Head Coach Norv Turner

“I got in in the morning and I watched the tape in all three phases.  There were so many different situations that were similar to what we’ve had throughout the year where we were able to make big plays and make plays at a critical time that went our way and changed close games.  We had numerous opportunities in all three phases in this game to make those kinds of plays and we didn’t make as many as we have.  I think when you put the whole thing together, we didn’t get it done the way we had the last 11 weeks.  I think it’s a couple of things, and the first thing always is the team you’re playing.  The Jets did a good job.  They had a good scheme.  They executed extremely well.  In a game like this against a good team, you know there’s going to be give and take.  I thought we made plays and we had big plays in the passing game throughout the game that gave us opportunities.  We struggled on some critical third downs.  Defensively, we played the run throughout most of the game at a real high level.  Obviously we made the one run and the back is an outstanding runner. 

“The biggest thing for me is when you step away from it, and it’s hard to do that after this short period of time, but we have got an outstanding football team and we have got good players and great character players and people that you want to be around on a daily basis and guys that will get this thing done.  They will get this thing done.  There’s no question in my mind.  One of the things I look at, we played Indianapolis two years ago.  We went to Indianapolis.  They were 12-4, two seed.  We beat them and ended their season.  They came in here last year, eight game winning streak, hottest team in football.  If they got past us they were the team to go to the Super Bowl, and we beat them and ended their season.  They’re getting ready to play in the championship game.  There are things that you have to overcome in this league.  I think our team understands those things and like I said, we have the type of guys that will do that.  I think the future for this football team is outstanding.”

How do you explain some of the uncharacteristic things?
“I wish I could explain it because as we all said, those things are things that are uncharacteristic of us and things we haven’t done.  It’s disappointing to me and we know that, I don’t care who you are, those things are hard to overcome.”

This is the second year in a row Jackson has drawn an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the playoffs.  Is that something that you talk to him about?
“Absolutely and it’s something that we talked about a year ago when it happened in the Pittsburgh game.  The things that we talked about when we first met on Monday a week before the game were the things that have gotten us to this point were our poise and our discipline.  As I said last night, when you’re in the top five in fewest penalties and top five in fewest penalty yards, those things matter.  Those things helped us, and again, obviously when other teams were making those kind of mistakes, it’s twice as good.”

When you say, ‘We will get this done,’ do you mean win the Super Bowl?
“That’s our intention and that’s our goal.  I believe this team is capable of coming back and putting ourselves in position to make a run at it over the next period of time.”

So in your mind the ‘window of opportunity’ is still wide open?
“This team in a lot of areas has gotten younger.  I’m not going to talk about specifics in terms of our personnel today, but I do know this: we’ve had a lot of young guys make strong contributions to this team and a lot of guys stepped up that you wouldn’t have expected.  Brandyn Dombrowski to start as many games as he did, you wouldn’t expect that to happen.  The guys who played in our defensive line, (Ogemdi Nwagbuo) and some of those young guys that stepped up and made great contributions.  We’ll add and they’ll be back on our team as we go.”

When you look at the video on Nate Keading’s misses, did he rush them?
“That’s certainly not my area of expertise and I was just talking to Steve Crosby who coaches our special teams.  He felt (Kaeding) rushed the first one and pulled it left. If you relate it to golf, what happens is you overcompensate.  He was going to make sure he didn’t pull it.  Again, that’s a conversation I had with Cros and I haven’t seen Nate yet.”

What happened at the line of scrimmage on the 53-yard touchdown run?
“Ultimately, I thought Eric just made a bad decision trying to tackle him high.  If he goes down and gets him at the knees, he had a chance.  Cromartie could have squeezed it down better.  We were in a zone dog and once the ball goes away, they try to get out of it and got cut off.”

Can you comment more on Cromartie’s effort on that play?
“I haven’t seen it on the game tape.  I saw it in person.  He’s got contain and he’s trying to squeeze it.  He could have gone after it and got it.”

Did your team seem tight yesterday?
“That’s always so hard to determine.  I don’t think it’s tight.  I think we got into that deal where we pressed a little bit and we tried to do more than what we’ve been doing.  The great example is the clip on Malcom Floyd on Vincent’s play.  It’s a block that doesn’t need to be made.  I don’t think the guy is going to make the tackle and one of the rules, and it’s mentioned every time it happens on the practice field, one of the basic rules for any receiver downfield is never turn and block back.  Never turn and block back when a guy catches a short ball underneath because your chances of clipping go way up.  Turn and go get a safety. Then if the receiver beats a linebacker or beats underneath coverage, you may get the block that springs him.  Malcom ran the deep route over where Vincent was and when the ball was caught, instead of turning and getting the safety, obviously he turned back and blocked the linebacker in the back.  I’m not going to go through ever play, but that ball is down on the 15 yard line.  You can say the guy would have made the tackle or not.  In my opinion, he wouldn’t have.”

You didn’t sense any tightness before the game?
“Absolutely not.  I thought our practices Wednesday and Thursday were outstanding.  I thought we had a very good practice and there was some looseness to our Friday practice, which there always is, but it was very precise.  We went through a practice with relatively no mental errors and certainly nothing significant and I thought our guys were excited to go.  They were.  I would attribute it to starting to press a little bit and trying to do a little bit more than you normally do.” 

Do you think some of that pressing has to do with the Jets trying to take you out of your comfort zone?
“I’ll go back to what I said.  The Jets are an outstanding football team.  They run the ball extremely well.  They’ve got two outstanding backs, an outstanding offensive line.  Defensively, they were first in most significant defensive categories.  They’re first in third down defense, which was a factor in the game.  They were first in pass defense, which I thought we made a number of big plays on them and made plays that people haven’t been able to make on them.  We just had a tough time finishing drives.”

Did they take you out of your comfort zone?
“I don’t know about comfort zones.  They do things that you have to handle.  I said it last Wednesday: there’s going to be two or three times they get guys free or they make you throw a sight adjust.  There are times we’re going to match them up and block them. That’s give and take during a game, but that’s part of the game.  I thought there were three or four plays in the passing game that we have been making that would have been significant plays up the field and we just didn’t come up with the ball.” 

Do you think there are major changes needed in the running game or run defense?
“If I alluded to stay the course, that’s not my intention.  We did a lot of things this year during the offseason to improve our football team, whether it be personnel, whether it be coaching staff, whether it be things in our system.  Those are things there’s no question that we’re going to do again and we’re going to get better.  We’ve got players that can get better.  There are two or three guys that I’m going to point to, if Antonio Gates can have his career best year at 29 then a guy that’s played two years at the age of 25 certainly has room to improve.  The thing I like best about what Dean (Spanos) and A.J. (Smith) do and what we do as a group is we don’t rush into something right now.  If we’ll let a little time pass and then look at our football team, there are going to be areas we look at and say we have to get better.  We need to run the ball better.”

What was the biggest challenge Philip had reading their defense?
“There’s about four plays, there are two third downs where they just knocked the ball away.  There are three or four plays we just missed and I do believe we made a bunch of plays that gave us chances.  The biggest thing with what they do, they’re multiple on defense.  They use multiple coverages, they’ve got very good players in the secondary and a guy who I believe is the best corner in the league.  Then with their nickel fronts and their blitz schemes, they come from all over.  So you have to communicate throughout and I think that’s why we had a couple false starts early.  You have to communicate throughout the first part of the play.  You have to set the protection. You have to move people around in terms of where they’re going.  I though up front our guys were outstanding in handling that.  If we make three or four of those plays, I think we’d look at it and say we got done what we wanted to get done in the passing game.”

What can you do differently next time you face a game of this magnitude?
“I can’t say enough about what our staff did this year in preparing for all of our games.  I thought the coaching staff did a great job of getting our guys prepared for this game.  We were matched up against a very good team and they played awfully well.”

Would you consider this season a success?
“We all want to go to the Super Bowl and we want to go win a Super Bowl.  That’s what’s going to determine it as a success.  From a standpoint of the ultimate goal, I’m disappointed like everyone else is.  From a standpoint of what this group accomplished…I’m not going to do it but I could stand here and name 10 or 12 guys that had their best year ever.  I could name 20 guys that weren’t expected to play that contributed to what we’re doing and allowed us to win 11 straight games and go 7-1 on the road and do all those things.  For those guys, growing as football players, that’s a success.  If you continue to grow, then the ultimate success of going and winning a Super Bowl, that’s what we want to do and that’s how I think we’ll determine our success.”

Any thoughts on the possibility of Sunday being LaDainian Tomlinson’s last game as a Charger?
“I’ve seen that and heard that and that’s to early for me to speculate or have a comment on it.”

There are reports that Vincent Jackson was pulled over for speeding before the game.  Was that a concern for the team and what would it have meant if he hadn’t played?
“It wouldn’t have been good if he hadn’t played. He’s a big part of what we do.  Vincent as I understand was pulled over.  He did come to the game with Philip.  Philip was here.  At 9:30 in the morning, I was driving down Murphy Canyon Road.  You know this hill, it’s easy if you’re not paying attention to go faster than you need to.  There was a woman pulled over at 9:30, the radar and all that.  I thought at that point, ‘That’s an interesting place to have a radar gun out on a Sunday morning at 9:30.’  Vincent was pulled over later and was at the stadium.  I made a point Saturday night of telling our guys that there would be a lot of traffic and leave early.  We had no problems.  When I walked in the locker room after walking the field like I do, Vincent was dressed and getting ready and it was well over two hours before the game, which is normal.  I didn’t find out about it until later.”

Is there an issue with Vincent Jackson you should be concerned about?
“I don’t have a concern about Vincent in general.”

Did the Jets benefit from how much man defense they played in the second half?
“They played a mix of man throughout the game.  There were some plays where they jumped into man and they did a good job with it.  There were some plays where they jumped into man and made a couple big plays against it.  They’re an extremely multiple defense in the coverage game and when you have guys like they have in the secondary, the talented corners they have…Lito Shepherd, when they got him was a big deal and he was an outstanding player in Philadelphia.  He’s not talked about a lot because of Revis, but they have outstanding cover guys.  When you have that type of players, you have flexibility to mix it up and I think they made a couple plays, particularly on third downs where we came up a little short where normally we would convert that.  Man coverage generally helps you in that.”

What it harder to get separation for your receivers than it had been?
“I don’t think so.  I think our guys did a good job when they were manned up.  I think in games where we’ve completed those balls and made plays, it’s not like they were running wide open with no one on them.  We’ve made the same plays.  In man coverage you usually have a guy pretty close to you or on your back.”

Is it easy for you to rationalize that 31 teams are disappointed, or do you take it as another year where you didn’t accomplish your goal?
“I don’t rationalize it that way.  That’s kind of a cliché type thing.  I think A.J. says it best, we want to get in the tournament and we want to get in it in a yearly basis.  We want to get in it and get it done.  The disappointing thing, we were one of eight and there are going to be six teams that are very disappointed and aren’t in the Super Bowl.  When you get into that point where you’re one of eight, you know that you’re two games away from it.  That’s a disappointing thing for me.”

Have Ron Rivera or Rob Chudzinski been approached regarding interviews for other jobs?
“All I can tell you is on both of those deals, we have not been contacted.  I read the different reports that you do and I’ve seen both of them.  Until we’re contacted and someone asks us for permission, there’s nothing to those reports.” 

Was yesterday the most disappointing loss of your coaching career because of expectations?
“I’m not a guy that bases things on expectations because I know what the New York Jets are.  I know what they’re capable of doing.  I know what their defense is like.  I know what their running game is, but I expected us to win the game and that makes it obviously disappointing.” 

RB LaDainian Tomlinson

Did you find yourself reflecting on the game more?
“Absolutely I focused on the game. It’s kind of hard not to with the opportunities that we had in front of us.”

Did you think players tried too hard or tried to do more than they could?
“I think that was definitely in some cases they hurt us and obviously you can look at that because we did some of the things we didn’t do all year. I don’t know the last time we had that many penalties and so obviously that had something to do with it.”

What do you take away from this game?
“To be honest with you, I’m not sure. It’s heartbreaking to lose like this and I don’t think there really is anything you can take out of it to be honest with you. You just take the feeling with you of how you felt losing that game and take it to the offseason to fuel you to train and get ready for the next season and try to give it another shot.”

Was this game too big?
“No I don’t think it’s too big at all. Sometimes it takes a little longer and you go back to that Indy team that kind of went thru a similar thing that we went thru where they were getting to the playoffs and they were losing and would have a good record in the regular season but could never get to the big dance, and eventually they did. This is the type of team that can get there with the guys we have in the locker room and the leadership we have, it can be done.”

In your opinion what does this team need heading into the offseason?
“I don’t know. I can’t tell you. I’m sure the front office is going to evaluate everything and they’re going to do what this team needs to have done to get over the hump.”

How do you approach this offseason personally?
“Like any other: knowing that I’m going to play football next year. I’m going to get ready to train my butt off and get ready for another season.”

Why did you compare the Jets to the Chargers of 2006?
“The question was the difference between the ’06 team and this team and I simply said that this team was more explosive and had so many more weapons than the ’06 team. The ’06 team was comparable to the Jets team yesterday: pretty much one dimensional - not into throwing the ball a lot - and playing good defense. So that was my answer to the question.”

Did you ever allow yourself to think this was the year?
“I felt like that. At the bottom of my heart, I really felt like this was the year.”

Of the four teams left, who do you think is going to be in the Super Bowl?
“I think it’s going to be a heck of a game with the Saints and Minnesota. I think the Saints have a little bit of an advantage because they’re playing at home in the dome which can be tough and they feed off that crowd. Their offense can score on anybody, so I give the Saints the edge there. In the AFC game, I think the Colts will pull it out. I think they’re going to force (Mark) Sanchez to throw the ball a little bit more and force him to beat them. I don’t think the Jets will be able to run the ball as successfully as they have. I think they’ll (Indianapolis will) be able to move the thru the air. Philip (Rivers) had almost 300 yards passing so we moved the ball thru the air on them.”

Do you still follow the career of Drew Brees?
“No question. Absolutely. He’s my buddy so I’m not going against him.”

Have you gone to a Super Bowl?
“Yes, coming into my rookie year, I went to the Super Bowl in Tampa between Baltimore and the Giants. That was the first and only Super Bowl that I’ve gone to.”

Will you go if Drew and the Saints go?
“Only if he invites me to sit in the box (laughter).

Looking back on the season and last night, how do you assess the team’s struggles on the ground this year?
“I’ve talked about it all year long. A lot of times, the running game is about getting in a rhythm and doing it and coming off and hitting people and when we needed to run the ball, we did. When we had the opportunities to close out games like Dallas, we did run the football so obviously it was something that was secondary to our offense. But I thought we did a fairly good job when we needed to do it.”

How much more football do you feel like you have left in you?
“I feel like I’ve got a lot of football left. Physically I feel like I can hold up to the pounding still. Obviously I know I had the least carries in my career, but other than the ankle injury early in the year I was pretty healthy all year long.”

Are you looking most forward to the arrival of your first child this offseason?
“I am. I am really excited about that. Just all the preparation that goes into getting ready for the baby. It’s exciting and now I get to really be involved day-in and day-out so obviously I’m excited about that.”

Would you like to be here (in San Diego) next year?
“Well I’m under contract here so that tells me that I’m going to be here.”

Do you anticipate having to renegotiate your contract like you did in 2009?
“I don’t anticipate it.”

ILB Stephen Cooper

Do you feel any different the day after the game?
“It’s just a big letdown. After the game I was real disappointed but after sleeping on it and waking up today, the Jets were a real good team and you have to give them credit. When it’s playoff time, you’ve got to step up and show up to work and we didn’t do that.”

Does it hurt any less today?
“No, it’s going to hurt for a while because the opportunity was there for us to go win a Super Bowl. We had the guys intact, we had the coaching staff intact and we’re just disappointed to sit home and watch somebody else play for a Super Bowl when we thought it was going to be ours.”

Was this the team’s best shot to win a Super Bowl?
“No, we’ve still got 17 (Philip Rivers) at quarterback. We’ve still got a lot of guys coming back. We know a lot of contracts are up and some guys are going to be restricted (free agents) but I expect we’ll have a lot of the same faces back here next year and we’re going to keep pushing for the Super Bowl. That’s our goal and that’s my goal as an individual, to try to get that ring, because when you put on this uniform, at the end of the day you want to win a Super Bowl. It doesn’t matter about the money, it doesn’t matter about the individual accolades, it’s about going out there and winning a football game, and that’s the Super Bowl.”

What does this team need in the offseason to get better?
“I don’t really think any big moves need to be made. It’s just guys coming back and being healthy. Hopefully we get big number 76 (Jamal Williams) back at nose to tighten our ship and that’s just the biggest thing, to be healthy coming into next season.”

Do you see what Philip Rivers is going thru now as similar to what Peyton Manning went thru early in his career?
“No, Philip and Peyton are two different quarterbacks. They go about their business very differently. I’m not in the locker room with Peyton but I am in there with Philip and I know he’s the first one to get here and the last one to go home and he wants to win just as much as anybody wants to win. And it’s sad to see us lose in the fashion we did because as a team we really thought we were going to win this game. And to come up losing, it hurts, but what else can you do.”

Last night you were pretty pointed in your comments after the game, do you feel any less so today?
“No. We win or lose as a team. No individual wins or loses games. You can’t do that with 11 guys on the field. Philip didn’t play his best game; Nate (Kaeding) didn’t kick his best game, and as a defense we didn’t play our best game and we had opportunities too. We were winning 7-0 and we could’ve gone out there and not given up any points and won the game in that fashion, but we didn’t do that so you can’t point the finger at anybody.”

Every loss (stinks), but the way it went, does that make it (stink) more?
“No, because we were in the game the whole time. We always had opportunities but we played into the way the Jets wanted the game to go. That’s the whole thing. We tried to get momentum and we got momentum. We get a turnover and then we gave momentum back. It was just a push-and-shove grudge match the whole game and they pushed a lot harder than we did.”

Did the Jets want it more?
“Yeah. You could see they grinded out four quarters of football. They forced turnovers, They got after our quarterback. And they kept running the ball and they wore us out in the fourth quarter and it showed.”

How does that happen in the playoffs?
“I don’t think it comes down to who wants it more, but the way the game went and thru the four quarters, they played the way the Jets wanted the game to go. I know I wanted it just as much as anybody. I play until I see 0:00 on the board, no matter if I see if we’re up by 17 or down by 34 I’m going to play to the whistle and I know my teammates would also.”

Can you watch the AFC Championship game thinking that was the game you should’ve been in?
“Oh I’m definitely going to watch. I love football. I’m a fan of football and I love watching it, even when the offense is on the field, I’m always up on the sideline with Billy Volek trying to find out what play we’re running just to see what’s going to happen. You’ve got two good teams playing next week in the Jets and the Colts. You’ve got Peyton Manning versus a great Jets defense so it’s going to be a good matchup.”

Who are you rooting for now?
“It doesn’t really matter who wins. It isn’t us so whoever goes and gets it, they deserve it and more power to them.”

Do you like the Jets or the Colts?
“It’s going to be tough. With Peyton Manning back there at quarterback it’s hard to go against them, but Rex Ryan has his guys believing and they’re playing great team football so you really never know. It’s going to be a toss-up, more so a pick’em.”

Do you call this season a success or a failure?
“It’s definitely a success from where we came from and all the injuries we had early on. We bounced back with guys up and down all year. I know in the linebacker room we had a lot of guys starting this year that we different faces but everyone responded. It’s disappointing that we didn’t get thru this playoff run but we’ve got a lot to look forward to during the offseason and this upcoming season.”

This team went from 8-8 to 13-3, can this team repeat its success next year?
“We definitely can. The type of players we have on offense that can put up points, they’re going to always put up points. We played against a good defense yesterday and we had to respond as a defense ourselves, that’s why it’s a team game. As long as we have these guys back healthy and we keep pushing and have the same goals then we should be fine.”

TE Antonio Gates

Thoughts on the game:
“You know it’s over with. The Jets won. My hat goes off to the Jets. They came in and they played their kind of style of football and they were able to come away with the victory.”

Do you consider this a lost opportunity considering how many guys had great years?
“It’s devastating knowing guys, myself included, to me I had the best year so far in my career and guys just stepping into the zone. Vincent Jackson, Philip Rivers, I can go on and on and name guys…our offensive line with Marcus McNeil and Kris Dielman. But those are all individual accomplishments which we talked about earlier in the season. You set individual accomplishments and you set goals for a team. The team goal was to win a Super Bowl, but we just quite couldn’t get that done this year.”

Would you describe the uncharacteristic play is the same kind of problems that hit you when you played New England a few years ago…is this a maturity issue?
“Personally, I just think we went out and we just didn’t play our best game. It happens. That’s the nature of the business. You just are not immune to absolutely nothing as a human being. When you watch the film, you look at several things that are happening in the game and you just can’t believe they were actually happening. I remember there was a point in the game where it felt like it was a dream with some of the penalties we were committing. It felt like that in the New England game and the Jets game in ’06…it felt like it was happening to you kind of like a déjà vu feeling. It was just unfortunate that we weren’t able to take care of our business and move forward.”

Do you feel like the window of opportunity is closing on the big game?
“I feel like you learn from everything you go through. If you put yourself back in that position, what would you do over again? Would you make any changes? We’ve been talking about our ’06 season and we’ve been talking about our 14-2 season and now, we have something else to talk about. We got another situation to add to it. It’s hard for me to say. It’s hard for me to say at this point because I’m still devastated.  It’s over, but I keep replaying things I could’ve done different in the game. It won’t change the outcome of the game. The game is over and done with. I must say I enjoyed playing with these guys. I enjoy playing for the San Diego Chargers; to let them down, to let our fans down that means the most to us.”

On whether he should talk to LT about coming back to get it done or is it a decision between LT & AJ?
“One thing I’ve learned in this business over the past seven years is that you can only control what you can control. I have no control over what happens, what the situation is, what the future holds for LaDainian Tomlinson. All I know is I can cherish these past seven years that I had a chance to play with him. He knows how I feel about him. I’m quite sure he feels the same way, but he understands the business side of it. I’m quite sure that whatever happens will be the best for the San Diego Chargers and will be the best for LaDainian Tomlinson. “

Do you think there is a factor other than him that explains the difficulty you’ve had with running the ball?
“It’s hard to say. When you got a guy like LaDainian Tomlinson, who draws so much attention, you can see teams respect it. I don’t know that we weren’t able to run the ball. I just think guys were able to make plays in the passing game which gave us a different element going into the game. We didn’t have to feature the run every single game because we have so many guys that can make plays in the passing game now which is different from the past. It’s different from what he had to do back in the day when he had to carry the ball 25 to 30 times a game and when he had to have 100 receptions in a season. It’s just different now because we have so many guys that can make plays. We’re not asking him to do as much.  With that being said, he come in and he understood his role and he tried to do the best he can when the opportunity presented itself. “

Do you think the run blocking is adequate?
“I think collectively the offensive line put forth the effort. It’s difficult when you have guys coming in especially at the center position when you have guys changing at the position because to me that’s the most important position. He determines where the line goes. He determines the scheme. He determines who they pick up in the protection.  Give or take they still are fairly young, but to me they played tremendously. They did all they could do and that’s all you can ask when you play in this game and understand this league.”

You had your best season this past year. What is your focus going to be this offseason?
“Just working to putting myself back in that position that I was in this year to be competing for a Super Bowl Championship. Obviously, this year hurts so much because you put so much into it. Coming back off the injury, coming back from trying to be 100% and now I have a different focus going into next year trying to get back into this position and dealing with success, dealing with getting into the postseason and when you win the AFC West Division what would you do differently? That will be my goal. That will be something I will set aside.”

