take one of those pesky pre-field goal timeouts, but it went unseen by the refs. Had an official seen it, Buehler would have had another chance to win the game. Instead, the defending champs got a much-needed victory in their battle with Atlanta for the NFC South crown.
The dessert: New York Jets 26, Cincinnati Bengals 10
An ugly first half, possibly affected by too much turkey and stuffing, was followed by an explosive second. The lowly Bengals took a 7-3 lead into the locker room, but two Brad Smith(notes) touchdowns — one of an end around to start the third quarter and another on a kick return in which his shoe popped off — helped the Jets to what became an easy victory. At 9-2, Rex Ryan and the Jets are living up to the preseason expectations they helped set.
It’s the second-best start in team history.
Patriots vow no letdown against lowly Lions
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on November 24, 2010
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The New England Patriots shouldn’t worry about a letdown against the lowly Lions after beating two of the AFC’s best teams.
Even if they have one, it might be tough to lose to Detroit.
The Patriots go into Thursday’s game with an 8-2 record following wins over Pittsburgh and Indianapolis. The Lions enter their annual Thanksgiving Day home game at 2-8 after losses to Buffalo, which entered that game winless, and Dallas, which had just two victories at the time.
New England coach Bill Belichick said the Lions’ familiarity with the traditional holiday game should help them.
Not enough, apparently. Detroit has lost its past six Thanksgiving matchups by an average of 23 points, none by fewer than 11.
Never one to let complacency creep in, Belichick is stressing to his players that five of the Lions losses this season have been by five points or fewer.
“He really stays on top of us,” wide receiver Wes Welker said Tuesday, “and makes sure that were not getting overconfident or believing in the noise outside the locker room and understand that every game’s tough in the NFL.”
That reality was driven home on Nov. 7 when the Patriots took a 6-1 record into Cleveland to face the Browns at 2-5. By the end of the first quarter, the Browns led 10-0. Entering the fourth, it was 24-7.
“We saw what happens when you don’t execute, especially early in a game, with Cleveland,” tackle Matt Light said. “We can’t afford to come out and play a game like that, so when you’re playing on the road, and it’s an environment like this, it’s a short week, you’ve got to keep on top of everything.”
The Patriots didn’t do that before the Cleveland game. Several players said they weren’t focused during practice.
But this week, with only three days to prepare, they jumped right into their work for Thursday’s game after a 31-28 win over Indianapolis.
“We came in Monday and we didn’t even talk about the Colts,” quarterback Tom Brady said Tuesday. “We talked about the Lions and what we need to do to beat them. We talked about coming in and having a good day today, so we crammed a lot of information into these two days.”
The Patriots, as usual, heaped praise on an underdog opponent.
Coach Jim Schwartz “is one of the smartest guys I’ve ever worked with,” said Belichick, who had him as a scout from 1993-95 while serving as head coach in Cleveland.
Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, the second pick in this year’s draft, is “a very disruptive young player,” tight end Alge Crumpler said.
“They’ve got a lot of weapons offensively,” Light said. “They’ve got a lot of guys defensively, especially up front, that play really well. It’s going to be a tough game.”
The Patriots’ defense may be suspect, especially against the pass, but their offense has developed into a balanced attack with the emergence of a solid running game. Against the Colts, they rushed for 168 yards and passed for 178.
Since BenJarvus Green-Ellis took over as starting running back after Laurence Maroney was traded and Fred Taylor was hurt, he’s rushed for six touchdowns and run for 76 yards or more four times in seven games.
Danny Woodhead, picked up after the opening game when he was cut by the New York Jets, ran for a career-high 69 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown on Sunday.
Neither was thrown for a loss in a combined 50 carries over the past two games.
“You never want to lose yards in a game, especially in the NFL. Yards are so precious,” Woodhead said. “We just go with what we see as running backs and the (offensive) line usually gives us something great to see and where to run, so we just play off of them.”
A strong running game gives Brady more options. Defenses become more susceptible to the play-action when they might commit to the run while Brady drops back to pass. That makes things even easier for one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks.
“Anyone who has ever played this game knows that you run it until they can stop it,” Brady said. “You can control the tempo of the game running the ball and I think that’s what we’ve done a good job of the last couple of weeks.”
And Detroit has allowed the seventh-most yards rushing this season, another encouraging sign for New England.
Starting with the 2008 season, the Patriots are 29-13, the Lions 4-38. Starting with the 2001 season, the Patriots have won three Super Bowls. Since 1958, the Lions have won one playoff game.
But even if they had a normal week to prepare, the Patriots wouldn’t waste time thinking about that. They take the Lions very seriously as another team trying to beat them.
“Everything that we do is so methodical,” Light said. “The focus really just comes from each guy understanding that you’ve got a job to do. You’ve got to get in (and) focus on it. You’ve got to work hard, so there’s no real rocket science to it.”
