Why I Suck This Year

To all my fans,

It’s not easy being a running back – let alone the best – in this league. Week after week, you run as hard as you can into a mess of fat, sweaty linemen. Even worse, most of them grab your package when they’re trying to tackle you.

Coming off our loss to the Patriots in the playoffs last season, you probably figured that I’d be invigorated and looking for revenge. I’m not. I’m injured, I’m kind of a baby, and I just don’t feel like running hard anymore.

I suck. If you drafted me with the number one overall pick, I’m really sorry.

But not all of this is my fault. After all, I wasn’t that great last season, either. Before you made me the #1 pick, did you ever stop to think that the slide in my stats last year was the beginning of a trend? Don’t blame me because you can’t crunch numbers.

Late against Carolina in Week 1, I knew the game was on the line and all, but who wants to deal with all that pressure? I mean, my toe really hurt. When I started limping, some guys on the Panthers started calling me names. Names, man. Who needs that? Not me. I grabbed a seat on the bench and called it a day.

Things weren’t much better against Denver last week. They’ve got some cats on that team who are downright scary, man. I looked over at their sideline and saw Mike Shanahan. Dude was giving me the thousand-yard stare. I took my 10 carries and got the hell out of there. I mean, what would you have done?

This week we play the Jets, who’ve gotten much better at stopping the run. Here’s what I’m thinking: if I play the injury card all week so that when I only gain 19 yards in the first half, people won’t hold it against me. I’ve scored enough touchdowns over the years that I figure I should let Darren Sproles have some. It’s only fair.

I’m sorry if you expected more from me this year, but I’m not really sure what to tell you. I’ve lost the fire, lost the passion. Have you ever gotten to the point with a job where you just totally checked out? That’s totally where I’m at right now. AD and McFadden can have the glory; I don’t really want it anymore. It’s time for me to take the next step in my career. Maybe I’ll get into blogging. I hear there’s a lot of money in that.

Sincerely,
LaDainian Tomlinson

LaDainian Tomlinson is the starting running back of the San Diego Chargers.