Turner Seeks Validation Vs. Belichick, Patriots

But here it is, the second-to-last football-playing Sunday of the NFL season, and Norv Turner will be standing on the San Diego Chargers' sideline today in the AFC title game in Foxborough, Mass., after leading his team past the defending Super Bowl champions. And now all Turner has to do is out-coach the NFL's reigning genius, the New England Patriots' three-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick.

It's going to take some creativity. The Chargers limp into the game with quarterback Philip Rivers, tailback LaDainian Tomlinson and tight end Antonio Gates nursing injuries. But players say they're energized by the difficulty of the task they face this afternoon as one of the final obstacles standing between the unbeaten Patriots and football history.

"I can't tell you how excited I am," Tomlinson said last week. "Ever since I was a kid, I've dreamed about playing in the Super Bowl and having the chance to win the championship. It's a great feeling but, you know, we've got a tough task ahead of us. We're playing perhaps the greatest team to ever play football. So we've got a heck of a task and we just hope we don't get embarrassed."

Turner will be in the first conference championship game in his 10 seasons as an NFL head coach, a tenure that began with seven seasons -- and one playoff appearance -- with the Washington Redskins before he was fired by owner Daniel Snyder. Turner didn't come close to reaching the playoffs in his two seasons as head coach of the Oakland Raiders, totaling only nine victories. He often seemed overmatched by the disciplinary side of being a head coach, failing to properly channel the energies of temperamental players such as wide receivers Michael Westbrook in Washington and Randy Moss in Oakland.

But Turner's confidence, even in the worst of times, was unwavering. Even when the wins were few and far between in Washington, he liked to say he knew that what he did works. He told associates he was certain he was getting all that could be gotten out of the players at his disposal.

And always, he could return to what he did best -- run an offense as a coordinator. He got his first head coaching chance by overseeing a championship offense in Dallas that included former Cowboys greats Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin. After being fired by Snyder with three games remaining in the 2000 season, Turner served as the offensive coordinator of the Chargers in 2001 -- working with Tomlinson as a rookie -- and of the Miami Dolphins in 2002 and 2003. That led to his next head coaching chance with the Raiders. After being dismissed by Raiders owner Al Davis, his work with young quarterback Alex Smith in San Francisco as the offensive coordinator of the 49ers last season led to the Chargers and Cowboys pursuing him for a third head coaching opportunity that some in the league had thought would never come his way.

He inherited a championship-ready team in San Diego that had gone 14-2 last season before suffering a second-round playoff loss at home to the Patriots that led to Marty Schottenheimer being fired as coach. Chargers fans were wishing they had Schottenheimer back when the team started 1-3 this season under Turner. Included in those early struggles was a 24-point defeat to the Patriots in Week 2 in Foxborough. Before that game, Belichick seemed dismissive of Turner's talents. "Norv's offense is Norv's offense," he said then. "We've seen that at Dallas, at Washington, at Oakland."

Despite the loss, the Chargers managed to rally and finish the season on a 10-2 run. "I still, in my mind, thought we were one of the better teams in the AFC," Tomlinson said in a midweek conference call with reporters. "I always felt like on any given day, we could play with anybody and have a chance to win the game."

In Indianapolis last week, Turner coached brilliantly. He showed passion when he exploded in anger at the end of the first half when a questionable call cost the Chargers a touchdown on a long interception return by cornerback Antonio Cromartie. And he won the game with backups such as quarterback Billy Volek and tailbacks Michael Turner and Darren Sproles on the field down the stretch.

"The adversity -- the things that happened during the game, the injuries -- our guys never backed down," Norv Turner said. "It's one I'll remember in terms of individuals stepping up and doing the things you talk about and competing. That's a special game."

The Chargers spent last week trying to get Tomlinson, Rivers and Gates ready to play. Tomlinson, at least, appears ready to go. The status of Rivers and Gates remains in doubt. What could serve Turner well today is his skill as an offensive play-caller as he goes against the defensive scheming of Belichick.

The Chargers have some of the defensive elements needed to challenge the Patriots. They have top pass rushers in Merriman and fellow linebacker Shaun Phillips, and they led the league in interceptions during the regular season. But Turner will have to find a way to get his injury-riddled offense to score points. His former star pupil said during the week that if anyone is up to the task, it's Turner.

"He's just remarkable in how he calls a game, how he sets things up and makes opposing defensive coordinators work hard," Aikman said in a conference call with reporters.

Turner has spoken in recent weeks about this playoff run being more about Tomlinson than it is about him, about his desire to help Tomlinson play in the biggest games under the brightest spotlights. The leading subplot of today's game involves Tomlinson and Belichick. After last season's playoff loss to the Patriots, Tomlinson was highly critical of the manner in which the New England players celebrated the triumph, and blamed Belichick for setting the tone. Tomlinson also criticized the Patriots from afar after their cheating scandal early this season. But Tomlinson toned things down last week, saying he has the "utmost respect" for Belichick and even would play for him if given the chance. This game, Tomlinson said, isn't about avenging last season's playoff defeat.

"We let that go," Tomlinson said. "We've got another opportunity, so you can't dwell on the past. You've got to think about the present now."