San Diego Chargers -vs- New England Patriots

Many NFL fans were anxiously awaiting this year’s AFC championship game as a continuation of the intense rivalry between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. The San Diego Chargers upset the Colts last weekend however, to earn the right to play the Pats this weekend. So instead of the heated rivalry, what we are going to see is a chance for the Chargers to get revenge on the team that knocked them out of last year’s playoffs (mocked them afterwards), and then beat them handily 38-14 in Week 2 this season.

After last year’s playoff game, many of the Chargers players felt the team was disrespected by some excessive celebrating by the Pats, which included the mocking of linebacker Shawne Merriman’s sack dance along with some activities conducted on the Chargers logo on the field. Deserved or not, the way some of the Patriots handled themselves following that game is likely to give the Chargers some inspiration this weekend. The Patriots, will be looking to extend their unbeaten record into Super Bowl XLII, and they may have the advantage (not that they need one) of several key Chargers players being hobbled by injury. Most notably, running back LaDainian Tomlinson , quarterback Philip Rivers, and tight end Antonio Gates.

In the Pats win over the Jacksonville in the divisional round, quarterback Tom Brady was nearly perfect, completing 26-of-28 passes. In hindsight, it appears the Jags made a huge mistake in not putting enough pressure on him, often bringing just three men on the pass rush while dropping eight into “the box”. In my opinion, the way to beat the Pats is to consistently get to Brady by blitzing; knock him around a little, and get him off his feet. Otherwise, he will stand in the pocket and just pick you apart all game long. He may burn you a couple of times on the blitz, but it’s a chance you have to take. To beat the Pats, getting to Brady is one of the keys. Fortunately for the Chargers, they have a pair of outside linebackers in Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips who can do just that. To counter though, look for New England to go a little more to Laurence Maroney in the ground game, and run at both Merriman and Phillips to slow down their attack. Once they get the San Diego defense on its heals, it should open things up deep for wide receiver Randy Moss, and underneath for Wes Welker.

Just looking at the match-ups in this game, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the Patriots have the edge basically everywhere on the field, except in the running game, and even there, there are questions about the health of LT, which could turn that into the Pats favor as well. With that being said though, the Pats can be beaten and in my opinion there are five keys to doing it…

1. Pressure Tom Brady - Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips, who have combined for 21 sacks this season,

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