Joe Soriano
O.J. LewisLT is a Repeat Story
Many people across Football Nation have been shocked at the decline of LaDainian Tomlinson. Just a few years ago he was in the discussion of one of the greatest backs of all time. There is no doubt he is in the top twenty, but many were perplexed at the sudden drop-off in stats and playing value.
LT's story is not a new one. We have seen, over this decade at least, the declines of running backs like Shaun Alexander. Running backs in the current NFL hit their zenith in their mid-twenties. In other professional sports, most namely baseball, players are in their prime around the age of thirty.
The National Football League is not as friendly to players as other sports. Come on, this is football. This is a violent, contact sport. Running backs have carried the football numerous amounts of time until their late-twenties. They have received so many bone-jarring hits. Their legs are getting weaker than rubber. A simple example is that of Larry Johnson. The man was the best running back in the league unquestionably for two years. He fazed out because he was constantly running without a break. LJ would run for about thirty times each game.
Shaun Alexander played hard during his career. He formerly owned the record for most TDs in a season, broken and still held by Tomlinson, and he was out of a job and had no interest whatsoever. Think about it in this perspective, there are always new running backs coming into the league. Older players that are battered lose their value. They become yesterday's news. NFL teams are on the search for tomorrows big stars, even if they have to give up yesterday's stars.
LT's story is not a new one. We have seen, over this decade at least, the declines of running backs like Shaun Alexander. Running backs in the current NFL hit their zenith in their mid-twenties. In other professional sports, most namely baseball, players are in their prime around the age of thirty.
The National Football League is not as friendly to players as other sports. Come on, this is football. This is a violent, contact sport. Running backs have carried the football numerous amounts of time until their late-twenties. They have received so many bone-jarring hits. Their legs are getting weaker than rubber. A simple example is that of Larry Johnson. The man was the best running back in the league unquestionably for two years. He fazed out because he was constantly running without a break. LJ would run for about thirty times each game.
Shaun Alexander played hard during his career. He formerly owned the record for most TDs in a season, broken and still held by Tomlinson, and he was out of a job and had no interest whatsoever. Think about it in this perspective, there are always new running backs coming into the league. Older players that are battered lose their value. They become yesterday's news. NFL teams are on the search for tomorrows big stars, even if they have to give up yesterday's stars.
