Tomlinson wants a championship with Jets

Football Betting Lines

03/16/2010 - Florham Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LaDainian Tomlinson spoke with media members on a conference call Tuesday, just days after agreeing to a contract with the New York Jets, and said he is coming "to win a championship."

Tomlinson had spent his entire nine-year career with the San Diego Chargers and reached the AFC Championship Game after the 2007 season. The 2009 campaign ended with a loss to his new team in the divisional round.

"At this point it's all about having the opportunity to win a championship," Tomlinson said. "The Jets made it to the AFC Championship without me...They were very good without me. I just want to be able to have a role on this team and contribute."

Tomlinson is not expected to carry the load as the feature back in New York's run-first offense. Although he replaces Thomas Jones, who was released by the Jets and signed with Kansas City, the former MVP will likely cede the starter's role to second-year man Shonn Greene.

"I don't expect anything to be given to me. I'm going to work for it," said Tomlinson. "Wherever I fit in, I fit in."

After the Chargers decided to release Tomlinson, he visited the Minnesota Vikings before speaking with the Jets. New York offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was the quarterbacks coach with San Diego from 2002-05, giving Tomlinson a sense of familiarity.

"I think the majority of the decision came down to having to learn a new offense versus playing in an offense I already know and with somebody I already know in Brian Schottenheimer," Tomlinson remarked.

Tomlinson has 12,490 career rushing yards and 3,955 receiving yards to go along with 153 touchdowns. He currently ranks eighth on the NFL's all-time rushing list and third all-time in touchdowns.

However, since his MVP season of 2006, in which he ran for a career-high 1,815 yards and scored 31 total touchdowns to set a league record, his numbers have diminished. This past season, while finding the end zone 12 times, he rushed for a career-low 730 yards.

"This is a new opportunity and a new step for me," stated Tomlinson, who was unconcerned about his recent declining numbers. "I'm excited about the opportunity and I can't wait to get started."

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum was excited about having Tomlinson join the club, despite cutting a 1,400-yard rusher in Jones.

"We feel like Thomas Jones did a great job for us the past three years, but when we looked at all the factors, we really felt like LaDainian was a good fit for us," Tannenbaum stated.

"We felt like he still had the ability to make people miss, he was productive in the passing game. We feel he still has the ability to be an every-down back. We feel LaDainian still has the ability to run the ball at a high level and over the course of the 16-game season, we want depth at running back."

In addition to Tomlinson and Greene, the Jets also expect Leon Washington to return from a broken leg that cost him the final nine games of 2009.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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