Tomlinson to battle age, wear in bid to reach rushing milestone

WILLIAMSBURG The young football players gathered at midfield, took a seat on the artificial turf and began singing "Happy Birthday" to LaDainian Tomlinson.

Tomlinson smiled and began conducting the singers.

But Tomlinson's smile might have been misplaced. Yesterday was his 30th birthday, a milestone that has little impact on the lives and careers of most young men.

Tomlinson is not "most young men." He is the heavy-duty running back for the San Diego Chargers, a man who has carried the football 2,657 times in his eight NFL seasons. That's 2,657 collisions that often are compared to automobile wrecks.

Add 510 receptions, which usually have high-impact consequences as well, and you have a 30-year-old whose body has experienced some wear and tear.

"The NFL is real big on this running back-turning-30 thing," Tomlinson said.

NFL history does not favor 30-year-old running backs. Most see their production start to decline when they reach 30.

Tomlinson, 5-10 and 221 pounds, has had an excellent professional career. All those carries have resulted in 11,760 yards and 126 touchdowns. He has another 3,801 yards and 15 touchdowns off his receptions.

If he can put together consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons in 2009 and 2010, he will become one of only four running backs to produce 10 consecutive seasons with 1,000 or more rushing yards.

The others are Walter Payton, Barry Sanders and Curtis Martin.

The Chargers had such a career in mind when they drafted Tomlinson in the first round, out of TCU, in 2001. The Chargers held the first pick in the draft that spring but traded it to Atlanta. The Falcons took Michael Vick, the quarterback from Virginia Tech, who now has become the troubled quarterback from Virginia Tech.

Vick was sentenced to 23 months in the federal prison system on charges related to dogfighting. He is serving the final month of that sentence in home confinement in Hampton.

Vick has been suspended indefinitely from the NFL.

In that regard, the Chargers could not be happier with how things have worked out from that trade.

But the past two seasons have not been kind to Tomlinson. He has been beset by knee, toe and groin problems.

Last year, Tomlinson had his least productive season, gaining 1,110 yards.

The Chargers are aware of what happens to running backs when they reach the age of 30. They insisted Tomlinson renegotiate the final three years on a eight-year deal he signed in 2004.

"Our contracts are one-year contracts anyway," Tomlinson said after spending the afternoon at the Colonial All Pro Football Camp at William and Mary. "Every year is about proving yourself.

"My health is good. I worked out the whole offseason. I haven't had any setbacks. I've been strong. I've practiced. I'm looking forward to a good year."

Tomlinson hopes that will include an injury-free season. But once veteran running backs start to get hurt, the trend is difficult to stop.

Few running backs hit big numbers once they pass their 30th birthday. Payton, Martin, Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Curtis Martin, Tiki Barber and John Riggins managed to do so.

But running backs absorb a great deal of punishment. Tomlinson has averaged 332 carries per season during his pro career, and he rarely looks to run out of bounds to avoid tacklers.

"My first few years, I was pretty much healthy," Tomlinson said. "I think people got spoiled by me never getting hurt. And being hurt for the first time in my career, people said it's because I've had a lot of carries and I'm old.

"I think it's just because you get hurt eventually. I gained 1,100 yards last season. Being hurt the whole year and still doing that, I've got to like my chances."

Tomlinson and the Chargers hope that is the case. History, however, is not on their side.