Columns

Solid backup plan

With Tomlinson and Rivers hurt, San Diego knocks off the champs.

By JOHN ROMANO, Times Columnist
Published January 14, 2008

Michael Turner, who had 17 carries for 71 yards while spelling the Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson, fights off the Colts' Antoine Bethea.
	[Getty Images]

INDIANAPOLIS

The players are soft, and the coach is a lightweight.

The general manager made a foolish decision a year ago, and the quarterback took a step back this season.

All in all, the San Diego Chargers are a bit of a mess.

Other than, you know, being a win away from the Super Bowl.

They continued one of the more amazing reclamation projects in recent memory by shooting down the defending Super Bowl champion Colts 28-24 in a wild AFC division playoff game on Sunday.

The lead changed hands five times in the second half, star players were limping off the field in both directions and critical calls were being challenged and overturned throughout the afternoon.

Yet nothing explains the nutty nature of the result better than this: Billy Volek led the Chargers on a winning drive in the fourth quarter, and Peyton Manning failed to deliver on two drives in the final five minutes.

"I've been doing this a long time, a long time in this league and a long time before, and I've never been around a more gutsy performance by a team," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "The adversity, the things that happened during the game, the injuries. Our guys never backed down. It's one I'll remember in terms of individuals stepping up.

"That's a special game."

For Turner and the Chargers, it was vindication as much as victory.

This was a franchise that was bounced out of the playoffs as the No.1 seed last season, saw coach Marty Schottenheimer fired despite a 14-2 record, and began this season 1-3.

So how is it the Chargers are playing the Patriots Sunday for the AFC title?

"There's a mind-set in our league that our guys are front-runners but when the going gets tough or they play a good team or when things get challenging, they don't rise to the occasion," said Turner, 55, who had one playoff win in his first nine seasons as a head coach. "That's been mentioned a few times this year to me, and I think we've put that to rest. I think that one's done."

The Colts certainly seemed willing to perpetuate that stereotype. They cut wide holes through the defense for three quarters, reaching San Diego's 35-yard line or better on six consecutive drives. Yet two Manning interceptions and a Marvin Harrison fumble kept the Colts from running away with the lead.

San Diego, meanwhile, was looking more and more hobbled on offense. Pro Bowl fullback Lorenzo Neal was out with a broken leg, Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates was limited by a dislocated toe, Pro Bowl running back LaDainian Tomlinson left in the second quarter with a bruised knee and quarterback Philip Rivers went down in the third with a knee injury.

That left Volek and a cast of nobodies to bring the Chargers back after Manning threw a 55-yard touchdown to rookie Anthony Gonzalez to go up 24-21 with 10:07 remaining.

Volek, 31, has been in the NFL for eight years, and is 3-7 as a starter. In nearly two seasons with San Diego, he had a grand total of 10 yards passing.

Yet he was 3-of-3 for 48 yards and capped the 78-yard winning drive with a 1-yard plunge.

"Billy was outstanding in the fourth quarter," Rivers said. "He's been around long enough. That's why you have him here, to step up and play."

GM A.J. Smith was roasted by critics for firing Schottenheimer this time last year after five seasons and a 47-33 record. But Schottenheimer was 0-2 in the postseason with the Chargers.

This postseason?

The Chargers are 2-0 and headed to New England.

[Last modified January 13, 2008, 22:59:06]