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LaDainian Tomlinson On WFAN: Jets Have A Coach In Mark Sanchez

NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- LaDainian Tomlinson is enjoying the extended summer break from the rigors of minicamp and other offseason activities. After 10 NFL seasons, the New York Jets running back has been able to spend more time with family and a nearly year-old son while resting his body.

That doesn't mean Tomlinson hasn't been on the football field -- or thinking about it -- during the NFL lockout.

"You know what? All the talks I hear ... they're getting close," Tomlinson told WFAN's Boomer & Carton on Tuesday. "The positive thing is that they're talking, so I think we're all optimistic something's gonna happen before training camp starts."

Tomlinson has participated in a pair of minicamp-like sessions with his Jets teammates, one in California and another in New Jersey. He said the workouts with Jets teammates helped them get back in the swing of things and that quarterback Mark Sanchez was like a coach helping install plays.

"He really was a coach up there," Tomlinson said. "He led the whole show ... and let's remember he only played one year at USC, and so that's special when a guy can do that in his third year."

Still, it's a strange summer not being around passionate Jets coach Rex Ryan.

"Rex has taken it to a different level," the running back told Boomer & Carton. "And yeah, it's real. It's absolutely real."

Listen: Tomlinson with Boomer & Carton | Download

Tomlinson was back on the field Monday for the start of Camp LT, his annual event for kids at TCU, where he was a record-setting running back before San Diego drafted him fifth overall in 2001.

"It's a time clock on my body and I promise you as you get closer to August you start feeling like hitting. That's just what it is for football players," Tomlinson told the AP. "I've been at the point where I'm like, 'Oh, I'm good. Working out, everything's good.' I am starting to get a little eager to hit people and kind of to get hit maybe."

When kids ask Tomlinson if there will be NFL games this season, his answer is, "Yes. Yes, we will play."

Tomlinson likes the idea of going into his 11th NFL season as primarily a third-down running back and letting youngster Shonn Greene take a lot more carries. LT feels like he showed last year when he got to the Jets that he could have an important role on the team.

Though he had a career-low 219 carries, Tomlinson still rushed for 914 yards and six touchdowns while catching 52 passes for 368 yards for a team that made it to the AFC championship game and oh-so-close to his first Super Bowl.

"I think I proved that I can still play and that I've got a lot left," said Tomlinson, who turned 32 last week. "Let me do a lot of the pass catching and the blocking and kind of that third-down role and still be able to take some handoffs. ... Beating up my body, running through there, taking all the carries, and I can run routes, I've proved that."

Tomlinson isn't sure how much longer he will play in the NFL, but might have had a perfect career ending had the Jets made it to the Super Bowl last season at Cowboys Stadium, which is only about 20 minutes from TCU and in his home state.

"I was able to kind of taste how close it was. ... It seemed like a dream ending to a fine career," he said. "It didn't work out like that, but at the same time, it let's me know how close I am. I have a heck of a team, great coaching staff and I expect us to make another push."

So what if the Jets make to this season and he finally gets to play in the Super Bowl?

"Not to say if we win it this year I'm going to retire, because I probably won't," Tomlinson said. "I don't want to put a limit on when I should stop playing. I think it's a feeling you have, but also I don't want to have that feeling of leaving just a tad bit too early and saying, 'Gosh, I wish I could've kept playing another year.' Or hold on too long. It has to be the right exit to the game."

New York's scheduled regular season opener is at home Sept. 11 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Do you think LT still has it? Do you think he will flourish in the third-down role for the Jets? Sound off in the comments below...

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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