A whole new ball game

[Sprint]

Sunday night following the Chargers’ win over the Colts to advance to the AFC Championship Game against the Patriots, New England Head Coach Bill Belichick was asked how much the tape of his team’s Week 2 win over the Bolts would help him as he prepares for this week’s rematch.

“I don’t think that anything in the past has much bearing on that,” Belichick said. “A lot’s happened since then, almost as if it’s a new team.”

The team Belichick is game planning for this week is extremely different from the one that he faced four months ago, and here are four reasons why.

Buying in

The Chargers had just one game under their belts in the Norv Turner era when they traveled to Foxboro in September. Players and coaches were still getting a feel for each other as the Bolts were trying to find an identity.

“We weren’t clicking on all cylinders at that time offensively, defensively because things were new to us,” Tomlinson said. “Coaches and the things that we were trying to do on the field, it was new.”

The loss in New England was the first of three-consecutive defeats that led to a 1-3 start and a 5-5 mark in mid November. Once things clicked, the Chargers got hot and have reeled off eight-consecutive wins.

“Once the coaches and players got a better understand of what we’re trying to execute, we got our tempo going and everything came together,” wide receiver Vincent Jackson said.

Middle man

Moments into the September loss in New England, the Chargers lost a player who figured to play a key role in the Bolts’ attempt to slow the Patriots’ potent short passing attack when linebacker Matt Wilhelm went to the sideline with a calf injury.

“Matt’s probably one of the most athletic linebackers in the league,” linebacker Shawne Merriman said. “He has a lot of range and he’s probably one of the best in pass defense. Not having him there, we took a blow from that.”

In addition to his physical skills, Wilhelm is responsible for relaying defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell’s signals from the sideline. His absence also hurt the Chargers from a communication standpoint.

“Matt’s had a great season and having him out there Sunday is going to be huge,” said linebacker Stephen Cooper. “We’re playing confident as a defense right now and he’s a big part of that.”

Going deep

On September 16, the day the Chargers lost to the Patriots, Chris Chambers caught one pass for nine yards as his Miami Dolphins lost to the Dallas Cowboys. Vincent Jackson caught one pass for four yards in the Bolts’ defeat.

Chambers joined the Chargers via trade in late October and the Chargers’ passing game hasn’t been the same since. The two pass catchers have pushed each other and given the Bolts a new dynamic on offense.

“I think ever since Chris has been here, Vincent has picked it up just in the sense that they’ve really got to worry about sideline to sideline,” quarterback Philip Rivers said. “You’ve got to cover us now. That’s not to say they didn’t have to in the past with Vincent, but I think now their eyes are looking around and saying, ‘there’s a lot of guys that can get up the field and make big plays.’”

In the Bolts’ two playoff victories, Chambers and Jackson have combined for 395 yards and three touchdowns. That’s with tight end Antonio Gates sidelined for half of the win over Tennessee and slowed by a dislocated toe at Indianapolis.

Crime Time

The emergence of cornerback Antonio Cromartie has brought a new dimension to the Bolts’ defense. Cromartie was on the field a significant amount of time in Week 2, but his role is much different and his game is at a higher level now that he’s an every-down player.

“You’ve seen what he’s done this year,” Merriman said. “Just having a guy with that playmaking ability just helps us out up front just that much more. You’ve got a guy back there covering a little bit longer.”

Cromartie led the NFL in interceptions this season with 10, although he didn’t record a pick in the first five games of the season. He added a forced fumble and another interception in Sunday’s win over the Colts.


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