How much thought have you put into how different this roster is going to look this coming year?
“It’s different every year. It’s always change. It’s not something we worry about. It’s always going to happen. I told the guys Kris Wilson and Brandon Manumaleuna that I appreciated playing with them this year. I’m aware that both of their contracts are up. It’s so much change that probably is going to happen, but it would be beautiful that everyone comes back and we still would have a chance to do it. If not, I understand the business side of it. What I can do is prepare myself to play as well as I can play to try to help this team win a championship.”

OLB Shawne Merriman

Guys are packing up stuff and cleaning out their lockers. What’s that like?
“It’s tough. You know and the end of every year you have to do it. You just don’t expect it has to be done so soon. It’s not the fact that we’re all doing it. We have to do it. The way we’re doing it and the feeling doing it is not so good. You get a chance to see a lot of the guys for the last time until we all have to start back up again.”

There are some guys who won’t be here next year. Is that the tough part of the NFL?
“Yes, because you realize it’s a business and that’s the way it goes. But at the same time, you kind of grow a certain bond, a relationship with a lot of the guys, and to know that relationship could be coming to an end, you know, it’s tough. It’s like you’re losing a family member and they’re not going to be around you anymore.”

Do you expect to be here next year?
“I don’t know. I really don’t know. Nothing has really been set in stone just yet. Like I said before, I love our fans and I love my teammates. I love being here, but it’s not up to me. I’m more disappointed about the way that our season has ended that I haven’t really paid too much thought about it.”

Were you able to give it your best coming off the knee injury?
“I just watched the film just now, right before I came out here and I thought we played as tough as you can possibly play. We gave up two or three big plays in the game. But outside of that, I felt that we played as tough as you can possibly play a football game. Especially a team like that, who comes in known as the tougher team or the more physical team. I thought we played them pretty well.”

When you first played this season, were you able to give it everything, as much as you wanted to?
“Outside of being a little banged up, you know, with the foot and the groin at one point. You have to think a year ago I was contemplating whether I was ever going to play football again. Whenever you have a fully reconstructed knee surgery, you wonder a lot of things, some things you never even think about. But playing a full season without having a problem with my knee not one time kind of got those thoughts gone out of my head. And the way that I finished the season, I couldn’t be happier. Of course if we would have kept winning, but personally, I couldn’t happier with where I’m at right now.”

Do you guys feel like you beat yourselves more with the penalties and the little mistakes that you haven’t made all season?
“Absolutely. It was some of the most uncharacteristic things you could possibly do. And at bad timing. We had bad timing all the way around. Some missed field goals, offside penalties, personal fouls, things we’re not accustomed to doing and it happened. Certain situations we have to learn to keep our composure. That’s when the maturity and experience has to kick in at some point.”

That’s basically the same thing people were saying after the New England game in 2006.
“In ’06, yeah.”

Is there still a maturity problem here?
“It’s tough to say because you have guys who haven’t had a penalty like that the whole entire year and it happens one time in a bad situation. And that’s the deciding factor? If it were a thing where a guy had personal fouls all through year or offside penalties or whatever it is, and it happened in this game, then you can say, ‘okay well, he has pattern of doing that.’ But when guys get personal fouls and do some things that are uncharacteristic, you really can’t call it a maturity problem. It’s more of a composure problem that we need to get better.”

Have you addressed that?
“In certain situations just watch when it happens. Pay attention to your surroundings and watch what other teams are going to try and do to you and inflict certain penalties. We have to be the better team with that.”

Does emotion and being caught up in the moment of the desperation of winning create those penalties?
“Yeah, I think so. Whenever you get in a situation like that, you kind of get desperate. You want to be the guy that makes the big play and turn the game around, and does something spectacular to win the game. Sometimes that’s not always good. You have to go out there and do just what those battle lines and those arrows say to do.  It doesn’t always happen like that.”

Stephen Cooper said the Jets wanted it more. Do you agree with that?
“I can’t say that. After watching the film, at least from our side of the ball, I didn’t get a chance to watch the offense yet; I think we just really shot ourselves in the foot. We give them credit. They (the Jets) accomplished what they wanted to accomplish and that’s get a “W.” They played us hard. They played us tough. With one or two made field goals and a couple of penalties taken away, I don’t know if I could say the same thing about the end result of that game.”

How long will it take to stick with you?
“I don’t know. I have a bunch of things to think about. I feel like I’m in a good place right now, and whatever happens with our future, with my future, I couldn’t be happier…personally I bounced back from a lot of things and was able to still be disruptive and effective (on the field), and be a part of that locker room like no other. I’m really pleased about a bunch of things right now.”

When Philip Rivers went through the knee thing, he said it was about 18 months before it got to the point where he couldn’t feel it. Do you think there is maybe more upside there when you come back?
“Oh, yeah. Absolutely. There’s no way physically possible, and I argue with the doctors a lot because they told me that, and I told them they were wrong, and they went to school for all those years for nothing. But, with just the facts alone, it’s almost impossible to come back within 14 or 15 months and be 100 percent. Close to the end of the season, I started feeling everything was completely back and everything felt normal. I didn’t feel like just a cinder block out there running or anything like that. It was more that I felt like myself again, toward the end of the year. Like I said, I couldn’t be more happy about that.”

Do you expect major changes? Minor changes?
“I don’t know. I have no idea. It’s one of the, I guess more clueless situations I have ever in my whole entire life. It seems I always had an answer for things. Some way; somehow. In this case, I don’t. You don’t know who’s going to be here. I don’t know if I’m going to be here. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You can just be happy that guys came out healthy, and guys get a chance to still play football again, and the possibility of us all being on the field at the same time is still there. Outside of that, I’m just happy being in the situation we’re in.”

How do you deal with the fact that you’re future is, as you say, ‘out of your hands?’
“Well, it’s been like that. This is the NFL. It’s been like that for a while, especially the last few years regarding my situation. I’ve just been the person, the player I’ve always been. When I’m healthy, I go out there and lay it on the line. I thought that I played a pretty good game myself in this last game until I watched the film, and I thought collectively, as a whole, including myself that we played one of the hardest games you could possibly play. I know one day, somebody is going to tell me which helmet I’m putting on and how I can go out there and strap it up again, and I’ll be happy with that.”

As there ever been another team in the back of your mind…?
“Not really. I’ve always been happy with where I’ve been. And I’ll continue to be happy for now. Whatever situation is made, I’ll be happy with because I know it’s best for everybody. Like I said, I couldn’t be happier with how things ended up. Like I said, just twelve months ago I was really contemplating on whether I was going to be able to get on the field and be myself again, period. And now that I put that to rest mentally, I can move forward in whatever else is about to happen.”

When negotiating a new contract, is that strictly business or are you at a point in your career where you want be with a team that has a chance for a championship?
“I want to win. I want to win. And I always said it; I don’t think there’s an amount of money that can have me in a non-winning environment. It’s tough for me because I’ve won my whole entire life. I don’t know how to lose. And actually being around winners is what I base my life about. I’ve always been around guys that want to win. So that’s going to be a huge deciding factor in anything that goes forth. I just want to be in a situation to win games and put a ring on my finger. I watched all these guys that played 10 or 12 plus years in the National Football League, like Lorenzo Neal and some other guys who never got a chance to win. Never got a chance to be a champion. It’s horrible because that’s ultimately what you play this game for. And the money is going to come. No doubt about it. You go out there and you do what you’re supposed to do and you keep making plays and being disruptive and being dominant, those things are going to come. At the end of the day you’ll have that and won’t be a champion, and then somebody else out here will be able to call themselves a champion and you’ll never be able to call yourself a champion.”

QB Philip Rivers

Did the Jets do anything you didn’t expect them to?
“They really didn’t. They don’t, they just play good defense. From a scheme standpoint there’s really nothing that was surprising or had anybody confused out there. Just watching the game here twice already, we moved the football, it just didn’t show up on the scoreboard and that’s what’s ultimately matters. Some penalties hurt us and there were a couple third downs, a third-and-four early in the first quarter comes to mind, the third-and-four late, right before the field goal try in the fourth quarter. Some of those we just didn’t convert and in a large part it’s due to their defense making plays and ours not. It is a really good defense, you can’t take anything away from them. We moved the football and did some things to give ourselves a chance but we just didn’t do it and put enough points up on the board,”

What do the Jets do to teams?
“They cover you and there’s not a lot of separation for the most part. However many yards we threw for really doesn’t matter but we had some completions and guys running open, we just didn’t. There were two scoring opportunities we missed and then we turned the ball over backed up, we had 10 penalties, that’s why we didn’t have enough points on the board. We did some things uncharacteristic of ourselves that hurt us. The Jets certainly had something to do with that. They’re playing in the championship game. They earned it. We didn’t play our best. Had we played our best I think we would’ve won the game but we didn’t and we fell three points short.”

The next time, what would you do differently from a game-planning standpoint?
“Not a whole lot. We weren’t really able to get the run going like we thought we’d be able to. We thought we’d be able to get it going a little better than that but from a how we would attack standpoint, there were some things we had up. When you have different combination routes up, you don’t always pick the right side, there’s some things where you throw here and it’s just incomplete. You look at the other side, you may have had something. That’s every game, you over-analyze it but it ends up being the last game of the year because you don’t get to move on.”

What can you take from this game?
“Much like you would in any loss: you didn’t make enough plays to win. The thing about playing football and the thing that makes it tough when you do lose is it sticks with you a little longer and we won 11 in a row and that’s hard to do. Nobody in our locker room is excited or thrilled about that because the 12th one we didn’t win because of the way we came to play. It’ll be a long offseason and we’ll gear up to go at it again.”

How do you move forward off this defeat?
“You just try to play better. Stats, trying to compare different teams and years, it’s really meaningless. Did you play enough to win the game or not and we didn’t. You want to play better to win. You’d like to be at the top each and every year and do the things you want to do every game and never lose. It’s never happened and it’s not going to happen and it’s unrealistic to think that will happen, but as competitors, as players, you gear back up and go at it again next year. You try like crazy to fight and claw to be the last team standing but we haven’t done it in the six years I’ve been here and we’ll try it again in year seven.”

What will you be doing this offseason?
“Most of it will be spent in San Diego. We spend pretty much most of the year out here. We get back to Alabama for a little bit. One thing off the field that this will be the first year that I’m really involved in is starting the Rivers of Hope Foundation that we’re going to call “River of Hope.” The specific focus will be out soon but it’s geared toward foster-care and helping those children and parents that are looking to adopt. That’s one thing off the field. I’ll spend a lot of time with family and then it won’t be long before the football begins back up again. It’s tough. I hate losing as much as anybody. I know we all feel this loss and hurt in this locker room and in this building. As an organization and as I know the fans do. The only thing that helps, and it doesn’t get better over night. In fact it’ll probably get worse these next two weeks until nobody’s playing and you can feel better, but we’ll gear back up and be back at it.”

Do you expect significant changes this offseason?
“I don’t know. You’ve got to kind of really let the dust settle first and here in the next month or so the plan will be seen and where everything is headed and I would imagine one thing that’s been steady around here has been a core group of players and obviously people are added and you lose some each and every year, but there’s been a consistency and continuity here with a core group of players. Unfortunately it hasn’t been done and we haven’t gotten to the top in six years, but we do have a great group of guys and one that does have the makeup to do it. You don’t look for any sympathy but you look at past teams in other places. You don’t a lot of them or right in a row, and obviously it’s never been done here but you look at some of the teams and how long it took them to get there and that’s no consolation but you gear up and get ready to go again.”

Head Coach Norv Turner

Opening Statement:

“You know you do everything this team has done to get to this point and you know it’s well-documented the number of guys who have contributed to the team. The things that we had to do to get to this point and then you get in this game, what you like to have happen is to play your best game. You like to be playing your best game in January in games like this. Certainly, we weren’t, for whatever reasons. We did not do that today … the things that we’ve done that have given us a chance to win the games in the end (we did not do). First of all we’ve been one of the least penalized teams in the league and obviously we had numerous penalties that slowed us down and a couple of penalties that took away chances to get way down in there, particularly on the Vincent Jackson play all the way down in there. We obviously didn’t play our best game. It’s disappointing.”

How much was it the Jets dictating how they want to play?

“The Jets are a good team. They’re first in the league in third down defense and they’re going to create some different looks. But those are not things we’ve done with a couple of the times we’re trying to get the right protection and have had false starts. As I said the Vincent Jackson play, we haven’t made those kinds of mistakes. I don’t know if that’s based on what the Jets did or we had a critical error there.”

Did nerves factor into this game?

“Well, you’re excited to play and our guys were anxious and excited, but I don’t think nerves are what that is. We’ve talked a lot in the past, to win these types of games is you have to do what you have to do. You can’t try to do more then what you do. We had two or three balls that I thought could’ve been caught and guys are trying to run before they caught it. Those types of plays, you have to maintain the discipline. “

How do you explain the uncharacteristic personal fouls?

“No question. That’s how I describe it uncharacteristic. Obviously, it’s disappointing.”

How much of it was the pass defense or rush defense?

“The passing game I don’t think was an issue. They’re very good up front. They did a good job against us. We weren’t able to get anything going in the running game. That’s what ultimately makes it difficult and we missed opportunities obviously as we know. We missed a couple field goals we normally make and a couple times down in there we had penalties that took us out.”

Have you talked to Nate?

“I talked to him on the sideline.”

How hard is it for you to see him?

“I’m not going to put it all on Nate. We’ve had a lot of guys that have had career years that have plays that they would like to have the outcome different.”

Have you ever been a part of a team that played so well for an extended time and then it all comes crashing down?

“I don’t think it all came crashing down. Again, these games as I said during the week everyone wants to know they’re eight teams in it and they’re all good football teams. These games come down to a few plays and there some great effort out there. Defensively I thought we did an awful lot of good things. We made mistakes that we normally don’t and we didn’t do enough good things.”

Could that have been from frustration?

“As the game went on, I don’t know that you can answer that question or analyze that or express what caused that. It happened.”

On Philip Rivers second interception:

“He was throwing the ball to Vincent. We put Vincent in motion to get the press off and obviously we’re backed up and trying to get out of there. He said when he threw the ball he thought he had a chance and I think it just got a little away from him. Vincent was a little tighter than he expected.”

Do you think you stayed with the run too long?

“No, I don’t because that’s the type of game. No, I don’t. It was a three point game and we were ahead. There were things we like with an offensive line. With this group, if you turn it into just a pass every down it gets tough. There’s a good period of time where we were ahead in the game and there’s a couple drives where you look at it and you say maybe we should’ve taken a shot with a run there and given ourselves a chance.”

On the Sproles package working so well in the 4^th quarter:
“It’s the same thing we all know. It’s a 10-point game and it’s a totally different defense. That’s part of the deal. It gives you chance to get back in it.”

Why the onside kick at the end?

“That’s the one you have to make a call on and that’s always a tough call. We’ve been successful. We got a very good kick. We got big tall guys that have a chance to get it. Either way we were going to have to stop them. Obviously, if we kick it deep they have three downs to get it. If you kick it deep, their play selection might be a little different.”

Down 10 in the 4^th quarter, did you think to go for touchdown first and the field goal second?

“Well, we were there and three gives you a chance. As I’ve said about Nate many times, we get in that range and I expect him to make the kick. He expects too.”

How pleased were you with the defense?

“We played hard. We did some great things in terms of defending them.”

Of all things, you would not have expected the mental breakdowns?

“No question because when you go through a season and as I said you’re in the top five in fewest penalties, your in the top five in fewest penalty yards, that’s one of the things we know got us to this point. That’s something we don’t take lightly. We expressed and talked about it a great deal this week: understanding the things that gave us a chance to win those close games we were in and obviously some other games that weren’t so close.”

Did you ever think to go to the hurry-up offense quicker?

“Again, we got to it. The game was a 10-7 game. The hurry-up is good and it’s three and out and it’s not good. We were in a fine rhythm in terms of I think giving ourselves a chance. We were doing some things that were giving us a chance. You spread this group out and they give you a lot of protection problems. During that stretch that you’re talking about, we had three or four plays that we normally catch or complete that we didn’t come up with.”

What happened early in the game with the time out?
“We had two things where one of them we had a head set malfunction and the play got in there late and it was confusing. It was a third down and instead of trying to get half way into a protection we thought that would help us get it. The second time we sent in the wrong formation.”

Do you feel especially disappointed for a guy like LT?

“I think we know I feel and you feel about LT. It’s difficult for everyone in that locker room, but I know how he looked forward to this opportunity. It’s real hard.”

Any idea why you started so slow, Nick Hardwick snapping the ball over Philip’s head?

“As I said, when you go back and look at it there’s going to be 10 things like that. We haven’t had a bad snap on shotgun this year. I asked what happened and he says it got away from him.”

What is the difference in the first half with dominating them to the second half?

“That’s the way games go and obviously we had two turnovers at the lead of the second half. That was a crazy play to Vincent. Again, there are plays we made. Our guys are unbelievable. Malcom has both hands on the ball two different times and doesn’t come down with it. Vincent has a chance to catch a ball and it bounces off his leg and ends up being an interception. Those plays are what you’re talking about. That changes if you’re in the second half if that happens.”

San Diego Chargers Quarterback Philip Rivers

It seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong, any idea why?

“You want to play your best game when you get to this point and we obviously didn’t do it.  It’s disappointing because you want to make enough plays and play well enough to win the game.  We fell three points short but fought like crazy to try to overcome some of those mistakes, but we just didn’t get it done.”

Did you lose sharpness over the bye week?

“That’s what everyone is going to say because it’s the easy thing to write about but we just didn’t play well enough to win.  They outplayed us.”

They kept sending a guy off the right side, why didn’t you put someone in the backfield to stop that?

“Sometimes they bring more-than you have.  You can’t block them all.  They’re bringing more guys than you have to block.  Protection-wise we did a great job picking up the blitz.  When they’re bringing more than you have, you have to throw it hot.  I thought we made some of those adjustments pretty well and the one I can remember was the sack fumble and we regained possession.”

Were you going for Vincent Jackson on Leonhard’s interception?

“Yes, he was coming in on a dig and I just threw it a little too soon and brought him in a little too far.  It was just not a smart play.”

Do you think today was uncharacteristic of this team?

“Well there’s no doubt.  We did some things we haven’t done in these last 11, games.  Some things we did do in these last 11, but we were able to overcome them.  When you’re able to overcome them, people forget about them and when you can’t, they cost you a playoff game.  It’s unfortunate.”

Were the penalties disappointing?

“It is disappointing that we had that many penalties.  Some of them were unsportsman like and some other different things like delays and false starts.  I think it was 10, or even more than that so it certainly wasn’t the football we played when we won 11 in a row.”

Do you think the unsportsman like conduct was out of frustration?

“I don’t know.  It really doesn’t matter why it happened.  It happened.  That ended up not hurting us really.”

From your view did you think the interception was an incomplete pass?

“I thought it hit the ground.  If they get an interception, then I’ll take it.  It is my fault but that’s just an unlucky deal.  Vincent [Jackson] almost makes a great catch and it bounces off his leg and pops up in their hands.  I thought I saw an incomplete sign.  The ball was 100% intercepted. I was hoping if it at least got called incomplete you could use a challenge.  That was more heat of the moment and hoping it wasn’t true, but it was.”

When talking about uncharacteristic behavior, what leads to that?  Do the Jets get credit for that?

“Whoever you’re playing deserves the credit.  They won the football game.  We didn’t play as good as we could have or have in the past.  I think the reasons why don’t really change the outcome.  We just didn’t get it done.”

How difficult was their defense compared to what you have seen?

“I think they are a good defense.  You can’t take that away from them.  They only gave up an average of 14.80 points during the year.  We beat their average, we moved the ball and challenged them in ways they haven’t been before, but we just didn’t turn those into points.  We got down in there early but didn’t get points.  We had a play in the third quarter after [Quentin] Jammer’s interception, that took us down to the 15, but had a penalty.  We had some others things that kept us out of the end zone but we did some things offensively, yard-wise, but who cares about yards if you don’t have more points at the end than the other team?”

Did their defense confuse you?

“No.” 

Does the outcome of this game wipe away the season?

“There’s only one team happy at the end.  Unless you win it all, it eventually ends like this, either this week, or next week, or at the Super Bowl.  Obviously you want to be the team standing at the top, but for 31 teams it ends like this.  Some get further than others, but the feeling of the loss, defeat and disappointment is the same for all 31 of us.  We prepared the right way, practiced the right way, but just didn’t make enough plays to win the game.”

The first play after the Jets take the lead 10-7, LT runs for 1 yard, and there were significant boos.  Were the fans booing for LT or the play call?

“You have to ask them.”

Were you aware of it?

“I really don’t give it much thought.” 

San Diego Chargers Running back LaDainian Tomlinson

How tough was it to run?

“There defense was perfect. They were the number one defense for a reason and they proved it today.”

Could you imagine all these things going wrong in one game?

“Of course not. We haven’t played like this all year. Penalties and stuff, that is uncharacteristic of this team. We did it today. You can say maybe it’s a case of their defense getting us out of rhythm and having us press a little bit. Credit goes to them.”

How good was their defense?

“It was the best defense I’ve played this year. No question. Run, pass, and they are really prepared. Hats off to them.”

You want a Super Bowl ring; does that motivate you to come back next year?

 “I can’t even think about that right now. It’s very disappointing to think about the future.”

Do you want to come back?

“I can’t tell you that right now.”

Do you think you played your last game with the Chargers?

“I don’t know. I’m not sure. I’ve heard all the speculation. But, I’ll tell you what, I’ve had a heck of a time here and if it is, I’ve enjoyed the ride.”

Do you know if it’s your last year?

“I don’t know. Obviously I have a couple years left on my contract but it’s a year-to-year league. No one knows what will happen.”

You’ve said that this team was your best shot at a Super Bowl, how disappointing is it to lose your first playoff game?

“You can’t explain it because of the disappointment. You had it all thought out on how it was supposed to go and this was the best shot we had. To lose this game today, I’m at a loss for words. Of course noone expected to lose tonight.”

Was there a sense as this game was going on that it wasn’t going the way you guys wanted it to?

“No I don’t think so. We always felt like we were going to get it going and they weren’t going to be able to stop us the whole the game and at some we point we were going to put the ball in the end zone.”

Did you underestimate the Jets?

“No, not at all. There is no such thing as underestimating somebody at this point. If someone makes it to this position in the playoffs you can’t underestimate them. Like I said earlier, they had the winning formula to be here.”

Were you aware of the boos on your first down carry?

“That’s frustration on the fans part. Not being able to do much the whole game and the first play that we’re behind we try to run it up in there and we didn’t do anything.”

Do you take it personal?

“No, I don’t”

What does is say about a team that is uncharacteristic?

“Sometimes you have to give other guys credit and that’s plain and simple, not making any excuses. They kicked our buts today. They were very physical and hats off to them.”

So the better team won today?

“I wouldn’t say that. As they say, any team can win one game and they were the better team today.”

Do you still have it in you to play?

“Obviously I have the passion in me. But when this happens it takes a lot out of you, mentally and physically. It has a toll on you to lose like this.”

San Diego Chargers Kicker Nate Kaeding

On getting through a tough game after missing three field goals:

“One of these rested on my shoulders before.  Professionally, it’s a tough thing to get through but I never feel sorry for myself.  I feel sorry for my teammates, my coaches and the support staff for letting them down.  It’s going to be a tough few months but I have to get through it.  If you relish the good parts of it, you have got to be able to work through the bad part as well. I’ve been through it before, its a tough night obviously and we’ll let this rest and pick up the pieces.”

On what happened on the three missed field goals:

“I didn’t kick it between the uprights.”

On how he felt coming into today’s game:

“I felt great coming in and obviously I’ve been kicking the ball great coming in. It was just one of those things where I put some bad swings on it and the ball didn’t go in.”  

