LT Will Fly

"Those last couple of years in San Diego, look how quickly those guys were able to destroy LaDainian Tomlinson. They became a finesse team. Norv [Turner, the Chargers' head coach] wanted to throw the ball and run it just to run it when he wasn't throwing it. "Running the ball is an attitude. San Diego stopped running the ball and when they took that out of San Diego, the team changed its direction. That hurt [Tomlinson]," Lorenzo Neal told the Post.

Neal said he recommended the Jets all the way in his talks with Tomlinson because of their commitment to running the ball. "Now he's in a place where he knows they have a running game with a purpose," Neal said. "This guy will fly; I think he's going to fly. He's been backed into a corner like a caged cat and he's going to scratch and fight."

"You're getting 'The Great One' in New York," Neal told The Post yesterday about the Jets' free agent signing of LaDainian Tomlinson. "The Jets are bringing in a guy that has that 'It Factor,' but someone who's a student of the game and is a worker. And he's a better man than a football player."

Neal should know. The fullback, a 16-year NFL veteran who was one of the most bruising blockers of his era, cleared rushing lanes for Tomlinson in San Diego, where the two played together for five years and became close friends.

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LaDainian Tomlinson Signs with Jets

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On the one hand, LT is getting on in years. He turns 31 in June. On the other hand, he rushed for only 730 yards last year. Sounding a bit like a Danny Ainge signing from last summer. Still, this isn't quite as bad as the Celtics going after Rasheed Wallace. In fact, as a third back on a team that is starting to show signs of being more than the usual one-and-done New York Jets, Tomlinson may actually make an important contribution.