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Adam Schefter says LaDainian Tomlinson has left his visit with the Jets still a free man.

While he mulls his choice between NY and Minn., LaDainian Tomlinson now is flying back to San Diego, free to think it through.

It's probably a tough call for him. As things stand right now, he'd probably have a bigger role in Minnesota but a better chance at a ring in New York.

Where do you think he ends up?

LaDainian Tomlinson, the highest-profile player the Jets have had visit them this offseason, was given the house tour yesterday at the teams Florham Park, N.J., facility one day after he visited the Vikings. Tomlinson's visit extended into last night, when he was to have dinner with coach Rex...

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I was fine with letting Thomas Jones go. In fact, I probably would have let him go. It's not that hard to find quality young backs. It gave the Jets a chance to get younger and cheaper at the position. What I don't get is letting a locker room leader like Jones go for a guy almost as old, who will cost almost as much, and isn't half as productive.

LaDainian Tomlison is not a productive football player anymore. He ran for an abysmal 3.3 yard average per carry in 2009. You could argue his offensive line wasn't that great, but how then did his teammate Darren Sproles run for a significantly better 3.7 average? Thomas Jones ran for a 3.6 average with Adrien Clarke and Anthony Clement on his offensive line in 2007. TJ didn't have an elite passing attack to keep defenses honest like Tomlinson did either. Willie Parker, a player we discussed yesterday, had 3.8 and 4.0 averages over the past two seasons with a terrible blocking front.

Let's go a little deeper. Rich Cimini takes a lot of heat here, but he did a great job yesterday in an article looking in depth at how productive Tomlinson is.

MISCELLANEOUS RUSHING STATS (ACCORDING TO PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS)

Yards After Contact/Per Attempt -- 1.9 (Ranks 29th out of 29 RBs who appeared in at least 50% of team's offensive snaps)

Missed Tackles Caused -- 9 (Ranks 29th out of 29 RBs who appeared in at least 50%)

In other words, he's a back incapable of breaking tackles or making anybody miss. If he hits a wide open hole, sure he can pick up some yardage, but these stats show he doesn't have explosion to turn them into big runs like say a Willie Parker could.

I've heard some chatter he could turn into a third down back. As bad as having Tomlinson replacing Thomas Jones would be, having him take over this role for Leon Washington would be even worse in my book. Yes, he has a reputation of being a good pass catcher, but he set a career low of 20 receptions in 2009. It was the first year he had less than 51. That's a huge dropoff.

There are some positions where players age gracefully. Take wide receiver. Torry Holt has lost a lot of explosion, but he runs good enough routes and has good enough hands to help somebody in some capacity. Running back is different. When it goes, it goes quickly and never comes back. When a back whose entire game is based on athletic ability like Tomlinson loses that ability, it never comes back, and he ceases to be effective.

The other problem is we don't know how he will react to not being the guy. He's used to being the franchise player. It's easy to say you'll accept a reduced role in the offseason. How will he respond once he's sitting on the bench? Will he be happy? Will it affect his preparation.

He's a classy guy, but that's not enough to give a guy a contract. He'll likely be a Hall of Famer, but a team should pay for what it expects in the future, not for what a player has done in the past. That was part of the reason Thomas Jones was released. Why give a guy a contract for being the 2006 MVP if he can't produce in 2010? If he had more pedestrian stats and was not a superstar five years ago, would any team even sniff him? Doesn't anybody remember how ineffective he was in the Divisional Playoffs?

I want a productive player at the position. I would have been fine with a rookie the team could have developed for peanuts. I would have been fine with a guy like Willie Parker, capable of adding another dimension for cheap. I would have been fine with a guy like Brian Westbrook who might bring more to the table than Jones. What I can't live with is cutting a productive player and a locker room leader like Thomas Jones and paying about the same amount to a totally ineffective player.

This team makes a lot of moves with which I disagree. Take the Kerry Rhodes trade. I can at least understand the thought process there, though. Rhodes' attitude clearly didn't mix with the coaching staff. I don't love Antonio Cromartie, but if San Diego is going to offer a guy with his incredible natural ability for 40 cents on the dollar, you have to take it. This would make absolutely no sense to me, and I don't see how the team justifies it. Just because he was great in 2005 doesn't mean LT has a lot to offer today.

NEW YORK - LaDainian Tomlinson's visit with the New York Jets is going to overtime.

