Needing to get it done in Denver
If anybody has LaDainian Tomlinson’s number, it’s the Denver Broncos.
On the cusp of scoring his 100th touchdown faster than any player in NFL history, the San Diego Chargers’ remarkable running back has never played particularly well in Denver, where he’s averaged 53 yards in five trips, all of them losses.
“Well, they take me out of the game,” Tomlinson said. “I haven’t had the ball much in Denver. They end up taking me out of the game, whether we get behind and we’re not running the ball much. That’s been the case.... Once you get behind, their place is the most difficult place to come back because the defense is so good.”
The Broncos insist they haven’t found a secret formula for entangling Tomlinson, whom they’ll see again in tonight’s showdown at Invesco Field that pits two 7-2 teams tied atop the AFC West.
“You just do what you do and hopefully that’s good enough, because you can’t really stop him. I got no more for you. If you figure out a way to stop him, call me and let me know,” safety Nick Ferguson said of the torrid running back who has scored an NFL-record 15 TDs in the last five games -- nearly twice as many as Denver’s dominant defense has allowed all season.
“A guy of that caliber, how many yards are you going to actually limit him to? Even when we held him to 50 yards, he still did some spectacular things,” Ferguson said. “But, once again, if you find out a recipe, call me and let me know.”
Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith had some suggestions.
“Tie him up and make him miss the plane,” Smith said. “Or penny him up in his hotel room.”
Linebacker Al Wilson said he may not have the recipe, but he knows what’s worked before.
“I think our speed helps at linebacker,” Wilson said. “When you’re able to run and get to the sideline and you know to kind of force him to do some things he doesn’t really want to do, it makes it hard for a running back. And he’s a guy that really gets to the edge, finds those creases and seams and gets downhill.”
“But,” Wilson added with a sigh, “the past doesn’t really matter.”
Because nobody has ever run the ball like Tomlinson’s doing right now.
His coach, Marty Schottenheimer, calls Tomlinson the best running back he’s ever seen.
“And that’s with all due respect to the great players like Jim Brown, of course, and Barry Sanders, Gale Sayers, Marcus Allen, all of the great ones,” Schottenheimer said. “I happen to think because of his versatility and his ability as a playmaker and a leader, he stands at the top.”
Tomlinson can make more history tonight. If he scores twice, he’ll reach 100 touchdowns in his 89th games, four games ahead of the record that is shared by Brown and Emmitt Smith.
“What he’s doing right now is scary to me,” Denver defensive coordinator Larry Coyer said. “The way he accelerates, he can hit it. It’s unbelievable. This guy is unbelievable in how he’s cutting right now. Scary to watch. Good players are missing tackles, I mean whiffing.”
If that continues, the Broncos will lose, Wilson said.
“Without stopping the running game, we don’t have a chance to win,” declared Wilson, who would love to turn the Chargers into a one-dimensional offense behind quarterback Philip Rivers, a first-year starter.
Even that’s playing with fire, suggested Coyer.
“I hate to use comparisons, but he reminds me of Peyton Manning,” Coyer said. “The delivery, the way he handles the game, he’s ripping that ball in there right now. To me, right now, he’s probably the second-best quarterback in this league.”
The Broncos are closing in on history themselves -- they’ve allowed just eight touchdowns, putting them on pace to break the record for fewest TDs allowed in a season, 18, set by Baltimore in 2000.
Behind Tomlinson, Rivers and tight end Antonio Gates, the Chargers have scored an NFL-most 297 points. With Wilson, John Lynch and Champ Bailey leading the way, the Broncos have allowed an NFL-low 111 points.
It’s a turnaround for both Schottenheimer, who is shaking his conservative style like Congress did on election night, and Broncos Coach Mike Shanahan, whose usually high-octane offense has been chugging behind Jake Plummer, the league’s 28th-ranked passer, and a revolving door of running backs.
“I don’t think we’ve ever won, at least since I’ve been here, with the offense not being real productive,” Shanahan said. “It’s always been offense, and the defense there’s always been questions about. So, it’s a little bit different.”
Indeed, the Broncos’ 17.6-point average is the worst in Shanahan’s 11 seasons, even lower than the 1999 team that averaged 19.6 after John Elway’s retirement and Terrell Davis’ season-ending knee injury.
And their method for holding down Tomlinson in the past -- jumping to a quick lead, working the crowd into a frenzy and forcing the Chargers to abandon their run game -- isn’t one that’s worked well against other opponents. They’ve been shut out in the first quarter six times already.
That’s a trend that could bode well for Tomlinson finally doing something special in Denver.