Tomlinson, Chargers angered by Pats' postgame

Tomlinson, Chargers angered by Pats' postgame romp



01/15/2007 6:35 AM - LaDainian Tomlinson and other Chargers said the Patriots acted without class in their postgame celebration Sunday.

It was bad enough losing to New England, but the way the Patriots reacted to their AFC divisional playoff win is what made LaDainian Tomlinson lose his cool.
The San Diego Chargers running back, upset that some Patriots were dancing on the Chargers logo at midfield after they had silenced the record crowd of 68,810 at Qualcomm Stadium, went after an unidentified Patriots player, yelling and pointing, and had to be restrained by a teammate and former Charger Reche Caldwell, who had a huge game for the Patriots.
"I would never react in that way. I was very upset," Tomlinson said. "When you go to the middle of our field and start doing the dance Shawne Merriman is known for, that is disrespectful. They showed no class and maybe that comes from the head coach."
Merriman, nicknamed "Lights Out," did a spasmodic dance to celebrate each of his NFL-high 17 sacks. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said he some Patriots pointing to the scoreboard, mimicking the dance, and stomping on the Chargers logo at midfield.
"I think what got LT, and I was right there, was just a little of the taunting," Rivers said, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Hey, celebrate -- we'd have been sprinting on the field, too, I guarantee you. But it was a little finger pointing and I don't know where it came from."
"It was upsetting to see because they won three Super Bowls," Merriman said, according to the Boston Herald. "It's like a guy on a fast break in basketball and dunking the ball and getting excited. You've won three Super Bowls. You don't do that."
<!-- PULL-QUOTE (BEGIN) -->"When you go to the middle of our field and start doing the dance Shawne Merriman is known for, that is disrespectful. They showed no class and maybe that comes from the head coach." -- LaDainian Tomlinson

<!-- PULL-QUOTE (END) -->The Patriots rallied from eight points down in the fourth quarter. Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass to Caldwell with under five minutes remaining, then executed a fake on a direct snap to running back Kevin Faulk that helped spring the tying two-point conversion. Steven Gostkowski added a field goal with 1:10 to play to give the Patriots a 24-21 lead, and Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding missed his 54-yard attempt to tie in the final seconds.
The bottom line: No matter how they responded to the win, the Patriots are headed to next week's AFC Championship Game in Indianapolis against the Colts.
"They won and they deserve a lot of credit," Rivers said, according to the Union-Tribune. "Personally I was disappointed in the way they handled winning. ... But that's neither here nor there. They're playing next week and we're not."
"We lost to a better team today," Tomlinson said. "Hopefully the next opportunity we have we'll learn something from this."
Tomlinson ran for 123 yards and two scores, and caught two passes for 64 yards in the loss.
The Patriots and Chargers are scheduled to meet again in Foxboro next season, and some Chargers already have the date circled.
"Every time I will play New England it will be a personal grudge," linebacker Shaun Phillips said, according to the Union-Tribune. "That was very classless. ... When we went in and beat their head in New England [last season] ... we did nothing but compliment them and say they were a good team. We would never disrespect a team like that."
At least one Patriots player did not think the lack of class was so one-sided.
"[The San Diego players] talked from the beginning to the end," linebacker Rosevelt Colvin said, according to the Union-Tribune. "We'll take the win." The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Win the game on your homefield and you won't have anything to cry about or feel disrespected.

Clip Joint you took the words out of my mouth.TO showed you can dance on a star and later play for that star.nfl players ......gee!!!

i didnt see roidhead doing to many dances sunday. He isnt to fast and strong when he isnt shooting

I lost a lot of respect for LT on this one. What a bitch. Then takes a cheap shot saying they have little class and that it may come from their coach. Now that's class.

"Don't mimick the way our player shows you up...that's disrespectful."

is it disrespectful to immitate a dance that is disrespectful in the first place?

Clip Joint said:

Win the game on your homefield and you won't have anything to cry about or feel disrespected.

Click to expand...

Yes, there was plenty of players on his own team he should have been mad at and his coach. The Patriots were handed a victory.

* Win the game.
* Don't talk shit all week before the game.
* Don't cut your hair w/ your signature in it.
* Don't have a signature dance in the first place...especially when you only have the chance to use it ONCE in the game...and he didnt even get the sack...and was NON EXISTENT
* Don't plan Super Bowl arrangements
* Reflection of our coach? Yes - Belichick is a winner, so yes the Pats are winners. Reflection of SD's coach? Yes- bone head plays to cost them a win.

Big whoop if a few players mocked Merriman's dance (and big mouth) after the game...good god, its not like the whole team got together and choreographed a team video shoot like Michael Jackson's Thriller. The select few only reacted the way they did, because of the above list.

Clip Joint said:

I lost a lot of respect for LT on this one. What a bitch. Then takes a cheap shot saying they have little class and that it may come from their coach. Now that's class.

"Don't mimick the way our player shows you up...that's disrespectful."

Click to expand...

if you lose you lose

Losing sucks, LT

As a huge Charger fan and especially a huge LT fan, I agree with every one above me. Shut your mouth and kick some ass in your own locker room. You (the team) deserved to be made fun of.

It was strange how it appeared to play out on television...


It looked like LT was disappointed in the loss enough that he was going to head straight for the locker room, when some of the members of the Patriots tried to grab him and congratulate him, as if to say back to him... "show some class and shake our hands..." thats when the cameras cut away for a second then they cut back and LT was in a mob of Patriots in an argument.

No doubt, I don't care how people celebrate when they win as long as they aren't in my face. And to complain about it is sour grapes. As classy as LT has been this will be a lesson learned for a young man.

