1
00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,680
Speaker 1: We'll see. If you had to describe Marty Ball to

2
00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:06,880
Speaker 1: somebody who had no idea what that term meant, how

3
00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:13,200
Speaker 1: would you describe it? I would say power. I would

4
00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:17,439
Speaker 1: say power, you know, because that was Marty's favorite play,

5
00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:22,159
Speaker 1: and that essentially means coming off the football, running the

6
00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:27,360
Speaker 1: football with physical, physical nature, and wearing your opponent down.

7
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,920
Speaker 1: That's that's, you know, that's essentially what it is. Um

8
00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,320
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a sixty minute, maybe even longer game,

9
00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:40,720
Speaker 1: but the objective is to wear your opponent down. And

10
00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,360
Speaker 1: a lot of times you do that by doing the

11
00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:46,320
Speaker 1: same play over and over again throughout the course of

12
00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:53,280
Speaker 1: a game, and that that play is called power. After

13
00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:55,720
Speaker 1: being selected fifth overall in the two thousand and one

14
00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,720
Speaker 1: NFL Draft, well Danian Tomlinson was now the face of

15
00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,520
Speaker 1: a franchise. The Chargers didn't select him not high to

16
00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:03,600
Speaker 1: sit and learn as a rookie. They expected him to

17
00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,679
Speaker 1: become a difference maker immediately, and he was with one

18
00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,400
Speaker 1: thousand rush yards and double digit scores his first eight

19
00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:12,319
Speaker 1: seasons in the league. A big reason for that statistical

20
00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:14,640
Speaker 1: dominance his head coach for a chunk of those years,

21
00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:19,679
Speaker 1: Marty Schottenheimer, the former linebacker had developed a reputation for

22
00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:23,560
Speaker 1: coaching hard nosed, physical teams, a ground and pound run

23
00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:27,040
Speaker 1: first style aptly nicknamed Marty Ball. In this episode will

24
00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:29,559
Speaker 1: show you how this perfect pairing of scheme and star

25
00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,160
Speaker 1: took Tomlinson from an impressive rookie to a Hall of Famer.

26
00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:36,240
Speaker 1: We'll also explore Eltie's relationship with the heart and soul

27
00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,600
Speaker 1: of the Bolts during his early years in the NFL,

28
00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,360
Speaker 1: linebacker Junior Sale, and how Junior passed the torch to

29
00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:46,040
Speaker 1: Tomlinson as the face of Chargers Football for Haley Elwood.

30
00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,040
Speaker 1: I'm Chris Harry. This is Running for History. Episode three,

31
00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:59,880
Speaker 1: Marty Ball presented by Lazy Dog San Diego Chargers Lastel

32
00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:10,960
Speaker 1: and the hand off to Thomlinson and he will gallop everybody.

33
00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,440
Speaker 1: Lazy Dog Restaurants is spreading holiday cheer with these fun

34
00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:18,640
Speaker 1: diy Gingerbread house kids to take home. It's fun because

35
00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,640
Speaker 1: they've partnered with Habitat for Humanity. One of the net

36
00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,040
Speaker 1: proceeds from Gingerbread houses sold will help build homes in

37
00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,239
Speaker 1: our community. The kids come with everything you need from

38
00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,520
Speaker 1: icing to gum drops and lots of other candies to

39
00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:35,200
Speaker 1: build the best looking house. I can't wait to make

40
00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,919
Speaker 1: mine with my friends and family. Head over to Lazy

41
00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:39,640
Speaker 1: Dog to pick one up and you can see what

42
00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:46,200
Speaker 1: it's all about and Lazydog Restaurants dot com. For all

43
00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,720
Speaker 1: NFL players, their first game is something they'll never forget.

44
00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:53,840
Speaker 1: It was no different for LT Well. I remember it

45
00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:59,320
Speaker 1: Dan against Washington, and I remember legendary Marty Schottenheimer Dan

46
00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,200
Speaker 1: on the other side online. But also, you know, I

47
00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:08,160
Speaker 1: remember it that day was I thought it would be special,

48
00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:10,160
Speaker 1: to be honest with you, it was a nice sunny

49
00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:15,000
Speaker 1: day in San Diego, beautiful, you know, family coming to

50
00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:17,239
Speaker 1: the game to wash me play for the first time.

51
00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:22,280
Speaker 1: But I do remember thinking I haven't had much training camp.

52
00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,120
Speaker 1: I didn't, you know, I healed out most of the

53
00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,600
Speaker 1: training camp. I played him the last preseason game and

54
00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:31,560
Speaker 1: I played one series, so I didn't have much time

55
00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,960
Speaker 1: to get thirty six carries. I was pretty top after

56
00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,160
Speaker 1: the game, to say the least. But it was a

57
00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,320
Speaker 1: great win. You know, it really was an electric atmosphere,

58
00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,960
Speaker 1: and you know, I was inspired by obviously the way

59
00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,480
Speaker 1: Junior led us that day. You know, we were you know,

60
00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,800
Speaker 1: it was the first game. It was electric inside Qualcom

61
00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,240
Speaker 1: junior say, I'm coming out the tunnel. I mean, it

62
00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,200
Speaker 1: was nothing like I have ever seen. And it was

63
00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:03,440
Speaker 1: a great day obviously for the Charges. As we won

64
00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,880
Speaker 1: that game. Tomlinson and the Chargers defeated Washington and head

65
00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:11,040
Speaker 1: coach Marty Schottenheimer thirty to three. The stat sheet caught

66
00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,240
Speaker 1: the eye of team owner Dean Spanners. As for Tomlinson,

67
00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,360
Speaker 1: he couldn't help but take notice of the place style

68
00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,920
Speaker 1: of Washington's offense. Well, I listen, I was exciting just

69
00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:23,479
Speaker 1: to win, okay. But when you look back the next

70
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,520
Speaker 1: day on Monday and you start looking at what LT

71
00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,719
Speaker 1: did that day, you know, the light sort of went

72
00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,320
Speaker 1: off and you said, this guy's really gonna be good.

73
00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:34,159
Speaker 1: You know, didn't know how good at the time, but

74
00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:36,880
Speaker 1: the rest was history. He just kept getting better and

75
00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:41,320
Speaker 1: better and better obviously, and they ran power over and

76
00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,000
Speaker 1: over with Stephen Davis, you know, And it was kind

77
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,520
Speaker 1: of one of those things that I was looking at.

78
00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:50,440
Speaker 1: The offense that I was familiar were even at that time,

79
00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,359
Speaker 1: you know, and we because we were running the same offense.

80
00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,039
Speaker 1: We had North Turner as office coordinator, so we was

81
00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:03,280
Speaker 1: essentially running the same offense as Marty. But you know,

82
00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:09,440
Speaker 1: you know it really was. I guess tell me that

83
00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:12,320
Speaker 1: I ended up being in the same type of offense.

84
00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:17,200
Speaker 1: You know, from our very first career game to most

85
00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:18,960
Speaker 1: of my career, Chris, when you think about it, I

86
00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,760
Speaker 1: played in the same offense. Doug Flute started under center

87
00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:25,120
Speaker 1: for the Chargers in two thousand and one, and he

88
00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:29,080
Speaker 1: was their opening day for each of Tomlinson's thirty six carries.

89
00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:31,640
Speaker 1: The day of the guy carrying the ball thirty something

90
00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,719
Speaker 1: times is in the past. It's just you know, longevity,

91
00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:39,560
Speaker 1: situational football, spreading people out, but they get better as

92
00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:41,640
Speaker 1: the game goes. It's like they get a field, the

93
00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,839
Speaker 1: offensive line takes pride and we're blowing people off the ball.

94
00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:47,279
Speaker 1: Give veltee the ball, let's go, let's run the ball,

95
00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:51,600
Speaker 1: run the ball, and defenses hate it because that's something

96
00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,480
Speaker 1: they can't stop. Like if you're controlling the line of

97
00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:57,599
Speaker 1: scrimmage and handing the ball and he's making people even

98
00:05:57,600 --> 00:05:59,400
Speaker 1: when they have a good defense for it and someone's

99
00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,040
Speaker 1: free a runn like LT is still gonna get four

100
00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:03,880
Speaker 1: or five yards by making the first guy miss, getting

101
00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,640
Speaker 1: back in the hole, do and whatever. That's so frustrating

102
00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,080
Speaker 1: because the methodical thirteen fifteen. Play drives to a defense,

103
00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:14,280
Speaker 1: wears him out and they can't do anything about it.

104
00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:16,960
Speaker 1: Flutie was towards the end of his NFL career when

105
00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,080
Speaker 1: LT entered the league. What he saw in Tomlinson was

106
00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,080
Speaker 1: a throwback, the kind of player that reminded Flutie of

107
00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,520
Speaker 1: a former Hall of Fame teammate and Tomlinson's childhood idol,

108
00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,840
Speaker 1: Walter Payton. And I see all these same qualities that

109
00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:31,960
Speaker 1: I saw in Walter. He could throw the football, he

110
00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:33,920
Speaker 1: could catch the foot, he could run rounds, he was

111
00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:36,719
Speaker 1: an amazing runner. He studied the game and knew his

112
00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:41,560
Speaker 1: past protections right away, and it was like a changing

113
00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:43,919
Speaker 1: of the guards for me that I think more than anything,

114
00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,200
Speaker 1: because Walter was towards the end of his career and

115
00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:48,120
Speaker 1: I was a rookie, and then I was at the

116
00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:50,359
Speaker 1: end of my career when when LT was the rookie,

117
00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:51,760
Speaker 1: and I can see, you know, what he's gonna have

118
00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,880
Speaker 1: ahead of him, So it was kind of a cool comparison.

