LT....A Leader?

After enjoying yesterdays AFC and NFC Championship games, I awoke this morning with a strange feeling of indecisiveness about LT's non performance. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting for a minute that the guy should go out there and play if he really can't make a go of it. But, if that is the case, and he can't play, shouldn't he at least get off his ass and be a part of the game from the sideline? I've heard the arguments from San Diegans today that "he's just not that type of guy" and "he was too upset about not being able to play". To me, neither one of those excuses is going to cut it.

The fact is that LT can't have it both ways. You're either a leader or you're not. You can't be a leader some of the time or just when it's convenient. LT should have been up and down that Charger sideline rooting on his team and voicing words of encouragement to his teammates. What kind of effect does it have on morale when you see your star player sitting there on the bench hiding behind his Darth Vader visor with a posture that would lead you to believe that his dog just died? (I personally think they switched him out with a body double and that's why the Vader helmet never came off). Listen, I understand if he was upset about not being able to help his team on the field, but that doesn't give him a free pass from helping his team from the sideline by way of his leadership. If he was really that interested in supporting the team, I don't think he would have sat like a statue for three quarters of football.

Could this be a case of LT showing his true colors? Could it be that he is a "me first" kind of guy, and that he just puts on a good face for the public? I just can't seem to make up my mind here. Some here in San Diego have even called for him to be traded because, as so many of them have said, "he isn't a warrior". Can any one of you reading this possibly imagine a guy like Rodney Harrison, Teddy Bruschi, Junior Seau, or even a Philip Rivers, sitting and looking so disinterested during such a crucial game?

After a loss to the Bears, Denny Green once said, actually, make that screamed, "They are who we thought they were!" and right about now I do believe there are a lot of Charger fans who must be wondering "Is LT who we think he is?"