True Colors

As the week progressed more talking heads were pondering ways the San Diego Chargers could upset the perfect season. Turns out they were all let down by the Chargers biggest star. The talk centered around how the big three(Tomlinson, Rivers and Gates) would recover from injuries sustained earlier in the playoffs. My opinion of one player sky rocketed while another's plummeted like the Dow Jones. Quarterback Philip Rivers showed heart starting and playing the entire game with a tore up knee. Ladanian Tomlinson played three downs and then sat on the bench with a jacket on and his helmet securely fastened to his head. WONDERFUL LEADERSHIP. The NFL uses every chance it gets to parade Tomlinson as the face of professional football. As the old school folks always say "Judge a guy on how he handles adversity NOT when all the breaks are going his way." LT(who is using the true LT's nickname) showed incredible sportsmanship last year as the Patriots celebrated their divisional round victory in San Diego. Trying to pick a fight as the Patriots stomped on their logo at mid-field and then trashing Bill Belichick in the post-game interview. Then came his injury a week ago against the Colts. Most speculated he would play and Rivers would sit out. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rivers gutted it out (19-37, 211 yds, 2 int's) while Tomlinson made an early exit and showed no emotion or interest in the remainder of the game. Injuries are never a reason to dis a player, but their reaction to said injury shows much about their team leadership. As Phil Simms said the Chargers were young and had the tools to contend I thought to myself that unless they plan on keeping Michael Turner and slowly phasing Tomlinson out there will be no return to the Super Bowl in this franchise's immediate future. There is a reason the Patriots and Colts are favored to go the distance every year. Their team leaders have the back of every player on the team no matter what their personal situation is.