119
00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:59,160
Speaker 1: I marveled at the skill set. Flutie and Tomlinson had

120
00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:02,160
Speaker 1: a strong connection early on, but the teammate a mentor

121
00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,039
Speaker 1: that impacted Timelinson the most that would be the last

122
00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:07,560
Speaker 1: Chargers players selected with the fifth overall pick in the

123
00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:13,360
Speaker 1: NFL draft, Junior Sayout. Fellow linebacker Donnie Edwards recalls the tone, sales,

124
00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:16,640
Speaker 1: intensity set the competition. I mean, because Junior is one

125
00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,040
Speaker 1: of those guys who I mean, doesn't matter if it's

126
00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,520
Speaker 1: practice or the game, this guy's gonna get He's given

127
00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:24,800
Speaker 1: it all and you better watch out because he would

128
00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,240
Speaker 1: knock out of you. Well, I think it was a

129
00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:32,840
Speaker 1: natural evolution of a friendship being built. You know, the

130
00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,240
Speaker 1: first thing that happens, you know, I come into a

131
00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:40,400
Speaker 1: locker room obviously with a superstar all world player like

132
00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:44,480
Speaker 1: Junior say and I'm the rookie, the first round draft pick,

133
00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:48,440
Speaker 1: and naturally he's gonna welcome me to the team, but

134
00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,680
Speaker 1: also welcome me to the NFL. And he did that

135
00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,280
Speaker 1: in practice, you know, the very first practice. You know,

136
00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:57,600
Speaker 1: he pretty much ran me over, you know, put me

137
00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,360
Speaker 1: on my butt, and you know, may and me do

138
00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:03,160
Speaker 1: it again. I had to do the exact same play,

139
00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,160
Speaker 1: go back and block Junior again as he's screaming one

140
00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,200
Speaker 1: hundred miles and hours coming at me, you know, trying

141
00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:14,560
Speaker 1: to run me over. But it was that initial I

142
00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:21,640
Speaker 1: guess that initial impact, that initial welcome to the NFL

143
00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:26,520
Speaker 1: moment that allowed me to go, I guess talk to

144
00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:30,800
Speaker 1: Junior and feel like, you know what, this guy is

145
00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:32,560
Speaker 1: trying to help me in a way, even though it

146
00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:36,640
Speaker 1: didn't seem like initially he's trying to help me, because

147
00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,640
Speaker 1: you know, Junior was always the same way. He was

148
00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,560
Speaker 1: always in the same place after practice, in the colde

149
00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,079
Speaker 1: tub right away, and so he always left that time

150
00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,880
Speaker 1: open to come talk to him. And sure enough, you know,

151
00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,640
Speaker 1: I start to ease my way into the cold tub

152
00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:55,520
Speaker 1: right after practice because Junior was in there, and that's

153
00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:58,720
Speaker 1: when we start to have those conversations about what it

154
00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,240
Speaker 1: took to play at this level with the NFL level.

155
00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,959
Speaker 1: NFL Networks Jim Trotter wrote an entire book on Say Out.

156
00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,480
Speaker 1: The former Chargers beat writer recalls the specific way the

157
00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:12,920
Speaker 1: linebacker would take young athletes like Tomlinson under his wing.

158
00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,120
Speaker 1: One thing you have to understand about Junior is that

159
00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:17,839
Speaker 1: he was willing to help any teammate as long as

160
00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:22,040
Speaker 1: that teammate was receptive to that help. And the one

161
00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:24,240
Speaker 1: thing about Junior is he was not going to seek

162
00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:28,040
Speaker 1: you out and say, let me mentor you. He wanted

163
00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,880
Speaker 1: the young guys to sort of come to him and

164
00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:33,440
Speaker 1: ask for that help, because to him, that show that

165
00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:39,080
Speaker 1: they were serious about it. And so with LT, excuse me,

166
00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,600
Speaker 1: Junior knew that there was a special talent there and

167
00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:46,560
Speaker 1: this and I almost said, kid, that's how old I

168
00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:50,280
Speaker 1: am when I think about LT. There was there was

169
00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:55,240
Speaker 1: this sense of humility about LT and this desire to

170
00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,800
Speaker 1: be great, and I'll I forget Junior told me one practice,

171
00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:02,960
Speaker 1: they were doing seven on seven and LT runs a

172
00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,440
Speaker 1: particular route and Junior and the defense they covered really well,

173
00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,720
Speaker 1: and LT comes to him and says, why did you

174
00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,040
Speaker 1: do that? What did you see? You know, those sorts

175
00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,079
Speaker 1: of things. So he was constantly picking his brain, and

176
00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:17,960
Speaker 1: that told Junior that this was someone who wanted to learn,

177
00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:19,600
Speaker 1: who was willing to put in the work and wanted

178
00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:23,760
Speaker 1: to learn. And then beyond that the things like the

179
00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:26,840
Speaker 1: rookie dinner and I'll never forget the rookie dinner, Chris.

180
00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:33,040
Speaker 1: You know, Junior sits down with everyone. Everybody's crowded around

181
00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,640
Speaker 1: the table. I'm next to Junior and he says, all right, guys,

182
00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:42,120
Speaker 1: tonight everything is on the rookie So don't are the

183
00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,080
Speaker 1: just one if you are in the filaman young just

184
00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:47,400
Speaker 1: are the two of them like, it doesn't matter. It's

185
00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:50,080
Speaker 1: on him tonight. And I'll tell you, Chris, they did.

186
00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,360
Speaker 1: They are the two and three of everything, and so

187
00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:57,640
Speaker 1: they're yucking it up, laughing, and I'm sitting there thinking, like, man,

188
00:10:57,720 --> 00:10:59,439
Speaker 1: this is going to be the most money I've ever

189
00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:04,000
Speaker 1: spent the one night. And to Julior's credit, he let

190
00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,000
Speaker 1: all the he let everything come in, you know, the money.

191
00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:11,120
Speaker 1: They gave me the bill and secretly Junior was asking

192
00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:16,040
Speaker 1: all the guys for cash for tip and he gathered

193
00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:18,679
Speaker 1: all that money and he gave it to me and

194
00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:20,320
Speaker 1: he said, I know you got to pay this bill,

195
00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:22,760
Speaker 1: but but here's a little extra. This is what the

196
00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:25,880
Speaker 1: guys have put on it. And you know that was

197
00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,600
Speaker 1: that was he didn't have to do that, you know,

198
00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:32,400
Speaker 1: but that was Junior. Yep. He was introducing me to

199
00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:34,839
Speaker 1: what it meant to play on the team. But at

200
00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:38,000
Speaker 1: the same time, we're gonna pull our weight, we're gonna

201
00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,319
Speaker 1: we're gonna do our part as well, and that relationship

202
00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,679
Speaker 1: just continue to build from there. The nineteen nineties all

203
00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,120
Speaker 1: decade linebacker left the clear impression on the first year player.

204
00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:51,160
Speaker 1: It would shape the way Tomlinson treated rookies that looked

205
00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,760
Speaker 1: up to him. Linebacker Sean Merriman, an offensive tackle Marcus

206
00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:57,520
Speaker 1: McNeil can tell your firsthand, Junior say, I was going

207
00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:00,319
Speaker 1: to implement the rookie dinner and it kind that kept

208
00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:03,960
Speaker 1: a tradition. Um. And you know, I remember coming in

209
00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:05,960
Speaker 1: there and I was supposed to take out the whole team.

210
00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:08,360
Speaker 1: I think if you were four years and up, you

211
00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,880
Speaker 1: were invited to the rookie dinner. And I just remember

212
00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:13,960
Speaker 1: a low nail and all the guys and just Drew

213
00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,199
Speaker 1: Brees having a good time, eating, drinking and just doing

214
00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:19,040
Speaker 1: whatever they wanted to do. Um. And then me getting

215
00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:21,760
Speaker 1: a bill that that large thirty two thousand dollar bills

216
00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,280
Speaker 1: that I received at the end of the night. Um.

217
00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,040
Speaker 1: But one thing I always remember it is when LT

218
00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:31,040
Speaker 1: um he basically he stood up on a chair and said, hey, guys, look,

219
00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:33,880
Speaker 1: we're gonna need this. We're gonna need this dude. Um,

220
00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:36,400
Speaker 1: he's gonna have to come into play for us and

221
00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,120
Speaker 1: make an impact early on. And that kind of softened

222
00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:40,880
Speaker 1: the cushion, believe it or not a little bit. At

223
00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:45,120
Speaker 1: the time. He was like, Um, if LT looked at me,

224
00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:48,480
Speaker 1: that way, then I had to come in and perform. Um.

225
00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:52,719
Speaker 1: You know, obviously he was such a staple on that team. UM.