SAN DIEGO - The Chargers have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with free agent cornerback Donald Strickland.

LaDainian Tomlinson's visit with the New York Jets is going to overtime. The free agent running back met with team officials at the Jets' training facility in Florham Park, N.J., on Friday and had dinner with coach Rex Ryan, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and others in New Jersey. Tomlinson was scheduled to fly back home to San Diego, but changed his flight after arriving so late Thursday...

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Browns have released veteran tight end Steve Heiden.

The Jets had a first-hand look at the best and worst of Antonio Cromartie long before they acquired the talented but inconsistent cornerback from San Diego early Friday morning.

Of course, they are hoping for more of the former now that Cromartie will be wearing green and white after the Jets dealt a conditional third-round pick in 2011 to the Chargers to obtain him.

On Sept. 22, 2008, Cromartie latched onto a Brett Favre pass that had been juggled by Laveranues Coles and sailed 52 yards for a touchdown, showing off the ballhawking skills that had helped him garner a career-high 10 interceptions and All-Pro honors in 2007.

But in his last game as a Charger on Jan. 17, Cromartie was slow, seemingly tentative, to fill a hole in run support despite not being blocked on...

Former Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson, who has spent much of the day meeting with team officials at the Jets' Florham Park headquarters, is planning to spend another night in town. Tomlinson will have dinner this evening with GM Mike Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan.

In effect, that's what the Jets have done ---swapped a nickelback for a CB2 with the Bolts.

Today the Chargers signed the 29-year-old CB to a two-year deal... returning the vet to "The Golden State" where he was born and raised.

ESPN's Adam Schefter first confirmed it with this Tweet:

Filed to ESPN: CB Donald Strickland reached agreement with the Chargers on a two-year deal.

Good move by the Jets. The injury-ridden Strickland was far from consistent as a Jet; and, on a larger scale, in his career. He has played in 10 or more games only thrice in his eight-year career.

This season Strickland recorded only 26 tackles, deflected two passes, forced one fumble, and came away with No INT's (in fact, he has recorded only two INT's in his entire career, and both were in his rookie season!)

Strickland getting injured and being forced to exit the AFC Championship game in the second quarter marked the turning point for Peyton Manning's comeback, and we just cannot afford that type of inconsistent play in our secondary.

Cro is the way to go!!! This blitz-from-everywhere, 3-4 defense will give him a lot of chances to make big plays --- something he loves to do. Definitely no stranger to taking chances, and Rex bringing him to NY tells me that he will be getting the green-light to follow his instincts and jump routes/take some gambles on 50/50 balls. He also gives us the versatility to swap and take Revis off WR1's if needed. Rex has said he will do some rotating to limit our predictability on defense.

Strickland is a good cover-corner, but his injury concerns are the reason that I think the Jets got the better end of the bargain regarding these two moves.

Tomlinson would complement second-year pro Shonn Greene

Tomlinson was impressed by visit with Vikings but giving Jets a chance today

Minnesota or New York for LT?

Don Banks has some great points here about where LT should go, and give the advantage to the Jets!

*Added to the front page by DW (excellent points, breaks it down nicely, everyone should read)

LaDainian Tomlinson is on his way to visit the Jets, who are prepared to put on a full-court press for the future Hall of Famer, according to multiple league sources. From all reports, Tomlinson was impressed with the Vikings, but he left this evening without a contract.

Important Pro Days For NY Jets

Today 9 teams will host their pro days. Michigan and TCU are the two that should interest the Jets the most. Brandon Graham and Jerry Hughes will both be working out today. I can't confirm that the Jets have representatives there (yet) but I think we can be pretty confident they are.

The Jets did visit Ohio's pro day yesterday where the main event was Taylor Price, the WR who took part in all drills and was a perfect 12/12 catching the football.

1. Arizona 2. Eastern Washington 3. Jacksonville State 4. Michigan 5. Ohio State 6. Oregon State 7. Purdue 8. TCU 9. Urbana

That's right, after a night out on the town, LaDainian Tomlinson has opted to stay in New York for the night. Hmm, does he sleep in Rex or Mr. T's bed?

(If he officially signs in the next 24 hours, allow RS to apologize in advance for not "reporting" it immediately. I will be in Venice for the day and TLL will be running naked onto the field at White Hart Lane, chasing a terrified Luka Modric.)

Update (7:53 p.m....NY time)

Cimini is the man. Keep, it coming, Rich!