On the ups and downs of his football career:

“It’s tough, it is obviously not enjoyable.  The other side of it definitely beats this side of it but like I said, if you play this game and you can only accept when things go well, then you’re in the wrong business.  Especially in my position because you’re going to miss some and unfortunately some days like this will come and my really bad days have been untimely ones.  Its tough to deal with but you have got to deal with it, it’s part of the deal.”

On how he felt about today’s missed field goals:

“I don’t know. When you make them you put a good swing at them and when you miss them you don’t.  The ones that I missed today, I didn’t hit very well.”

On his fundamentals when he’s kicking field goals:

“You just try to replicate and do the same swing every time.”

San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates

On how he is feeling right now:

“Disappointed, frustrated at this point just knowing that there were a lot of things that we did to ourselves. We had a lot of penalties, which is uncharacteristic of the San Diego Chargers.”

On the Chargers in the second half not seeming like the same team we had seen over the last eleven games:

“When you are playing this kind of game, it’s amazing how penalties can change field position and can mean so much in a game like this. Obviously, it meant a world of difference in this game. They continued to stick with their game plan. They bust up a long run and you look up and we were trailing. That’s just how easy this game can turn around.”

On if it was the Jets or if the Chargers beat themselves today:

“To a certain extent. There were some things that were just uncharacteristic of the Chargers; all of the penalties and we had delay of game (penalties). To me, we had more penalties and unsportsmanlike conduct (penalties) in this game than we had since I can remember. That’s why it’s just important to come out and play your best football around this time of the year.”

On having a core group of players and if they felt that this year was one of their best chances to go all the way:

“I think that’s what is devastating at this point because we understand that our focus was there. The maturity level was there. We had dealt with a lot of adversity so there wasn’t anything at this point that we hadn’t seen as a unit. To come out and lay an egg in this game… words can’t really describe how I feel, how this team feels at this point.”

On having been here before and knowing how the next nine months is going to feel like and on how he is not looking forward to that:

“It’s heart-breaking. Like I’ve said in the past, it’s just that the National Football League is a game of inches, a game of taking care of the football. They did a better job than we did today.”

On how good the Jets defense is:

“They play hard. They make plays but with all due respect, we just weren’t playing up to our standards. We made some plays offensively but the key to me was just the penalties, they were killing us. We turned the ball over and that just was uncharacteristic of us, offensively. It just hurt us.”

On if the team seemed to lose focus after each penalty:

“To me it was so uncharacteristic. I couldn’t really believe it was happening at times. Penalty after penalty. I’m thinking like, ‘Man, not again,’ because that wasn’t us. That isn’t something, if the past you look at is the last eleven games, delay of game? Unsportsmanlike conduct? I can’t remember the last time we had an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. We chose the wrong game against the wrong team to not capitalize.”

On if any of the Jets defensive looks confused the offense:

“They do a lot of different things defensively. You look up and there are two down-linemen and nine guys walking around. They are a tremendous team. They play hard on both sides of the ball but make no mistake about it, this was just about the San Diego Chargers. We lost by three points and there were some things that were just… I mean I dropped some passes. It wasn’t the team I’ve been around for the last eleven weeks. With that being said, we fought hard and we went out and did what we could do and our guys played their heart out.”

San Diego Chargers linebacker Stephen Cooper

How much tougher is it considering the way you guys played tonight when you haven’t really played like that all season?

“It’s real tough. It’s very tough because this isn’t our team. We are a very disciplined team. We’ve had our penalties down all season and for some reason we had some very stupid penalties today and they showed. If you have penalties in the playoffs and you give a team like the Jets an opportunity to win, they are going to keep grinding and grinding and grinding because that is what they do.”

What was the difference between the first half and the second half?

“I think the second half we had a couple turnovers and they got the ball with good field position. They controlled their field position during the game and that’s why they won.”

San Diego Chargers safety Eric Weddle

On the game and if the way they played made it sting even more:

“It always hurts when you lose. The reality of the fact is that this is it; the season is over and you never know what is going to happen next year. The opportunity we had- we didn’t seize it for whatever reason. I don’t believe it’s the bye, I don’t believe it’s time off. We just didn’t play good enough to win so you’ve got to give credit to the Jets.”

The expectations were so high for you guys; is the disappointment just as great?

“If they weren’t as high it would still hurt just as much. The season is over. We thought we had a really good team and obviously we didn’t play good enough to win.”

You have to give credit to the Jets but at the end of the day do you feel that you beat yourself out there?

“No. I don’t think that. When we lose, we didn’t play good enough to win. The Jets had a lot to do with that. You have to give credit to your opponent. Hopefully we’ll learn from it and come back strong next year.”

San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman

Were you surprised at the number of penalties?

“Yes th’at was very uncharacteristic of us. Why today? I don’t know but you can’t win like that at all, you cant win. We can’t expect to win a game in the playoffs with that many penalties. It’s just not us.”

It has to be such a shock to go from the high you guys were at before this game, to where you guys are at right now:

“It’s not a good feeling. I’ll tell you that much, especially when you come so far and you’ve done all the right things to get in the position that we were in, and to fall like this is a horrible feeling. Horrible.”

Is the suddenness of the season the worst part of it?

“It is because like I said, when you work so hard and have done all the right things to get in the position we were in and lose the way we did, it’s not like we got kicked around the field. I’m not sure exactly how many penalties we had but I’m sure that we had a lot of them.”

Very uncharacteristic of this team?

“We’re not used to doing those things at all. It’s so tough, not just to lose the game, but to lose the way we did. We have a bunch of guys in this locker room that played hard and played their hearts out and it didn’t end up the way we wanted it to. We started moving the ball and did some positive things at the end but ran out of time.”

Do you think you guys were rusty after that week off?

“I don’t think so. I think the week off helped a lot of guys get healthy including myself. We got well-rested and ready to play football. When you have a week off like that, it has nothing to do with the amount of penalties that we had today. It was uncharacteristic of us period.”

In your gut feeling, do you think that you’ll be back next year?

“Who knows. I love the game of football. I love my teammates and my fans, and whether I’m here or not, it’s not up to me. That’s the last thing that I’m thinking about. I feel terrible for these guys in the locker room who have been here and wanted to win and get a ring, and who have put in so much work and to lose the way we did, I feel bad just for those guys alone. It’s one of the toughest things that you’ll ever have to deal with.”

How stunning was it to have so many composure penalties today?

“It was one of those things that we haven’t had a problem with the whole entire season because we had a lot of discipline and not making mistakes. We did all those uncharacteristic things today that we haven’t done all season. When you lose like that, that’s what makes it hurt that much more.”

Did their running game take a toll down at the end of the game?

“I don’t think so. I think we had a wrap on them for most of the game. But when you keep giving them back the ball and keep giving them opportunities, there’s a reason why they’re in the playoffs. They are going to finally score and we missed some field goals and if you do uncharacteristic things like that, you have to expect to lose. It’s a terrible feeling.”

San Diego Chargers defensive end Luis Castillo

On what he can say about the loss:

“The one thing we can say is that everybody is going to be looking for someone to blame. We’ll have nine months for every individual to find a way to point to themselves and to find a way, one of these years, to get past one of these games.”

On what happened to the maturity of the team over the bye week to not come out on top today:

“You always play as a team. When you are at this point, at this level of the season, you’re not playing a bad team and sometimes it’s a matter of who can go out there and have things go their way and we just didn’t today.”

On if the penalties, especially the personal fouls, make the loss more gut-wrenching:

“There are so many different things whether it’s missed opportunities, whether it’s mistakes, whether it’s, obviously, the penalties and not just the personal fouls but the before-the-play-starts penalties. The dead ball penalties really hurt you and really there’s no reason for them. There’s also no explanation. It’s not like we didn’t do everything we needed to. It’s not like we didn’t prepare the way we needed to. Things just didn’t go our way.”

On some of the players in the locker room not being back next year and how much that hurts:

“Every year you just see it as, I don’t want to say a lost opportunity, but every year you see it as make-it or break-it because in this league, whether it’s injuries, whether it’s free-agency, whether it’s just the nature of our business, you don’t get many (opportunities). We’ve been fortunate enough to have a few over the years and we believe we have a core group of players on this team who are going to continue to fight, continue to be good and continue to try to get to that level that we haven’t been able to achieve yet. It’s disappointing because we did feel like we had a great chance.”

On the long touchdown run given up by the defense and what happened on that play:

“I don’t know what happened. It was most likely a missed fit, a mental mistake. To give up that type of a play, it’s not usually something where everybody was where they were supposed to be and they just got blocked. It’s usually a mental mistake and look, if it was, it’s still on the other ten guys on the field to find a way to get it corrected because in this league everyone gets beat every now and then. We all have to rally. We have to find a way to play together and it’s not on just one guy.”

San Diego Chargers long snapper David Binn

On if past playoff games had any influence on the game:

“I don’t think so, it’s a different game. I had a little bit of a feeling that we were just out of it and the Jets are a good team and they came in and they played good defense and we have to give some credit to them for maybe throwing us off a little bit. As a team, it just seemed like we just weren’t hitting on all cylinders today and that’s what happens.”

On being here for a long time and having this kind of disappointment many times and on where this one ranks:

“None of them are easy. You just try and hope you play your best game. We didn’t do that today and ended up with a loss. It’s shocking and it feels a little bit surreal right now, like the season’s over? You just have to move on and look forward to next year.”

On how uncharacteristic it felt for this team:

“It just felt a little bit off, I think. There were just some mistakes made by, it seems like, everybody on both sides of the ball, special teams, everywhere they were just a little bit off. I guess that’s all it takes to turn it into a loss.”

On how bad he feels for Nate Kaeding:

“I feel bad for him, really bad.”

Head Coach Norv Turner

On today's practice:
"We had a good practice. We have good energy and I think that comes from being fresh. As I said, we've been extremely focused all week."

How does today compare to previous Fridays?
"One of the things this team has done is practice at a really high level, a consistently high level, all season on Fridays. That's where we really fine tune what we're doing. We make it less physical. We make it more about quickness and execution and assignments. That's been something that has really helped this team play well and play well early in games. I don't think today was any different than we've practiced on Fridays."

Is this as focused of a team as you've had?
"This team is very focused. We've got guys that I think know how to prepare and have done that over the time I've been here."

Have you been monitoring the weather?
"It's kind of crazy to monitor the weather or give it a bunch of attention now. What I usually do is, about two hours before the game, go out and walk around the field and see what the weather is. Then you plan accordingly. All this speculation and spending hours talking about what it might be or might not be; we played well in all kinds of weather. We'll have a plan based on if it's windy, if it's rainy or if it's dry, whatever that might be."

What would you say is your biggest advantage against the Jets in this game?
"Like I said yesterday, when you get down to eight teams, every team is very good and every team is playing at a real high level. I'm not sure that there is an advantage for anybody. If we have an advantage it's obviously being at home. I refer back to our Cincinnati game and the way our crown reacted in that game. I thought our crowd was a big difference in that game. Through the third quarter they struggled offensively, they had a bunch of pre-snap errors, and I thought our crowd had a lot to do with that. I expect them to be as loud as they've ever been and that's obviously why you want to play at home."

Do you ever worry about your team coming out flat at the start?
"You're always concerned about that, but I don't use the word flat because that's an easy out for describing how a game went. If you don't convert on third downs; let's say you go out and you have a third and six the first series and you don't convert and you go three and out and then you have a situation where you don't convert again and turn it the other way around and the other team gets third and eight and they convert, third and six and they convert, and they put a drive together, people say they were flat. Well, maybe they didn't execute as well as you'd like, but I'm not sure flat is the right term in those cases."

Do you ever marvel at Nate Kaeding's consistency now that he's made so many in a row?
"The two things that I've learned about kickers is that you never take it for granted, and the other thing is if you have a kicker who doesn't take it for granted then he's got a heck of a chance of being as consistent as Nate is. Nate never takes a kick of granted. He goes in there and he's as focused as anyone I've been around. He's got a routine. He doesn't assume he's going to make it. He doesn't ever get bored with what his job is. That's why he's kicked at the level he's kicked."

Did you watch Neil Rackers kick last weekend for Arizona?
"I saw it on all the highlights. I saw it about 15 times, I think, on all the highlights"

What causes that? He's a very consistent kicker.
"That's why, as I said, I never assume it's an automatic. That's why I appreciate what Nate does so much."

Are you the only team that you know of to employ the skinny goal posts (on the practice field)?
"I don't know. I know Nate likes them. Just to tell you how he is, when it doesn't go through those and misses it by a foot or two feet, he doesn't ever say to himself that would have been good on the regular post. He wants to put it through those posts. That says something about him. It's easy to say it would have been good, but that's not the purpose of having those posts."

Does a wet field favor the Jets because they run the ball so much?
"I don't know. That one will be discussed at 4:45 if it's wet. Our guys have played extremely well on all kinds of surfaces. I don't think if it rains it will be a disadvantage to our football team." 

###

Head Coach Norv Turner

Any health updates?
"It's the same exact report as yesterday. I thought we made it through good today. A very good practice."

You established a plan of how you wanted these two weeks to play out in terms of practice. Has it gone according to how you mapped it out?
"I think the things we addressed last week were we've had some difficulties, things where we've given up plays or we haven't executed as well as we'd liked on offense or in the kicking game. I think it's showed up yesterday and today that we've addressed some issues and I think we fixed some issues. Obviously it's practice and you address them and you want it to show up in the game. I thought our practices have been outstanding."

You said yesterday's practice was as up-tempo a Wednesday practice as week one or week two. How much of that is resting?
"I believe that the physical part of it is a factor and I think that all of the guys, if you talked to them, would feel that and agree with that. It's the focus. When you're as focused as they are right now and you know what's out in front of you, what the possibilities are, then everyone is focused and everyone is focused on each other. There's more communication in practice on both days then you'd ever have in a normal Wednesday or Thursday practice."

Do you sense more attention in meetings?
"Absolutely. The biggest thing is the details of what we're doing. You don't change a lot of what you're doing on a week-to-week basis, but you have to change to gear it towards the opponent you're playing. I think our guys have done a great job of understanding the Jets and understanding the things that we have to handle."

What kind of differences do you see in preparation with a team that has this kind of playoff experience, as opposed to a younger team?
"Maturity is a big deal and it's easy to get caught up in everything that's going on around you and not zero in on the details of football. I think you get that with experience and maturity."

Is there a disadvantage in having a bye week and possibly losing momentum?
"I think it depends on your team. I believe we have a number of guys who would have struggled to play a week ago. So that part of it, there's no way that that's not a positive. We went into Indianapolis and they had had a bye two years ago and we had played a real tough game against Tennessee and we were little bit beat up, but we were healthy enough to play, so that is an issue. We have to be ready to go in a snap. I think that would indicate the stats you're talking about, that it's not as big of an advantage. I think you see the eight teams in this tournament right now, there's not much difference. The games come down to one or two plays, they come down to a missed kick, they come down to a penalty in a critical situation and a fumble, something like that. You know you have to go play your best. I don't care who you are and where you're playing and if you've had rest or not, you're going to have to go out and play a real good game. If you don't you're going to have problems."

Did you have more contact in practice this week since you didn't play last week?
"Yeah, in fact we went in pads yesterday and I got a little nervous about halfway through because it was a physical practice. We certainly want to be ready, we want to go; I don't want to leave it out here."

When you addressed the team on Sunday, did you say anything to the team to make sure they don't get too hyped up?
"Poise is a big issue and poise is probably the biggest reason we've won 11-straight games. There's going to be emotion involved; I don't think you ever downplay that. I don't know that you're going to falsely create that. The emotion is going to be there for both teams and it's going to be a big part of the game early. Our experience and our maturity and our poise are going to have to take care of us."

Have you paid attention at all to the weather report and is that going to be a factor in your game plan?
"No, I look at it. I know there's been a forecast possibly of some rain. We played Tennessee in the rain in the playoffs, the first playoff game that I was here. It doesn't get bad and the forecast doesn't look like it would be bad where it would be an issue."

You mentioned that you were a little nervous during yesterday's practice. Did you scale it back at all?
"No, I didn't. We had a good practice. You get a little cautious, and certainly as said, you don't want to get someone banged up out there and you don't want to leave it out on the practice field. Our tempo is good. We know what to do. I know it's going to be physical and I know it's going to be an emotional game."

How much of an advantage is it to pick up the Jets' blitz packages when you have players like Nick Hardwick and Philip Rivers that are pretty adept at picking those things out?
"It's a big part of it. The biggest thing you can do is minimize the third downs. That is what the Jets do such a great job at. They're so good at first and second down that you're going to have to handle third down. They're by far the best team in the league on third down defense and they've been better the last six weeks than they were the first 10. They sometime in the game are going to get somebody free, and we're just going to make sure that it doesn't turn into a big play for them. We've got to handle it because they come from so many different places so that at some point they do. When you pick them up and you get open, you have to take advantage of it. They're an outstanding cover group, they're an outstanding pressure group and you're going to have to go out and make big plays to win, to win each matchup. You're not going to slow them down, it's not like you're going to get a big play and they're going to quit coming because that's what they do."

Your offensive line has been in a state of flux all year. At the end of the year did you feel that you had your cohesiveness back?
"Absolutely, and when you look at getting Nick (Hardwick) back and with Kris (Dielman) and Marcus (McNeill) over there, we have that cohesiveness. Louis (Vasquez) has been in there almost every down, he missed a couple of games, but Louis is not your average rookie and he's been one of the reasons that we've had success and had continuity. I can't say enough about what Brandyn Dombrowski has done. I know they're going to give him some problems; people have attacked him and people have tried to confuse him and people have given him different looks and he's handled them. I have confidence he will."

How good is Philip Rivers at picking up blitzes and how important that skill is at being a good quarterback?
"It's managing the game. The difference right now in the two quarterbacks, obviously, is Philip has a lot more plays he has to manage in our offense. Mark (Sanchez) has done a great job and they're done a great job running the ball and playing defense. When you have 15 throws and of those six of them are third downs, you don't have as many plays that you have to manage. If we can get him in an uncomfortable situation and into some situations that he has to manage more things, we'll do everything that we can do take advantage of that."

Will you give the starters any more time on special teams now that you're healthy?
"We're healthy on special teams and we have a lot of starters involved in our kicking game. We have starters that are involved as backups, if we have a problem. Our special teams core is strong; they play good; they're young guys that have high energy and execute well. I'm excited for them, in terms of the opportunities that they have."

TE Antonio Gates

What is the physical difference with a week layoff?
"We fought and battled to get to this spot and it's definitely going to help us. We had some guys banged up. It just put us in the best physical position possible to go out and win a football game. I think that's what matters the most."

How do you feel personally? Can you tell that's it's been a while since you guys have taken hits?
"That's why we played the last game. We wanted to maintain that chemistry and that competitive edge that we had leading up to the postseason. If you watched that first team in our last game of the season, we came out making some throws, we missed some throws, but I think the most important thing was that we were able to compete and maintain the chemistry in a live game."

What do you expect to see from the Jets defense?
"You never really know because the Jets are not a divisional opponent. One thing I've learned since I've been playing is that the postseason presents so many different situations. Sometimes you may prepare a certain way but the game presents itself in a whole different way. I think we are definitely prepared and ready to play but at the same time we understand that in a playoff game, your ability to adapt is just as important as anything else you can do. We have some things on film that we see but we're not really for sure that things will be played exactly that way because there are so many guys that can make plays on this offense."

Have you seen them do some completely different things week to week?
"They do a lot of different things. Rex Ryan came from Baltimore and the way they pressure and the way their corners are very physical makes it a challenge. They have a lot of guys who can make plays on their defense. With that being said, we have guys that can make plays offensively so we don't want to get caught up in what they are doing defensively because we still have to worry about playing San Diego Chargers football."

Because they have such good corners, do you feel pressure to make plays in the offense?
"No because we play together as a unit. There's no situation where I feel like there's pressure on me or the team for that matter. If we continue to do the things that we've been doing since up until the postseason, then the San Diego Chargers are going to be fine. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up into the hype and everything else but our main focus is to prepare as well as we can and go out and have fun because these types of opportunities come once in a lifetime."

What's the value of playoff experience?
"If I had to sum everything up to the younger guys around here it would be that in the playoffs, every single possession is so valuable. You have to really take care of that football. I remember the last time we played the Jets and we had a chance to win the game but we missed the field goal and they came back and made it. That's just how small the margin of error is in a playoff game. But with all that being said, go out and have fun. It's a football game. Still go out and play the way you know how to play the game and go out and fly around. I guarantee you that you can walk away with your head high if you gave it your all."

Do you remember how nervous you were for your first playoff game?
"It was crazy because that was the first time the Chargers had been in a playoff game since 1994. I could just remember the energy and the focus that we had. But all of those things that we've done in the past have made us who we are today. It gave us that adversity and experience that I think makes us a different team. We're not that team from 2006 or the team from last year, we're a group of guys that have been in those games and have learned from those games."

Is it possible to be over-amped for a win or home game?
"Normally I would say so. But like I said, this team has gone through so much. We've played in big games. We've won some, we've lost some but overall we've learned from them. Now you just see the focus. I could remember my first playoff game, and about this time then, I was like 'wow this is a long season.' Now, it feels like some new. Something about the energy now feels totally different. It just speaks how we carry ourselves and our mindset about what our focus is which is to win a Super Bowl championship."

Can you remember a time that this team has ever been this healthy?
"It's been a long time. The physical part has been an issue for us in the past but now we are making sure everything is in place. Obviously preparation is still the key but the fact that we are healthy and physically ready has me anxious to see how we're going to play this week."

You brought up the missed field goal the last time you guys faced the Jets in the playoffs. Have you talked to Nate; is he looking for some redemption?
"Nate has been kicking tremendously. He was voted to the Pro Bowl this year so I'm quite sure that is something that he's learned from in the past. That's why he is the kicker he is today. I remember him missing kicks in the past, but now he's a whole new player and this is a whole new team like I said previously. We are just ready to play football and try and win a Super Bowl this year."

Defensive Coordinator Ron Rivera

What made the biggest difference in the way the team executed during the 11-game win streak?
"I think as we look back on this year, which we had a chance last week, you've got to really point out the consistency in terms of the play of the defensive line. We got some guys that we brought back, Ian Scott, Alfonso Boone, we kind of got into what we did. A few guys got healthier in terms of Luis Castillo and Jacques Cesaire and Travis Johnson, and then our young guys that we counted on to do some good things, did some really nice things. We miss O.G. (Ogemdi Nwagbuo) who played really well for us up until he had to go on I.R. But I think our young guys have really stepped up and played well. I just think it's the continuity and the way the D-line has played the last eight, nine, 10 weeks."

Did you get to know Rex Ryan at all during your playing days?
"Yes. Yes. He was one of those young guys that used to come around because his dad was the coach and I got to know Rex and visit with him on occasion when I'd see him at the different functions and events."

Where do you rank Buddy Ryan in terms of influence?
"Oh, wow. I think just having been around a guy like Buddy Ryan for a couple of years and got a chance to get to know his philosophy on things was really impressive and it's left an imprint on me in terms of the way I approach things."

What is it that makes the Jets' defense so successful and why don't more teams play it?
"The big thing is it's a philosophy thing, first and foremost. I think it's what you've got to believe in and you also have got to be willing to take those kind of risks. It is a high-risk, high-reward defense. I know when Buddy used to do it, he used to always believe in us and that was one of the big things too. When you have guys that eventually are going to be Hall of Famers like we did, it makes it a little bit easier too."

Do you feel like you and Norv Turner complement each other?
"I think so. I mean, you know, I take my lead from Coach (Turner), what he wants us to do on our side of the ball. But I really do. I love how consistent Coach is and even-keeled. It's been like that for the three years I've been here and the one thing Coach has always been is even-keeled, whether we were 2-3 or 3-5 at one point. He never waivers and I think that's important, is that the head coach under pressure keeps his composure and I think that's outstanding."

