Injured Chargers limp into New England

NEW YORK: The last time the San Diego Chargers played the New England Patriots, they had Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson and a healthy Antonio Gates.

They lost anyway, 38-14.

The Chargers beat the Indianapolis Colts 28-24 in the NFL playoffs on Sunday without their top players but they'll have a hard time keeping up with the unbeaten Patriots in the AFC title game if they're still out. The same thing seems true in the NFC, where the New York Giants will meet the Green Bay Packers after upsetting the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 with a banged-up secondary missing its top three cornerbacks.

Back on Sept 16, in the second week of the season, the Patriots were just getting started on their 16-0 regular season run and blowing away anyone in their path. Their margins of victory dropped markedly in the second half of the season, but New England will still be 17-0 when they play host to the Chargers next Sunday.

"A lot's happened since then," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said after the Chargers beat the Colts to qualify for a trip to Foxborough, Massachusetts, for the AFC championship. "We'll definitely start all over on the preparations. It's like it's a new team."

The first question for San Diego is the health of Rivers and Tomlinson, its starting quarterback and star running back, who was the 2006 NFL MVP. Both injured their knees against the Colts and their status isn't yet known for the conference championship. Gates played with a toe injury, but clearly wasn't at full speed.

Both Rivers and Tomlinson said they hope to play. Coach Norv Turner said they both were questionable.

Even if they do take the field, the Chargers face a daunting task.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Saturday's 31-20 win what Peyton Manning did to the Chargers early in Sunday's game, completing his first 13 passes, most of them underneath, to help Indianapolis take a 7-0 lead. But after Marvin Harrison, coming back from injury, fumbled one of his completions to give the Chargers life, Manning started taking more chances and had less success deep.

San Diego managed to beat the Colts with replacements - good ones in Michael Turner and Darren Sproles at running back, plus journeyman Billy Volek at quarterback leading the winning touchdown drive. Turner and Sproles together equal Tomlinson, but Volek is not going to beat the Patriots. Rivers will have a hard time doing that if he's ready.

If the Chargers, who opened as a 15-point underdog, are to have a chance, they'll have to get the kind of pressure they got on Manning on critical drives late in the game. That was most notable when Shawne Merriman got around rookie left tackle Tony Ugoh to force an incomplete pass on fourth down inside the San Diego 10-yard line with just over two minutes left.

Merriman is certainly one of the NFL's best pass rushers and Shaun Phillips is formidable from the other side.

So Brady may not have as much time as he had on Saturday in completing 26 of 28 passes, an NFL playoff-record 92.9 percent. But the Chargers don't cover as well as Jacksonville, and Randy Moss is unlikely to be limited to one catch for 14 yards, as he was by the Jaguars.

Like the Patriots and Chargers, New York and Green Bay played in the second week. The Packers won 35-13 before New York understood the defense installed by Steve Spagnuolo, its new coordinator.

That defense, with its stunts and twists, confused and harassed Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo enough in the second half on Sunday to keep him from exploiting a secondary without Sam Madison, Aaron Ross and Kevin Dockery, its three top cornerbacks for most of the season.

The Packers opened as a 6-point favorite, which seems a little low.

Consider that Eli Manning's revival - eight touchdown passes, just one interception in his last three games - all came in good weather.

Attention Eli: The long-range forecast for next Sunday in Green Bay is a high of 4 degrees F (minus-15 C).

Agencies

(China Daily 01/15/2008 page24)