http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/chargers/sd-sp-chargers-melvin-gordon-20161111-story.html
Melvin Gordon has not changed.
That much was evident Friday afternoon, the Chargers running back sitting at his locker, the same fire from his rookie year and this offseason — before the gaudy stats and public praise came pouring — scorched in his words. He was days removed from the second-most prolific day from scrimmage in franchise history, his 261 yards against the Titans earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
An NFL Films crew was here to document him. A national sports television show interviewed him.
Yet, the 23-year-old seemed ambivalent.
“When I think about how much people are talking good about me, I think about last year how people thought so negatively about me,” Gordon said. “I probably wasn’t in the moment (this week) as much as I should have been. If I have another game like that, I’ll probably live it up a little better. I didn’t. I was just like, ‘Whatever.’ It’s just another game we were trying to win. I did good, but I want to do it again and prove to myself that I can. … I haven’t been watching anything. I haven’t been looking at anything. Just don’t care.”
Gordon will face the Dolphins on Sunday, sharing a stage with Jay Ajayi, a fellow second-year running back and close friend. This marks the second time Gordon has played Miami. What transpired in the first matchup is one of two rock-bottom moments he identifies from his rookie season, moments that offer him perspective now.
Gordon has distanced himself from last season.
He hasn’t forgotten about it.
He remembers the feeling of not having scored, even as he enters Sunday with nine rushing touchdowns, tied for the NFL lead. He remembers coming short of 1,000 rushing yards, finishing with 641 in 14 games. He currently is at 768. He remembers the disparaging rhetoric that media and fans used to depict him, even as superlatives are applied now.
“I didn’t need to get humbled, but I got humbled,” Gordon said. “I kind of hit rock bottom, and you kind of know how it feels. Hitting rock bottom in this league, you feel lost. You feel like a lost man. You just do whatever you can, whenever you can, regardless of how you feel to not be back in that spot. No matter how bad I’m hurting, how bad whatever, I’m going to do whatever I can to not fall back into that hole.”
Gordon and Rivers are the two we have to stop to have a chance to win this game.
Melvin Gordon has not changed.
That much was evident Friday afternoon, the Chargers running back sitting at his locker, the same fire from his rookie year and this offseason — before the gaudy stats and public praise came pouring — scorched in his words. He was days removed from the second-most prolific day from scrimmage in franchise history, his 261 yards against the Titans earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
An NFL Films crew was here to document him. A national sports television show interviewed him.
Yet, the 23-year-old seemed ambivalent.
“When I think about how much people are talking good about me, I think about last year how people thought so negatively about me,” Gordon said. “I probably wasn’t in the moment (this week) as much as I should have been. If I have another game like that, I’ll probably live it up a little better. I didn’t. I was just like, ‘Whatever.’ It’s just another game we were trying to win. I did good, but I want to do it again and prove to myself that I can. … I haven’t been watching anything. I haven’t been looking at anything. Just don’t care.”
Gordon will face the Dolphins on Sunday, sharing a stage with Jay Ajayi, a fellow second-year running back and close friend. This marks the second time Gordon has played Miami. What transpired in the first matchup is one of two rock-bottom moments he identifies from his rookie season, moments that offer him perspective now.
Gordon has distanced himself from last season.
He hasn’t forgotten about it.
He remembers the feeling of not having scored, even as he enters Sunday with nine rushing touchdowns, tied for the NFL lead. He remembers coming short of 1,000 rushing yards, finishing with 641 in 14 games. He currently is at 768. He remembers the disparaging rhetoric that media and fans used to depict him, even as superlatives are applied now.
“I didn’t need to get humbled, but I got humbled,” Gordon said. “I kind of hit rock bottom, and you kind of know how it feels. Hitting rock bottom in this league, you feel lost. You feel like a lost man. You just do whatever you can, whenever you can, regardless of how you feel to not be back in that spot. No matter how bad I’m hurting, how bad whatever, I’m going to do whatever I can to not fall back into that hole.”
Gordon and Rivers are the two we have to stop to have a chance to win this game.
