text: who's the best football player?   "the numbers are mind-boggling," chargers tight end antonio gates says. "but you know what's really amazing – if he only did one thing, he'd still be a great running back. that tells you how good he really is. if he only caught the ball out of the backfield like he was a third-down back, he could still make the pro bowl. remember, this is a guy that had 100 catches just a few years ago [2003]. and if he only ran the ball like he was a first- and second-down back, he'd still be a pro bowler. he's the ultimate three-down back."   some will scoff at tomlinson's numbers and say he has yet to win a super bowl. but like sanders before him, he likely won't need it to validate his existence among the best of all time. in fact, even schottenheimer's insistence that he may be the best ever may not be far off. clearly, tomlinson has proven to have an amazing mixture of many great runners. he has some of the vision and cutting ability of sanders. he has some of the power and blocking ability of smith. he has the acceleration and catching ability of marshall faulk. and if you want to throw payton's name out there when you talk about tough yardage, find some film of tomlinson's stiff arm. it's quite possibly the best in the league today – a wrinkle that even the greatest ever, jim brown, can appreciate.   - by charles robinson, yahoo! sports