Tomlinson pays respect to Payton

A day after passing the legendary Walter Payton on the NFL’s all-time rushing touchdowns list, LaDainian Tomlinson wore the jersey of his childhood idol as he addressed the media.  He discussed his admiration for Payton and his desire to be like him on and off the field. 

“It’s a special occasion. I usually leave it at the house but obviously it’s fitting in this situation.”

 

“I think so.  I think it is because he was obviously someone I idolized as a kid…a childhood hero, whatever you want to call it.  He was that for me, so it is a little more special for me.”

 

“No I didn’t.  That’s a part that I would have loved to do but I never did get the chance or opportunity (to meet him).  But I felt like I knew him anyway because I saw him so much on television and what not.  I felt like I did know him.”

 

“I learned what character is all about I think.  Even from afar.  I learned how to be humble.  I think I also learned how to compete the right way.  I think those are very important things I definitely learned by watching.”

 

“Definitely.  He was a guy that was a superstar and it wasn’t just his superstar ability that I looked to even though that was the part that I was drawn to.  It was obvious that there was something else about him that was different.  He didn’t tell you he was a superstar and didn’t brag about it or whatnot.  It just seams the way he handled people was the way you should.  Someone of his nature and his abilities, the way he handled things...”

 

“She had a great spirit, just a strong spirit.  She’s just a loving, nice lady from just talking to her.  Then getting a chance to meet his son and daughter … (feeling) the same way with them.  I was very impressed with the family.  Just talking with them and getting to know them a little bit, I kind of felt like here was a man that I knew what he meant to me but this was a piece of him, all three of them.  I remember that Ms. Payton told me that her daughter said that out of everybody that I reminded her of her father.  For me at the time, it was a humbling experience.”

 

“No, I didn’t have that option.  I never wanted to pick the same number as any of the athletes or the running backs that I admire simply because I felt like they chose their number for a reason.  It was my point to chose my own number and make that number something special.  So I wouldn’t pick 34.  I picked my own number.  Thirty-four is what Walter wore.  People remember him by that.  It wouldn’t be right for me to pick the number.  I felt like I needed my own number to be known by that.”

 

 

“For me it was with Barry (Sanders) and Emmitt (Smith) at the time when I was growing up, junior high school and high school.  Barry and Emmitt were the two guys that obviously I looked up to.  They were guys kind of my size.  They wore 20 and 22 and little guys wore their numbers.  I said 21.”

 

 

“I actually picked my college number.  I always really enjoyed watching…I remember Garrison Hearst when he was at Georgia.  He wore 5.  I really enjoyed watching him.  I really loved the way he ran at Georgia.  Then other guys came along wearing 5: Edgerrin James and guys like that.  I felt like 5 was the number I wanted.  I remember my freshman year in high school that was the number I asked for because of Garrison Hearst when he was at Georgia.”

 

“Nick is just the captain on that offensive line and he seams to help those guys out in certain ways where he may feel like he knows when each guy on that line needs help.  He just has a knack for knowing what’s going on out there; not only the holes that are being created by those guys but the pass protection, just the communication factor of who to block.  I think he makes it clear for everybody out there exactly who we’re supposed to be blocking.  Most of the time I already know what Nick is thinking.  I think we all do because we’ve played with him so much.  We know when we walk up to the line we all get a certain look out there and we know where Nick is going.  That makes a difference.  That makes a difference if you know what your center is thinking because he makes the calls out there.”

 

“You see everything at the snap.  You all see it.  But sometimes you may see the look, if it’s Cory (Withrow), Cory may not make a certain call.  He might not make the call that Nick makes.  It was a bit of an adjustment.  Now with Nick back we’re all on the same page because we’ve worked together.  We’ve been working together since the offseason so we know exactly how each other think.”

 

“He’s a smart guy.  He’s a very smart guy even though he’s a little on edge sometimes and keeps guys loose.  He’s very smart.  He knows exactly what’s going on.”

 

“It’s just another 1,000-yard season.  I expected to have 1,000 yards.  We’ve talked about this a little bit before, but 1,000 yards, it’s not hard to do in this league to be honest with you.  I think it’s just a consistency thing.  I’ve been able to stay healthy.  If you stay healthy you should be able to run for 1,000 yards.”