226
00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:55,200
Speaker 1: And you didn't hear LT speaking a lot. He didn't,

227
00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:56,800
Speaker 1: he didn't talk a whole lot, but when he did,

228
00:12:56,880 --> 00:12:59,079
Speaker 1: you could hear pendrop and so that was just a

229
00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:02,560
Speaker 1: level of respect. I think that everyone had, included myself

230
00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:05,720
Speaker 1: for l That was probably one one of the biggest

231
00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:10,600
Speaker 1: bills I've seen about thirty k But you know, and

232
00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:13,040
Speaker 1: that's when I knew LT was a stand up guy

233
00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:15,400
Speaker 1: because he actually chipped in. I think he put a

234
00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:17,920
Speaker 1: couple of grand down for two, you know, so me

235
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,840
Speaker 1: and KRAMARTI didn't have to split the whole bill. So

236
00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:23,400
Speaker 1: I knew he was a stand up guy right then.

237
00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,560
Speaker 1: Thomlinson finished his rookie campaign with over sixteen hundred all

238
00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:31,280
Speaker 1: purpose yards in ten scores, but it wasn't perfect. Ball

239
00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:34,679
Speaker 1: security was an issue. He uncharacteristically put the ball on

240
00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,760
Speaker 1: the ground eight times that season, but as La Times

241
00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:41,840
Speaker 1: writer Saim Farmer recalls, Eltie's most expensive fumble came in

242
00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:46,480
Speaker 1: a week two. Yeah, as a rookie, he playing the Cowboys.

243
00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:51,840
Speaker 1: I believe he lost two diamond earrings at one point

244
00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,720
Speaker 1: six carrits and you'd think those are big enough to find.

245
00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,080
Speaker 1: I mean, you could probably find those from the upper deck,

246
00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:00,760
Speaker 1: but he had to sift through the grass and find

247
00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:04,080
Speaker 1: those diamond earrings, which he had lost as a rookie.

248
00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:08,000
Speaker 1: But that really sort of belied who he was because

249
00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:11,920
Speaker 1: he again, he was a superstar and yet didn't have

250
00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:14,839
Speaker 1: the superstar attitude. He was very accessible. He was the

251
00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,000
Speaker 1: easiest guy. You'd have thought he was the third string

252
00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:21,480
Speaker 1: running back with how good he was to deal with.

253
00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:23,960
Speaker 1: As a reporter, He'd go up to his locker at

254
00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,720
Speaker 1: any time and he'd give you a great answer. And

255
00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:28,600
Speaker 1: he was hanging around the locker room a lot of time.

256
00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,120
Speaker 1: With those guys, they'll disappear from the locker room, you'll

257
00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:36,760
Speaker 1: never never see them. But Lavanian was always around, was

258
00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,720
Speaker 1: always accessible, and was always really good to talk to.

259
00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,200
Speaker 1: I mean, it's incredible because I was able to play

260
00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:46,280
Speaker 1: against LT his rookie year. I mean, I want to

261
00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:50,360
Speaker 1: say that was two thousand and one, right, two thousand

262
00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,520
Speaker 1: and one. Yeah, Drew Brees was also rookie that year,

263
00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:56,120
Speaker 1: and I remember both of those young guys, and I

264
00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,920
Speaker 1: remember LT specifically because I had a chase him around

265
00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:02,440
Speaker 1: the field and try to tackle him once I can.

266
00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:05,600
Speaker 1: And from from day one, you knew this guy was

267
00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,360
Speaker 1: going to be something special for the NFL. After playing

268
00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,360
Speaker 1: two games against Tomlinson in two thousand and one, rival

269
00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,640
Speaker 1: Chiefs linebacker Donnie Edwards no longer had to chase the

270
00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,680
Speaker 1: elusive rookie around the field. It just so happened the

271
00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:21,080
Speaker 1: following off season. Edwards is former coach in Kansas City.

272
00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:23,520
Speaker 1: He was out of a job in Washington and looking

273
00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,280
Speaker 1: to sunny southern California as his next destination, coming from

274
00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:30,360
Speaker 1: the two thousand, two thousand season two thousand and one

275
00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,920
Speaker 1: season before Marty came, I mean, the Chargers weren't playing

276
00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:38,720
Speaker 1: well at all, and Marty came from a very substantial career.

277
00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:41,960
Speaker 1: But the Chiefs winning playoffs the whole deal. And he

278
00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:47,360
Speaker 1: was an old school players coach per se. But he definitely,

279
00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:50,520
Speaker 1: uh you know, he was a he was a tough coach,

280
00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:52,160
Speaker 1: and it was very different. I know, I remember an

281
00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:57,040
Speaker 1: O two when we had training camp at UCSD. You know,

282
00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:59,520
Speaker 1: we had two and a half hour practices back to

283
00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:04,200
Speaker 1: back with pads. I mean now it sounds unheard of now,

284
00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:06,680
Speaker 1: especially in today's game. But that's the way it was

285
00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,800
Speaker 1: two and a half hours Marty Ball. I mean we

286
00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:14,920
Speaker 1: had Oklahoma drill, we had one on one pass rush,

287
00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,880
Speaker 1: we had a lead drill with fullbacks. I mean you

288
00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,280
Speaker 1: have a linebacker and you have a fullback running full

289
00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:23,200
Speaker 1: speeding to each other, just to make sure that we

290
00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,360
Speaker 1: know how to fit. I mean, these kind of things

291
00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:28,600
Speaker 1: were just unheard of, I guess for the Charges at

292
00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,440
Speaker 1: that time, But for me coming from Kansas City with

293
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,440
Speaker 1: Marty starting back in ninety six, I mean I understood, like,

294
00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:38,400
Speaker 1: this is how you make teams tough, and Marty's certainly

295
00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:43,240
Speaker 1: brought that that attitude and that toughness to the team.

296
00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:47,680
Speaker 1: Trotter Farmer and Chargers President of football Operations John Spanos

297
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,000
Speaker 1: all remember the way Schottenheimer impacted a ball club that

298
00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:54,680
Speaker 1: had struggled to find victories in previous years. I'm a

299
00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:56,880
Speaker 1: firm believer, Like it drives me nuts when we in

300
00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,600
Speaker 1: the media talk about young players very quickly or very

301
00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,200
Speaker 1: early in their career and call them bus and we

302
00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:05,080
Speaker 1: failed to look at the context of which the situation

303
00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,960
Speaker 1: that that player was placed into. Like with a quarterback,

304
00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:11,280
Speaker 1: you may have a quarterback who has a certain skill

305
00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:13,439
Speaker 1: set but you have a coach who says, no, I

306
00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,240
Speaker 1: run a different system, and even though my system doesn't

307
00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:17,960
Speaker 1: fit your skill set, you're going to run it. That

308
00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:20,320
Speaker 1: quarterback fails and we say the quarterback was a bus

309
00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:22,919
Speaker 1: with LT. I think one of the best things that

310
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,400
Speaker 1: happened for LT was playing for Marty Schottenheimer because Marty

311
00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:31,199
Speaker 1: Schottenheimer was committed to the run game and everybody knew it,

312
00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:34,680
Speaker 1: and it created a culture internally about we are going

313
00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:39,639
Speaker 1: to run it. Marty had this infectious energy and it

314
00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:43,879
Speaker 1: was a little corny. I mean, it felt like a

315
00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:49,240
Speaker 1: little Rara or sort of from a forgotten era, and

316
00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:51,440
Speaker 1: you wondered how you would connect to guys, but he did.

317
00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,560
Speaker 1: He had an amazing ability to connect with guys and

318
00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:59,600
Speaker 1: the energy of that team and his speeches and about

319
00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:07,119
Speaker 1: grabbing the brass ring and Marty did inject and energy

320
00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:09,960
Speaker 1: into this franchise. You know. He had a particular brand

321
00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:11,560
Speaker 1: of football, which was we're going to be able to

322
00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:13,760
Speaker 1: run the ball, We're going to control the clock, we're

323
00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:15,879
Speaker 1: not going to turn it over. And he had a

324
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:20,280
Speaker 1: formula that lend itself to winning games. And obviously a

325
00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:21,879
Speaker 1: big part of the formula and a big part of

326
00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,600
Speaker 1: running the ball is having a special running back, right,

327
00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:26,960
Speaker 1: And so that's why I think partly why it was

328
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:33,200
Speaker 1: such a great pairing. Hey, everybody, Lazy Dog Restaurants is

329
00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:37,119
Speaker 1: spreading holiday cheer with these fundy gingerbread house kids to

330
00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,520
Speaker 1: take home. It's fun because they parted with Habitat for

331
00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:45,160
Speaker 1: Humanity of the Net. Proceeds from gingerbread houses sold will

332
00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,280
Speaker 1: build homes in our community. The kids come with everything

333
00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:51,480
Speaker 1: you need from icing to gum drops and other candies

334
00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:54,119
Speaker 1: to build the best looking house. I can't wait to

335
00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:56,560
Speaker 1: make mine with my family and friends. You can see

336
00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:02,880
Speaker 1: what it's all about at Lazydog Restaurants dot com. It

337
00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,080
Speaker 1: didn't take long for Marty Ball to have an impact

338
00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:08,719
Speaker 1: on Tomlinson's game. LT was very good his rookie year, right,

339
00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,240
Speaker 1: But make no mistake about it, Like I really believe

340
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,639
Speaker 1: every single rookie okay, And I don't care like where

341
00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:18,120
Speaker 1: you came from, what college you played at, like where

342
00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:21,120
Speaker 1: you were drafted. It's an adjustment, it is, and it's

343
00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:23,760
Speaker 1: gonna take a little time for you. No one comes

344
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:26,680
Speaker 1: in as like their best self, right. So LT has

345
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,480
Speaker 1: this rookie year that's very good, Okay, don't get me wrong,

346
00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:31,399
Speaker 1: but if you look at like the jump he made

347
00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:35,040
Speaker 1: from year one to year two, it's very noticeable. Right.