What did change that made the defense better as the year went on?
"As I said earlier, I think it was the consistent play of the defensive line. But we did a couple things schematically a little different as well from where we first started the season out because we had to suit the guys that were playing for us and the guys adapted very well."

Some offensive play callers speak about getting into a zone calling offensive plays. Do you ever get into one calling defensive plays?
"I think sometimes you can, I really do. But you've got to also call it by the flow of the game as well. You just can't pull things out of the air. I think you've got to try and match to what the situation is as well."

Does Rex have a lot of Buddy in him?
"I do. I think he does. I do think he does and that's a compliment because his dad was a heck of a football coach who I really enjoyed playing for, and just watching him, and his brother as well, Rob, they share the same type of personality."

How much do you think rest will help Shawne Merriman?
"I think the rest has been good. This is probably the first time he's done two days in a row of practice so that's been exciting for us as a defensive staff. As you game-plan, there's not that uncertainty as to whether or not he'll be out there or how long he's going to be there, so I'm pretty excited about his opportunity to be on the field."

What's your role in game-planning for Rex's defense?
"Well, that's coach's side. Defensively, we stick to what we do. As far as what our offense is going to do, that was up to coach."

But do you look at film?
"I've looked at film on him, but no. No."

You played in their defensive scheme. Would you consider it high-stress or high-fun?
"It's a lot of fun. It is. I think that's one of the things that, when people talk about what has helped us defensively is our guys are having a lot of fun as well. I think that's important. If you put your guys in position to have fun and enjoy themselves out there, it becomes a good thing. Heck, winning is fun. I think that's a big part of it as well too."

Why does it seem like defensive guys have more fun?
"Oh, I don't know. I think there's a few more personalities on the defensive side I guess."

What is it that you see in Rex that is like Buddy?
"Everything. I mean literally a chip off the old block. And as I said, that to me is a huge compliment because again Buddy was a tremendous coach and somebody I enjoyed really playing for."

What ways do you think Shawne Merriman's foot was hindering him?
"Oh, that's beyond me in terms of what the injury was."

What do you expect the Jets to do with Mark Sanchez?
"What he does is pretty big and I think that they're going to continue to do what they've done and that's try and run the football and then use their different type of passing game that they have whether it be play action or drop back. He's been an integral part of the success they've had and we look forward to it continuing that way."

Is there anything about the running game that makes it different from other teams'?
"Their commitment to it. They're committed to it and that's impressive. That's their formula. I think the way they run the ball reflects Coach Ryan's personality and that's physical and hard-nosed."

Where some teams might go away from it...
"Right. Exactly. They stick with it and I really think that's a reflection of his personality."

How much of the Wildcat do you expect to be thrown at you? Have you taken a look back at the Miami tapes?
"Well, they pretty much threw it against everybody. They used it against Cincinnati and had a little bit of success. So we spent some time watching it obviously because it's what they do offensively. So we've got an opportunity to work on certain things and certain aspects of what they do in terms of our preparation."

What's Shonn Greene's running style?
"He's a good complement to Thomas Jones. I had the fortune of being with Thomas in Chicago for a few years and really, really enjoyed watching him and having him as a guy on our team. He's an aggressive-style football player and I think the young rookie Greene is a good complement to him. I think he's a little more of a slasher as opposed to Thomas who's a downhill, physical runner. So I think they're a good complement to each other."

T Marcus McNeill

On being able to achieve cohesiveness at the offensive line:
"I think our level of play has been so hot throughout the year, regardless if it's been our backups stepping up into a starting position or our starter coming back into his role. The continuity has been there all year. Even the backups have stepped up and been here for a while so we've kind of been used to playing with him."

What does it mean to you to face a blitz-happy team?
"You've got to prepare for it. All week we've been out there early before practice trying to pick up all their different coverages and stuff. But the biggest thing is they're going to do a lot of different things. You can't really pick up on just one thing and then do something in the blitzes differently, one time here, one time there. I think we're going to pick it up pretty well. That's one of the best things we've been doing all year is picking up the blitz. I think that's been a big credit to Philip (Rivers) having the great year he's having."

Why is this team so good at picking up the blitz?
"Honestly, I think our coaching staff is so smart. Our center, our quarterback Philip ... they are here constantly. Philip's the first one in everyday; the last one to leave. He's picking up a lot of those blitz coverages and he knows where the blitz and the pressure is coming from. It's easy for him to manipulate the line the way he needs to so he can make that big throw down the field."

Have you seen a comparable defense this year?
"I think we've seen a defense like this. They're very similar to Baltimore who gave us a little trouble early on in the year. But I think we've got a good feel for what they're doing right now. We should be able to pick up a lot of blitz packages their defense has for us."

Can you tell physically that it's been 11 days since your last game? Are you that much fresher?
"Definitely that much fresher. A lot of times you get up on that Wednesday or Thursday and your body's still sore from the Sunday night game but we actually had a week off so the body feels fresh. I actually feel like my body's in Week One or Week Two right now as far as freshness. So that's going to be good for us to make a push throughout these playoffs."

Is it hard to pick up where you left off with momentum?
"I think we've been practicing at such a high level. Even on our off week our practices were very fast, very focused and I think that's what we're doing. We're men on a mission right now and our mission is to keep pushing through the playoffs."

Norv said yesterday's practice started to get a little intense:
"Yeah, we got to put the pads back on yesterday. So whenever you get a chance to hit as a football player, it's going to get a little rowdy out there. That's what we love to do. We love to compete whether it's in practice or on the football field. That's what we got out there and did: banged around a little bit, talked a little noise and really just getting ready for this Sunday."

How do you balance practicing at game speed without getting banged up?
"It's no change. Players have got to play smart. I think that's what we do. We know how to play fast. We know how to play smart. It's the speed mentality for us, being there where you need to be, being in the pits, making sure receivers are running their right routes and things like that. You make sure you're going into game tempo, but you don't do quite the finishing that you would do in the game. That's the fun part. Sometimes you get to throw somebody on their back during the game or a receiver actually gets to take off on that nine-route and catch a touchdown. That's we live for on the football field and that's what we play for on Sundays and we're good at it."

How do you balance getting amped up and remaining mentally calm to take care of your assignments?
"I think we we've been pretty good in being meticulous in what we did this year. Our schedule has been pretty much the same throughout the whole year. It kept us in a rhythm practice-wise. Even though we had the week off last week, we still kept the same schedules. It was a working week for us, a working bye week. It kept us in the same mentality. Of course you're going to get anxious when you're not playing. Of course I had the same feelings last Sunday as I do every other Sunday. I just think your body and mind is just mentally in tune to playing that way for 16 weeks. Taking a week off got us a little anxious, but I think we handled it well, took out all our anxiety out on the football field in practice and had great practices so far."

How important has it been to keep the schedule the same even though stakes are a little higher?
"I think we're playing good ball. The way we're playing, keeping that mental focus but playing with confidence, a certain level of swagger and also having fun out there. Whenever you see us out there having fun it's going to be a lot of trouble."

Are the playoffs different?
"The playoffs are always different. Right now I feel like we're practicing at game tempo, right now. That's big because I don't think anybody else practices as hard as we do. I love practicing as hard as we do."

Is there an argument for playing a game instead of having a bye in the first round of the playoffs?
"There's always an argument about everything. Some people want to go with it, roll, keep on the momentum and things like that. Other teams need to rest. We've had problems in the past with injuries and stuff like that so I think we did a good job of letting our players rest so we can make that push in the playoffs that we haven't been able to do in the past."

Does going against number 97 in practice get you extra motivated?
"They (equipment department) keep the numbers up from the Jets and all the teams we play throughout the whole year. Calvin Pace is a great outside linebacker so I'm going to have my hands full this weekend, but should be able to handle it."

DT Ian Scott

When you're preparing to face a team that's as committed to the run as the Jets, does that get a defensive lineman going a little bit?
"I get up for every game the same. It's a playoff game. The only difference is we know ahead of time what their plan is going to be. It's not going to be a surprise on Sunday when they come out and try to run the ball because that's what they do well and that's what they're committed to doing. There's not a lot of uncertainty. You pretty much know what you're going to get from them and it comes down to are you going to be able to stop them or not."

What makes their rushing offense so good?
"Everybody works together and they don't get frustrated with it. Part of it is their defense plays well so they haven't had to play with many big deficits. That gives them time to stay committed to the run even if they're not getting a lot early. They've been able to take advantage of opportunities when they get them. Not everybody is going to be where they're supposed to be on every play. They're committed to keeping at it until they make the big plays. They try to maintain possession and play good defense. If you don't get after them early, it could be trouble."

How have you seen your run defense get better throughout the season?
"It's everybody working together. Obviously that's something that we needed to focus on. If you allow teams to be two-dimensional, it's hard to stop. We've tried to be disciplined, everybody fitting where they're supposed to. We're making sure we tackle well and get everybody to the football. I think all those things are going to be very important for us this week if we want to win."

###

Head Coach Norv Turner

On playing at home and not having to deal with inclement weather:
"Obviously our emphasis is this weekend and that's one of the reasons you push like we did in December to get the bye and have a game at home."

Is Darrelle Revis the best shutdown cornerback in football?
"I don't like the term 'shutdown corner' because I think that's hard to find and it gets thrown around pretty loosely, but I think I might use that term with Revis. He's awfully impressive on tape. He just goes after it and he plays every play like this game is meant to be played and he is very impressive."

What did you see in their games against common opponents like Tennessee, Miami and Cincinnati?
"You try to go through all of them and you've got to be careful not to watch too much. They do a great job of having a specific game plan for each team they play and they do a great job of going out and trying to take away the things you do best. They're a very versatile running team. You're not first in the league in rush offense unless you have varied schemes and they present you a lot of problems in terms of the way they attack you."

Your common opponents aren't like you though, so can you take a lot from that?
"The common opponents, the teams aren't the same and I'm sure they spent more time at looking at teams that are similar to their defense in terms of how we are going to attack them."

How much better are you against the run now than you were early in the year?
"Just statistically you see that over the last 10 games it's a total difference. I think we're in the middle of the pack, 11th or 14th or whatever it is. I'm not a big stat guy because each game is different. Early we were either injured or new. That's not a good combination. Those guys, I just give them a great deal of credit, the defensive line for doing what they've done."

What does it mean for your team to be as healthy as it is at this stage in the season?
"That's what we talked about, having a bye. Last Wednesday if we did this, there would have been a host of names on the injury report and there would be some guys that I was concerned if they could play or not. I think we're going to be as healthy as you could ask to be going into a game at this point."

As a team that gets so many big plays out of the passing game, how do you game plan for a team that has only given up eight passing touchdowns this season?
"We need to run the football. That's something that's been important to us through this winning streak we've had. I'll go back to the same deal, statistically we're in the top 15 in the run over the last 11 games, where obviously we rank not where I'd like to mention (the entire season). We need to have balance and we need to take shots. That's what we do. Our guys, they're going to go after the football and the Jets are awfully good in the secondary so it's going to be a great contest."

How do you think Vincent Jackson matches up with Revis?
"That's really a hard one to tell and that's really why you go play. They do such a good job with their coverages and changing it up. I don't think they give you great looks at just going out there and knowing...it's not like you get five, six, eight shots at him one-on-one in a row. They do a great job of disguising and mixing their coverages and they use him extremely well."

What are the trademarks of Rex Ryan's defenses?
"They're obviously very well coached. They zero in on the things you do best and try to take those things away and make you go to things maybe you're not as good at. They're very aggressive and always have been."

People talk a lot about New York's blitz. How do you feel about the way your team has handled pressure?
"We've gotten a lot better. That's one of the keys to what we've been able to do. Every week is a new challenge. This is a different style but I think Philip sees things awfully quick and he does get the ball out. That's one of the things, obviously, when you're confident and you're good, you look forward to the blitz because it creates not only one-on-one situations but also in the zone blitz, it creates seams where you can make big plays."

Are they like Baltimore defensively?
"They're like Baltimore in terms of the scheme because that's the defense Rex put in in Baltimore and that's the defense they run with the Jets. Where Baltimore was young and really inexperienced in the secondary, this team is the best secondary we will have played this year."

What are your impressions of Mark Sanchez?
"I'm very impressed. I know he went through a (tough) stretch in the middle. Games do that to you. You get behind. Different teams you play, you're trying to do some different things but they've really focused in on what he does best, what their offense is about and he complements that extremely well. The one thing about playing quarterback when you run the ball that well, you get good looks in terms of one-on-one. You don't have to read coverages quite as much. With the big play action, you get guys singled up so it takes some of the decision making out of it. He throws the ball extremely accurately and he throws the deep ball real well."

Are you seeing teams blitz you less and less because Philip is so proficient at handling it?
"There's no question. We've made big plays against the blitz and that will slow it down. Then you see some teams that they're going to blitz no matter what. They're going to blitz in certain situations no matter what. The Jets tend to be in situations that kind of team."

How important is it to have LaDainian Tomlinson healthy going into the postseason?
"It's great. It was hard for him last year because he was really coming on in December and he got hurt in that last regular season game and that was really difficult for him to not be able to play. I know this is something that he's really looked forward to. It's really important to him."

How much do you worry about momentum when the Jets had a big win last week and you were resting?
"Momentum is a big part of this game. I think the way we practiced today, our guys haven't lost that edge, haven't lost that momentum. The Jets have great momentum. I don't care what the circumstance of the teams that are left in this thing, everyone who is going into these playoffs this week is playing a really good football team. Jimmy Johnson always said, 'You've got two good teams playing. It's the team that goes out and plays the best.' That's what's going to happen this weekend. That momentum might be a factor for a few series or in the first quarter, but then it's going to come down to who comes out and performs the best."

What was your reasoning in doing what you did during the bye week with practice?
"It was three days and we kept our schedule. That's what you're talking about in terms of losing momentum or losing that rhythm. We had a lightened-down game week Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. The only difference was we didn't play a game on Sunday. I think it helped and I think we didn't get too far away from what we're trying to get done."

Is it even more important to pressure a rookie quarterback and try to rattle him?
"It would be great to get pressure on their quarterback but the hardest thing is that's what they've done over this last stretch where they've made this comeback. They're running the ball as well and they're deciding when they want to throw. You've got to stop the run. If we can get them into some long situations, get into some two-minute situations, those things where you know it's pass, then we'll have a good chance of trying to get some pressure on him."

Are you happy with how your team has practiced?
"I really like the way our guys practiced today."

How are the Jets running the ball well against teams that overload the box?
"They've got good backs, they've got a good scheme. They mix it up in terms of mixing in a little bit of the Wildcat. They're really well coached. They have an outstanding offensive line and they've got a good play-action pass game so you've still got to respect that."

QB Philip Rivers

How does it feel to have a skinny injury report today?
"I think that can show you the value of a bye, from a physical standpoint. It allows you to get some guys healthy that have been nicked up and it allows you to get some guys who have played your normal 16-game season some bumps and bruises to get an extra six or seven days of not having that game in between. We feel healthy and fresh and now we're heading towards being as prepared as we can be to go out and play our best."

What do you think about the New York blitz and your ability to handle it?
"It's as good of a blitz package and scheme as we've faced this year. We faced a heavy dose of it when we played Baltimore this year; Philadelphia presented some challenges. This group does a lot of different things that we have to be prepared for. We feel like we will have a plan and scheme together to handle all of those things. You're playing against a good team and that's the fun thing about the playoffs; it's a lot of good verses good out there and whoever can execute the best will be on top."

Is there a difference with them that maybe they have a little better secondary then you've faced?
"They have a lot solid secondary. (Darrelle) Revis gets a lot of attention, as he should. He's right up there with the top corners, if not the best, in the league. It's a group effort. They collectively know their scheme and play it very well. The one thing about their secondary is they play the ball very well. That's one thing that stands out, that they're able to break on balls and play the ball very well; it's an attacking. Everything that you read and see and what the statistics say, that's what the film shows. We'll have our work cut out for us, but we feel like we'll be up for the task."

How will you plan for the Darrelle Revis against Vincent Jackson matchup? What will Revis' impact be?
"Well certainly, when you've got a great player on the other side they have an impact and can affect things you may want to do. But this game isn't between Vincent and Revis. There are 10 other guys on both sides of the ball and a lot of things have to happen to go get the ball in the end zone and a lot of things for them to stop us. That will be certainly a matchup worth paying attention to; I know you guys will pay a lot of attention to it. We'll be focused on finding ways to get the ball into the end zone."

In the playoffs, are you more motivated by the chance at winning a championship or the fear of losing?
"We're trying to get one step closer to winning a championship. I think the hating to lose mentality and approach is what keeps that from happening. We find ourselves here in the final eight; it's been three or four years in a row now. There's not fun prize for getting this far. We know that. We're going to fight like crazy to get to the final four. That's all we're worried about. The one game approach and mentality I've stood up here and talked about every Monday and bored you all with, we're going to take that same one. It's worked the past 11 and we need it to work this one, and then we'll worry about the next one later."

How much do you enjoy the challenge of going up against the number one defense in the league?
"It's playoff football. Usually the best defenses and teams that can put the ball in the end zone offensively are who's left. We're facing a heck of a team; number one rush offense; number one defense in the league. We like to think we're pretty good in some categories as well. It's going to be a great matchup. It's what you expect. Nothing is easy at this point in the year. Whoever can put the best four quarters together will move on."

Everyone is talking about the Vincent Jackson/Darrelle Revis matchup. How important is it to incorporate Antonio Gates, LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles?
"From sideline to sideline, every guy that you can have up at the skill positions has touched the ball and have made plays for us. It's been a group effort to throw the football and score points and everything we've done and it will need to be that again to have success on Sunday."

Can you see in practice a difference in some of the guys with going 10 or 11 days between games?
"You can tell a freshness is there. When you don't have to play four quarters on Sunday and you get a few days off mixed in with some very good days of practice like we've been able to have, there's not doubt that there's a freshness and a little bounce to you that you can tell you've had that week off. That only gets you so far. That gets you to kickoff then you've got to go play."

Are there some guys that seem much different today than maybe a week ago because of the rest?
"Not necessarily, not worth singling out. I know individuals could tell you they feel better and why they feel better. There's guys that didn't play in that last game because they were nicked up; guys that haven't been able to practice on Wednesday and Thursday in the past that were able to practice. I think that's evident. To single out who stood out today, I thought it was a really solid Wednesday practice. I like where we are preparation-wise."

It seems on paper that the Jets are a run at you kind of team, while the Chargers incorporate many players. Do you think that gives you some sort of advantage?
"Teams do what they do well. Obviously the Jets' approach, it is a total approach; it's an offensive and defensive team approach, and their approach has worked for them to get them this far. Our approach has worked for us. Two different styles in a sense, but two different make ups of different teams. You do what's best for your 45 guys that you dress out. They'll do that on Sunday, as we will, and we'll see what plays out."

In 2006 and 2007 you played the Ravens' Rex Ryan defense. How much is that experience, knowing those principles, going to help you?
"Well, again, that's I don't know how many plays we ran in that game, that's 60 plays of experience against that defense. As we change plays and thoughts offensively in the past three, four years, they've done the same defensively. And you also do what's best for your current defense or your current offense. That's what they're doing with their personnel. There are some similarities, but again, there are tweaks and things evolve over a three, four year period on both sides of the ball."

OLB Shaun Phillips

Is there more premium on a pass rush with a rookie quarterback?
"It's always a premium on any quarterback, it doesn't matter if it's a 10-year veteran or a rookie quarterback. The quarterback is a guy that has the ball in his hands the most, so who better to get pressure on."

How much better are you against the run than you were earlier in the season?
"We've learned that we have to stop the run collectively. It's a collective thing and all 11 guys have one goal, and that's to stop the run. I don't think we can take the stats from this season because it's now the playoffs and every stat get thrown out the window which is good for us because now we get a chance to have our run defense where we want it. So we're looking forward to the challenge. Obviously they are a good football team and a very dominant run team but who knows, they may come out and pass the ball. But what we're doing is concentrating on what the San Diego Chargers do best and executing to the best of our abilities."

Because there were so many guys in and out on the defensive line, was there any point in which you got a sense that it was going to be alright?
"I've been like that since day one by the way guys prepare in practice. Everyone handles their business in practice and really prepares well to win ball games. So no matter who's in there I believe they can get the job done. Unfortunately that's not always the case but we have been on a nice win streak and the guys have been doing a good job in preparing and executing in the games."

What motivates you more in the playoffs; winning a championship or the fear of losing?
"I hate losing more than anything. I won't even let my kids beat me in anything. We're going with the mindset in the game that we won't lose. We are going to play to win in everything we do. The feeling of losing hurts so much that it makes you work that much harder. And for me, that's my main focus."

Rex Ryan said that San Diego is due for a bad game, how do you overcome that?
"I personally believe that we have had bad games but we've been able to overcome adversity. There are games like the Giants game where we had to claw and fight and come back and win that game. Again, we overcame adversity. We can't think about what Coach Ryan has to say. We have to think about what we do. We are going to continue with the mindset that it's about what the Chargers do and how we execute our game plan."

There's all this talk about how good the Jets defense is, what about the Chargers defense? Do you guys feel slighted a bit?
"Not at all. Again, we have zero stats right now because the regular season is over. Yes they have a great defense and yes they fly around and they do some things well. But we do some things well also. All the talk will be determined come this Sunday. That's what we are looking forward to Sunday as I'm sure they are also."

Does the flyover before the game do anything for you?
"Honestly it pumps me up no matter what stadium I'm in. Not only that those guys are fighting over there to give us our freedom to play this game, but just the energy and the atmosphere that it sets, pumps adrenaline through all of us. It gets me pumped and fired up."

How long did it take the defense to adjust without Jamal Williams?
"Since day one. We had to because we had no choice. It was the same situation with Shawne Merriman last year. This year we also lost a great defensive player in Jamal but we have the mindset that it's not about one person, it's about 11. 11 of us have to be on the same page in order to be successful. We are only as good as our weakest link and we know that this is a team sport. That's why this game is such a great sport; everyone has to do their job in order to win."

How does it feel to be healthy going to the playoffs?
"It's incredible. You've been in here long enough to see that we haven't been able to be healthy going into the playoffs and I think that in any sport, whoever is healthiest at the end of the day usually pulls together and ends up winning a championship. When your key players are out, you do suffer a bit. But it takes a strong guy and a good team to step up and fill that void of that player"

Have any of the injuries made the guys on the team closer to one another?
"Of course. Every day we become closer and more of a family. The core of guys who've been here for the last six or seven year like Quentin Jammer, Philip Rivers, myself, and L.T. We've been here for the majority of times so we get closer every day. One thing that's good about our teams is that everyone hangs out with everyone. Whether if it's on the field, or in the locker room, or off the field. I can play dominoes with Philip, Philip goes and plays dominoes with L.T. and he plays with somebody else. We are really all close and that carries over to the games on Sunday. When it's crunch time, we know that somebody will step up and make a play. We all have trust that everyone will do their job and do it to the best of their abilities."

How deep is your defense? Do you feel that it's pretty complete?
"It doesn't what 10 other guys are beside me out there because I know that they will get the job done. It really doesn't matter. Whether it's 11 healthy guys or 11 replacements, we have to go out there and we have execute. It's not the individual player; it's the group of players together collectively. It's been doing it all year, we've been doing it collectively. Everyone brings up that we're giving up four yards a game against the run. Yes, we are giving up four yards a game, but if we have to give up four yards a game against the run and win a ball game, then we'll do that every time. Obviously it's been working for us and obviously it's been a winning formula, so we're going to continue to get out there and execute our game plan and keep playing hard. They're a good football team coming in here and they're playing for a lot, just like we're playing for a lot. Everything will be answered on Sunday."

