The NY Jets and LaDainian Tomlinson agreed Sunday to a two-year, front-loaded deal worth $5.1 million with an escalator that could push the value to $5.6 million.

Well boys and girls, it's official, this is definitely NOT "The Same Old Jets." A successful 2009 playoff run, including getting some breaks that went there way (that never happened with the old Jets) and Woody Johnsons' willingness to be aggressive and bring high profile players is not something the conservative Leon Hess would have ever done.

The Jets signed high profile Brett Favre in '08, traded for troubled but talented Braylon Edwards in mid-season '09, traded for the ultra troubled and ultra talented Antonio Cromartie this offseason and have now signed future Hall of Famer and high profile LaDainian Tomlinson.

He picked the Jets over the Minnesota Vikings, whom he also visited last week.

Tomlinson's agent, Tom Condon had this to say on Sunday:

‘‘He wanted to go to a team that he thought had a chance to compete for the championship. He wanted to go somewhere where he had a chance to have a significant role, and so with the Jets he also was going to be very familiar with the offensive system.''

Tomlinson, who'll complement bruising second-year man Shonn Greene, will be reunited with Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who was the quarterbacks coach in San Diego and runs a similar offense to the one in San Diego. The idea of playing with second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez, and behind an experienced offensive line that was the engine for the league's top-ranked rushing offense last season, may also appeal to Tomlinson.

The uncertainty of whether veteran quarterback Brett Favre will return in 2010 may have hurt the Vikings' cause, as well as the likelihood of Tomlinson getting fewer carries backing up Pro Bowler Adrian Peterson.

Tomlinson was tentatively scheduled to visit the Saints and Eagles this week, obviously those meetings have been cancelled.

The move to sign Tomlinson raises questions about the future of Jets restricted free-agent running back Leon Washington, who was given a second-round tender that may entice teams to sign him to an offer sheet. Washington and Tomlinson are similar players in style, and the Jets may deem Washington, who is coming off a compound fracture of his right leg, expendable.

Ironically, the Vikings could conceivably be interested in Washington after losing out on Tomlinson.

There are many questions about this signing that won't get answered until the games are played. Did the Jets get the LaDainian Tomlinson of old, or an old LaDainian Tomlinson? Will he add more to the offense than the departed Thomas Jones (now with the KC Chiefs), who had a career-best year last season?

Tomlinson, a nine-year veteran, is clearly on the back-nine of his career. He has seen his production drop off significantly since he was the 2006 NFL MVP, rushing for a league-high 1,815 yards and a record 28 touchdowns that season. Last season, he rushed for only 730 yards with a 3.3-yards-per-carry average, both career lows. The Chargers released him last month. Unlike Jones, who is 31, Tomlinson was a workhorse early in his career and appears to be wearing down.

The Jets view Tomlinson as the perfect complement to Greene. They want him to spell Greene in passing situations (Greene had no regular-season receptions last season) and on third down as a change-of-pace threat. Tomlinson is still an excellent route runner with good hands (he has 530 career receptions) and remains a threat in the open field.

Last season, Greene blasted on the scene in the playoffs, rushing for 304 yards and two touchdowns on 54 carries.

Despite restrictions because of the uncapped year, the Jets have been active this offseason. They traded for Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie, signed Browns free-agent safety Brodney Pool, traded safety Kerry Rhodes and added Tomlinson.

Other Jets News

The Jets' official website states that a coin toss will decide whether they or the Giants host the first-ever regular-season game at the new stadium. The NFL has yet to confirm this but the Jets are sticking by its report.

Jets coach Rex Ryan underwent lap-band surgery on Saturday at NYU Medical Center to help him fight the battle of the bulge.

Ryan weighed 340 pounds at the start of last season and gained at least 30 pounds last season. The 47-year-old often directed fun at his ample midsection but the final straw may have come last month when cameras caught a shot of his considerable belly when he was changing jerseys during a Florida-Carolina NHL hockey game last month.

Rex everyone is pulling for you in your quest to become healthy, Jets fan or not. You're a breath of fresh air and the NFL is better having you around. Here's hoping your around for quite a while. - Mike Cardano

Mike is the founder of the Around the Horn Baseball Blog and the Extra Point Football Blog.

If you haven't voted in our polls on the site yet please do so. We are trying to get a feel for how our readers are looking at Football so we can write about things they want to hear. The poll questions are:

"Do you think the NCAA should have a Playoff to determine the National Champion rather than the BCS / Bowl System?"

and

"Should the NFL adopt the NCAA method of Overtime or continue to flip a coin for possession and have sudden death?"

Have a Fantasy Football or Rotisserie baseball question? Want to know who to pick up, who to activate and who the hot prospects are? Ask Dr. Roto. Let Dr. Roto guide your team to a league championship.

Comments (0)

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

Add Comment