There's a "possibility" that LaDainian Tomlinson will make a decision tonight, according to a person close to the Tomlinson courtship -- a strong indication that the Jets will prevail over the Vikings for the future Hall-of-Fame running back.

If Tomlinson makes a decision tonight, it's hard to imagine that he'd pick the Vikings, considering he'll be breaking bread with member of the Jets' hierarchy.

(Original Post)

This from Rich Cimini of the Daily News...

Former Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson, who has spent much of the day meeting with team officials at the Jets' Florham Park headquarters, is planning to spend another night in town.

Tomlinson will have dinner this evening with GM Mike Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan and other Jets personnel at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. Since there are no flights that late back to the West Coast -- LT lives in San Diego -- he will stick around for another night.

That, of course, works in the Jets' favor. Tomlinson's itinerary for tomorrow has yet to be determined. That it's open-ended means he could easily hang around a little longer in the event that he agrees to sign with the Jets.

It's believed that Tomlinson's original plan was to fly home and talk things over with his family, but as we wrote in today's paper, the Jets are putting on a full-court press and there's a chance he could decide on the Jets by tonight. Ryan, you know, is a master at the dinner table.

This appears to be a two-team race: Jets versus Vikings.

Thank you to The Jets Blog for this (via Big League Screw) bad boy: check out the big man Sanchez rocking the "Fu Manchu"

 

FS Brodney Pool is now a member of Gang Green.

DB Coach Dennis Thurman attended CB Antonio Cromartie's legendary pro day and wanted to draft him.

Quotes from DC Mike Pettine: "We've studied tape on Cro and we're comfortable with him."

Pettine on the secondary: "The biggest thing is chemistry and ability to communicate."

Pettine on being the best defense: "Offenses and defense alike are studying us, so we have to be better."

RB LaDainian Tomlinson left Minnesota without a contract and will meet with the Jets today.

Rich Cimini looks at Tomlinson's numbers, and they're not too impressive.

He might be more productive in green and white though.

 

More connections after the jump.

 

AFC East Blog thinks LaDainian would be good for the Jets.

But there are those who disagree.

GM Mike Tannenbaum's stock is rising.

TV and NFL star Merlin Olsen has passed away.

Randy Lange says farewell to the NFL analyst, who called numerous Jets games.

USA Today: Is FS Darren Sharper falling in love with the Jets?

Oakland has released DT Gerard Warren.

Associated Press: Some injuries are more common on turf.

Lastly, relive the wild card weekend drive that led to a touchdown by RB Thomas Jones:

Here is the final part of Eric Allen's two-part story on the Jets' secondary after interviews with defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and DBs coach Dennis Thurman:     Part II: Safety and Nickelback Sometimes a trade is necessary, and there’s no other way to view the Jets' recent dealing of safety Kerry Rhodes to Arizona in exchange for a fourth-round pick in April's...

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Let's talk about the eventful week at the safety position. Are the Jets better than they were a week ago?

Yes:

We all know Kerry Rhodes' faults. He was an underachiever in Rex Ryan's defense even as several of his teammates had standout years. He's also got an attitude. The coaching staff was so underwhelmed that it benched him. He's also soft against the run. The Jets added a comparable cover guy in Brodney Pool for a fraction of the cost. Pool is much more physical and stronger against the run. In addition, the Jets added a fourth round pick in a very talented Draft class.

No:

Kerry may have had a disappointing year, but he had a strong finish. There were great games against Carolina, Atlanta, and Cincinnati. There's no way the Jets would have beaten San Diego in the Playoffs without him having a stellar game. At his best, he's a game changing defender. Pool may be more physical, but that comes at a price. His style of play has resulted in four concussions since 2005. That makes him an enormous risk. One more bad hit to the head could mean the end of his career.

The Verdict:

I know this probably won't be popular in these parts, but you'll have a tough time convincing me the Jets are better in the free safety position now than they were a week ago. When Kerry is playing his best ball, there aren't many safeties better. Kerry's also never missed a game due to injury. Pool is a huge risk.

I know Rhodes comes off as an egotistical jerk. What team has perfect harmony, though? I also really liked the Pool signing. It was a low cost move that could pay huge dividends. Still, asking him to navagate an entire season with his style of play seems like a lot. This team could probably use more insurance at the position.

What do you think?

Poll What would you rather have?

• Kerry Rhodes
• Brodney Pool and a 4th round pick

  677 votes | Results