With LaDainian Tomlinson and Mark Sanchez complimenting stout defense, Jets seem to be the real deal
TIM SMITH
Monday, October 4th 2010, 4:00 AM
ORCHARD PARK - When LaDainain Tomlinson sat down with Rex Ryan during the offseason to talk about joining Gang Green, his role with the team was never clearly defined.
"He really didn't say. He said you earn your role on this team," Tomlinson said. "Nobody is given anything. For me that said it all. I didn't want to be given anything."
He didn't have to be given a thing. With Sunday's performance in the Jets' rout of the Bills, he has taken the role of No. 1 back - big-time.
Sunday, Tomlinson had 133 yards on 17 carries and two TDs, turning back the clock by four years, showing the speed and agility that made him one of the most feared running backs in the NFL.
"It was just about having the opportunity and also about having the right people around me," Tomlinson said after the 38-14 win.
More importantly, Tomlinson's performance, coupled with Mark Sanchez's near-flawless play for the second straight week, has given the Jets a high-powered offense to go with their incredible defense.
Judging by the way Gang Green manhandled 0-4 Buffalo on Sunday, they may be what Ryan thought they were, to paraphrase former Cardinals coach Denny Green.
Since it's the Jets - who started out last season 3-1, stumbled badly, recovered and then came one half away from going to the Super Bowl - you never really know.
But here is why you start to believe that the Jets are for real: Tomlinson and Sanchez, an offense that features something old and something new and a defense that will make most opponents black and blue.
You might want to toss the "old" references out when you speak of Tomlinson. Vintage is more appropriate for the 31-year-old, who was seeking a rebirth with the Jets after feeling discarded by San Diego, where he booked his ticket to Canton.
"That touchdown (the 26-yarder in third quarter) was LT of old," said safety Jim Leonhard. "Making his man miss in the hole and then taking it to the end zone for the touchdown."
That footwork and that burst had been missing from Tomlinson for a while now. But he seems to have regained it - at least for now. He is giving the Jets another weapon on offense, which, by the way, adds Santonio Holmes next week.
It also doesn't hurt Sanchez having a back who keeps defenses honest and off his back.
"I thought he was going to be outstanding," Ryan said of Tomlinson. "But he's already better than that."
It was risky signing Tomlinson in place of Thomas Jones, a real workhorse the Jets let walk away to Kansas City. Tomlinson's production had waned with injuries and a shift in emphasis to the passing game the last two seasons with San Diego. But Ryan and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who was the quarterbacks coach in San Diego under his dad Marty when Tomlinson played there, both saw something others missed. Even though he wasn't the focal point of the Chargers' offense when the Jets played them in the divisional round of the playoffs last season, Ryan thought Tomlinson was so dangerous that he double-covered him. That limited Tomlinson's production in that game, but it did nothing to diminish Ryan's admiration for him.
"Rex can see things that nobody else can see. I think he looks at the heart of a man, a guy who has been through a lot, battle tested and still willing to prove something," Tomlinson said. "I'm pretty sure that Brian Schottenheimer, who I worked with in San Diego, had something to say about it."
At this point it is an insult to call Tomlinson a reclamation project, because he has become such a focal point of the Jets' offense, particularly the way that he is splitting time with Shonn Greene, who had 117 yards on 22 carries against the Bills.
Guard Damien Woody was not surprised by what Tomlinson did against the Bills yesterday. He said he has seen it since Tomlinson joined the team.
"In the OTAs I saw that same burst that you saw today," Woody said. "I think the big difference for him here is that we're committed to the run. The way we block we're just getting him to the second level and the wide receivers are blocking downfield for him. When he was with San Diego he was fighting just to get to the line of scrimmage."
Tomlinson said he would "run through a wall" for Ryan. He didn't have to do that against the Bills Sunday. But there are still 12 games left on the schedule where that kind of determination will be needed. The Jets are hoping he's got a few more vintage performances left in him before 2010 is over.
i like how these guys are responding to rex, good things come when players " play " for their coach
LT's gonna have a helluva year, i'm convinced now .......