Go Ahead, Count Out L.T.

Everywhere you look, LaDainian Tomlinson is ranked behind Maurice Jones-Drew, Michael Turner, and Matt Forte in fantasy football rankings.

Every fantasy geek out there wants you to believe L.T. is washed up. They say the soon-to-be 30-year-old back is on line to finish his career similar to Shaun Alexander, Edgerrin James, Priest Holmes, and Ahman Green.

They will also tell you Darren Sproles is going to take his carries away, which is yet another reason his production will dwindle in 2009.

They are all wrong.

It's easy to see why people want to burry L.T.

We live in a sports world where fans always ask, "What have you done for me lately?" Unfortunately this short-sighted mind set leads to people forgetting about the past.

It wasn't too long ago that we debated about L.T.'s all-time greatness. He was compared to the likes of Emmitt Smith, Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, and Walter Payton, to name a few.

And now he's getting roped in with the Edge because he missed a playoff game last year and his backup had the game of his life against a porous run defense in the Indianapolis Colts?

Forget the fact that Sproles only had 15 yards of rushing on 11 carries against the Steelers the next week and that L.T. has at least 1,500 yards of total offense in each of his eight years in the NFL.

Let's compare L.T. to the all-time greats and see how they did in their ninth NFL season. That seems like the only fair thing to do. After all, we once thought he could go down as the greatest running back of all time.

Don't let this turn into a debate about the greatest running back of all-time. I will use the four names listed above for the following reasons: Emmitt Smith is the all-time leading rusher, Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, and Walter Payton are considered the greatest running backs of all-time.

I will even toss in the season they had when they turned 30, if it was not their ninth year in the league.

Smith routinely had over 300 carries and in his ninth season in the NFL he carried it 319 times and piled up 1,332 yards on the ground. The next year he turned 30, missed one game and yet saw his carries and yards go up to 329 and he churned out 1,397 yards.

Brown turned 29 in his ninth year and then retired. But everyone will tell you his best years were still ahead of him, and it is hard to argue.

In his final season he carried the ball 289 times and racked up 1,544 rushing yards. Not bad considering they only played 14 games in 1965.

Sanders posted his best rushing stats during his ninth season. He compiled 2,053 yards on the ground through 335 carries.

His production dropped the next year when he turned 30 to a measly 1,491 yards on 343 carries.

In Payton's ninth season, he tuned up defenses for 1,421 rushing yards on 314 carries. When he turned 30 in his next season, he rushed for 1,684 yards on a career-high 381 carries.

So is there anything to the dreaded ninth year in the NFL or the magical old age of 30? History doesn't suggest it. And don't tell me L.T. has too many injuries. He has never missed a regular season in his career. The last time I checked, traditional fantasy football was all about the regular season.

So why does everyone want to jump on Jones-Drew?

He has started only four games in his NFL career and he has never had over 200 rushing attempts in a season. Who is to say that can handle the additional work load with his aggressive running style?

And do you really want to rely on Forte and Turner? They are only in their second season of assuming the duties of a full-time running back.

I'm not saying these players don't deserve credit, but they don't deserve it as much as L.T. In this era of sports do not get caught up in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately syndrome. Because if you do, you will forget about the past.