348
00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:37,840
Speaker 1: So in year two, okay, the two thousand and two year,

349
00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:40,520
Speaker 1: there's a couple of games that really stand out. Earlier

350
00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:42,840
Speaker 1: in the year, we're playing the New England Patriots at home, okay,

351
00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:44,560
Speaker 1: and these are the Patriots that just won the Super

352
00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:48,000
Speaker 1: Bowl the year before, and LTE just goes off, right.

353
00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:49,760
Speaker 1: It was one of those games, especially where I just

354
00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:51,920
Speaker 1: felt like, just give him the ball because something special

355
00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:54,720
Speaker 1: is going to happen. He rips off two long touchdowns.

356
00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,640
Speaker 1: The second one was ended up being the deciding touchdown.

357
00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,240
Speaker 1: The game winner essentially was a long run one of

358
00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:03,120
Speaker 1: my favorite plays all time. We had a receiver Tim

359
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,880
Speaker 1: Dwight who comes sprinting down the sideline like out of

360
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,439
Speaker 1: nowhere and makes one of the greatest like hustle plays

361
00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:13,960
Speaker 1: to make the final block that springs LT into the

362
00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,040
Speaker 1: end zone. And I mean, it's it's like one of

363
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:17,960
Speaker 1: my favorite plays. And it was such a big game

364
00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:20,280
Speaker 1: for us because we just beat the defending world champions

365
00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:23,320
Speaker 1: and that really kind of was a statement game for LT.

366
00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:25,840
Speaker 1: And that was in a second year. The one that

367
00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:29,119
Speaker 1: stands out to me is just one particular play. It

368
00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,119
Speaker 1: was actually a Qualcomm Stadium and they were playing the

369
00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,959
Speaker 1: Patriots and LT made a move. He came through the

370
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:41,359
Speaker 1: hole over the right guard and he came through and

371
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:46,159
Speaker 1: Teddy Bruski was waiting on and LT almost stopped on

372
00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:50,879
Speaker 1: a dime and like backhopped to where Teddy reached and

373
00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:53,920
Speaker 1: couldn't get him, and then he went forward from that

374
00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:57,000
Speaker 1: through any potential tackle. And I'll never forget. I was

375
00:20:57,040 --> 00:20:59,240
Speaker 1: sitting there with Nick Cannapu and some other folks and

376
00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,199
Speaker 1: we both kind of looked at each other like, that

377
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:04,320
Speaker 1: may be the best five yard run I've ever seen.

378
00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:07,119
Speaker 1: I mean, it was just it was just incredible, you know,

379
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:11,240
Speaker 1: the the athleticism and the ability to stop and start,

380
00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,080
Speaker 1: the suddenness about it. And we saw that so many

381
00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:20,159
Speaker 1: times with him that there were moments where you almost

382
00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:23,200
Speaker 1: took it for granted. But but you know, early on

383
00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:25,719
Speaker 1: when we saw it, we were like, oh man, you know,

384
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,959
Speaker 1: I can speak for myself as a beat writer, I

385
00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:31,399
Speaker 1: had not seen that from a running back in person before.

386
00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,720
Speaker 1: I just remember it was it was a weird game

387
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:39,439
Speaker 1: because we were losing at first, and we started to

388
00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:44,080
Speaker 1: come back, and it actually started on a long run

389
00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,000
Speaker 1: that I had and I remember Tim Dwight being out

390
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:49,560
Speaker 1: in front blocking, you know, he was blocking for me

391
00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:54,639
Speaker 1: and we ran the ball pretty well that day. And

392
00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,879
Speaker 1: I gotta say I remember because after the game, Charlie

393
00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:02,800
Speaker 1: Weiss was with the Patriots, you know, you know, he

394
00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,600
Speaker 1: always said that they were gonna draft me, you know,

395
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,159
Speaker 1: if the Chargers wouldn't have drafted me that year, and

396
00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:12,000
Speaker 1: I just remember after the game he was like, we

397
00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:16,920
Speaker 1: should have had you. So also in that year O

398
00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,000
Speaker 1: two later in the year, we're playing the Broncos at home,

399
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:22,560
Speaker 1: a game that goes into overtime, and LT is just

400
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:24,760
Speaker 1: like a one man wrecking crew. I mean he goes

401
00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:27,959
Speaker 1: for like over two hundred and twenty yards, um, you know,

402
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,480
Speaker 1: adds more through the air. And it was it was

403
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,720
Speaker 1: games like that his second year where you're like, wow,

404
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,640
Speaker 1: like we got something really special. I was tired. I

405
00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,760
Speaker 1: was tired after that game. Um, But it was a

406
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:44,480
Speaker 1: huge game as we started to believe that we were

407
00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:49,359
Speaker 1: superior in our division, that we can compete, and that

408
00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,760
Speaker 1: we were going to be a team, um, that that

409
00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:58,240
Speaker 1: would be vying for division champs for years to come.

410
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,119
Speaker 1: I think that was the moment where we really felt

411
00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:05,680
Speaker 1: like that. But man, that was a tough fall game,

412
00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,399
Speaker 1: and I just remember being exhausted out to that game.

413
00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:11,560
Speaker 1: And then the next year, oh three, a average is

414
00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:13,840
Speaker 1: one hundred yards a game, rushing right has over sixteen

415
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,879
Speaker 1: hundred yards and still had one hundred receptions, So you

416
00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:20,000
Speaker 1: talk about like offensive production, and then it only even

417
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,359
Speaker 1: got better from there. So I would say it was

418
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:25,320
Speaker 1: very early on we knew we had someone incredibly special.

419
00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,679
Speaker 1: In Tomlinson's rookie year, he caught more passes than he

420
00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:32,240
Speaker 1: did his entire four seasons at TCU, and his first

421
00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:35,800
Speaker 1: year under Schottenheimer he caught twenty more than that. By

422
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,639
Speaker 1: two thousand and three, Tomlinson was fourth in the NFL

423
00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:42,679
Speaker 1: with one hundred catches, just one behind Arizona's Anquan Bolden

424
00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,440
Speaker 1: for rookie tight end Antonio Gates, now the all time

425
00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,680
Speaker 1: receptions leader for the Chargers. Seeing a running back put

426
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:53,359
Speaker 1: up those kind of receiving numbers was astonishing. It's never

427
00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:57,560
Speaker 1: been in my opinion again, a guy that can do

428
00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,560
Speaker 1: both in terms of in the run game in the

429
00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:03,680
Speaker 1: past game. I mean, you can just do so much

430
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,320
Speaker 1: with the guy. You know, we ran certain you know,

431
00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:09,800
Speaker 1: h posts with him. You can spray him out and

432
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,560
Speaker 1: you can run a slant, you can use him, you know,

433
00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:13,920
Speaker 1: he was like a chess piece. You can kind of

434
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,280
Speaker 1: use him in different ways. But more importantly, when when

435
00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:20,320
Speaker 1: the time came it was time to run the football, uh,

436
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,880
Speaker 1: he was just unstoppable. And that's something that we emphasized

437
00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:27,520
Speaker 1: the physicality of the football team was about running the football,

438
00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:31,560
Speaker 1: and he was the point of stone of that. While

439
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,560
Speaker 1: dual threat running backs are much more commonplace now, Trotter

440
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:38,280
Speaker 1: and Gates remember just how unheard of this was back

441
00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,200
Speaker 1: in two thousand and three, especially for a player who

442
00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,760
Speaker 1: averaged just ten catches per season in college. And so

443
00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:48,000
Speaker 1: there were folks who didn't know if he had that

444
00:24:48,119 --> 00:24:51,200
Speaker 1: element in his game. And what we quickly learned is

445
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:53,360
Speaker 1: he was one of those guys you could go put

446
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:54,800
Speaker 1: in the slot if you wanted, and you can be

447
00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:58,600
Speaker 1: an extra receiver. He was. He was that good in

448
00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:02,479
Speaker 1: the passing game. Um and so for him to go

449
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:06,080
Speaker 1: one hundred, you know, with a hundred receptions, it didn't

450
00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:09,240
Speaker 1: surprise me at all. I think that was that was

451
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:11,800
Speaker 1: a part of my game that I always had to

452
00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:16,600
Speaker 1: be quite honest, I was always very you know, good

453
00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:20,960
Speaker 1: at catching a ball from a young age. But I think,

454
00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:24,800
Speaker 1: you know, learning how to run routes is something that

455
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:29,120
Speaker 1: I was raw, you know, coming into the league. But

456
00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:31,760
Speaker 1: there was one guy that helped me the you know,

457
00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:34,440
Speaker 1: now I wouldn't I shouldn't say one guy. There was

458
00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,199
Speaker 1: a couple of guys that I gotta get credit that

459
00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:42,400
Speaker 1: helped me the most. Terrell Davis. I'm sorry Terrell Fletcher. First.

