LaDainian Tomlinson believes that he could start for the Jets this season. New York signed Tomlinson as a veteran backup to second-year running back Shonn Greene this offseason. "I think at this point in my career, people put this label and this title on you once you get to a certain age: 'Yeah, he has to be a backup now.' I don't believe that. I absolutely don't believe that," Tomlinson, 31 next month, said. "You determine your role on the football field, and that's what the Jets have been so great about, allowing me to do that. "They didn't put a label on me at all. They didn't say 'You know what? You're going to be a backup.' They said, 'No, you're going to prove what you can do on the football field,' and that's all I can ask."