Look here fiery folks. I want to make it clear that I am one of the biggest LT apologists on God's green earth. Like many of you, I defended him during the New England game last January and over the entire off season when morons like Deion Sanders questioned his toughness and leadership (where in the hell did "Neon Deion" get the balls to question anyone's toughness, much less an NFL player?). With all that said, any respectable and objective wanna-be writer (hey, I never claimed to be anything but an amateur, so take your shots with joy), and Bolts fan, would have to raise the question that I essentially raised yesterday, which was, "What is going on with LT?"

He's clearly not been himself since the Indy playoff game, and arguably well before that, and we as loyal Charger fans deserve a clear cut answer that so far has been missing. In fact, not only has a clear cut answer failed to materialize, but we, the fans, have repeatedly been told that our stud running back's injuries aren't all that bad. So people, all I'm really saying is that either we're being fed a bunch of bullcrap by LT and the Botlts' medical staff, or LT isn't playing through pain.

And while I have your attention, especially those of you that seem to think numero 21 hasn't lost a step, I ask you to look at the replay of the TD run LT made against the Broncos in '06 to break Shaun Alexander's single season rushing touchdown record (good luck finding good footage online, but if you have it, feel free to share it). 99.99999% of running backs in NFL history wouldn't have had a prayer of turning a hopeless looking run like that into an easy touchdown like LT did, but our boy made it look freakin' routine. Seriously, he bounced that run, which clearly was meant to go right between Dielman and McNeil, so quickly to the outside that it looked like he was running against SDSU's defense. And remember, Denver's "D" wasn't half bad that year.

So Boltitis haters, do you think LT could still bounce that run with such ease and grace, if healthy? I'm going to throw you a curveball: I DO. Thing is, he's not healthy, and I don't think it's entirely physical. Nor do I think he'll even return to the full health that he had during that magical year. Confused? I'll clarify.

What I mean is that he still physically has that run in him, at peak health, but I don't think he'll ever get back to that point again. Somewhere along the line after 2006 the man lost his edge, much like Cougar in "Top Gun." He still has the skills, but where is the killer instinct? Does it still exist? I'm not quite sure, and that's just me being honest, and objective. That's all I'm sayin', folks.

I will never, ever, in a million years turn on LT, barring him deciding to say somewhere down the line that he wished he had played somehwere else in his career (like I heard Marshall Faulk recently said about SDSU....screw you if you did say that, Marshall), but I have a right to question him sometimes, and so should you if you have any cajones and/or a little perspective. A little questioning from time to time keeps people honest and motivated, especially people that rarely hear anything other than that the sun shines from their ass. Just ask Vince Young how being told he's the shit all of his life has worked out.

Look, every little bit of hope in my being wishes that LT regains his pre-2007 form, but I'm just saying that it doesn't look likely. Some of you might blame it on Norv, others on the patched up o-line, others on a more dynamic passing attack that doesn't rely on LT, and some may use a mixture of all of the above. Regardless of the excuse you give, though, it's still an excuse until he proves otherwise and returns to his peak form of 2006.

TWF