Time to Trade Tomlinson?

The guys who used to run TINO Sports Page have an impressive new fantasy football blog, and this one appears to have more of a dynasty league angle. Below is an interesting article from their new FootballJabber.com, but I had a tough time choosing which one to run here. They also have several thought-provoking general dynasty strategy articles and a front-page analysis of the top fantasy QB for 2008.

When to trade LaDainian Tomlinson? A Dynasty Dilemma

by TD Hill @ March 19, 2008

The ultimate quandary for dynasty league football owners is figuring out when it’s the right time to move that special player that consistently made you perennial playoff favorites. For many LT2 owners that time, unfortunately, is now.

After seven straight seasons of dominance his presence alone on your squad made up for any questionable roster move you may have made. Despite a few weak links in your starting lineup, you still were able to strike fear in your opponents heart as they waited all Sunday to watch him single handily beat their team. Despite not matching his career plateaus set the previous season, Tomlinson was still able to churn out nearly 2,000 total yards and almost 20 touchdowns at age 28. Supremely impressive especially when considering this was his lowest output in three seasons. Anyone would kill to have a running back with such constant production on which to lean his squad on. But in the year when the heir apparent was born, Adrian “The Purple Jesus” Peterson, many began questioning Tomlinson’s stranglehold as the most valued running back in fantasy.Now begins the delicate balance of knowing when to start entertaining trade offers while his value is still high or riding Ladainian for the next few years for that one last shot at glory.

If there’s one thing we know about star running backs it’s that their demise comes swiftly and harshly. Shaun Alexander and Priest Holmes are the recent examples. However, the best example to compare LaDainian Tomlinson to is a running back that dominated the fantasy world almost as much as LT2: Marshall Faulk. After his, at the time, record setting season of 26 TD’s, Faulk enjoyed a memorable campaign the year after notching over 2,000 total yards and 21 touchdowns (numbers eerily similar to Tomlinson last season). Of course we all know Faulk’s injury history and fall from the fantasy throne after that. It would be extremely presumptions to claim that Tomlinson will face a similar fate in 2008 as Faulk did in 2002 and beyond, but the writing is on the wall that this ride is ending its run.

So with the future now, Ladainian Tomlinson owners should be working the phones and looking for a package that should include a younger running back upon which to build and some other pieces that can continue to make your dynasty team formidable in the future. By doing so you may very well be jeopardizing your chances to win that championship this season, but as always is the case in Dynasty, it’s better to make yourself slightly weaker now so that you can dominate later. If you trade wisely and obtain a few players that can still make you a contender and build your team for the future, by all means don’t hesitate to pull the trigger. It’s been fun being the envy of the league for so long as a Tomlinson owner, but it’s time to move on.

*TD Hill is a part-timer at Football Jabber who writes only because we are holding his cat hostage. To catch more of his stuff check out The Endzone View