460
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,520
Speaker 1: You know, my rookie year, Terrell Fletcher was out standing

461
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:49,720
Speaker 1: third down back, and he was really good at running

462
00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,199
Speaker 1: those anger routes and post routes and option routes. And

463
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,800
Speaker 1: so I really learned how to start to run routes

464
00:25:57,119 --> 00:26:00,480
Speaker 1: from Terrell Fletcher. He was a great teacher, UM and

465
00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,159
Speaker 1: I you know, I learned a lot from him. And

466
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:05,960
Speaker 1: then the other guy was was Marshall Fak. You know,

467
00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:09,600
Speaker 1: I was fortunate to get to know Marshall because he

468
00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,280
Speaker 1: lived in San Diego and we kind of ran in

469
00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:15,440
Speaker 1: the same circle. So we started to play golf with

470
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:18,440
Speaker 1: one another, and I would I would rely on Marshall.

471
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,120
Speaker 1: I would ask him so many questions about running routes, um,

472
00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:24,680
Speaker 1: and he was he was more than happy to share,

473
00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:27,240
Speaker 1: and so that was the reason why I was able

474
00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:30,760
Speaker 1: to take my game to another level one catching the football.

475
00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:34,840
Speaker 1: The other thing is, honestly, Chris, I was. I was

476
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,159
Speaker 1: in buddy. I mean, we didn't have much at that

477
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:39,760
Speaker 1: time in two thousand and three. I mean they had

478
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:42,239
Speaker 1: to throw the football to me in and hand it

479
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:44,960
Speaker 1: to me as well. So that was just I was

480
00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:47,320
Speaker 1: just doing my duty. I mean, if you was a

481
00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:50,480
Speaker 1: come to a game at that time in that era,

482
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,680
Speaker 1: I mean it a sound like this Ladanian Town's not

483
00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:56,760
Speaker 1: gonna carry Ladanian times then on the catch and La

484
00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,240
Speaker 1: times on an incomplete pass. I mean you know what

485
00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,680
Speaker 1: I'm saying. He meant so much to what we were doing.

486
00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:07,440
Speaker 1: I just knew that he was someone we trusted that,

487
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:10,240
Speaker 1: you know, as a whole, like our team, we trusted

488
00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:12,720
Speaker 1: that he would be able to carry it low. Whether

489
00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:14,320
Speaker 1: or not we had to run the ball forty thirty

490
00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:16,040
Speaker 1: forty times, whether or not we had to throw a

491
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:19,920
Speaker 1: two him out of the backfield, whatever we had to do,

492
00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,120
Speaker 1: we had to make sure he found ways to touch

493
00:27:22,119 --> 00:27:24,240
Speaker 1: the football because that gave us the best opportunity to

494
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:27,200
Speaker 1: win the game. Flute started at quarterback a few games

495
00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,640
Speaker 1: that year, including a late season win over Detroit where

496
00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:33,639
Speaker 1: LT had nearly one hundred and fifty yards receiving and

497
00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:37,359
Speaker 1: nine catches on top of twenty five carries. We were

498
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:39,959
Speaker 1: well over two hundred yards in the first half. And

499
00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,320
Speaker 1: two of the plays we're f what we call death post,

500
00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:45,560
Speaker 1: just an angle route by LT out of the backfield,

501
00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:47,960
Speaker 1: stick a start in the round, boom, five yard completion,

502
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:51,200
Speaker 1: splits two guys out runs, the safety goes sixty yards

503
00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:53,520
Speaker 1: for a touchdown. Did it again later first he had

504
00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:55,639
Speaker 1: two of those in the first half of that game,

505
00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,720
Speaker 1: and it's like a little five yard completion for the quarterback.

506
00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,679
Speaker 1: And that's the stuff that you know made him so

507
00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:05,960
Speaker 1: dangerous and versatile. And in the NFL, you win with matchups,

508
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:07,840
Speaker 1: and so what when you have a running back that

509
00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,879
Speaker 1: can run routes, you can get him on linebackers and

510
00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:13,680
Speaker 1: get a mismatch. When you have tight ends that can

511
00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:15,679
Speaker 1: get in line and block, or that motion of the

512
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:18,320
Speaker 1: back feel be a fullback but could still like a

513
00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:22,560
Speaker 1: gronk bounce out there and get a matchup. Now you

514
00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,480
Speaker 1: make teams go regular personnel and you get these matchups

515
00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:28,440
Speaker 1: with your tight ends and your tailbacks, and you run

516
00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,440
Speaker 1: option routes with these guys, and you know, LT was

517
00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:34,560
Speaker 1: just his work, ethic, everything, It just it was so

518
00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:37,120
Speaker 1: much fun to play with LT. And as tom Winson's

519
00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:41,280
Speaker 1: touches increased, the bond between him and Schottenheimer continued to grow.

520
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,440
Speaker 1: You know, LT would have dinners at his house sometimes.

521
00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:47,160
Speaker 1: LT and Latortia would have dinner at his house sometimes.

522
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,840
Speaker 1: And it's that kind of culture, that kind of environment

523
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:54,480
Speaker 1: that makes players feel like they are valued as opposed

524
00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:56,240
Speaker 1: to I'm the head coach, you're the player. You're going

525
00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:58,600
Speaker 1: to do what I say and that's it. And and

526
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,800
Speaker 1: there isn't a connect. And we see that in the NFL.

527
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:05,880
Speaker 1: Unfortunately at times you didn't see that with Marty's teams.

528
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:09,600
Speaker 1: He made these guys feel like they were in it together.

529
00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,360
Speaker 1: And one of the most effective ways that Marty brought

530
00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:16,200
Speaker 1: his Chargers teams together was uniting them against someone else.

531
00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:18,280
Speaker 1: I was going to bring that up because that's a

532
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,680
Speaker 1: very real thing, Okay, like Marty's dislike for the Raiders

533
00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:23,480
Speaker 1: a very real thing. Obviously, he spent a lot of

534
00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:25,640
Speaker 1: time with the Chiefs and then he came here and

535
00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:28,000
Speaker 1: I mean, you knew in the building when it was

536
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,360
Speaker 1: raidor week you knew when it was raidor week, and

537
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:34,040
Speaker 1: again like the team felt that, And I don't think

538
00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,440
Speaker 1: it's just a coincidence. Think about this, Hayley. We beat

539
00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:40,640
Speaker 1: the Raiders thirteen games in a row. Okay, Like, do

540
00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:41,840
Speaker 1: you know how hard that is to do in the

541
00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:45,600
Speaker 1: NFL against a division rival? And that doesn't happen without

542
00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:51,200
Speaker 1: Marty instilling the raidar week mantra Okay in this team.

543
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,200
Speaker 1: And I don't know. I don't think it's a coincidence

544
00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:57,240
Speaker 1: that some of Eltie's best games came against the Raiders.

545
00:29:57,280 --> 00:29:58,840
Speaker 1: I mean, he got up for that game, no doubt.

546
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:02,320
Speaker 1: He got up for every game, okay, but Raid week

547
00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:05,840
Speaker 1: was definitely you knew, you knew when it was Grater week.

548
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:09,440
Speaker 1: Marty hated the Raiders more than any other team, and

549
00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,320
Speaker 1: he was not afraid to show that. And he would

550
00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:16,959
Speaker 1: tell his players that and they adopted that same attitude.

551
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,120
Speaker 1: They loved going up into the coliseum. Yeah, obviously, the

552
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:25,480
Speaker 1: two thousand and two game in Oakland in overtime. You know, still,

553
00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,280
Speaker 1: I still think in our sport, I'm not sure there's

554
00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:32,600
Speaker 1: a more exciting play than a touchdown in overtime that

555
00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:34,840
Speaker 1: ends the game. I just think It's one of the

556
00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:38,840
Speaker 1: most exciting plays in our game, and we've been able

557
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:42,240
Speaker 1: to experience it a number of times. Obviously in the playoffs.

558
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:46,400
Speaker 1: Sprowls did it against the Colts, right, but LT was

559
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,560
Speaker 1: like he was the man when it came to that situation.

560
00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:53,000
Speaker 1: And the O two Oakland game is a perfect example.