“Lorenzo, I can’t tell you the last time he didn’t block for a 1,000-yard rusher.  That just shows you the consistency he has and the way that he’s able to…he seams like he’s always there and always dependable and in the right place at the right time.”

 

“I don’t know.  During the course of the game I couldn’t really tell how he was doing or what.  You really don’t know until you look back on the film.  Obviously everyone has talked about the kind of game he’s had.  I haven’t watched the film yet so I’m going to be anxious to see how he played.  I know he played well because on certain plays I saw him getting that block.  It was good to see.  Obviously on the sideline you talk about it.  ‘I was able to get that man’ and have conversations like that.  I knew he was having a pretty good day.”

 

“Yeah, there were good holes there.  There were really good holes there, room enough to get through them and have room to work.  Any time we’re playing like that, it’s going to be a good day for us.  We’ve had a few games where it’s gone like that for us.  Hopefully now we just continue to play like that.  I think we’re gaining some confidence.  I think we’re really getting what we do well now.  We’re starting to do those things that we do well at.  We’ll keep it up.  We’ve got another tough one this week with Tennessee.  We’re going to see where we are after this game.”

 

“I hope so.  That’s how it usually works is the tradition and the legacy continues of showing the younger generation who comes after you how to do it the right way and what steps to take to be successful.  I think we have to get the kids to really listen now.  It’s amazing that so many of the kids now are getting bad I would say with guns and all this kind of stuff with the Sean Taylor incident.  These guys are teenagers.  It’s mind boggling to me where we are right now.  Somewhere along the line we have lost I think the proper respect for the guys that have come before you.  We have to get that back, but it takes a lot of us.  We have to all say something about it and stand up and take responsibility for what’s going on right now.”

 

“I don’t know.  It would definitely be an honor.  I’m pretty sure that day is going to come where some kid passes me up.  Whether I’m still alive or not, that’s yet to be seen.  I think it’s the sign of the ultimate respect just to say thank you.  That’s my whole point in this just to say thank you like I said yesterday for allowing a kid like myself to really dream and imagine that I can go beyond my wildest dreams.  That’s what it’s about for me.”

 

“I don’t know.  I probably would have continued to play the game just because that’s what you do.  Your friends are playing; you play.  I don’t think I would have had the same kind of passion for it.  For some reason I just saw it in him.  I saw the passion and the commitment, him running the hills and the things that he did out on the field and different things that he did to train and prepare himself for things like that.  I saw it in him.  I guess that’s where I kind of…I remember I asked my mom for a weight set at six (years old).  He was part of the reason why I did that.  I told her, ‘I need a weight set because if I’m going to make it to the NFL I’ve got to be big.  I’ve got to get stronger.’  It was because of those guys.”

 

“I think it would be a solid tape because I try to take pride in stepping up and blocking linebackers and cutting down defensive ends and secondary guys.  I have too much pride to say that my man beat me and I gave up a sack.  That’s how I think about it.  I think Walter was the same way.  That’s why you saw him sometimes do it so violently when he blocked people.  That’s the way I feel about it.”

 

“No I don’t think so.  It wouldn’t. There’s nothing like scoring a touchdown.  Touchdowns are sweet.”

 

“No, that’s the best nickname you could have.”

 

“I think (it fit) his personality really.  The way he was with people; his family.  Just him as a person.  I think it was because obviously his talk was also…he wasn’t a guy that yelled and screamed or whatnot.  It was soft spoken.  I think ‘Sweetness’ just kind of stayed with him.”

 

“I think I respect that the most.  It was a team when he first got there, it wasn’t good at all.  The thing about him was that he didn’t say, ‘I want to get out of here.  Trade me.  This team is not good.  I should be somewhere else.  I’m getting my head knocked off every play.’  That wasn’t him.  He was a guy that said, ‘You know what, I’m going to be part of the solution of helping us turn this thing around and win a championship.’  For me that’s what it’s been about the whole time.  A guy that didn’t go to the best team.  He had to withstand and persevere some hard times.  In the end, he had the ultimately prize.  He won a Super Bowl.  For me, that’s more gratifying and I have so much more respect for him doing that than anything else.”

 

“There are definitely some similarities between us in that way.  It was a team that was struggling when I first got here; then now becoming a solid team in this league and a team that’s going to be able to compete each year for a playoff spot.  Let’s just hope my career ends like his with a Super Bowl ring.  That’s all I can ask for.”

 

“I can’t tell you.”