SI's Jim Trotter explains why LaDainian Tomlison decided to become a Jet instead of a Viking.
1. Scheme: New York runs the same offense that LT played under for nine seasons in San Diego, rushing for 12,490 yards and 138 touchdowns. He would have had to learn a new playbook and verbiage in Minnesota. The Jets also are committed to the running game; their 607 rushes last season were 82 more than any other team, and Tomlinson wanted to get back to a ground-oriented attack after San Diego transitioned to an aerial assault in 2007, when Norv Turner replaced Marty Schottenheimer as coach.
2. Staff: Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer -- Marty's son -- was the quarterbacks coach in San Diego for five of Tomlinson's first six seasons, including 2006 when Tomlinson won the first of two rushing titles and his only league MVP. Tomlinson's familiarity with the younger Schottenheimer was important from a comfort standpoint.
3. Personnel: Tominson said from the start that he wanted to play on a team that had an established quarterback, and the uncertainty over Brett Favre's future was a factor. Favre led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game in his first year with Minnesota, but he's mulling retirement and has been given no deadline for making a decision. If Favre calls it a career, the Vikings presumably would turn to Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson, neither of whom has proven himself to be a capable fulltime starter.
I don't think anybody should be surprised by any of this.
Even with Favre, the Vikings have a tougher road to the title. They don't have a big margin for error in the regular season. The Jets are built to win on the road. They don't necessarily need home field advantage to go far. The Vikings do. Favre plays very poorly in bad weather. They need to avoid January games in cold weather, which means staying in their dome.