561
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,920
Speaker 1: We're in overtime in the black hole. And what made

562
00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:59,560
Speaker 1: it even sweeter was the touchdown that he scored was

563
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,280
Speaker 1: in the end zone where the black Hole Nation sets

564
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:04,480
Speaker 1: up a l sam Pever motion. First in timoth the

565
00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:07,760
Speaker 1: Raider nineteen yard line, give to LT, big hole upside,

566
00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:12,160
Speaker 1: He's gone, He's gone. Touchdown the day and Tumlinson had

567
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:14,880
Speaker 1: the ball. Game is over. And I never forget the

568
00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:18,160
Speaker 1: one time LT scores the winning touchdown and he slides

569
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:21,080
Speaker 1: on both knees and he's got his hands out stretch,

570
00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,960
Speaker 1: you know, like like he's on the cross and they're

571
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:28,959
Speaker 1: just showering him with popcorn, with soda, beer or whatever

572
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:30,280
Speaker 1: you say. And it was right in front of the the

573
00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:35,040
Speaker 1: black Hole and for LT and I'm gonna assume here

574
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:37,440
Speaker 1: knowing the way that I do, that was the greatest

575
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:40,240
Speaker 1: show of respect that Raiders fans could have given him,

576
00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:45,000
Speaker 1: giving him that treatment. They loved beating the Raiders. It

577
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,480
Speaker 1: started with Marty. He instilled that in them, and even

578
00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:53,560
Speaker 1: after Marty was gone, they continued that. You know, for them,

579
00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,840
Speaker 1: there was nothing like beating the Raiders. As Schottenheimer continued

580
00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:59,800
Speaker 1: to sculpt a hard news team in his image, try

581
00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:03,280
Speaker 1: to recalls how Tomlinson took the lead from star to

582
00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:06,840
Speaker 1: superstar and then later as it went on, what you

583
00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:10,760
Speaker 1: realized that his football IQ was so high that the

584
00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:12,880
Speaker 1: game slowed for him. He was like playing at a

585
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:16,920
Speaker 1: different speed. Like it looked like he was relaxed and

586
00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:20,720
Speaker 1: moving without effort, but it was only because his mind

587
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:22,920
Speaker 1: was so far ahead of the defense in terms of

588
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:25,880
Speaker 1: what it was trying to accomplish. That as Marcus Allen

589
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:28,560
Speaker 1: used to say, when I'm making a move, I'm not

590
00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:30,479
Speaker 1: looking at the guy in front of me, I'm already

591
00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:33,240
Speaker 1: buy him. I'm looking at the guy behind him. And

592
00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,440
Speaker 1: that was kind of the way LT was as well.

593
00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:39,560
Speaker 1: The game has slowed so much for him that he

594
00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:42,440
Speaker 1: was a step ahead of the defense in that development

595
00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:46,040
Speaker 1: when hand in hand with Tomlinson's evolving appreciation of the

596
00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:50,760
Speaker 1: Marty ball offense. Yeah, So the funny thing is. I

597
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:53,920
Speaker 1: initially didn't like marty stavorite playing Power. I didn't like

598
00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:58,000
Speaker 1: it because, you know, I felt like I was running

599
00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:01,040
Speaker 1: up the middle all the time. And I remember my

600
00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:03,760
Speaker 1: mom used to always tell she used to always ask

601
00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:07,080
Speaker 1: me when I first got with Marty. When Marty first

602
00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:10,000
Speaker 1: got there my second year. Around my third year, my

603
00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:14,080
Speaker 1: mom kept asking me, why does he always run you

604
00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:18,640
Speaker 1: up the middle? So I had to explain to her

605
00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:22,680
Speaker 1: that's his favorite play the players called power and you

606
00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:25,320
Speaker 1: got to run it up the middle. And she used

607
00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:27,240
Speaker 1: to shake her head, like, I think he does it

608
00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:32,360
Speaker 1: too much. And so initially I didn't like the play

609
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:34,480
Speaker 1: because I felt like I was running up the middle

610
00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:37,280
Speaker 1: a lot. And when you think about it, Chris, I

611
00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:40,840
Speaker 1: came from a style at TCU when we ran on

612
00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:44,240
Speaker 1: the perimeter a lot, So I really had to adjust

613
00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:49,040
Speaker 1: my game to running inside more. But my favorite plays,

614
00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:53,080
Speaker 1: my favorite plays were, you know, the counter plays where

615
00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:56,480
Speaker 1: you start one direction and you go back to other directions.

616
00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,560
Speaker 1: I love the toss plays where I can get out

617
00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:03,320
Speaker 1: on the term. You know, those were my favorite plays.

618
00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,320
Speaker 1: I gotta say Power probably didn't become one of my

619
00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:10,160
Speaker 1: favorite plays until, you know, later in my career and

620
00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:13,319
Speaker 1: in two thousand and five, a physical touchdown burst right

621
00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:15,960
Speaker 1: up the gut against the Patriots would end up being

622
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:19,719
Speaker 1: the NFL run Tomlinson is most proud of. You picked

623
00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:27,959
Speaker 1: up eight so second and two to another rushing us down.

624
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:32,200
Speaker 1: You know I heard running backs say this before that. Oftentimes,

625
00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:36,000
Speaker 1: you know, your favorite run is just, you know, a

626
00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:40,520
Speaker 1: short run. You know, it's usually not the long runs.

627
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:45,600
Speaker 1: And here's why. Usually on the long runs, it was

628
00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:49,120
Speaker 1: great blocking. Everybody did everything they was supposed to do.

629
00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:51,880
Speaker 1: You know, you did your job, play work just like

630
00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:55,239
Speaker 1: you drew it up. On the hard runs, you have

631
00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:58,520
Speaker 1: to make sometimes things happen. You know, you have to

632
00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:00,920
Speaker 1: make somebody miss, You have to over somebody. You have

633
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:06,040
Speaker 1: to show a certain level of determination and grit to

634
00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:08,600
Speaker 1: get to where you need to go. And on that

635
00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:13,040
Speaker 1: eight yard run against the Patriots, I believe I displayed

636
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:20,000
Speaker 1: everything that a running back should. I made somebody miss. Initially,

637
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,440
Speaker 1: as soon as I got the ball, I broke a

638
00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:26,279
Speaker 1: tackle to get through the hole. Once I got through

639
00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:28,759
Speaker 1: the hole, about four or five yards from the end zone,

640
00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:33,160
Speaker 1: I was contacted. And the determination and grit to drive

641
00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:37,280
Speaker 1: a dragging a man five yards into the end zone,

642
00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:41,719
Speaker 1: I mean that, you know, I surprised myself, Chris. I

643
00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:44,520
Speaker 1: gotta be honest with you that at that time. Later

644
00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:47,359
Speaker 1: that same two thousand and five season, LT had yet

645
00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:51,360
Speaker 1: another iconic run, this one a walk off overtime touchdown

646
00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:53,959
Speaker 1: in our nation's capital. It was a moment that John

647
00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:57,759
Speaker 1: Spinners and former Chargers guard Mike Golf remember well. And

648
00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:00,799
Speaker 1: then he had another walk off. Actually, we're playing Washington

649
00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:05,120
Speaker 1: in DC in overtime and you know, one of his

650
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:08,880
Speaker 1: icons and a guy he really respected with safety, Sean Taylor,

651
00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:12,000
Speaker 1: was an incredible player, and you know, it was kind

652
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,840
Speaker 1: of a great head to head matchup, and in overtime

653
00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:17,320
Speaker 1: he got the ball and was able to get pass

654
00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:20,239
Speaker 1: Sean and score a touchdown to win the game. I

655
00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:24,400
Speaker 1: do remember that game because we we we flew across

656
00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:27,240
Speaker 1: the Countrury and that's always difficult. You've been on those trips,

657
00:36:27,239 --> 00:36:30,240
Speaker 1: and then we got off to a slow start. And

658
00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:34,960
Speaker 1: I think that the great thing about that team and

659
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:37,960
Speaker 1: just that the five years I was here, there was

660
00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:42,560
Speaker 1: never any need for panic, and you just we all

661
00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:44,400
Speaker 1: we all knew it. We all knew what was happening,

662
00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:47,000
Speaker 1: but we all knew that we would just had to

663
00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:50,120
Speaker 1: continue to stay the path. We knew that if we

664
00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:53,520
Speaker 1: just were able to get our job, if we got

665
00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:56,520
Speaker 1: our job done up front, that man could make anything happen.

666
00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,360
Speaker 1: And so I think, when you get a chance to

667
00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:01,840
Speaker 1: just realize that, hey, this isn't good enough, either do

668
00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:04,239
Speaker 1: one of two things. You either accept it being not

669
00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:07,080
Speaker 1: good enough, or you do something about it. And we

670
00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:09,720
Speaker 1: came out in the second half, and I'll never forget

671
00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:12,760
Speaker 1: that game. One eight touchdown we had, we had fifty

672
00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:15,759
Speaker 1: power called pulled around the corner. I hit one of

673
00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:18,600
Speaker 1: the safeties. I saw, I saw him run like awesome,

674
00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:22,880
Speaker 1: Let's go home. I'm tired. First overtime possession, Ladany and

675
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:26,560
Speaker 1: Tom Winson. He sneaks by Washington, breaks it free, and

676
00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:30,400
Speaker 1: the San Diego Chargers have won in overtime, a forty

677
00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:36,560
Speaker 1: one yard touchdown run. How about that? A place for

678
00:37:36,719 --> 00:37:39,720
Speaker 1: Shottneimer was fired in the two thousand and one season

679
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,360
Speaker 1: is a place where he is victorious. In two thousand

680
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:47,080
Speaker 1: and five. It was a moment that was burned into

681
00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:50,759
Speaker 1: the memory of former Washington safety Ryan Clark. So we're

682
00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:53,120
Speaker 1: in coming four, I means I have quarters and Ladany

683
00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:55,120
Speaker 1: gets the football. He breaks it up the middle, and

684
00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:56,960
Speaker 1: I'm a pretty good tackler. You know, at the time,

685
00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,960
Speaker 1: I wasn't the biggest guy. It's time eighty five one ninety,

686
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:02,040
Speaker 1: but that was my thing. I got people to the ground.