How do you compare the Jets' wildcat to others that you have seen?
"As you guys know, they run the wildcat four or six times a game. Of course we're going to prepare for it, we have to prepare for it. Hopefully those four of six plays a game don't come down to winning the ball game for us. I don't think it's going to come down to winning the ball game for them as well. It's just a part of the offense so we have to study for it. Is it going to give us problems? It gives us problems if we let it give us problems. We're going to prepare for it just like we prepare for everything else. We've seen the wildcat just as much as we've seen the four verticals. We continue to prepare and worry about what we do. We can't worry about what they do. They may not even show Wildcat."

Can you describe the physical difference between days between games when you have to play every week?
"I personally feel a lot fresher because I've been coming off injuries. I've been banged up for the last two months. For me it was great to get that break. When you're on a pro football team it really doesn't matter if you have two weeks off, three weeks off, four days off. You've seen us come out and play with three days' rest and we came out and played great. You've seen us come out and play great after a bye week. It doesn't matter. None of that matters. The only thing that matters is what happens on Sunday and all the stuff that happens before, you can throw that out the door. You can have a terrible week at practice and come out and play great, and you can have a great week at practice and come out and play terrible."

Do you think there are things you are capable of doing physically because you've had this rest?
"Run. Me personally I've been hampered for the last couple of months and it just feels so good to get out there and run. I'm running up and down on special teams, I'm running on defense and for me, I'm just happy to be able to run like I used to be. That's a part of my game, being able to run. So now that I can do that, I'm extremely happy and excited and looking forward to playing Sunday at 100 percent."

RB LaDainian Tomlinson

On the "Electric Glide" video:
"The idea was to get my fans a different side of me that they don't get to see. A lot of times they get to see the guy on the football field and the real focused type of guy. The side that they don't see is the fun, dance around, kind of goofy type of person that I am. Only my family and friends get to see that side of me. So the idea was to give the fans a different side of me. And I know that everybody is not going to like it but I just wanted to kind of do something different. It was fun doing it."

On Junior Seau's latest retirement:
"Well, I hope this is it. (Laughs). No, but he was great, for me. He was what I needed to see a model of how to go about in this league, how to play football, how to prepare to play football, how to take care of your body. I had a guy that I could look at every day and see it. He was that guy for me. Whenever I needed something I could go to him. Obviously, I owe a lot to him because of the work ethic I had coming into the league because I saw him. Playing against him was just like practicing against him. The things he did in practice was the same things he did in the game. I remember the first time we played against him, the Miami game, the Monday night, it was like we were out there during practice. The same stuff he did in the game, he did it in practice. We'd seen it millions of times. So he's had a great career and he has nothing to be ashamed about. I know he wanted to get a Super Bowl Championship but his career speaks for itself."

What's it like for you to go into the playoffs healthy?
"I'm excited about it. It's been a while since that divisional game when we lost to the Patriots, the last time I was actually healthy in the playoffs. So, I'm excited about it. I get to go out and turn it loose and whatever happens, happens."

The team has won some big games during this win streak. How do these games help the team?
"I think it helps us. I think it definitely helps us because we've seen every situation that you could possibly see throughout the course of the game and also preparing for them big games. We've got guys that kind of got that 'Get your hard hat and go to work,' we've got that mindset. We understand what we're up against. I think our approach is what makes us good, the way we go about doing things. The experience is all good, but our approach to the game is what makes us good."

During the interview with CBS you said the Jets have the formula for winning. What's the Chargers' recipe for winning games?
"I think you've seen it all year. We win games in different aspects. In different ways we can win games. Obviously everyone knows about the explosive offense, but how about the goal line defenses at times, where our defense has stepped up? How about our special teams when we would return kicks and great field position that our special teams has given us, and the way we would pin people deep and made them drive the field? So we've won games in different areas, all aspects. I think you've seen the way we win games."

What will be the key in this game?
"I think obviously the key is going to be us not turning it over, giving them a short field. I think we definitely want to make sure we continue just to do the things we've been doing and not get out of character, not try to do anything special, just do what we've been doing. Obviously, our defense is going to play great, but we want to give them a long field to have to drive the ball."

Does the last playoff meeting with the Jets sit in your mind at all?
"It's there because we lost the game. It was a game that was close and they played good defense back then. They're still playing good defense, so we expect it to be the same type of game, depending on, the weather may be the same kind of weather we had that year. We're going to have to be ready to play."

After so many good games for this team, are you worried about a bad one? How do you prevent this from happening?
"We've just got to focus on what we do, don't worry about the things that are talked about, but focus on the things that we do well in our game plan and executing our game plan. If we do that we'll be okay. "

DE Luis Castillo

How much better is this defense against the run now than at the start of the season?
"We're significantly better. It doesn't always translate in numbers. I think a lot of times it translates to not giving up the big play. There's a significant difference obviously, because we went through so much turnover. We lost our All-Pro in Jamal Williams early on. We lost a couple of guys through the year and we lost another guy in training camp. If you asked me at the start of training camp, who the guys that we were going to kind of ride with throughout the year, I would have never said the names because most of them weren't here. You have to give those guys so much credit because it's so hard to come into this league, come on a team midway through a season, not only pick up a defense but go out on the field and be successful and not make the big mental mistakes that give up the 20 or 30 yard runs. There's a big change there and part of it is just having that physical mentality to go out there and play knowing the guy next to you isn't going to make a mistake."

Is going against the league's number-one rushing team an exciting challenge for you?
"It's always a challenge. This isn't the first time this year we've had that type of challenge. You look at the teams we've played. You can name some teams early on where we didn't do as good as we needed to. But we've played against Chris Johnson and Cedric Benson and (Ray) Rice. We've faced the challenges before. We've faced big physical offensive lines. This is part of the process. This is part of what you do when you're in this league. Every time you step out there, there's a different challenge. This is going to a big one and a lot of it lays on us. You know, the good thing is, we're three guys up there, we've got four excellent linebackers who are going to give us outstanding support and are going to make our jobs a lot easier. Having Shawne Merriman back, sometimes people start thinking about the defensive line and what we do, but he's such a big part of the run defense. His physical nature and physical presence is only going to make us that much better."

Can you rattle a rookie quarterback by getting pressure on him early?
"You know you talk about a rookie quarterback, but by this point in the season, he's going into year two. He's got sixteen games under his belt and he's done an outstanding job. He had a tough pass through the middle of the year. They've done a great job of building an offense around him, letting that great running attack, and that big strong physical offensive line protect him and move the chains and he's managed the game extremely well. Not only that, but he's been able to go into play-action after pounding the ball and make the big plays. When you have a quarterback that can do that, it presents a challenge all its own. It's going to be incredibly important, not only for us to get pressure, but to stop the run and put the onus on him to beat us."

How do you prepare for the Jets' physical offensive line?
"The only thing you can do is what you always do and that's come out here and work, prepare mentally and physically. We had a chance to go in shoulder pads today, which is not usual for us on a Wednesday. But after the week off, I think it was a good change of rhythm for us, getting back to that physical nature. Like I said, we've got some new defensive linemen in throughout the course of the year who have been a great help. We've got some big bodies and look, we're pretty confident about our abilities and what we can do. Like I said, it's not just us, we've also got a big, physical group of linebackers and it's going to be a great challenge and a great game."

Do you get amped up for a physical game like that?
"You get amped up whenever you play, but obviously if you're playing Peyton Manning and you know, or Tom Brady, you know you're going to come off the ball, you're going to have a great pass rush move, and the ball is still going to be gone and you're not going to get there, it takes you out of the game a little bit. But when you have a team that's going to run the ball, I think they ran the ball, what? Thirty-eight times in the last playoff game? It's a challenge. It's a challenge that we're excited about."

How much did it help to get out here three days last week and kind of maintain an edge?
"Part of it was we did work last week, and obviously you don't have the physical and kind of the thing that you do going into a regular game, but we got a chance to get better at some things that during the course of the year you move away from. During the year the focus is always who you're playing, what their scheme is, what new plays are we putting in kind of to stop what they do. But when you get a bye-week, it's a chance to work on your own mistakes. We got a lot more individual time. We got a chance to work on footwork, hand placement, some of the little things that during the year you cut back on practice time a little bit to keep the body fresh and you move away from that stuff. But it's such a big help where late in the year you can go back to the basics and kind of refine that a little bit and it gets you ready to go a little bit."

Both AFC teams won on the road last week. Can you talk about the advantage of playing at home in the playoffs?
"We've done it both over the years. We had a huge win here against the Colts last year. We've had some playoff wins away as well, but it obviously, to have the ability to be at home, to be able to prepare and know you don't have to travel. Not only that, but you guys saw how our fans were the last couple of home games, against Cincinnati where they had I think three false starts late in the game, as loud as they've been, as loud as they were in the playoff game last year where I think that's the most animated I've ever seen our fans and our crowd. We're excited about that. You work so hard during the regular season to earn the ability to have that home game. We're here. Now it's a matter of taking advantage of that and going and making the fans a little bit more excited, giving them some big plays to cheer about and have a little fun."

Do the flyovers do anything for you as a player?
"We notice because we haven't had it every home game this year, for whatever the reason, but we notice. And look, as much as it takes to go out there and fight through the injuries and the pain and battle the 16 weeks of the physicality that it takes to be in this league, when you step on that field it's still tough to get going, it's still tough to get your body to that place and every little bit helps. Like I said, the fans are going to be a big part of that, but when you have the flyovers, when you have somebody great singing the National Anthem, that stuff gives you goose bumps. It gets you ready to play. It gets you excited. As cheesy as it sounds, it's part of what gets us going and what we're used to."

How does Jamal Williams going out change your schematics?
"You can't replace a Jamal Williams, one of the best nose tackles I think to play the game. You can't really duplicate what he does for your defense. We've always said throughout the years he's the core of our defense. Well, he's not here now. We've had a guy in Ian Scott who's done an amazing job, an outstanding job in terms of handling not only the load of the amount of plays of the physical nature of that position where you have a double team basically every play. But you don't just have to take the double team. That's what Jamal did. Jamal had an ability to take a double team, push it backfield, split a double team and make it so you dedicate two guys to him, you free up other guys along the line and you still weren't sure you were going to block him or at least keep him on the line of scrimmage. You can't replace him. But like I said, you still have to give so much credit to a guy like Ian Scott, to a guy like Alfonzo Boone as well as Travis Johnson, Vaughn Martin. We've had so many new faces trying to replace the job that one guy did. People don't notice but Jamal was the guy that took 45, 50 plays a game."

How does that affect you on the end?
"Maybe, maybe there's a back hitting the hole a little bit quicker because Jamal doesn't have him knocked back three or four yards or he's not making them cut back. So it puts an emphasis on all of us I think, whether it's defensive line, outside linebackers, inside linebackers to come down hill and take that double team off the nose tackle now where as before Jamal might have been able to stand both of those guys up and still split it. So it puts extra pressure on all of us but I think we've all responded well."

Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan

Ron Rivera speaks highly of your family. Do you have much of a personal relationship with him?
"Well, there are guys that you run into and things like that, on the road and stuff, and I have a great deal of respect... He might be just as good a person too as he is a coach, just really a great, great, humble person."

Do you see your father's influence in Rivera's defense?
"Yeah. I see they like to get after it. It looks like they play with a lot of passion, a lot of fire. I'm sure they think highly of Ron because he is a great coach and he does have his guys playing that way. I know he's going to go into this game talking about, because that's what he did when we played them when I was in Baltimore and he was in Chicago, about having the best defense on the field this week. So we're going to find out who's got the best one. Without question, his guys really care for him and you can see that in the way they play."

How's that?
"I just think that they play with a great deal of passion, they get to the football and the trademark that he's always had. They're always trying to strip the ball out of your hands and things like that."

On the importance of either team maintaining ball-control and avoiding errors:
"They definitely do a great job of protecting the football and I think that's the winning formula. I think, you look at it, they're 8-0 when they win the turnover battle. I think we're 9-0 when we win the turnover battle. Obviously protecting the football is going to be a critical thing for both teams."

How have you been able to be so disruptive and cause those mistakes?
"We have a lot of outstanding players. Our guys have a good grasp on what we're trying to accomplish defensively. I think a lot of credit goes to our coaches, led by Mike Pettine our defensive coordinator, and we have Bob Sutton, a lot of terrific assistant coaches, Dennis Thurman. Those guys do a great job. They really buy into our system and they're really starting to understand it. Right now this is the New York Jets defense; this is not the Baltimore Ravens defense, this is not my defense; this is our defense. The New York Jets. There's ownership; theses guys have ownership in it."

Did you have any reticence on starting things off with a rookie quarterback?
"Obviously when you got into the league you want to have a guy that's already proven that he can do it. We had a quarterback competition; we let Kellen Clemens and Mark Sanchez really compete for the job. We felt that Mark was the guy that came out and gave us the best opportunity to win, regardless of the fact that he is a rookie. In an ideal situation for a coach coming in, you prefer that veteran presence, that veteran quarterback, the proven commodity, but we're happy with who we have right now, with Mark in place. We have a great football team, a great nucleus of guys. I think offensively we wanted to have our team built on our offensive line, so we got a lot of our resources put there. We've got, in my opinion, the best offensive line coach in the league in Bill Callahan, running that group and we have an outstanding line. I always think that if you can run the football and protect the quarterback, you've got a chance. And that's the way we've built our offense. So, we might not have the experience at quarterback, but we've got experience across that line for sure."

Was there a discernible point where Mark Sanchez won the team over?
"I definitely think in preseason. You could see where the confidence that the team had in him. Obviously he's a guy with an enormous amount of talent. He can make all the throws, he's smart, he's tough, he's competitive, similar traits to Phillip Rivers. That's what I wanted, the coach's kid-type mentality, loves the game, passionate about the game. I think that's who he is. I think that's what won them over, more than anything else."

Three teams in the last two seasons have made the playoffs with a rookie quarterback. Why is this becoming more common?
"I think kids coming out of college now are a little more prepared to the NFL game than they were. I think the passing attacks and things like that, the ability to read coverages is more prevalent now in the college game than it's ever been. I think that's what allows it to be more successful. Because you're exactly right, it used to take two or three years before a quarterback was really ready to play in this game, in this league."

Sanchez explained your coaching style as "blunt-force trauma." How has he reacted to this approach?
"Well there's no grey area. Players I think appreciate that. You're not wishy-washy. You're just, I'm myself. Now I'm the biggest Mark Sanchez fan of all time. I absolutely love this kid. When he makes a bonehead mistake or something, I'm going to let him know it. Again, I never stop believing in him. It's just something that we've got to get better at, we try to teach him. It's not a thing that I cuss him and all that kind of stuff, because that's not it. I want to teach him, and that's what it is. I think players appreciate that you're going to be yourself and you're going to tell them the way it is, what you feel is the way it is. That seems to work for me."

What do you recall about your job interview at the Chargers a few seasons back? Do you have any regrets?
"No, I'll tell you what, they made a great hire in Norv Turner, obviously. I was so excited to get the opportunity to interview. I don't think I was seen in that light as a head coaching candidate until San Diego put me on the map. AJ Smith and Dean Spanos, all those guys, they were just, it was fantastic, what an opportunity for me. I really believe and I thank AJ, cause I think he's guy that really put me on the map where people started to look at me maybe differently than they had done in the past."

What's the Super Bowl parade route again?
"(Laughs). I don't know, but I sure hope we find out."

Do you think that's a good thing or bad thing? Your offensive coordinator's father used to preach something different.
"I think the vision that we have for our football team is we only have one goal, and that's to win a Super Bowl. Anything less than that is going to be a disappointment for us. That's just how we go into it. It's not a slight on who we play or anything else. It's a belief that we have from top to bottom in our organization that this is why we're here. We've built some of the best facilities in the entire league to win a championship not to just be average. That's what we're trying to do here. We're going to go in... we know we're playing the San Diego Chargers, the hottest team in the league, they're coming off of 11 straight wins, playing at San Diego. I don't know what the experts say, we're definitely underdogs, stuff like that. Yet, we're going to go into that game and every game that we play, expecting to win. That's just the approach we take. We have a great deal of respect for San Diego. This is one of the elite teams that I've seen on tape, but that doesn't mean that I'm coming in there not expecting a win because we are."

There has been a lot of attention on your corners. Do Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd pose a new challenge level?
"Well, they're both big, explosive, talented guys, that's for sure. Darrelle Revis is the guy that shut down every body in this league, that has to offer, and he'll do the same again this week I believe, whoever he's matched up against. That's no slight to anybody. That's just the way it's been this season. He has had an unbelievable year. He accepts the challenge down after down. Now, is he going to give up a completion and all that? Of course. But, he's going to approach it like he's going down there to get his job done and we can do things with him that probably the rest of the league can't do, don't even think about doing with their top corners. It's unfortunate he never won the Defensive Player of the Year because I thought he was definitely a guy that earned that."

What is it about the way he plays his position?
"It's just, you know, it's all business. The thing that gets me is the courage he has. Most guys you're like, 'Okay, you're going to play, let's see, Andre Johnson.' Now, that's a big receiver. That's a big, talented receiver, probably the best in the league when you get down to it. Reggie Wayne, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, all that stuff, and this young man never flinches, not one bit. His response is if it's good for the team then it's good for him and I think that's what makes him a special guy."

How much of the 46 still exists in what you do today?
"I think the last couple weeks you've seen us play a bunch of it. So, it depends on each week, we'll play, it can go from five percent of your call to 40 percent, 30 percent. That's the great thing about it. The thing bothers your rules. It's not an odd defense, it's not an even defense, it kind of messes with your rules. So it's something that I always like to have going into every game plan and I know Ron Rivera will use some forms of the 46 as well."

We have little league tryouts here this weekend, do you want to drop the knucklehead by for some sliding practice?
"Ah, shoot, we're okay. We just use the best. We went to (New York Yankees Manager, Joe) Girarde, world champions. The great thing is, he's our knucklehead and I'm awful proud of him."

On Ron Rivera's achievements with the Chargers defense:
"I think he's done a great job. Like I said before, I think he's one of the top coaches in this league. He gets his players to play and I think that's the number one thing is, what you see on tape is what your players think of you. Obviously they think a great deal of Ron. They're passionate, they fly around the football, and they're excited to play and that's a tribute to Ron."

Have you had a chance to speak with Buddy (Ryan) about what he sees in this team?
"He thinks that obviously we're playing really well right now. He's excited. He thinks that our quarterback is getting better each week. He thinks that we can be special. I agree with him."

Jets QB Mark Sanchez

Have you ever played at Qualcomm before?
"No sir."

Did you ever get down here to watch Chargers games as a youth?
"I went to a Charger game last year. It was the playoff game against the Colts."

Was that your first taste of a playoff game?
"Yes. It was awesome. Their fans are great and get after it and cheer pretty loud. They beat a good Indianapolis team. That's the first game I saw them play and I know that they can play well, especially when it's a playoff atmosphere."

Now a year later you're bringing your team into Qualcomm. Pretty remarkable isn't it?
"It seems like just a few days ago that I went to that game and it's already been an entire year, so it's a pretty special opportunity and we want to go in there and play our best."

What do see on film about the Chargers?
"A very tough defense that gives quarterbacks fits. They make it tough on passers. They are great zone droppers and they match up really well against a lot of teams. Their cornerbacks (Antonio) Cromartie and (Quentin) Jammer are unbelievable. I got a chance to meet Shaun Phillips last year when I was going through the whole draft process and he's been playing well all year. Then obviously Shawne Merriman, who's an explosive guy who makes plays that really change the course of the game. It's a unit that we really need to prepare for and play well against and bring our best. It will be fun to see Kevin Ellison out there playing well, as a USC alum and a former teammate."

Kevin Ellison said yesterday that he used to wear you out in practice. Can you confirm or deny that?
"Come on. He's just trying to get bulletin board material out of me. He's an awesome player and so competitive which makes it so fun to play against a guy like Kevin. He's someone you really want to compete against whether it's shooting hoops, or playing against him on the football field in the playoffs, or flipping a coin. This guy wants to win. It's going to be a great matchup for us and to see how well he's doing as a rookie is awesome. You almost knew it was going to happen by just the way he played and his work ethic. He deserves it. It's going to be very fun to see him before the game. But once the whistle blows, it's time to get down to business."

What part of playing for Rex Ryan is different than playing for anyone else?
"He's pretty unique. He definitely speaks his mind and doesn't hide anything by sweeping it under the rug. He tells you exactly what he's thinking and that's his way of communicating. It's really blunt force trauma and that's the way he does it and we've all bought in and understand where he's coming from and we love to play for him. It's been fun and a great experience to grow with him and watch our relationship develop. It's going to be fun to play for him for a long time hopefully."

Do you ever catch yourself thinking "Oh no what's he saying now?"
"No. He's just so truthful and if anything, he doesn't hide anything at all. It's pretty funny sometimes. He just wants to make sure I'm having fun and playing smart and respecting the

Head Coach Norv Turner

How challenging is it designing plays against New York's defense?
"They're playing great on defense. When you can defend the run the way they are, and then they're first in the league in scoring defense, you're doing a lot of things real well. Everyone talks a lot about the blitz but they're doing a great job of playing defense when they're not blitzing. Their coverage is outstanding. They're a press, tight, cover-type team. You have to work to get open and you have to protect."

Did practice have a different feeling today knowing who you're going to face?
"It helps to get into more detail in terms of who you're playing. I thought we had great work last week. We need to work on things that have given us problems, things that we thought we could do better. We got work on that last week. Now you zero in on a team."

Given how many injuries you had this season, can you talk about A.J. Smith's role in building depth and getting players to fill in?
"I've talked about it all year: adding players as we've gone along, having depth in our lineup. I always go back to first of all getting those guys here. Obviously we've done a great job of that. Then the position coaches getting those guys ready to play. Then those players stepping up and doing what they've had to do."

How do you prepare for an attack like Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene?
"They only play one of them at a time, so that's a good thing. They're a good running football team. That's the way they've been built. They do mix in the pass. Obviously they got big plays in the passing game last week against Cincinnati. Those were the two big plays late in the game and the bootleg for the touchdown early. You have to play it honest. You have to play the run but you know that at the right moments they're going to come up with those play-action passes that can hurt you."

Do you approach things any different defensively when facing a rookie quarterback in the playoffs?
"We really have to prepare for what they do. Then if we have opportunities, the way you get after young guys is if you have opportunities to get them in those longer down and distances, get them backed up, get them in some situations that are tough for all guys, then you try to get in those situations."

What do you see from Darrelle Revis?
"I'm really impressed. We played them here last year. I thought he was outstanding. This system really fits what he does. They do put him on an island and he handles it extremely well."

How does he compare with Champ Bailey and some of the other great cornerbacks in the NFL?
"He's playing at a real high level. He's probably more physical than the other guys we've seen and still does a great job with the coverage."

QB Philip Rivers

What did you think of the Jets' performance this weekend?
"They're a good team. Anybody you face, we said last week, is going to be a really good team. I think they're just that. They played really good football down the stretch, which is what you want to do: be playing your best ball at playoff time. As far as their defense is concerned, it's going to be a challenge. They'll be as good as any we've played so far and again, that's what you expect. You get to this point in the season - the playoffs - and it's going to be a lot of good versus good out there."

What is the biggest challenge with playing the Jets' 46 defense?
"I think that's probably a term that you guys keep using more than it actually is. This defense is a multiple-look defense. They line up every way you can possibly line up. As you see and as you watch on TV, and obviously we watched the tape, they're fundamentally sound. Defensive football, when it's played the right way, there's a soundness to it. You can line up as many ways as you want, guys still have their gaps and the coverage schemes can only be so drastic. They give you multiple looks, they try to create confusion and obviously they've had a great deal of success doing it."

