ROLLASON: A familiar ending for LT

Tomlinson was the face of the San Diego Chargers for nine years; he rushed for over 1,000 yards each of his first eight seasons with the club and was a true example of a franchise running back.

This week LaDainian signed a one-day contract with the Chargers so he could retire with the team that drafted him in the first round back in 2001. For years Tomlinson was not only the face of the Chargers but was also one of the top running backs in the league.

He finished his career with 13,684 rushing yards and is currently the fifth-leading rusher in NFL history. He also added 4,772 receiving yards for his career as well.

He spent his last two seasons with the New York Jets and was still productive, but nothing comes close to the work he put in while playing for the Chargers.

People will always remember Tomlinson for his consistency, something you don’t get much of today with the top running backs.

There are a few guys that will consistently give you a thousand yards and plenty of touchdowns, but for the most part the league is missing those franchise guys.

Outside of Adrian Peterson, nobody else seems to be sticking around for a long time. They will have a couple of good years and then fade away or become part of a running back “committee.”

Tomlinson was always near the top year in and year out, it’s nice to see him sign his one-day deal and retire as a Charger, that team needs that.

Chargers fans will certainly never forget LaDainian, and how could they? Could anyone really forget when Tomlinson won the NFL MVP in 2006? When he rushed for 1,815 yards and scored 28 rushing touchdowns? Well sadly, some people do forget that.

And why? Not because Tomlinson isn’t a memorable running back, but simply because the importance of a franchise running back has evaporated over the years.

Most teams have found other ways to build their team so they don’t need a great long term running back like LaDainian.

In fact, can “long term” even be associated with the running back position anymore? Sorry, random thought there.

But let’s give credit where credit is due. LaDainian Tomlinson is one of the best running backs in NFL history, turning the Chargers into a dangerous team during the 2000’s.

It’s a shame that they never could get that Super Bowl title for Tomlinson, if anyone deserved one, it would be LT.

Tyler Rollason is a Winder-Barrow High School graduate and mass communications major at the University of West Georgia. You can e-mail comments about this column to tyrollason@yahoo.com.