687
00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,600
Speaker 1: So here it is, I'm squeezing Ladanian's him doing everything right,

688
00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:08,440
Speaker 1: everything like I've been taught. I'm expecting the other safety

689
00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:10,520
Speaker 1: to be coming to sandwich him with me, and he's

690
00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:13,480
Speaker 1: not there, so I'm by myself. But all as well

691
00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:16,479
Speaker 1: overfield tackle and playing football. So I was four years old,

692
00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:20,200
Speaker 1: I understand it. And Ladanian is kind of running away

693
00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:22,000
Speaker 1: from me, so I leave my feet to get him.

694
00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:25,800
Speaker 1: And normally you leave your feet, you grab a guy,

695
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:29,200
Speaker 1: you get him to the ground. Bro Ladanian stiff arm game.

696
00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:32,640
Speaker 1: And I swear it was like one of those cartoons

697
00:38:32,719 --> 00:38:34,920
Speaker 1: or one of those graphics where the dude get stiff

698
00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:37,759
Speaker 1: arm and he ends up going through the ground. Like

699
00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:39,680
Speaker 1: that's what I felt like. I felt like he's stiff

700
00:38:39,719 --> 00:38:42,680
Speaker 1: forming me through the freaking grass man. And and you

701
00:38:42,719 --> 00:38:44,560
Speaker 1: know they tell you hop up like the ground's on fire,

702
00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:47,080
Speaker 1: so I hop up. Man. He ends up scoring a touchdown,

703
00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:50,240
Speaker 1: and I just remember him celebrating, and it's like I remember,

704
00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:52,440
Speaker 1: it's overtime, and so I chase him to the end

705
00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:54,399
Speaker 1: zone and I just run straight in the locker room.

706
00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:57,120
Speaker 1: I don't stop, I don't pass go, I don't collect

707
00:38:57,120 --> 00:39:00,319
Speaker 1: two hundred dollars nothing, And it was just to me,

708
00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:04,000
Speaker 1: man like, it just really was an example of who

709
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:08,400
Speaker 1: this dude was that normally those players don't happen and

710
00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:11,319
Speaker 1: over time. Normally, you know, it's about the quarterback, it's

711
00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:14,120
Speaker 1: about the wide receivers. But a dude like him could

712
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:16,840
Speaker 1: get you sixty yards like that, right, could get you

713
00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:20,799
Speaker 1: a touchdown like that. And when you're so good man

714
00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:24,319
Speaker 1: that you have a walk off runs right like like

715
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:27,400
Speaker 1: a Michael Jordan shot, like Kobe Bryant shot. You know,

716
00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:29,440
Speaker 1: that's why that dude has a gold jacket. And that's

717
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:31,799
Speaker 1: truly why he's one of the greatest running backs to

718
00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:33,759
Speaker 1: have ever played the game. And it was the late

719
00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:36,920
Speaker 1: Sean Taylor that brought the best out of Thomlinson that day.

720
00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:40,080
Speaker 1: I remember just the back and forth, the competitiveness that

721
00:39:40,239 --> 00:39:43,439
Speaker 1: Sean and I were going back and forth, and then

722
00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:48,120
Speaker 1: after the game to embrace the way we did, the

723
00:39:48,239 --> 00:39:52,560
Speaker 1: mutual respect that I think we both were trying to

724
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:55,480
Speaker 1: gain from one another throughout that game because obviously it

725
00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:59,080
Speaker 1: was our first time facing one another. But to have

726
00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:03,719
Speaker 1: that mutual backed after game after the game, um, that's

727
00:40:03,719 --> 00:40:06,319
Speaker 1: what I remember the most, you know it. You know,

728
00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:09,560
Speaker 1: that was an incredible game, one of the hardest but

729
00:40:09,719 --> 00:40:12,920
Speaker 1: most gratifying games that I played in with Gates and

730
00:40:13,040 --> 00:40:16,640
Speaker 1: John Spanos. The walkoff score was yet another example of

731
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:20,359
Speaker 1: just how special Thomlinson was to the Chargers offense. He

732
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:22,759
Speaker 1: had so many of those, so it wasn't I mean,

733
00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:25,440
Speaker 1: he don't have like a true moment that he sticks

734
00:40:25,480 --> 00:40:28,120
Speaker 1: out because he had so many moments in my mind,

735
00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:31,440
Speaker 1: and he had he had so many memories with me

736
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:35,239
Speaker 1: and with the organization where it's very hard to try

737
00:40:35,280 --> 00:40:38,160
Speaker 1: to start pinpoint things out on the row. But I

738
00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:40,560
Speaker 1: do remember that game. I do remember him, you know,

739
00:40:40,719 --> 00:40:42,680
Speaker 1: setting the game with a long run for us to

740
00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:45,600
Speaker 1: win because watched him like every time he touched the ball,

741
00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:48,400
Speaker 1: you felt like something special could happen, you know, And

742
00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:51,160
Speaker 1: when when when you watch games, you know, like I

743
00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:53,759
Speaker 1: sit upstairs and watch every game, right and you know,

744
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:56,200
Speaker 1: I have my you know, in Charger's employee had on.

745
00:40:56,239 --> 00:40:58,239
Speaker 1: I had my fan had on. You know, sometimes as

746
00:40:58,239 --> 00:41:01,120
Speaker 1: a game is unfolding. You might have like some opinions

747
00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:02,480
Speaker 1: about what kind of play. You know, what do we

748
00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:03,960
Speaker 1: want to run? Do we want to pass here? Or

749
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:07,080
Speaker 1: what are we gonna do? When we had Ladanian Tomlinson

750
00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:10,200
Speaker 1: on our team, I was good with a Ladanian Tomlinson

751
00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:12,640
Speaker 1: run on one hundred percent of the plays because I

752
00:41:12,719 --> 00:41:19,560
Speaker 1: knew anytime he touched it he might score. Hey, everybody,

753
00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:24,080
Speaker 1: Lazydog Restaurants is spreading holiday cheer with these fundy gingerbread

754
00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:27,240
Speaker 1: house kids to take home. It's fun because they parted

755
00:41:27,239 --> 00:41:30,800
Speaker 1: with Habitat for Humanity. One percent of the net proceeds

756
00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:34,160
Speaker 1: from gingerbread houses sold will build homes at our community.

757
00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:37,200
Speaker 1: The kids come with everything you need from icing to

758
00:41:37,360 --> 00:41:40,640
Speaker 1: gum drops and other candies to build the best looking house.

759
00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:43,400
Speaker 1: I can't wait to make mine with my family and friends.

760
00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:46,320
Speaker 1: You can see what it's all about at Lazydog Restaurants

761
00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:52,640
Speaker 1: dot com. In two thousand and five, victories over New

762
00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:55,239
Speaker 1: England and Washington wouldn't be enough for the team to

763
00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:58,120
Speaker 1: make the postseason. The Chargers would miss the playoffs at

764
00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:00,600
Speaker 1: nine and seven. But that's not what it stands out

765
00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:03,239
Speaker 1: to Edwards about the end of that season, what he

766
00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:06,279
Speaker 1: remembers is the message Marty had for his team. I'll

767
00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:09,520
Speaker 1: never forget this. He's like, He's like, I don't want

768
00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:12,879
Speaker 1: the best players, I want the best people. And I'm

769
00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:14,640
Speaker 1: sitting in the back at the meeting, like, what the

770
00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:16,840
Speaker 1: hell is this guy talking about? I want the best players,

771
00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:19,520
Speaker 1: Like give me the yeah, give me the best three

772
00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:23,320
Speaker 1: technique you know in front of me. We need some dvs.

773
00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:25,640
Speaker 1: But you know, as I got older, I started to

774
00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:27,719
Speaker 1: realize and I really had an opportunity to talk to

775
00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:29,440
Speaker 1: him after I said, you know what, coach, I think

776
00:42:29,480 --> 00:42:32,280
Speaker 1: I was a little too young to really comprehend exactly

777
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:35,719
Speaker 1: what you're meaning when you're talking to you know, the

778
00:42:35,760 --> 00:42:39,120
Speaker 1: team meeting, and uh, you want good quality people that

779
00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:42,480
Speaker 1: buy into the system, that that that that want to win.

780
00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:45,759
Speaker 1: Considering how the Chargers performed the following year and O six,

781
00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:49,480
Speaker 1: Schottenheimer may have been on to something. For Merryman and Gates.

782
00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:52,000
Speaker 1: It was always about more than just football to Marty.

783
00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:54,800
Speaker 1: In two thousand and five, my rookie year, you know,

784
00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:57,360
Speaker 1: I had that big hit against Kansas City against Priests Holmes,

785
00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:00,160
Speaker 1: and uh, you know he was out, he was he

786
00:43:00,239 --> 00:43:02,400
Speaker 1: was out, and it was a big hit, big collision,

787
00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:04,520
Speaker 1: and I got up and I was celebrating and I

788
00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:06,719
Speaker 1: was kind of just courting them moment moment, my adrenaline

789
00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:09,080
Speaker 1: was rushing, and I remember running on to the sidelines

790
00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:11,320
Speaker 1: because we had to go to commercial break pre songs

791
00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:14,520
Speaker 1: were still down. Um. And as I'm celebrating, I'm excited,

792
00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:17,520
Speaker 1: Marty Schottenhammer comes and he grasped me by the face

793
00:43:17,560 --> 00:43:21,240
Speaker 1: mask and he says, Hey, great hit, but don't forget

794
00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:25,560
Speaker 1: that this guy's family and his friends relatives are watching him.