Do you try to force them out of their formations?
"I think as an offense you always want to go out and dictate to the defense, but at the same time, this defense, you've still got to be smart. It's a cat and mouse game, as it is in every game. You can try to line up and try to do whatever you want to do and they're going to have a response to it. We'll put together a plan that fits our personnel that gives ourselves the best chance to succeed and they'll do the same."

Is Darrelle Revis as good as you've seen?
"As far as we've played this year and I've seen, he stacks right up there with the best of them. He's just very patient, for as much press as he plays he's a very patient corner. Obviously you see when he gets his hands on the ball he catches it. That's not always the case for those defensive backs, but if he gets his hands on it he usually come out with it."

It doesn't appear necessarily that you will stay away from a guy?
"Again, you're smart. You know where they're best, and they know where we're at our best and you're smart with those guys and who you attack. We're pretty confident with the guys we have sideline to sideline that we can go out and execute."

What do you think of Mark Sanchez' performance and what he's going through right now?
"Just watching him back in his USC days, he plays the game with a lot of passion and excitement, and at the same time has a calmness about him that you need this time of year. I thought he played really well the other day, had a few big time throws that obviously kept drive alive and got points on the board. Like it is for any quarterback in any game you play, it's about winning, but in the playoffs nobody cares how or how you do it, it's just about winning. Obviously they went out and got a win last week."

Do you see any similarities with the way New York is handling him and the way the Chargers handled you in 2006 in your first season as a starter?
"A little bit. I think it was more early on. It was more the first couple weeks of the season, but you think back to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Denver, we threw 30 plus passes. I don't know if there is a real valid comparison there."

In terms of atmosphere, how important is it for the crowd to be loud?
"Our fans have been awesome all year. Unfortunately we lost two home games early, but since then we've won six. We're going to need those fans to be at their best. I think they were unreal at the Cincinnati game. You think back to the past playoff games we've had here; Indianapolis last year, Tennessee the year before that; it's been some pretty amazing atmospheres. We're going to need the same on Sunday to get the true home field advantage."

Is there a warm weather advantage?
"I think certainly, depending on what the temperature is, heat can certainly be a factor. We're a little more used to it. But when you get out there in a playoff game for four quarters, I think unless there are some key elements - snow, wind, rain - you get out there and it's going to be two good teams playing to their fullest for 60 minutes to see who moves on."

How is this team growing with the playoff experience the last few seasons?
"We've certainly grown each year. We've got a lot of guys who have played in playoff games, multiple playoff games, in every different situation. So certainly we do have some experience. Once the ball is kicked off it's a football game, in between the lines it will be played the same as it's played any other time. We need to be at our best. Obviously the Jets have some momentum and are playing really good football and we need to be at our best on Sunday, I'm sure they'll be. That's all you can ask for in a playoff game."

LB Shawne Merriman

What are your thoughts on this week's opponent?
"They are a physical bunch of guys. We've seen that in their last few games. We saw it again in their last playoff game. We have to come out and be physical. That's where the game will start and finish at."

The defense has made a lot of strides throughout the year by improving against the run. Is this going to be the ultimate test?
"I think so because they are pretty good at running the ball and that is something that they lean heavily on. They've been pretty good at it and it's going to be a big test for us to be able to come out there and stop it early."

Their rookie quarterback had an efficient game this past weekend but is him being a rookie something you think that you guys can exploit?
"He makes pretty smart decisions. I think he was 12 for 15 in the game. In some of those cases, he didn't have to do much but just make a good decision and I think he's been able to do that for them. He's probably part of the reason why they are in the position that they are in now."

What is it about their running game that makes them dangerous?
"They are very physical. I just heard something recently that their offensive line has started 32 straight games together as a group. The continuity is there for sure. It's a big reason why they have had success running the ball. They've been able to be physical against guys up front. They have a few first rounder's that they rely heavily on to go and make some plays for them and be good blockers."

How do you step it up now with this new season of playoffs?
"When you play in the playoffs, everything is faster. Just when you think that you are running as fast as you possibly can, you have to pick it up. Dive for the extra inches and finish every tackle. That's what it's been about for us. We got a chance this weekend to sit back and watch and get the feel of other guys playing to get a feel for the tempo out there. The bye week has helped us a little bit with that."

How do feel physically?
"I feel pretty good. The last four or five games I was pushing through so we could get in the position that we are in right now where not only myself, but some of the other guys were able to get some rest. I feel good and I'm ready for a great week of practice."

Do you feel 100%?
"I really don't put a percentage on it because I can go out there and say that I'm 100% but you just never know. But I feel pretty good though."

When's the last time you've felt this good?
"When did the football season start? (Laughs) No, probably four or five weeks ago. Right before I had the foot injury and then the groin earlier in the season for two games so this is probably the best I've felt in a while."

How excited are you to play in a playoff game again? It's been a while for you.
"I'm excited because it's a long season. And to start the way we did and to have this winning streak and go on that run like we did and to even win against Washington to keep our momentum going like we did makes it great. I'm excited to go out and play some football."

Personally, are you at all concerned about reps just because you haven't been involved in the atmosphere for a while, especially in the playoffs where you said it's a whole different speed?
"Well I just missed Washington. I played in the game before that and in other games this season. I didn't sit out the whole year and am getting ready to play my first game of the season this week. It's more like I got some rest that was well needed. I think we needed it as a team to go out there and perform in this tough physical battle. We're getting ready for a fight period. We know what kind of guys are coming to our house and we have to be ready. And we will be."

Did you see any one common trait in this past weekend's game?
"Games coming down to three or four plays. That Green Bay game, both teams scored a combined 90 something points scored. But there was three to five really big plays where they put up points that you can't let happen in this league, especially in the playoffs because in the playoffs it gets that much more important. So when it comes down to three or four big plays that can change the result of the game, you have to be more conscience of every play and not take one too lightly than the next."

How important is a fan atmosphere like it was during the Bengals game?
"Very important. Our fans have been great and specially down the stretch. In the Bengals game they had Bengals had three or four penalties just because of the loudness of our fans. It's going to help at the end of the day and hopefully they keep getting louder out there for us."

How important is it to get pressure on Mark Sanchez early on?
"It's important because we expect them to run the ball first because they are one of the best teams in doing so. But when it's time for them to throw the ball, it's time to get after him and make him make some decisions that he doesn't want to make. Going 12 for 15 last week means he can be pretty accurate so we have to change that up a bit."

Do they use him pretty smartly?
"Yes because he's athletic and can move and get out of the pocket. They are using his skills to their advantage rather than having him sit back there like a sitting duck and then take a big hit. He's able to move and get out of the pocket a little bit."

Yesterday we saw a team come back from three touchdowns. How important is it as a defense to keep that pressure on in the playoffs no matter how big of a lead you might have?
"It's very important because you were watching that game and you thought that Arizona was going to win that game by a landslide. But it was a fight all the way down to the end of the game and situations like that happen in the playoffs where things become that much more important. Because there's no quitting in the playoffs; because everyone on the team knows if you lose, you go home. There's no getting ready for the next week if you don't win. Every play counts at this point."

RB LaDainian Tomlinson

What are your thoughts on the Jets defense?
"I think they're the best defense we're going to play. They do a lot of things well, but they've got the winning formula. They run the ball well. They play good defense. You look at teams throughout history who have done well, the ones that have that winning formula are the ones who have been successful."

Why are they so good against the run in particular?
"They know what they want to do. They know their assignments. They don't mess up. They're not out of position a lot of times and they play hard."

How important will it be to get the run going this week?
"I think it will be big for us to play ball control and keep the ball moving down the field. I'm sure they're not going to give up a lot of big plays in the passing game, so it's going to be up to us to grind out yards, get the tough yards and put points on the board."

Can you talk about the dance video that's making the rounds on the internet?
"It was something that Nike wanted to do showing a different side of me. It happened a couple years ago. We came up with it. Nike put it together and I went in and did it and had a great time."

Were you happy with your dancing?
"Oh yeah. That wasn't a question. I knew I could pop a couple of moves."

Is this an internet only release?
"Yeah, right now. They can do other things with it. Nike has the rights to it, so they have the option to do whatever they want."

You did catch some grief?
"Oh yeah. Guys were repeating the song. I was surprised that guys remember the song. They were repeating the words, the dance moves. Kris Dielman was out on the field showing me all the dance moves from the video. I was surprised they remembered it."

WR Vincent Jackson

What do you see in Darrelle Revis?
"I see a talented young football player. He's had some success against some of the best receivers in the league. I think part of that comes from teams try to say, 'Hey, if you're going to try to take this away, that's fine because we should be able to beat you in other areas.' I would love to have a great game against him, but if I don't have 100 yards or something, I might only get the ball thrown to me twice, but that's okay. We've got Malcom, LA, Buster, Sproles, LT, Antonio. I'm not really focused on the 1-on-1 matchups."

Is his physicality unique?
"He is a more physical corner. I think he likes to get up and touch you, feel you as you're running around and get some contact at the line of scrimmage. I'd expect that, but I think with our size and our speed that it's not going to be any different from what we faced with other defensive backs."

How hard is it to get off that press coverage?
"That's part of the game. I've been facing all kinds of corners. There are a lot of good football players in this league. Obviously he's getting more of the attention right now, but I think press coverage is something I can split."

How do the Jets use Revis in their defense?
"He's pretty much just on their best receiver, pressing him. In a few situations, I notice where they move receivers around and he actually doesn't go with them. For the most part they say, 'Hey, it's you one on one.'"

Are you looking forward to facing him?
"Absolutely. That's why you play. You train to be the best; you play to be the best. Obviously right now he's considered one of the top guys in the league. I'm looking forward to it."

This offense isn't one that stays away from one side of the field if there's a player of Revis' caliber over there. Would you expect to see that?
"I hope not. I don't want to. I would love to just go out there and do what we've been doing, play to our strengths and go after it."

Do you expect to see Revis across from you the whole game?
"Who knows what they're going to do. I would assume that's what they're going to do with me, but we've got weapons all over the field so they may just play him on the side that he likes to play on. That is the strength of our team though. We can beat you with anybody."

What do you like about playing with Philip Rivers?
"He's a big, strong athletic guy and he plays with a lot of fierceness. He has a little swagger to him. That's one of the things I love about him. When you get in that huddle, he believes each and every time that we're going to score on the drive. To have somebody with that confidence and that desire to be successful, he wants to be good individually as well as help us win games. It's fun playing with a guy like that.

Does Rivers act like a coach on the field a lot of times?
"I'm pretty sure his dad is a big-time high school football coach and you see a lot of that in him. He can call back plays. We'll be doing something on the field or in the meeting room and he'll say, 'Remember that third quarter in 2006?' He can tell you everything. The way he can recall plays like that is amazing to me. He's definitely a football junkie."

Was there a point in the last couple of years where the light just came on for you?
"There was no light. I've always had the belief that if I work hard I can be successful at this game and I've developed more with opportunity. My third year, Norv came here and started using me more in the passing game was well as a vertical threat mentality and my numbers started to go up."

What's impressed you about the job Norv Turner has done leading this team?
"Norv has done a great job. He's provided the same message for us and that's key. Especially dealing with young players, you need consistency in your coach. That's what he's been. He's said, 'We can't worry about anything outside of this locker room, outside of this building. All we can do is focus on us.' Denver was 6-0 but we couldn't sit there and worry about what Denver was doing. He brought everybody together and said, 'We're going to focus on us. We're going to win the games we need to win and the rest will take care of itself.' Since everyone has kept that same belief and mentality each and every week we've come out and worked, it's no looking back."

How nice was it for you to get a chance to rest last week?
"I did get some rest. We're still working on it. I'm hoping to be closer to 100 percent by Sunday but obviously it's hard for anybody at this point in the season to be 100 percent. That's not what I'm focused on. I'm trying to be as prepared and as healthy as I can be to help this team. The bye helped a lot of guys on our team."

###

Head Coach Norv Turner

Did everybody practice today?
“The guys we expected that would practice practiced and we had some guys that are limited right now. I’m excited that we will have all our guys when we get going next week when we prepare for who we are going to play next week.”

What did you sense about the team by the way they practiced today?
“They seemed really focused. We cut back in terms on the number of plays, but the plays we ran, I thought we executed extremely well. We started introducing different things that we have to handle in the game and the guys realize that if we use this time properly, we can get a jump start on some things that we have to be able to defend and there are some things that we have to be able to attack that we can have a better understanding of.”

Your last loss came out of the bye week. Is that at all irrelevant here or is there anything you can take from that and apply it to your preparations for next week?
“This is a different type of bye week. I don’t see a comparison between the two of them because when you are in the middle of the year and you’ve played some games, the bye is about getting away and getting some rest because you know you’ve got a long haul after that. It’s more mentally getting away from it. I think our guys understand that we are going to give them some rest, but this bye week is about doing some extra work in terms of preparation.”

If you were asked to identify an unsung here or two this year, is that impossible with all the guys that you’ve had?
“It’s a long list. It’s a real long list. As I’ve said, if in August  you were talking about (Brandon) Siler starting the number of games at inside linebacker that he has or Brandyn Dombrowski starting at right guard and at right tackle over a considerable amount of time, I don’t know that you would be sitting here thinking that this would’ve turned out the way it did.”

Stephen Cooper is one guy that has gone under the radar. He’s just been going out there and doing his job quietly. Has this year been one of his best years as a pro?
“Because he’s done the football things that you are talking about, and he’s stepped up another level in terms of being a leader and the quarterback of the defense. He makes things go by getting people lined up and runs the show when they get out on the field. Stephen (Cooper) is a very smart player who doesn’t make mistakes. He’s always been a real good tackler and has a good year in that area.”

Given that he’s healthy, can you see an expansion of L.T’s role or is going to be the same thing that he’s been doing?
“I saw it happen when we played Cincinnati, and that was the most production that L.T. has had in terms of the run and the pass mixed. I’m excited to have him fresh and healthy and we will still lean on Darren (Sproles) for the things he does well. I like the mix we have there.”

Looking back on the season are there any games that you look back on and say, ‘that’s how we need to play in the playoffs?
“I’ve gone back through a lot of our games because I know whoever we play is going to be doing that, particularly the teams that we play who are similar to whoever it is. It’s not one game, it’s in a lot of games when the most critical situation came, that we made the stop or we made the great play, made the great punt, or we covered the kick well. That’s what we have to do. Our games come down to the last two minutes and you make a lot of plays up to that point so you have a chance to win. You have to make plays in those situations to win and that’s what our guys have done in all three phases.”

Is that because of the focus the guys have had throughout the week? How do you prepare for a play when you don’t know when it will happen?
“That’s the key. There are four or five plays that will decide the game. You don’t know which ones they are until you play the game.  Our guys have done a great job with that but I really believe the experience that we have and the experience our players have had in those situations that have made the difference.”

When you have such a high-powered offense, how critical is that left tackle with Marcus and what he’s able to do?
“Particularly when you have a young right tackle where you don’t have to, but we are prepared to help out a lot. Marcus is out there by himself. I look at what he did out there in that Dallas game and he had a great game. He’s had a lot of great games this year but to go on the road and go up against what many believe to be the best pass rusher in the league and to play at the level he did, it says a lot about what he’s done for us all year.”

He’s pretty loose all the time, have you ever seen him tight in games?
”I’ve seen him uptight. This game will humble everybody. We went to Tennessee a couple of years ago and it was long afternoon for him. Everyone in this league gets humbled at some time but it’s how you respond. He always responds great.”

If Don Coryell is amongst one of the 15 finalist for the Hall of Fame what would that mean to you?
“If that’s the case, that’s exciting because he means so much to so many different people that have been in this game. This system and this style started with him and it’s gone around to so many different players and coaches that you can’t name them all. Certainly Ernie (Zampese) coming to the Rams and me being involved with him for three or four years and getting to be around this offense was special. I’ve never had a close association with coach Coryell but I’ve got the utmost respect for him. When we used to come down with the Rams and practice the Chargers, I used to go and stand and watch him because it was so much fun to watch him coach and to see the energy he brought to practice.”

RB LaDainian Tomlinson

What do you take away from past playoff experiences?
“I think just the way you lost the game and the way you won the game. I think that’s what you take away from it. Some things you can do better, maybe starting the game or finishing the game. That’s pretty much it because it’s going to be a different team. The team we played a couple years ago, three years ago in New England, it’s not the same team. Obviously, the Colts team we beat last year isn’t the same team. It’s different, but the experience factor is something you take away from it.”

Are you guys the same team?
“No, we’re not the same team. Obviously, we got a lot of the same guys on the team, but it’s not the same team. I remember a long time ago one of our coaches saying, we had a team meeting and one of our coaches told us, ‘you know guys we need to get off the stuff we did last year. This is not last year’s team. This is a totally different team. We may have a lot of the guys that were on the team, but it’s a totally different team. We’re a totally different team and that’s the way we’ll approach it.’”

Do past seasons predict anything?
“No. Absolutely not. “

Can you point out one or two unsung heroes who have stepped up this season?
“You’re putting me on the spot. I don’t know about just one or two guys. You look at what our fullbacks have done, Salt and Pepper is what we call them. You look at them guys and you look at (Brandyn) Dombrowski coming in and doing what he’s done for us. You look at Mooch (Scott Mruczkowski) who came in for Nick (Hardwick) and then Nick coming back. You look at couple guys across the defensive line, the guys that filled in. You can’t really point to one or two guys. It’s a lot of guys that helped us.”

What does that mean to you?
“It’s a total team game. We’ve proved it by the way we’ve had to play filling in different guys. “

What do you say about the way your defense is performing?
“They have done a great job with their preparation. We’ve seen them put extra time in the classroom. When we’re playing certain teams, to know exactly what they’re doing out there and it’s helped them. We have the upmost confidence in them guys that they’re going to get the stops that we need to get when we need to get them. That is something we talk about a lot between each other.  We say, ‘hey guys, you need to get the stops and we’re going to put points on the board and make it easy on you. You guys are making it easy for us and we’ll do the same.’ It works hand in hand.”

How great is it for Philip (Rivers) to have the three big targets?
“I think if you ask any quarterback in the league they would love to have the size of those guys; big guys that can run.  Any quarterback would love that. I think it works well with Philip. His strengths throwing the ball down the field and putting the ball in areas where only they can get it, I think has been great for him.”

Is the ability for Gates and Vincent to be so athletic at 6’5” impressive?
“Yes, it’s pretty impressive. It really is. To see those guys move, jump, spin and all of the things you’re use to seeing smaller guys do; but big guys are doing it.”

Do you notice a difference playing teams with playoff experience like the Patriots?
“I’m sure there is a bit of difference from the experience factor just by how they have different situations throughout the game. Experience a lot of times they don’t make the mistakes that some of the teams that haven’t been in the playoffs have. That’s the biggest difference, but at the end of the day it’s still football. You have to execute the plays that are called.

On Marcus McNeill’s emergence and being a character:
“Mac came in right away as a rookie, if you remember and did well. He’s been playing well for a long time. I think the difference this year is the mind set he has. He’s healthy again, but he has that mind set of I can be dominate. He plays like it. Commenting on him being a little different is not such a bad thing. I like a crazy lineman. I really do. I think they’re the best guys to have on the team. They keep it loose. Those are the guys you want out there. “

QB Philip Rivers

Was there a different feel today?
“It was a little different feel. Obviously with the game 10 or 12 days away, I don’t know if relaxed is the word, but there’s a little different feel to practice, but it was good. It was focused and we got done what we needed to get done. There’s certainly something about the feel of playoff time. There’s 20 teams that are done and to be one of the teams again that has a chance, it feels good. The way our schedule sets up and everybody’s mindset, this will be a really good week for us before we get into a regular game-week next week.”

Are there a couple of unsung heroes from this team that stand out to you?
“It’s hard. For me to single a few out, I’ll leave some out but just coming to my mind offensively you’ve got Brandyn Dombrowski who fought like crazy to make this team and then all of a sudden in week one he’s thrown in there at right guard for a couple weeks and then all of a sudden he’s thrown in there at right tackle, and he also played almost a whole game at left tackle last week. He’s a guy that has been huge and what he’s been asked to do is very demanding and he’s risen to the occasion. That’s one guy that stands out on the offensive side of the ball. I could single out others that have been. I know there’s been a lot made of Brandon Siler and his play. His will and eagerness to be in the lineup on defense has never stopped. Every day he’s been here, he’s wanted to be out there on the defensive side of the ball and at the same time appreciating and taking advantage of his role on special teams. Those are two guys that just come to mind and again I’m leaving some out. There’s been so many guys that have contributed this year and in some way or fashion and I think it’s been the most complete team effort for a season that we’ve had since I’ve been here and to have won those last 11 straight and have that many guys contribute even makes it that much more of a special regular season. Obviously we want a special postseason ahead, but it’s a heck of a run we’ve had thru 16 games.”

Can you talk about the fullbacks, Jacob Hester and Mike Tolbert?
“Those guys are super unselfish guys. Everybody would love to take every snap at fullback but they’re really super unselfish guys that really compliment each other well. You won’t find any that are any tougher or that likes football any more than those two guys. Both of them have played at a really high level. They do different things and give us another dimension too, catching the football out of the backfield. Both of them have done that well. They’re also two young guys that also contribute on special teams as well, really good special teams players, and it’s been real nice to keep them both fresh and healthy and mix them both in there.”

Talk about how the team stayed together after losing Nick Hardwick and Jamal Williams early in the season?
“I think it had an effect and there were other guys that were beat up as well. As healthy as we were thru training camp, it went away after week one and we also had as tough as an opening schedule as we’ve probably had against some of the best run defenses and some of the best defenses in the league. We came out of that first five-game stretch 2-3 and things weren’t looking so good. I remember standing right here and saying ‘we’ve got to keep playing one game at a time, there’s 11 games left.’ I remember saying ‘there’s a whole college season left,’ and I remember saying that and we won the rest of them, so that one game-at-a-time very zeroed-in approach worked well for us. And it’ll take just that now. When you get in the postseason there are only 12 teams and there’ll be eight left after this week. It’s very easy to fall into or get caught up in who’s left and what scenarios there are and I think it’s key for us to stay as focused as we have all year in the one game at a time and don’t get caught up in it so we can go out and play our best.”

Is there a difference between playing a team with a lot of playoff experience like the Patriots and a team like Cincinnati or New York that hasn’t been in it as much recently?
“Whoever it is, you’re going to get a solid football team. They all bring different challenges, different experience and different schemes, so whoever you get there’s obviously some similarities in some of them and there are some differences. Whoever it is, you get down to this time of the year they’re going to be a challenge and a good team and we’ll be enjoying but watching those games with high interest this weekend to see who it ends up being.”

Are you able to anticipate the plays that Norv calls coming in from the sidelines?
“In many cases, I am able to anticipate what’s coming in and if not, within the first few words I kind of know where he’s headed with the play. That’s a good sign. For one, that’s doing it each game, each time we’re around one another and when our offense is around one another you get that rhythm and that feel and understanding. And the way we practice and prepare, you should know or have an idea that when it’s 3rd-and-2 what’s coming in, or in a two-minute drive, what are we going to do. Our preparation and the experience that we’ve been through together allows for that to happen.”

Can you talk about Marcus McNeill at left tackle?
“Marcus is playing at a really high level and this year, like usual, you see (the opponent’s) best pass rusher on him every week. We went thru a span there in the NFC where you had (DeMarcus) Ware and Trent Cole and Osi Umenyiora in New York, and then Elvis Dumervil in our division and some of those guys and the list just goes on and on. But you usually get the best pass rusher and Marcus enjoys that challenge and kind of thrives in it. He’s had a heck of a year and we’ll need him to have him continue to play at a high level.

