My bromance with Thomas Jones

Illegal in 50 states...

For those of you who don't know, I have a total man-crush on Thomas Jones. I followed him when he was drafted out of VA (ever since he had a feature in the 2000 NFL draft preview in ESPN magazine) and became completely obsessed when the Bears signed him in 04.

I love his work ethic, I love his attitude and he's an awesome football player.

Weird thing about him is that he keeps getting BETTER every year... normally running backs peak in their 2nd year and play at a high level for a year or two and then you never hear from them again. Check out TJ's numbers:

Year	Team	Rush	Yds	Yds/G	Avg	TD
2000	Arizona	112	373	26.6	3.3	2
2001	Arizona	112	380	23.8	3.4	5
2002	Arizona	138	511	56.8	3.7	2
2003	Tampa Bay	137	627	39.2	4.6	3
2004	Chicago	240	948	67.7	4.0	7
2005	Chicago	314	1335	89.0	4.3	9
2006	Chicago	296	1210	75.6	4.1	6
2007	New York	310	1119	69.9	3.6	1
2008	New York	290	1312	82.0	4.5	13

I cannot emphasize how insane that is.  Dude had his best season when he turned 30 (when most backs typically break down) and has spent his entire career fighting off younger, more highly touted options (Pittman, Benson, now Washington).

He's a real leader, not afraid to call out anybody (including golden boy Brett Favre) and is always willing to lead by example - he clearly spends a lot of time in the gym.

I also just stumbled upon this ultra-gay music video from some chick named "Trina" and it looks like TJ makes a steamy cameo for you ladies out there:

I will always remember him best for his time with the Bears: trudging out yards against 9 in the box with Kyle Orton and Craig Krenzel under center. A real warrior.

P.S. Does this post make me gay?

-KEG