Matt Stafford visits Dr. James Andrews
Posted by admin
on November 16, 2010
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Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford visited with noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews on Monday and will continue to rehab his separated shoulder, but a source told ESPN that surgery has not been ruled out as an option.
The source also said that Stafford could opt for a cortisone injection after rehabbing the shoulder during the next two weeks to see if he could return before the end of the season.
The Lions (2-7) released a statement Monday confirming Stafford’s visit to Andrews, but said only that Andrews’ diagnosis was “consistent with the evaluation and diagnosis” of their own medical staff.
Sources confirmed to Mortensen on Sunday that Stafford originally injured his right shoulder early in the second quarter of Detroit’s Week 9 loss to the New York Jets. Stafford continued to play effectively until suffering a game-ending Grade 3 shoulder separation with six minutes left in the game.
Stafford grabbed his right shoulder initially when he was tackled near the sideline trying to evade a sack by the Jets’ Bryan Thomas at the 14:11 mark of the second quarter. Ten minutes later, after throwing a pass, he winced and grabbed his shoulder without any physical contact. Finally, Stafford left the game with 6:06 left in the fourth quarter when Thomas tackled him from behind on a scramble.
It is unknown if Stafford suffered any serious damage on the second-quarter hit, but Stafford continued to play and made some effective throws, cheap football jerseys completing 20 of 36 passes for 240 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on the day. He did not report any significant concerns to the medical or coaching staff at the time.
After consulting a preliminary MRI last week , Andrews informed Stafford and the Lions that he believes Stafford’s injury is not as severe as what Sam Bradford suffered last season at Oklahoma, according to sources.
Andrews operated on Bradford’s shoulder last October and after intensive rehab, the Rams’ No. 1 draft pick has emerged as a leading candidate for the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year award.
Stafford was Detroit’s No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft. He had no durability issues in 36 starts at the University of Georgia but he has only played in 13 of 24 games since he joined the Lions.
NFL: Miami Dolphins go with Chad Pennington at QB, bench Chad Henne
Posted by admin
on November 11, 2010
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Chad Pennington is replacing Chad Henne as the Miami Dolphins‘ starting quarterback.
Coach Tony Sparano made the announcement after practice Wednesday. The Dolphins (4-4) play host to Tennessee on Sunday, when Pennington will make his first start since he suffered a season-ending right shoulder injury in Week 3 last year.
“They both have strengths, and certainly weaknesses,” Sparano said. “At this particular time, my decision is Chad Pennington’s strengths might be suited a little bit more for where we need to be.”
The Dolphins trail New England and the New York Jets by two games in the AFC East and lost to both teams at home, but their schedule eases in the second half of the season. Henne has led the offense to only 11 touchdowns and has 10 interceptions, three in Sunday’s loss at Baltimore.
Thursday Night Football: AFC vs. NFC. First place vs. first place. Talented offense vs. bruising defense.
At the midway point of the NFL Jerseys season, the host Atlanta Falcons (6-2) and the Baltimore Ravens (6-2) will see how they stack up against each other in prime time tonight on the NFL Network.
Wide receiver Roddy White was limited in Atlanta’s final practice and has been listed as questionable.
The Falcons hold a half-game lead over defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans in the NFC South, and Baltimore is tied for the AFC North lead with Pittsburgh.
Lions:
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Shaun Hill is back as starting quarterback, with Matthew Stafford injured.
Stafford hurt his right shoulder in Detroit’s loss to the New York Jets and will miss at least Sunday’s game at Buffalo. Hill broke his left arm against the New York Giants on Oct. 17 but is healed.
Panthers: Matt Moore’s season-ending shoulder injury will give rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen another shot to lead the woeful Panthers.
Coach John Fox told Clausen after practice that he’ll start Sunday at Tampa Bay.
Patriots: Kicker Shayne Graham has joined New England. He replaces Stephen Gostkowski, who was placed on injured reserve with a thigh injury, shelving him for the rest of the season.
Vikings: Wide receiver Percy Harvin is fighting another migraine headache. Coach Brad Childress said that Harvin was not at team headquarters and did not participate in practice.
Meggett sentenced: Former NFL player David Meggett was sentenced to 30 years in prison after his conviction in a Charleston, S.C., court on charges of criminal sexual conduct and burglary, authorities said, in a case involving an encounter with a college student at her house in North Charleston in January 2009.
Meggett was a running back and punt returner in the NFL from 1989 to 1998, six years with the New York Giants, three with New England and one with the New York Jets.
Titans: Speaking for the first time since Minnesota waived him Nov. 1, wide receiver Randy Moss said he’s sorry things didn’t work out with in Minnesota and that he isn’t upset with the Vikings or coach Brad Childress for waiving him.
Bills: Shawne Merriman’s first practice with his new team in Buffalo didn’t last very long. Coach Chan Gailey said Merriman strained his lower right leg and that it’s not “anything major,” but declined to offer any specifics.