“We understand not only his importance, but the whole line play, including the tight ends and the backs. It allows us to push it down the field and do a lot of the things that we do. There’s no doubt that they’ve played a huge part, as they always have in our success.”

Can you talk about Marcus’ personality?
“He has a little bit of that out-on-an-island mentality. At some point you’re going to give up a sack but he has the mentality like he’s never given up one and he’s never going to give up one and that’s the only way to do it when you’re out there by yourself when you’re getting in some cases, the best athlete on the field. He enjoys those challenges and brings it each and every week.”

LB Stephen Cooper

How much has it helped you guys that you’ve avoided costly penalties and mental errors this season?
“That’s so big.  Whenever you give up penalties and give offenses a chance to get more yards and make more first downs, it keeps us on the field longer and keeps our offense on the sidelines.  Our whole mentality is getting three-and-outs and turnovers because whenever Philip gets the ball, they’re going to put points on the board.  That’s what we prey on.”

Who are a couple of the “unsung heroes” on this team that have stood out to you?
“I would definitely say guys like Steve Gregory, Paul Oliver, Brandon Siler and Tim Dobbins.  Those are the kind of guys that go under the radar because they haven’t been doing stuff in the past but this year they’ve been making big plays.  Brandon Siler is playing great inside linebacker.  Tim Dobbins is doing a great job.  So are Steve Gregory and Paul Oliver on the back end.  If we can keep playing at our level, those guys are going to show that they’re stars.”

How much has that meant to you to have so many guys step up?
“It’s big.  Our defense, due to a lot of injuries this year, it showed how much depth we have.  Our coaches are doing a great job of putting us in position to make plays and putting us in positions where our strengths are and not our weaknesses.”

How do you make sure that you guys are ready for those four or five plays that can decide a game?
“The biggest thing is we’re trying to make the big plays minimal.  We gave up one big play last week that was very disappointing.  I think this season we haven’t really given up too many big plays.  We make teams grind it out, run the ball, pass the ball.  If we keep doing that, we’ll have a successful year.”

Have you spent any time looking at the Patriots yet as a possible opponent?
“We haven’t really looked too much at them.  We played Denver twice this year and they pretty much are similar to New England.  Josh McDaniels was a great offensive coordinator there (in New England) and I think he carried the New England offense to Denver so we’re real familiar with that.  The Jets, we know they run a two-back offense.  They like to run the ball so we know we have to be ready for that.”

What did you learn from the Bengals game last month?
“We know that we’ve got to shut down Chad (Ochocinco).  We’ve got to keep Cedric Benson at a minimal and not let him get any big runs.  We’ve got to stay physical up front and get after the quarterback.”

How different would it be to play a team with so much playoff experience like New England versus one like Cincinnati without a lot of postseason experience?
“It really isn’t about what team we play.  It’s about us going out there and doing our job.  We’re real hungry right now.  That’s why we’re on an 11-game win streak.  We just want to make sure we get a first-round bye and have a home game.  Guys were banged up but now we’re healthy.  We’re going to go out and get these next two days of practice and look forward to next week, whoever we’re playing.”

###

Injury Update:
"From an injury standpoint, I'll give you an update.  The guys that were inactive or the guys that have missed - Jacques Cesaire, Jacob Hester, Vincent Jackson, Shawne Merriman, Legedu Naanee, Eric Weddle - those guys I would expect to be able to participate at some level during this week.  Again, I'm going to generalize, but I think all of them will be able to participate at some level this week.  Then all of them without having a setback would be full go next week.  Obviously the more they can do this week, the better I believe it is for them.  "From a standpoint of injuries in the game, James Holt has a shoulder injury and he will have surgery and he will be out.  He's had a remarkable season for a young guy that came in here and just jumped out very early.  He's really become a big part of our special teams.  We'll have to replace him there.  (Antonio) Garay strained his hamstring, but I think he'll be alright."

Opening statement:
"From the standpoint of the game, as I said yesterday, it was good for us to get our starters out.  Most of them got about 20 plays.  I thought they got good work and accomplished what we wanted to get done.  Then our young guys, I think it's great for them to get a chance to play. The game was fast for them early.  I think as they settled in to what we were doing and playing in a real game in terms of being a starter-like mentality, I thought we handled things extremely well and obviously I thought it was good for Billy to be in the situation he was in.  To put that drive together at the end says a lot about those young guys and their abilities to play.  It's nice to get Billy the reps; get him the opportunities.  I hope he doesn't play over the next month, but I believe he'll be ready if he needs to be."

Is the bye week more important physically or mentally?
"I honestly believe it's both.  First of all, physically it is a long season and you do get rest (with the bye).  Everyone is in there lifting.  They'll get a lift and a run in today and then tomorrow we'll be off.  We'll get three good days of practice but the rest will come on the weekend, Saturday and Sunday.  We'll play the following Sunday at 1:40 so we'll come in and do something on Monday, then Tuesday off and have a normal week after that.  When you look at it you go Saturday, Sunday, Monday it'll be a light work and then Tuesday (off), they'll be rested physically.  That's critical.  Then the mental part of it is not only stepping back away from it for a second but we can really get into some detail in terms of preparation for this game and be real exact in what we want to do where sometimes during the season, and like we had for Tennessee you get into short weeks, you get into different types of game-plan situations where you have people injured and they don't get a lot of reps in practice.  Sometimes you wish you had a little more time to prepare.  That won't be the case here."

In late fourth-quarter drives, can you give us some insight into how you call plays?
"My intention is always to get first downs on first and second down.  That makes it much smoother.  Third downs are obviously critical any time of the game to keeping the drive alive.  We spend a lot of time talking, whether it be a four-minute situation like we were in yesterday, the two-minute situation getting the ball with 50 seconds like we have.  I think those things come from the preparation we've had all through the year.  We had a major emphasis this year in training camp and our offseason work on the two-minute situation.  We took it a step further and tried to come up with every possible scenario we could come up with.  I think all of that has paid off for us."

In the playoffs is it even more critical?
"When you get in the playoffs, and it sounds very obvious, you're going to play a very good team.  Obviously you're playing one of the best teams in the league.  That's why they're in there.  The one thing that Coach (Jimmy) Johnson used to always talk about is that it's the team that plays the best when you get to that point.  In other games you are better than someone.  In these games, it is the team that plays the best and the team that plays the best handles all those different situations.  Obviously those are game-changing situations."

Do you feel you guys are the team playing the best right now?
"We're playing at a real high level.  I think there are a number of teams that are playing extremely well. We had an outstanding game with Dallas in early December and they've really taken off.  You look at the teams in the AFC and they're going that way (up).  To me it's not what you've done or how well you've played.  You get a three-and-a-half hour game and you need to play better than the team you're playing against."

Can you talk about the job Hal Hunter and Don Johnson have done?
"We did have some changes on the staff and one of the things I always talk to coaches about, and I probably got this from John Robinson, there are two things when you talk to your team.  We've got a lot of marquee, big-time players.   In the spring we talked about, 'Hey, let's see how many guys can go out and have their best season of their career.'  We had a lot of guys that did that.  I talked to the coaches the same way. 'Lets see how many guys on this staff can have their best year ever coaching.'  To do what we did on the offensive and defensive lines, you say that Don Johnson I think has had an outstanding year and worked with a lot of different people.  Hal Hunter and Mike Sullivan together with the offensive line, they've done a great job, particularly when you look at the center position and the changes we had there and Mooch playing as many games as he did.  Then starting the last 11 games a rookie at right guard and right tackle, that's hard to do."

How do you avoid coming out rusty after the bye?
"I think it's something this team has done a good job.we practice fast.  This week we can reduce the reps just a little bit, but when we go, you just have to go fast and you have to maintain that type of mentality.  I think that's the strength of this team.  Even when we were struggling, I know I commented on it and it doesn't help when you say it but you're not playing as well as you'd like, but we have practiced well and I believe we will continue to."

How do you prepare when you don't know who you are going to play?
"It's the position you're put in and we will prepare for the situations that are going to come up in this game.  We just talked about it - whether it be red zone; whether it be backed up; whether it be goal line; whether it be two minute - we will get those situations handled and we will work hard on them.  We will look at different things that teams do and do a little bit of each, but in those situations, things tend to be a little more standard.  There are a lot of similarities between all the teams you play.  Obviously we have to wait until this weekend is over to find out exactly who we're playing.  Then we'll get into the specifics of that team."

What did you think of Malcom Floyd's performance?
"Malcom and Buster Davis will end up getting game balls offensively.  I thought Malcom would have that kind of game.  I thought based on the way Washington played, the things Billy does well and the way Malcom is playing.  He hasn't been that guy, and obviously we've spread the ball around to a lot of people, but when Gates went out and Vincent Jackson wasn't playing, there were some opportunities to really zero in and get him involved and get him part of it.  He really responded.  He's an outstanding player who has really gotten a lot better over the last year."

Is this the most rewarding season of your career as a head coach?
"It is.  I'm not very good at comparing those things, but the biggest thing for me is the job the assistant coaches have done and the number of people we have that have contributed to this team.  That part of it is impressive.  Somebody had the number, I don't know exactly what it was, but they said 60 different guys have played in games for us.  That's a lot of guys, but I know that on Sundays we play a lot of people.  When we win a game, I think everyone feels that they were part of it and that's a great team feeling."

Is it even more important this time of year to have a guy like Malcom step up when you're playing good teams that can take other guys away?
"There is another guy that's in the mix and I think Malcom has been that guy and people know that getting ready for us, that we do have balance.  I think when you visually see it on tape and you say, 'Wow, here are the things they do with this guy,' it's something else you have to prepare for it."

What are the expectations within the organization?
"I think everyone knows what we want to accomplish.  That's been from the start, but I'm not going to get ahead of myself and I'm not going to let my guys get ahead of themselves.  We talked about it last night in the locker room: in this league, if you want to do something, you have to go earn it.  That's been a great lesson learned by a lot of people in our organization.  There have been times obviously in the past where people pick you and it's a foregone conclusion in someone's mind.  It is not a foregone conclusion in anyone's mind.  We know that we're going to play an awfully good football team and we're going to have to play at our best to move to the next round of the playoffs."

But do you feel confident in the next round considering who you might play?
"As I said, we're going to play a real good team and teams have different scenarios that affect them.  If someone told me that we were going to go through the season with Mruczkowski at center and Vasquez at right guard and Dombrowski at right tackle and we're going to win a number of games in a row with those guys, I might have been a little skeptical.  I don't think because someone is hurt or someone has had a change based on injury that you expect to get anything different."

How do you explain playoff football to your young players?
"That's one thing this team has.  Our guys, our core guys and they'll help the young guys in the preparation, but we have a lot of guys who have not only played in the playoffs but have won games and won close games.  We won the overtime game last year in the playoffs.  We had a great win in Indy two years ago in the playoffs.  They've experience that and they've experienced the other side of it.  I do know that our guys understand that it can end real fast if you don't go out and do the things you're capable of doing."

What did you take away from your Super Bowl experiences with Dallas that you might be applying right now?
"It's so different and it was a long time ago.  I went to two (Super Bowls with the Cowboys).  With the Rams we went to two championship games.  I've been to a championship game here two years ago.  To me, what I just said, you've got high expectations and you want to go out and be the best team but you've got to go out and earn it.  It's a one-game-at-a-time deal and as I said it can end fast."

How much of an edge over the other teams is your team's playoff experience?
"I don't know that it's an edge over the other teams, but certainly it's a great feeling to know that you've got guys who have been in the playoffs, have experienced the playoffs and had success in the playoffs."

Do you deserve to be in the Coach of the Year conversation, as a reflection of the team as much as you?
"Those things.it's not a big issue for me.  I'm glad that Philip's name has been brought up over the last two or three weeks regarding MVP, but I don't think that's an issue for him.  I know that we've put ourselves in this position and we want to go make the most of it."

Will Dombrowski remain your starting right tackle?
"Dombrowski is the starting right tackle and I'm very impressed with the way he's played.  I'm glad that Jon Runyan got to play.  He played about 40 snaps yesterday.  Dombrowski went over and played left tackle those 40 snaps and I was impressed with the way he made the adjustment to left tackle.  It just gives you a good feeling to know that if we had an issue that we are in good shape in all our positions.  If we had someone have to come out of a game, I'm confident that we could go in at any of the five offensive line positions and handle anything that might come up."

How has Runyan handled not moving into the starting lineup?
"Jon has been great.  Jon is a pro and I think he's enjoying being part of this team.  Playing yesterday, playing the week before gets you to feel more of a part of it.  He's fit in great with our offensive line and he's helped Dombrowski a great deal."

Who replaces Holt on special teams?
"We've got a number of guys and we've had some guys who have not been able to be up, whether it be at different times Marques Harris, who was not active a couple weeks. C.J. Spillman was not active for a number of games but played yesterday and was outstanding on special teams.  We'll make that decision as we go through."

You mentioned maybe shortening practice to keep guys sharp.  How do you do that?
"It's really not significant.  It is to them because it's numbers of reps where in a drill we normally do 12 plays but we might cut it to nine.  If you do that in five different periods, you take out 15 plays of a normal practice.  Again, it's about what we talked about earlier: mentally being sharp and physically making sure we take advantage of this week."

Has your heightened execution in practice translated to games?
"Absolutely.  It's just the confidence you have.  Games are different.  You've got to go beat someone who is talented and you've got to block them and do whatever those things are.  There's no question if you practice fast and that's your normal tempo then you make that adjustment to games on Sundays much easier."

Do you expect Shawne Merriman to be 100 percent?
"I don't know that he'll be 100 percent, but I know that this week will help him greatly and I hope there are some things he can do (in practice) if we're working a pass-rush period, if we're working a third-down period. I hope he's able to get some reps, but I would expect him to be the healthiest he's been in quite a while."

What were your impressions of the Jets last night?
"When you play defense and run the ball and give a lot of different looks like they do.  Obviously they were impressive in the game and it'll be a real good game next week."

###

Head Coach Norv Turner

Are you surprised there’s been as much commotion as there’s been about the Colts’ situation?
“No because it seems there’s commotion about a lot of things that are fairly routine. I haven’t paid a lot of attention to it. We try to focus on our own situation and we’re getting ready for a football game.”

What’s your philosophy on resting or playing guys?
“I think preparation is the key. Obviously we had some guys that couldn’t practice today and we’ll evaluate where they are on Friday. The guys that aren’t healthy, they’re not going to play and they won’t be active, but the guys that are dressed do need to be prepared to play and we’ll make decisions on each guy as we get to the game.”

Your thoughts on the guys selected to the Pro Bowl?
“It’s exciting for the first-time guys. Nate Kaeding’s a guy that I think has warranted being a Pro Bowl player and sometimes, depending on the guys at your position, you’ve got to wait your turn. He’s had a great year and is certainly deserving. All of the guys are deserving. It’s a great honor.”

Does having the bye week affect how much you’ll play guys in the final game?
“I’m sure it would affect you if you felt you had to get a guy ready to play the next week if he had a little bit of an injury or was at all at risk; you’d make the decision a little differently. The thing about it is that we need to go play. We need to prepare to play and go play and how long a guy plays isn’t the issue; it’s to make sure they’re doing the things they need to do to prepare so we stay in that routine. And we’ll do the same thing next week.”

Is the fact that Hardwick practiced today a sign that he came out of Friday’s game feeling good?
“It’s a great sign. I came in and visited with the guys that got treatment on Saturday morning and Nick did not need any treatment. So I called him and I think I woke him up on Saturday morning and he said he felt great; better than he had after any of the practices. That was great progress and he was fine today. He’s really done well with the foot.”

Do you go into the game with a set plan of how much each guy’s going to play?
“We have an idea of what we want to do. The big thing is you only get 45 guys to dress. And the biggest thing is that all our guys have the mindset to play the entire game.”

Were you happy with the preparation for the Tennessee game?
“We’ve got an amazing group and they’ve learned. They know how to go out and have fun, but they know how to go out and prepare. When we start to stretch and get going, they’re going to practice. They practice fast this time of year. On Wednesdays we don’t do a lot of hitting so we get a fast tempo going. Tomorrow we’ll have the shoulder pads on and it’ll be a physical practice but we had a good practice today.”

Can you talk about the season that Ian Scott’s having?
“We have so many guys, particularly on defense, but also on those offensive and defensive lines, that are great stories. Ian’s one of them. We released him and he had the knee (injury) and had to have it cleaned out. And then we had other injuries and we re-signed him. I think when a guy has had the knee done in August and he wasn’t 100 percent, but he was close and getting there, people make an assumption that they’re just keeping that guy for 2-3 weeks while someone else gets healthy. But that certainly was not the case. My intention was to do what we’ve done and he’s handled it and had an outstanding year.”

Do you expect Buster Davis to play on Sunday?
“I would think there is chance Buster would get an opportunity to dress to play. Again, that will be dictated by what happens later in the week.”

How do you keep guys from getting hurt?
“If you go out and play and you don’t think about it, your chances of getting through it are pretty good. We’ve gotten through the last few games being healthy and you help your odds by reducing the number of plays for some guys. But you are going to play a certain number of plays and you’re going to have your 11 guys on the field. For us it’s a great opportunity in different parts of the game to play some guys that haven’t had a lot of reps and there’s some guys that may be called upon as we get into the playoffs.”

Has it been difficult to keep the team grounded during the win streak?
“I think it’s a combination of a number of things. It’s a point of emphasis from me and our staff. I think I said in May that our team had reached the highest level of maturity we’ve had and that comes from experience and obviously having the experiences that this team has had over the last 4-5 years. I think there’s a seriousness about what you have to do and what can happen to you. A few years you assume that you get to this point, you’re supposed to continue and it’s going to happen. Anything you get in this league you’re going to earn and you make happen and I think our guys have a great understanding of that.”

What can you say about the influence of veterans like Antonio Gates and Shaun Phillips?
“I’m glad you mention those two guys because there are a lot of other guys that always get mentioned and it’s important. We have a lot of guys that have played at a high level who’ve had great success during the regular season. And we’ve had success in the playoffs the last two years. We’ve played in the Championship Game and obviously had big wins against Indianapolis and Tennessee. But they also have that experience, and it’s that painful experience of not completing what they’d like to get done. So I think that carries over through a lot of our guys and it helps all of our guys stay focused.”

Quarterback Philip Rivers

In light of what happened in Indianapolis Sunday, what’s your take on how much you should play Sunday?
“I think it’s obviously up to each individual team and each team has different circumstances and approaches.  We’ve been told, and I’m sure Norv will fill you in with whatever info he sees necessary, to prepare like a regular week and for everybody to be ready to play four quarters.  How that will play out we’re not sure, but I think for us to go and prepare and get a week better and keep having the same approach that we’ve had the last 10 weeks will be in our best interest and give ourselves the best chance to improve as we head to the playoff game in January.”

For you personally what do you think will be best?
“Again, I’m preparing to play four quarters.  I think any time you suit up, you want to go win the game.  Whoever’s in there, how long, and whoever it is in a Charger uniform, we’re trying to go win the game and get to 13-3.  (We’re trying to) get a week better and keep the rhythm and flow going as we head into the postseason.”

Do you talk about carrying over the December success to January?
“Yeah, we take a great deal of pride in the fact that we have won 18 in a row in December.  We did it again this year, we went unblemished in December.  I think that’s had a lot to do – finishing strong in December – you give yourself a chance in the postseason, which we’ve done.  Certainly now that we’ve done that we want to play even better ball in January.  The goal is obvious.  It’ll be there for 12 teams.  It starts this week.  However long we’re in there and whoever is playing for four quarters, we’re trying to win a football game and get a week better.  Then we get a little time to not only rest but to prepare for what we hope is going to be a great postseason.”

What impresses you most about the job Norv Turner has done this season?
“I think as he’s done really every year, the steadiness, the never-flinch leadership and attitude that he coaches with have allowed us to bounce back from a 4-8, bounce back from a 2-3 and stay on the ground enjoying a 10-game win streak. We never get too much on a high or too much on a low.  It’s a steady, very grounded, focused approach.  It starts with him: he and the staff, the week to week game plans giving us a chance to succeed.  I think ultimately the guys have to soak that in and put in the effort preparing.  I think that’s been the biggest reason why we’ve played so well.  Our preparation Monday through Saturday has really allowed us to play at a high level on Sundays.”

What are your thoughts on making the Pro Bowl and being named Chargers MVP?
“Being selected to the Pro Bowl team is an honor.  Any time that a committee of fans and your peers and fellow competitors and coaches (acknowledges you), and to be held in regard with that type of players, it’s an honor.  Certainly all the guys on our team that made it, as a quarterback especially, it takes a lot of guys to be able to play at a high level and be recognized as such.  The guys up front have done a great job protecting and the guys have made plays.  We have plenty of other players that are deserving of going.  

“As far as being elected team MVP, it’s hard to say who it is on this team.  There are so many valuable assets and so many guys that stepped up this year. But any time your teammates select you, it is an honor.  Certainly we all know it’s taken all 53 plus, 60 or however many you’ve got.  Everybody who is in here every day and practices every day, that’s what it’s took thus far to get to 12-3.  We’ll need every one of us to get to where we need to be after that first week of February.”

What do you tell your teammates who didn’t make the Pro Bowl but should have?
“I don’t necessarily tell them anything.  We all know how we think of one another and the respect we have as players.  We hold each other in high regard.  There are a lot of guys in that locker room that are worthy of going.  That doesn’t lessen their value to us or importance to this team that they’re not going.  I’ve been on that side of it too. It’s a year to year thing, but certainly a lot of guys have played at a really high level and contributed to our success this year.”

Defensive End Luis Castillo

Talk about all the different guys that have been brought in here throughout the year on the defensive line and how you guys have all come together.
“It’s unbelievable how different it has been. You look at the changes and turnover and, more importantly, you look at the guys they’ve brought in, and the help that they have been able to provide to this team. Not only that, but you look at the closeness, and to bring in basically a new defensive line in which we have only two guys from last year who are playing right now, we have the closeness, camaraderie, and the family atmosphere in that room and it makes it really easy to step out on that field and play together and care about each other when you know you have a group that’s going to give you everything they have. They’ve been able to not only come in, but also be productive.”

Do you ever stop and take a look at who’s helping you now?
“It’s different. Sometimes I’m looking at film and I see numbers and I don’t exactly remember who it is. We joke around sometimes and say they are trying to bring in the Chicago Bears defensive line from a couple of years ago. And little by little, we are getting close to that. But really it’s unbelievable that these guys have been able to come in and do. To come in mid-season, Ian Scott was with us early and then he left, then came back and picked up the defense but also get in it and make plays like he has. It’s not just guys out there being bodies, its guys out there being productive, making plays, and helping us achieve our main goals. We talked about it earlier. We gave up a bunch of yards early in the season and we lost a bunch of guys to injuries and the biggest we said is at the end of the year, this is going to help us. Because we’re having so many young guys play, it’s going to make us a more solid group with experience. And it’s shown up late in the year.”

Are you expecting to play the whole game on Sunday?
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in terms of reps and who will play when. I think the most important thing for us is preparation. Looking at what we’ve been able to achieve the last 10 weeks, preparation has been the key for us. It’s been able to come out here on Wednesday and Thursday, prepare the right way and really focus and have an excitement about what we are going to do. And not only to be focused but to have fun while we do it. And if we can continue to do that and continue that role, then we feel as if we can continue to be successful.”

What do make about the talk of getting hurt in these kind of situations?
“It becomes an issue one game a year. We played 20 games leading up to this and really you don’t think about it. As a player, maybe you think about it during the week or outside of the moment. But the moment you are on the field, there’s nothing on your mind but to fulfill that task and doing your job because there is no other way to approach it. When you’re out there, as intense as it is, and as focused as you are, and as much fun as we have, everything else goes away, whether it’s records or long-term achievements. At the end of the day we are a bunch of guys who love playing this game. And when we step on that field we are going to have fun and play hard.”