795
00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:29,600
Speaker 1: And at that moment, um I came down and I

796
00:43:29,719 --> 00:43:32,560
Speaker 1: realized that he's writing, Um, you know, it's a big hit,

797
00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:36,400
Speaker 1: great play, but you know it was a human aspect

798
00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:38,839
Speaker 1: to it, and that was just Marty. Marty Schottenhammer Man

799
00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:42,719
Speaker 1: he um, like I said, he he is still a

800
00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:47,400
Speaker 1: lot of things that goes far beyond the football field. Um.

801
00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:50,799
Speaker 1: And you know that's why I'll always missing Oh. And

802
00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:55,200
Speaker 1: he was one of the best motivators I've ever been around.

803
00:43:55,560 --> 00:44:04,279
Speaker 1: And he um emphasize toughness to our team. He emphasized

804
00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:09,160
Speaker 1: planning for one another, hold each other accountable. He was,

805
00:44:09,400 --> 00:44:13,120
Speaker 1: you know, a big part of me in terms of

806
00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:17,719
Speaker 1: my growth as a football player. So you know, he's

807
00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:21,680
Speaker 1: very special to me. He's always He's always and always

808
00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:24,440
Speaker 1: will be very special to me because of he was

809
00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:29,120
Speaker 1: my first coach, so I can just remember the times

810
00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:32,600
Speaker 1: of how he would always call us out because he

811
00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:34,879
Speaker 1: wanted us to be accountable for everything that we did,

812
00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:38,400
Speaker 1: which internally made as a better football team because we

813
00:44:38,440 --> 00:44:42,080
Speaker 1: grew as people, we grew as football players. So he's

814
00:44:42,200 --> 00:44:45,360
Speaker 1: very special to me. Marty Schottenheimer understood that if he

815
00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:48,560
Speaker 1: wanted to rebuild the Chargers, he needed his players to

816
00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:51,400
Speaker 1: buy in. His goal was to create an atmosphere of

817
00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:54,880
Speaker 1: hard nosed players committed to the singular goal of winning

818
00:44:55,280 --> 00:44:58,680
Speaker 1: by forcing their opponent to submit. As try to realize

819
00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:01,440
Speaker 1: during his time covering the Bowl, that kind of coaching

820
00:45:01,480 --> 00:45:04,440
Speaker 1: mentality is one that could have only come from a

821
00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:07,279
Speaker 1: certain kind of former player, and he was not a

822
00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:10,840
Speaker 1: star player. Marty would tell you he was kind of

823
00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:12,960
Speaker 1: a grunt. He didn't have great speed, he didn't have

824
00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:15,640
Speaker 1: great athleticism. He kind of had to work for what

825
00:45:15,719 --> 00:45:18,839
Speaker 1: he got. Secondly, I think the thing that related was

826
00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:23,439
Speaker 1: he created a family atmosphere. His wife Pat was sort

827
00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:26,680
Speaker 1: of the matriarch. Wherever Marty went, there there was a

828
00:45:26,719 --> 00:45:29,320
Speaker 1: family atmosphere where you have Marty who was a patriarch

829
00:45:29,360 --> 00:45:32,160
Speaker 1: and his wife was a matriarch, and they created this

830
00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:38,600
Speaker 1: environment where it felt like family for the players. Lastly,

831
00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:41,200
Speaker 1: I would say Marty was as he liked to say

832
00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:43,960
Speaker 1: or consider herself, he was a great communicator, and that

833
00:45:44,080 --> 00:45:47,400
Speaker 1: rubbed some people the wrong way. But I think he

834
00:45:47,480 --> 00:45:51,680
Speaker 1: did like to draw very bright lines with his players,

835
00:45:51,680 --> 00:45:54,600
Speaker 1: with the media, with whomever, and he would tell you

836
00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:59,000
Speaker 1: what he expected from you. And anyone who knows Marty

837
00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:01,640
Speaker 1: knows how emotional he was, and so he wasn't afraid

838
00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:03,920
Speaker 1: to shed a tear, you know, whether it was in

839
00:46:03,960 --> 00:46:06,080
Speaker 1: front of his players or in front of the media

840
00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:09,200
Speaker 1: in certain situations. And I think they felt that he cared,

841
00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:15,000
Speaker 1: though sometimes I guess things aligned. And you know, the

842
00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:18,640
Speaker 1: football guys, if you will, you know, they shine on

843
00:46:18,760 --> 00:46:23,319
Speaker 1: your times. And I tell you, for me to have

844
00:46:23,440 --> 00:46:27,280
Speaker 1: someone that believed in me to give me the opportunity

845
00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:30,040
Speaker 1: to put the ball in my belly as much as

846
00:46:30,040 --> 00:46:33,279
Speaker 1: he did, you know, that's all you can ask for

847
00:46:33,880 --> 00:46:36,319
Speaker 1: is for a coach to believe in you, to give

848
00:46:36,360 --> 00:46:40,640
Speaker 1: you every opportunity possible, you know, so that you can

849
00:46:40,680 --> 00:46:46,799
Speaker 1: help win games for your team. This has been an

850
00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:50,360
Speaker 1: LA Charger's production. Coming up next on Running for History.

851
00:46:50,760 --> 00:46:54,080
Speaker 1: Before we explore Tomlinson's record breaking two thousand and six

852
00:46:54,280 --> 00:46:56,680
Speaker 1: MVP season, we have to take a look at the

853
00:46:56,680 --> 00:46:59,719
Speaker 1: guys up front who made it all possible. Like you

854
00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:04,440
Speaker 1: do you think about blue collar guys that get up

855
00:47:04,440 --> 00:47:07,600
Speaker 1: in the morning early, you know, before the crack of dawn,

856
00:47:08,160 --> 00:47:10,719
Speaker 1: they pack their lunch. In fact, they already have their

857
00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:13,359
Speaker 1: lunch pack at night, you know, so when they get

858
00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:15,360
Speaker 1: up in the morning, they just gonna grab that joker

859
00:47:15,680 --> 00:47:18,200
Speaker 1: and they're all to work. And as soon as they

860
00:47:18,239 --> 00:47:20,680
Speaker 1: get out their car, they put that hard head on

861
00:47:21,480 --> 00:47:24,399
Speaker 1: because they know it's time to go to work. Man,

862
00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:28,920
Speaker 1: they are to me, they are the reason that things

863
00:47:28,960 --> 00:47:32,560
Speaker 1: happen for myself, for guy like ladnian h guy like Philip,

864
00:47:32,680 --> 00:47:37,000
Speaker 1: for guy like you. I mean, those are true warriors.

865
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:39,480
Speaker 1: To me. I love the point because man, it's gonna

866
00:47:39,560 --> 00:47:41,400
Speaker 1: hurt when you go run around their full speed and

867
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:43,200
Speaker 1: you run into some big you're gonna ru on the

868
00:47:43,280 --> 00:47:46,399
Speaker 1: other side, it's gonna hurt. Is it gonna hurt me?

869
00:47:46,719 --> 00:47:48,840
Speaker 1: Or is it gonna hurt you? And who's it gonna hurt? More? So,

870
00:47:48,840 --> 00:47:50,560
Speaker 1: I wanted to make I want to expect as much

871
00:47:50,600 --> 00:47:54,080
Speaker 1: pain on you. It might not always start pretty, and

872
00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:56,640
Speaker 1: sometimes people are gonna have a good game plan, but

873
00:47:57,120 --> 00:47:59,680
Speaker 1: you aren't gonna abandon that. You are gonna keep grinding,

874
00:47:59,760 --> 00:48:02,000
Speaker 1: your keep chopping. You were going to keep doing everything

875
00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:05,600
Speaker 1: that you had to do to go win, to go

876
00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:08,040
Speaker 1: win the game, and you're gonna do it running the ball.

877
00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:10,839
Speaker 1: And I think that was a that was just such

878
00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:13,120
Speaker 1: a you take pride in it as an offensive one

879
00:48:13,719 --> 00:48:17,440
Speaker 1: and when you're running back has over one hundred and

880
00:48:17,480 --> 00:48:20,400
Speaker 1: fifty yards at the game, you kind of grab a

881
00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:22,800
Speaker 1: cold beer after the game and you say, hey, we

882
00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:26,640
Speaker 1: got the job done this week onto the next. That's

883
00:48:26,680 --> 00:48:30,520
Speaker 1: how I character rise. Those guys never wanted to credit,

884
00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:34,640
Speaker 1: but you can depend on them. And they were the

885
00:48:34,719 --> 00:48:39,160
Speaker 1: guys that where my bodyguards, lead me through the lead

886
00:48:39,200 --> 00:48:43,200
Speaker 1: me wherever I needed to go. And I always knew

887
00:48:43,239 --> 00:48:45,840
Speaker 1: that they would show up. I always knew they would