Wait, I'm trying to figure out when it was considered classy to have a special dance everytime you record a sack?

I think 90% of the people would agree that Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens, Steve Smith, and their TD dances, while entertaining.....are VERY classless. When you score a TD or record a sack, you celebrate with your teammates and move on. You arent considered classy for havin a pre-meditated dance.

I think, if anything, the Pats imitating the Merriman sack dance is their way of saying it is classless of HIM to be doing it.

With that said, Pats shouldnt stoop to that level, and it was classless of them to do that.

And with ALL of that being said, sorry LT, but losing sucks. Instead of worrying about HOW they are celebrating, and nitpicking what they are doing, maybe you should win next time and if you dont, move on to the lockerroom.

Read Boston Herald coverage...

Reporters' view is that Patriots went overboard in celebration.

i also saw what ramonscottsports said. LT was going straight to the locker room, patriots started grabbing his arms, leading into a mixup at midfield.

Reporter is wrong.

all sack dancers are losers....most often a result of defensive backfield play. Typical me, me ,me attention grabbing.

Also, just heard that LT did not touch ball on consecutive plays in 2nd half--that's criminal and falls on Marty.

Does anyone have video of the Pats dancing?

Rev_Al_Bundy said:

* Win the game.
* Don't talk shit all week before the game.
* Don't cut your hair w/ your signature in it.
* Don't have a signature dance in the first place...especially when you only have the chance to use it ONCE in the game...and he didnt even get the sack...and was NON EXISTENT
* Don't plan Super Bowl arrangements
* Reflection of our coach? Yes - Belichick is a winner, so yes the Pats are winners. Reflection of SD's coach? Yes- bone head plays to cost them a win.

Big whoop if a few players mocked Merriman's dance (and big mouth) after the game...good god, its not like the whole team got together and choreographed a team video shoot like Michael Jackson's Thriller. The select few only reacted the way they did, because of the above list.

Click to expand...

lmao

ya marty chokes in the playoffs again

and I dont know why LT would even say anything about the New England coach

he only wishes that some day he could play under a winner like that

but dont worry charger fans....you can still cheer for the coltsuppy:

Sinking to new level: Pats’ class takes hit
By Karen Guregian
Boston Herald General Sports Reporter and Columnist

Monday, January 15, 2007 - Updated: 12:32 PM EST

SAN DIEGO - When Nate Kaeding missed the potential game-tying field goal with three seconds to play yesterday, Patriots [team stats] players looked a lot like the U.S. Ryder Cup team when it stormed the green at The Country Club after Justin Leonard’s 45-foot putt sank Europe in 1999.

San Diego, however, believed the Pats were even more ugly and obnoxious.

With time still remaining, they ran out to midfield and rubbed the Chargers’ noses in the 24-21 AFC divisional playoff loss.

They mimicked Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman, impersonating his post-sack celebration dance and taunting him with muscle-flexing gestures in light of his steroid suspensionAnd several Patriots reportedly couldn’t resist shouting “Lights Out” into the Chargers locker room afterward.

Apparently, Rosevelt Colvin was one of the loudest taunters, evidenced by his hoarse voice following the game: “It is, I did a lot of taunting after the buzzer went off.”

The overall display was so in-your-face that LaDainian Tomlinson, widely regarded as one of the classiest, most well-respected players in the league, felt compelled to rip the Pats and coach Bill Belichick.

“I would never, ever, react in that way because I’m a very classy person,” Tomlinson said. “I wouldn’t react like that, so yes, I was upset. When you go to the middle of our field and start doing the things that Shawne Merriman is known for, that’s disrespectful. I can’t sit there and watch that. I was very upset, just the way they show absolutely no class. Maybe it comes from their head coach.”

Some may think Tomlinson, who refused to shake hands with the Patriots afterward, is a sore loser. But in many ways, he’s right; the Pats should act like they’ve been there before, just like Tomlinson does when he hands the ball to an official after scoring instead of showboating.

This franchise has won three Super Bowls. It’s been there, done that. Why start acting like children?

Sure, they were underdogs against the top-seeded Chargers. Sure, they felt disrespected during the week. And sure, Merriman is a bit over-the-top.

But that doesn’t mean they have to join him in the gutter.

Win the game, and move on. Celebration time is for after the Super Bowl, not before.

Even Merriman thought the Pats went too far.

“It was upsetting to see because they won three Super Bowls,” he said. “It’s like a guy on a fast break in basketball and dunking the ball and getting excited. You’ve won three Super Bowls. You don’t do that. That’s not showing any class at all.

“I’ve been mocked the entire season, so that didn’t bother me. They just didn’t need to rub it in. I think (Tom) Brady tried to tell them to get back off the field, and they got a penalty. But bottom line: I was probably more disappointed in the loss. I can’t worry about them being immature athletes.”

Fellow linebacker Shaun Phillips, however, wasn’t so forgiving.

“They’re classless,” he said. “I promise, this is something I won’t forget. Every time I play New England, it’s a personal grudge. They should take it personal against me, because I’m going to take it personal against them. Don’t come into our locker room and talk about, ‘The lights being out now. You didn’t pay the bill.’ That’s very disrespectful. When we beat their head in in New England (last year, 41-17), we didn’t say nothing. We didn’t do nothing but compliment them.

“We have class. And that’s how classless individuals act. But Shaun Phillips will have a personal grudge against them the rest of his career. If we would have beaten them, we would have taken our hats off to them and moved on.”

Which is exactly what the Pats should have done.