The Facts: Following up on an ongoing story. ... In an interview with Showtime’s “Inside The NFL” airing Wednesday night, Tomlinson said the team was plagued by tension between players as the Jets finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs after two straight trips to the AFC championship game. Tomlinson said QB Mark Sanchez and WR Santonio Holmes, in particular, had a rocky relationship. “It is as bad as I’ve ever been around, honestly,” Tomlinson said of the locker room. “And I’ve been around some locker rooms and quarterback-receiver situations and what-not. But it was as bad as I’ve been around.”
Diehards Line:The NFL’s fifth-leading rusher added that the problems got “out-of-hand toward the end of the season,” and were created by the brash approach of HC Rex Ryan and GM Mike Tannenbaum. “This is the type of football team that they wanted,” said Tomlinson, who added that tensions escalated to the point during the season where the players couldn’t do anything about it. “When it gets to that point, there are certain changes that need to happen,” he said. “Can it be fixed? I think absolutely it can be, but they’re going to have to make some tough decisions. ..." Tomlinson was asked if he would bring back both Sanchez and Holmes, given all the problems. “Whew, that is a tough one,” he said. “I would really have to sit down with them and see if they can co-exist, honestly. And if I really feel like they can’t, then you have to make a move. ..." Were it only that simple. Holmes' contract makes that prohibitive -- though not impossible. So stay tuned. This one is far from over.