What impresses you most about the job coach Turner has done this year?
“He’s been able to do so many things to keep this team together on an even keel. I don’t think enough credit goes towards that at times. You look at some of the peaks and some of the valleys and the most important thing you can say about the guy is that he’s kept us going in the same direction. Whether we are going through some tough times or we are doing really well, there’s always been the mentality that we are going to keep our heads down and we are going to get better. No matter what, that mentality is the same and the approach is the same. Aside from that, he came in here three years ago and I remember his first meeting. One of the things he said that stood out from that day was that we are going to learn how to be a complete team at the end of the season when it matters most. If we can do that and play well at the end of the year in all aspects, then we can be successful and that’s what we’ve been able to do.”

Is this team healthier than previous seasons?
“Healthy is what it is in the moment. You never know what’s going to happen the next day. We’ve gone through games where we’ve had four or five guys go down so you never know. The biggest thing you try to do is prepare where it doesn’t matter about who’s going to be in there. But you can’t think about it. We’ve had so many guys come in so many different situations and that’s one of the big keys to our team. You look at the talent; you look at the execution and coaching. But to be able to have a guy step in when he hasn’t played much and have him be successful like Paul Oliver last year or a Brandyn Dombrowski this year or the defensive line guys like Vaughn Martin who didn’t play much early but he has been able to come in and play better than before. So when you can get guys reps early because of injuries, it makes you that much better later on in the year and that’s what has been showing.”

How critical can that be in the postseason?
“You can’t talk enough about how important that is. When you can plug a guy in the middle of the game and have him go in there and not miss a beat, and be mentally sharp enough to execute the right way and not make a mistake that will hurt the team, that’s the key. Part of that is having the confidence to have done it. Whether its playoffs or the regular season, it doesn’t matter. If you’re taking reps and flying around, you get used to that feeling pretty quickly and it becomes a habit. Then when you are asked to step in during playoffs, you’re going to be ready to go.”
 
###

Head Coach Norv Turner

Opening statement:

 “We’re a little earlier today than a normal week. Most of the players are in and we do have a meeting at noon. The injury update: Scott Mruczkowski has a strained ankle at the minimum. It could be worse. He’s having it looked at and doing all the MRI tests right now. He would be out of this football game. Jacques Cesaire came out obviously with the elbow. It looks like he would have a chance to play on Friday night.  Jammer is sore but I think he’ll be fine. I just talked to him. He was in getting treatment. Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips are both sore, which they have been after each game.  I’m hopeful that even though it’s short week that they will be able to make it back. I don’t know how much practice they would be able to get. Hardwick is going to go through walk-thru today and practice tomorrow and we’ll see where he’s at. It’s an unusual week with the Tennessee game being on a Friday night and us traveling on a Wednesday. We got in early this morning to start working on Tennessee. Our coaches worked Saturday after our walk-thru. They spent most of the afternoon working on Tennessee.

“My thoughts about the game…as I thought, it would be an extremely physical game. They are like us in their offensive and defensive lines. I think they’re very, very physical. They are a very talented football team. There were peaks and valleys for us in the game. It looks like when we’re up by 11 that we’re in pretty good shape and then we have a ball that is a little bit thrown behind and Gates mishandles it a little bit. It kind of gave them momentum and let them back in. I can’t say enough about how our guys responded and made the plays we had to make to find a way to move down the field. Nate made a great kick. Those kicks, as I always say, I never take any kick for granted because I’ve been in some heartbreakers where it didn’t go through. I appreciate every kick he makes. But when you make a 52-yarder with eight seconds it’s really special. That group takes a lot of pride…our offensive line, David Binn and Mike (Scifres) holding. They take a lot of pride in that whole operation.

“I thought there were a lot of good things. They got a couple plays in the running game that were broken plays. One was the screen to Chad Johnson and the other was run where Larry Johnson came back inside and we had one guy misplay it. But from a physical standpoint inside, I thought we played awfully well against the run as I said last night. I have great respect for Carson (Palmer) and what they do in the passing game. We really hurt ourselves in third down situations where we had chances to get them off the field and didn’t. I think that gave them life. Those are the things we are going to concentrate on in a short week.”

Thoughts on team winning fourth straight title:

“In this day and age I think it says a lot about this organization but each year now in this league your team is different. I know that our core guys have stayed constant and those are the guys you build on. Those are the guys that get all of the attention. This year for me is different because so many guys have had to step up and so many guys that people don’t even know. I honestly can ask a lot of people and probably some of you in the room to name our 11 starters on defense and you might get half of them. To name our starting offensive line, there are a lot of people who don’t know who those guys are because we didn’t know who they were about eight months ago. I’m really proud how we’ve had so many different people contribute to what we have gotten done.”

How long would’ve you let Nate kick the field goal?

“Obviously, when you get inside that point of 10 seconds, you like to be in there a little tighter. He can make that kick from 60.”

 What happened to the 20 seconds when the clock read 1:17?

“Well, you saw me on the sideline. We called time out. I don’t know if it was 1:17 but it was about 1:10 and then I looked back up and someone said in the head set ‘I thought you called time out?’ I did call time out. He heard me call time out and I signaled. I made eye contact with the official. It didn’t get called. They put 10 seconds back on the clock. That was disappointing to me.”

Should you have been penalized for LT not getting inside the numbers?

“He has to get inside the numbers. I believe that’s a penalty. The problem we had was Darren’s shoe came off and he’s trying to do the right thing coming off. We’re going to spike the ball and if he had been a little bit more aware of the fact and I don’t think he know right then that we’re going to spike the ball. He starts off before Philip signals it. You can spike it and the guy can have one shoe on. In fact I think Darren can out run a few guys wearing with only one shoe. He could’ve stayed in.”

Would you have to make a decision on Hardwick by tomorrow?

“We don’t really.  We have two centers who can play. Obviously, Dennis Norman went in and played the last couple plays. Tyronne Green has been working at center. We can go through to the end of the week. Actually we have to go through end of the week because today is a walk thru and tomorrow is practice and we’ll see on Wednesday how Nick is doing.”

Where you sandbagging when earlier in the year you said the team isn’t as good as fans think?

“No. I wasn’t because I know there is a lot of revisionist history being passed around right now and a lot of different theories. We were in a tough way after the Raiders game. We had a lot of people hurt. Even the guys not hurt where not healthy. Merriman and Phillips weren’t 100% through the first month. My comments were we’re not as good as people want us to be but we can get there. I believe we can get there but we needed a contribution from a lot of different people to do it. If someone told me that Brandyn Dombrowski was going to play right guard for three weeks and then play right tackle for six weeks in August, I would’ve had real concerns. We’ve lined up through this whole streak with Mruczkowski, Vasquez and Dombrowski on our right side of the line and I don’t think those our household names but they are good football players. It’s not the way we intended to play the bulk of our season.”

Is that thing you’re most impressed about with so many guys stepping in?

“Yes, I know I named the offensive line but in the defensive line we probably have had eight different guys start games this year which is unheard of. Our linebackers have been a revolving door because of the health situations. We’ve just had great contributions from young football players. Alfonso Boone had another outstanding game. He got cut from Kansas City in August. To me and I keep saying this it speaks volumes about our coaching staff and our assistant coaches because those are the guys when a young guy like Dombrowski steps up in plays, if Vaughn Martin steps up and plays, if James Holt becomes a real contributor on special teams then someone is doing a great job getting them ready. I give that credit to the assistant coaches.”

What is the biggest headache with the short week?

“The hardest thing is everybody talks about the game plan and coaching and that’s not the problem. We’ll get that done. The hardest thing is the players. The players have played in a lot football games and they’re banged up. They’re beat up. We’ve kind of managed this a year ago when we played at home. We’re going to do everything we can to be as fresh as we can. Take care of them during the week and do everything we can to get them ready to play. We’re playing another very good football team that is alive and on a roll. We’re going to have to be at our best.”

On if the Titans are as good of a challenge as they’ve had the last couple of weeks:

 “Absolutely and they keep getting bigger. I thought Dallas was going to be an enormous challenge and it was. On Sunday, the circumstances made it closer than it maybe could’ve been but that’s the way it is when we’re playing a real good team. Now, it’s Tennessee and playing them in their place. We’ve been there. It’s a tough place to play. They’re very good there. They have a guy who is trying to set a record for 2,000 yards or set a record for most yards. Their quarterback is playing awfully well and they’ve always been a very, very good defense. They’re explosive in the running game and Vince Young is playing at a higher level. They look very good on tape “

On if the defense will be ready for the Titans offense:

We’re not going to be tired on Friday. We’re going to be fresh and ready to go. Everybody has to take care of their job.  You have to tackle great. Your secondary has to take great angles. You have to be very, very sound.”

Thoughts on Chris Johnson:

I know if he gets a little bit of space he can run a long ways with a football. He’s as explosive player as we’ve faced or probably in the league in a long time.”

On if the friction between two teams dissipates over time:

“As I said, these are two real competitive teams, two very good teams. It’s a physical style of football. We played them back there and there was some stuff going on there. I didn’t see that in the playoff game here. I thought it was handled well the second time we played them.”

On Vince Young:

They’ve really done a nice job with him in his pocket presence and getting the ball checked down to the second and third receivers. He’s always been able to throw the football down the field and make special throws. He made two against Miami that were unbelievable. He threw it right between two guys to his receiver, right over the top of the guy. I think his presence in the pocket and getting down to the second and third receiver has really improved.”

Do you have to spy him?

“Absolutely. You have to change it up. There is no question. You have to be aware that he can take off and go.”

On being ready:

“It seems every week there is another pretty good challenge. As I said, this last stretch, we knew it was going to be very, very difficult. The combination of going on the road to Dallas, and Dallas’ showing against New Orleans, they are an outstanding football team. Then playing Cincinnati now this next test we just want to go play our best and do everything we can to try to win the football game.”

Are you surprised in what Tim Dobbins has evolved into?

“Not at all. Tim is a very aggressive player. He’s a physical football player. He’s always had the knack for making big plays but I think the more he plays, the more comfortable he is with the different things in terms of pass coverage.”

On playing on Christmas:

It’s hard. You look at these now and every week there’s two teams playing on Thursday. You have to manage the short week. We played here last year on Christmas Eve. We’ve coached games on Christmas day and it’s kind of a mindset.”

Quarterback Philip Rivers

What do you see when you look at Tennessee’s defense?

“It’s a very similar group to what we played in the playoffs and at their place a few years ago.  Obviously they’re dealing with some unfortunate injuries, but it’s (a lot of) the same personnel and for the most part a very similar scheme.  As they were then, they’re a very physical team.  They’re a very fundamentally sound team.  They don’t do a ton of stuff but they do everything they do very well. Going to their place, night game, it’ll certainly be a challenge.  We have something we want to accomplish and they’re in the thick of this crazy AFC at 7-7 along with a bunch of other teams.”

They’ve always been very physical but in 2007 things got a little crazy.  Do you think there will be any spillover from that?

“I don’t think there’s anything that will carry over from then.  It’s a physical game.  There were some unfortunate injuries in that game but it’s a solid team.  It has been for some time now.  At their place, late in the year, it’ll be exciting.”

When you have a short week like this, is there any part of your preparation that has to be sacrificed?

“There’s not any that has to be sacrificed, but certainly it’s a different routine.  It’s makeshift.  You don’t really have a routine plan for this.  You’ve got to find a way to feel as prepared as you feel in a normal week. I think being here on Monday, getting a head start is the first step to getting that done. Obviously it will be a challenge but the preparation will have to continue this week up until Christmas morning.  You’ll still have to obviously keep going.  Today is a Wednesday in our preparation.  We’re not quite to where we would be on a Wednesday but guys are focused and we got a lot done today.”

To a certain extent, will guys be cramming on Thursday and Friday?

“No, I don’t think you’ll be cramming, but I think there may be some things you won’t have as down pat as you would in a normal week.  I think you try to treat these days as the same.  What you try to do on a Wednesday you try to treat it like you would today.  It won’t hurt in weeks like this to throw in a little extra late in the week.  You may catch a play or catch something that you didn’t get to see because your time is cut short.”

How much work have you done with Dennis Norman in practice?

“None.  From training camp, I’ve probably had a handful of snaps with him in there.  But Dennis is a solid, veteran player.  It wasn’t too big for him at all stepping in there.  We got five or six (snaps) on the sideline before the last few plays and there’s no concern from a snap standpoint there.  It’s just a lack of reps.  We’ll make sure we have that squared away this week.”

The Chargers are 6-1 on the road this season.  What do you attribute that success to?

“I think over time when you have the same group of guys here, you develop a mentality, a toughness and an ability to go on the road and play well.  The best thing we’ve done is just focus. Our trips have been the same for the most part every trip.  The schedule is the same, the routine is the same and guys approach them as we should, as a business trip.  We go and take care of business.”

How special is it that you’ve had so many backups and young players step up and contribute during this run?

“It’s been awesome to get the contributions from so many people.  Obviously you wish some of them didn’t have to because we’ve had some unfortunate injuries to some guys.  I think it’s a credit to our staff’s ability to prepare and coach guys and have them ready enough if called upon to go do it.  Then ultimately it’s the guy, the individual being the professional, knowing that I may go 10 weeks and never even dress.  Then in the 11th week I may be needed on kickoff to run down and make the tackle that ultimately could change the outcome of the game.  We’ve got a lot of true pros in the locker room and a lot of hungry football players.  I think that’s what it takes.  When you get called on, are you hungry and ready to go out there and play at a high level?  That’s been the case for a lot of our guys.”

You’ve said this is the most complete unit you’ve worked with.  Why do you feel that way?

“I think first, again, there’s a lot of familiar faces in that locker room, guys that were rookies, one and two-year players and now we’re all here in six, seven, eighth year.  I think that’s the first thing.  I think we’ve got a great group of veteran leadership.  Then we just have guys that hate to lose and want to win.  You combine that with a steady, consistent preparation and you can formulate a nine-game winning streak.  Now we’ll have to stay focused to keep that going.”

Do you feel snake bitten at all at center with the two big injuries?

“It’s unfortunate.  I really hate it for (Scott Mruczkowski), just playing at such a high level and regardless of when or how everything is going to shake out with Nick (Hardwick) coming back, you hate to see a guy go out with an injury like that.  It’s just been a year of ankles for our guys up front.  With Clary and Nick and Mooch and (Ogemdi Nwagbuo) over there on the defensive side.  It seems to be something every year, but every team deals with it.  We’re not the only one that has.  It’s unfortunate, but fortunately we have guys who have been able to step up and play at a high level when somebody does go down.”

Linebacker Shaun Phillips

On preparing for the Titans on a short week:

“It's pretty tough, but the great thing about it is they’re coming off a short week too, so it makes the competition even, makes the playing field even. But it's always hard from a physical standpoint, to play two games in the same week. I'm pretty sure the fans would love if every team played two times a week. But the reality is it's a tough sport and it's pretty brutal on the body, but again, the playing field is even because they have a short week as well. Being efficient is what's most important. People say ‘practice makes perfect,’ but no, ‘perfect practice, makes you perfect.’ And so that's the mindset you've have to have. There's no one that's healthy right now in the league. It's just the nature of the beast. It's just important to pay attention to the details and keep on practicing with a high intensity and that transfers over to wins whether that's in the end of the season or the beginning of the season.”

On red zone defense success:

“We have to take our hats off to other teams. It’s not just about us. They do a good job of moving the ball. They get paid a lot to make plays, so they go out there and are effective. So teams are going to move the ball on teams. Look at our offense, we move the ball on teams, and teams are going to move the ball on our defense. But the key to it is to keep points off the board, and, or, you could look at it as we need to have one more point than them, so we need to do whatever we can do to have one more point than them, and we were able to do that, that's why we've been able to win so many games, we've been having one more point than the other team.”

Do you have an edge on the Titans?

“I don't really look at it as we had an edge. I think we've just been efficient and taken it one game at a time and we look at it as another football game. Again, they're a hot football team, and they're looking good, and they really can run the ball and we're expecting a great match-up with those guys, but we have to go worry about ourselves and take care of our business and make sure and look at the bigger picture of things and right now our focus is obviously on the Tennessee Titans and going out and trying to get a first round bye in the playoffs. We understand the importance of it, so we're still playing for a lot. Again, it's still a football game and we play this game to do one thing and that's win, and we're going to go out there and try and win a football game. “

How great is it that so many guys have been able to step up for the team this year?

“Well, I think that's a tribute to the coaching staff. They do a good job of getting everybody reps, from the starter to the back-ups. Everyone gets reps and everyone prepares as they are a starter and everyone is held to the same accountability. I think we have to take our hats off to the guys as well because they accept the challenge and they see that it's an opportunity, and they're learning from the older guys and they're going out there and stepping up and making plays. Because it's a number of different guys that make plays every game, and it's different guys, not the same guys, so that's just good to see. It shows that we're focusing more on being a team, and not one player being the superstar. We haven't been an ‘I’ team around here. We haven't had very many "I" guys around here this year, and I think it’s been paying off. Obviously with our record, it's been doing something right for us.”

Does the dislike of the two teams from a few years ago still apply?

“They definitely took a cheap shot on Merriman. They're a physical team, though -- they thought they could punk us, and we obviously aren't going to get punked. We're going to do the same thing. They're a physical football team, and we like to believe we're a physical football team, so it's going to be one of those ones where we are going to punch them in the mouth and they're going to try to punch us back, and that's just how it's going to be. I personally know that Merriman definitely has to be a little heated because I believe that's when he originally hurt his knee. He hurt his knee in that game. So I'm pretty sure that he has some butterflies, and obviously that’s my brother so we're going to support him and we'll be behind him as well. So I already know going into it that it's one of those weeks that you prepare for a dogfight, because of the type of guys they have over there. They got some competitive guys. Big, strong, physical guys that get a little nasty and we'd like to think that we're that way too, so we're looking forward to it.”

Can you clarify what “Punked” means?

“Punked means basically to try and intimidate someone. They're trying to intimidate us. That's Jeff Fisher style of play, that's the type of football he plays. That's how he coaches. He wants tough guys. He wants guys that get out there and get physical and get nasty and get after it and try and intimidate the other opponent. You have to respect a guy for that.”

Will there be any Christmas spirit on the field?

“I don't know if there is going to be any hugs and gift exchanges going on. There might be some elbows and knees going on but it'll be fun. Again, we look forward to the challenge. We’ve got Chris Johnson, who's obviously leading the league in rushing and a hell of a player, the fastest back in the NFL. One of the best backs. So we look forward to the challenge on our side of the ball. I know the offense is going to come into play, but we pose the biggest challenge, which is stopping Chris Johnson and the offense and Vince Young and those guys, and that's a challenge we look forward to.”

How do you do that?

“Going out there and playing together and understanding that it takes 11 of us, not one or two of us. It's going to be 11 of us on every play. Because with a guy like that, you have to be responsible with your gaps, or your holes, whatever you guys want to call it. Because if he gets one little crease he can go the distance at any play. We've obviously seen him do that plenty of times this year. Again, it's the challenge we're looking forward to. Like, I don't think we played a good game this week on defense. We didn't play a quality game, so the best way to forget about a bad game is to come back and play better the next week, and that's what we look forward to doing this week. We have a great challenge, and we know this is one of those games that helps us start building momentum and get back together and get back on the right track going into the playoffs.”

What was the experience like with the loudness of the crowd in the third quarter?

“That's the loudest I’ve heard Qualcomm. If we could keep our fans like that and just keep on believing , it's a weapon, and hopefully people realize that. That's why they kept getting the penalties, it was so loud out there that they just kept on screaming and screaming and screaming, and it's a weapon. It can really hurt teams, so that's the type of momentum we need, and that's the type of crowd we need, and the atmosphere going into the playoffs.”

On Titan’s running back Chris Johnson:

“He's one of a kind, obviously. There’s not too many running backs in the NFL running 4.2’s and 4.3’s like he is. He's a special player. He's definitely one of those gifted guys and again, it's a challenge that we're looking forward to. We play this game for a challenge. If it was easy, if we had Harry Hatchett out there running the ball, it really wouldn’t be any fun. The fun part is going against the best. He's supposed to be the best, and we want to get out there and get our opportunity to go against the best.”

On the physical nature of playing the Titans:

“For me, it's football. I don't even really care. You could cheap shot me all you want. I mean, I'm going to get you back, but I'm not one of those guys. It's football. We're supposed to be warriors; we're supposed to be gladiators. We have to understand that sometimes you're going to get hit in the face, or somebody's going to cheap shot you or do something out of line, but what can you do? You have to keep on playing. You can't cry about it, you can't go punch him in the face because you jeopardize your team. No, just keep on playing football and you'll get him back when you get a chance.”

How do you get redemption?

“Winning. Winning is the ultimate ‘throw it in your face.’ That's what you do. If someone does something to you, when you win, that's all you need to do. You're good. You can smile.”

Do you have to talk amongst each other and tell each other not to retaliate?

“Not at all. We have a mature football team. We don't see too many personal fouls. When we do, it's because it's usually warranted. You don't see guys out there acting out of line. We have a bunch of disciplined guys, a bunch of mature guys, that's not even going to go out there and engage in anything like that. We try to play the game the right way.”

On the importance of a first round bye:

“I think that's the biggest thing, is to be able to get a little rest, to rest some of the players we have banged up. But a lot of people have players banged up. So honestly, no matter, if we had the bye or not, we still have to go out there and play. Even if we get the bye, we still have to go out there the first game and be able to play and be able to execute. If you can get the body 100 percent, or closest to 100 percent as possible for all our players, we'll be pretty tough coming out. I remember one game, I think it was the Cleveland game, we had probably like four starters out there on defense, maybe five starters, and then we would sub in, two or three starters at one time. When you look around like that, that has a little bit of uncertainty cause you're looking for a certain guy to make a call, but he doesn't make the call, you don't communicate with that guy, you're used to communicating with him, so you don't communicate at all. But now that we're starting to get healthy and everyone's starting to get back, we have Weddle and Luis back healthy and me and Shawne are going to start getting back healthy, I believe we can be dangerous if we take care of our business and work on the things we need to work on and be disciplined at what we need to do. We can be trouble.”

How important is one week of rest?

“A week is huge physically. I think about for the last five weeks, on Mondays I was wearing a boot. And now I can walk around fine on Mondays. I was walking around on a boot on Monday last week. So look at seven days now and I'm walking around without a boot, no pain, and I'm starting to get back healthy again. A week is huge in this game. I don't know about the NBA, but in football, a week is huge. It's amazing what the body can do.”

Have you seen Vince on tape yet?

“Vince is a friend, so I got to obviously check his highlight out, but I haven't seen too many of his games. But I been watching Vince since he was in college, and he's a special player, and it's good to see that he's back on track. I knew that he would, he just needed to get his opportunity again and I'm glad that he did. He's looking good out there and I'm happy for him.”

How has he changed since the last time you have played him?

“He's just more efficient in the pocket. He's able to sit in the pocket and make some tough throws. I watched him yesterday make two incredible throws. So he added an element to his game, but that just came with maturity. He matured a little bit. He's obviously an incredible athlete -- he can run -- but he looks good in the pocket and he's making some reads. It looked like they opened the field up for him, where before, it looked like only worked half a field, because it's an easier read. Now he's sitting back in the pocket and he can see the whole field and go to all three, four options that he has.”

Would you welcome additional rest against Washington if Chargers clinched a bye this week?

“Of course. But we have a bunch of guys that love winning. We play this game to win. If we have to play, we have to play. If we don't, that's great that we get the rest, but even if a lot of your starters or some of your key players did get the rest, I know the backups would be ready to go. Those guys are hungry and eager to play at anytime.”