Posted by Andrew Napoli | Sep. 23 at 11:06 AM

I completely agree. I didn't see game 1, but watching 3 Qtrs last night, it was very clear Tomlinson didn't have the burst or power he used to. I was amazed how quickly Sproles hit the holes on the few touches he got. Almost everytime Sproles touched the ball, he earned about 7.6 yards per carry, and 19.5 yards per catch. It's clear to me that if the Chargers had any sense at all, they'd bench LT for one or two games and let Sproles handle the load while LT's toe gets healthier. If the Chargers weren't 0-2, and instead were 2-0, I think they would have been more willing to sit LT for one or two games and then see if the extra time did anything to help the toe heal.

Posted by MIKE GEORGE | Sep. 23 at 01:07 PM

Wow, that's amazing .. I had the same thought after watching. I tuned into the first half and 1st drive of the 2nd half. (being a cheesehead - I had interest in watching #4) I immediately noticed that L.T. did not have that burst. Sproles came into the game and looked dynamic.

Posted by Brian Pedersen | Sep. 23 at 01:55 PM

Guys the guy is hurt. He will have some big games. SD is still a very good team with a lot of weapons so he will be fine.

Posted by Sam Pitaro | Sep. 23 at 02:58 PM

It's obvious he is not the same back. The difference to me is his inability to bounce plays outside of the tackles. It was not unusual for him in years past to have two or three short runs inside and then bounce from the inside to the outside for a 15 yard gain. And when he got inside the 20, he turned it up a notch. There was no stopping him from reaching the endzone. I don't think he's lost a step, he's just not able to cut the way he has in year's past. Still, with that offence, if he plays in the remaining 14 games, there's no one who will score more TDs. Phillip Rivers will not throw for 3 TDs per game and the fullback has already reached his quota.

Posted by Matt Tinker | Sep. 24 at 10:54 AM

With all due respect, how can we be making these statements when we KNOW he's not 100%? We've heard a hundred experts say that with turf toe you can't zig and zag, and sure enough, all we saw was straight ahead plowing into the line on Monday. So let's wait til he's healthy shall we? I mean, if he was averaging 2.6 yards per carry with no excuse, that'd be a different animal entirely.

Posted by Andrew Napoli | Sep. 24 at 01:34 PM

Thing is, those of us who drafted Tomlinson with the #1 overall pick, don't have the luxury of waiting six or seven weeks to see if his turf toe heals enough to allow LT to resume the kind of play we're all used to. I lost week 2 directly as a result of LT's horrid performance. But for the two short TDs on week 3, LT would have put up terrible numbers for a second week in a row. People who drafted LT with the 1st overall pick in a 12 team league automatically had to wait 23 picks to get their second player. If that 1st overall player is not producing 25%-50% above the average 1st round production, then your team is at a major disadvantage, because the 24th best player picked in round 2 is not going to compensate for the shortfall in all likelihood (especially not when my 2nd round/3rd round back to back picks were Housh and Welker).

Posted by Matt Tinker | Sep. 25 at 10:21 AM

FWIW, I AM one of those unfortunate souls who took LT with the #1 overall pick, but we're losing sight of the question the article posed. Ian's theme wasn't "Does LT still have the value of a #1 pick," but rather "Is LT losing it?" And my point was, of course he's not producing at a level to justify his draft position, but that wasn't the question. The question was "is he losing it?", and that, I feel, is an unfiar question when we know he's dinged up.