Mid-week checkup

Well, if Bill Belichick was searching for some bulletin-board material before his team heads to San Diego, he's found it. And -- surprise, surprise -- he has Shawne Merriman to thank.

The Chargers' Pro Bowl linebacker had plenty to say in a conference call with the New England media today, some of it really complimentary, some of it refreshingly honest, and all of it reflecting an extreme self-confidence. Nothing, though, was as inflammatory as what Merriman offered up when asked if he had any predictions for what would happen Sunday.

"To come out with a 'W'," he said. "That is it. One point, we win. A field goal or a safety or anything we get, one point we win; but obviously we want to come in and we want to play 60 minutes of football and that is it."

The last clause in that comment might suggest he began to think better of it as he realized what he was saying, but, if so, it was a rare filter for the second-year player. Consider what he said when asked if there was anyone in the NFL who could block him one-on-one, without the aid of a double team.

"I like to say no. That is kind of the way I prepare for a game, the way I train and how I approach the game. That is what this game is about, winning one-on-one battles. You can't be a game changer, you can't be the kind of player you want to be unless to can beat a guy one-on-one."

The stats back up Merriman on this one, considering he amassed a league-leading 17 sacks despite playing only 12 games because of the four-week suspension he served after failing a steroid test. Curiously, though, Merriman said it's actually teammate Shaun Phillips who is one of the best natural pass rushers in the NFL -- but Merriman doesn't consider himself a "natural pass rusher" at all.

"No. I'm a playmaker. That is how I classify myself. I don't do just one thing. I don't just rush the passer. I don't just play the run. I'm not just a run-stopper. I drop a lot in coverage and I do everything. I'm a playmaker."

Phillips isn't alone in Merriman's adoration, though. He spoke highly of defensive colleague Stephen Cooper, and also of tight end Antonio Gates. In fact, when asked if anyone could stop Gates in single coverage, his response was much like the one he gave when asked the same of himself.

"No. He is one of the best, if not the best, tight end in the National Football League in my opinion. It is the reason why he is the best because he's been in one-on-one matchups and had success against them. We would love to see teams go one-on-one against him."

The Patriots aren't likely to play one-on-one against Gates or Merriman, but that doesn't automatically mean they'll be able to stop either of them. Miami's Jason Taylor was doubled (with tight end Daniel Graham helping) when New England faced his defense in December, but the NFL Defensive Player of the Year still wreaked havoc in the Pats backfield. Merriman has seen that tape and, suffice to say, he's excited to face Matt Light and the New England offensive line.

"I'm very excited not just watching that game, but just playing this kind of game the first round for me anyway in the playoffs. I'm just very excited to be playing them."

Somewhere, though, you can bet Belichick is listening, and scaring up a scheme to the temper that excitement just a bit.

FANS FIRE EAST 

Pats fans shouldn't have trouble finding fuel to fire them up, either. A few clicks of the mouse make sure of that.

The comments filling chatrooms and message boards across the San Diego sports community are as you'd expect. They're all very confident in support of their team, lashing out at any infultrators and immediately destroying opinions that vary from their own. It's the same way on the Boston-area boards, I assume. (For an example, check out the uneven results of the current poll at concordmonitor.com.)

But, in any case, it's still fun to look. Here are a few of my favorites, found by looking very briefly:

Taken from this site at Chargers.com. 

"well, in my opinion, this is our organizations version of the "tuck rule" baby........"
--referring to the Chargers' decision to sell tickets only to California residents

"pats lost 21-0 to a 6-10 team haha
we lost by a total of 6 to two teams who are combined 22-10
you guys suck when you look at it like that."

"you have lost to indy 2 seasons in a row, a team you USED to own, now they own you, face it, the pats SUCK these days compared to the great pats teams with weiss and crennell
your run ends sunday, get ready to cry patsie fans"

"The Patriots have not been tested against a back like LT. Unless they have played Jim Brown Walter Payton Gale sayers and barry sanders this year they can't ever claim they have beaten a great back. Jerome Bettis was good but he is no L.T. Everytime LT faces the pats he owns them so what makes anyone think anything will be different. Plus this is the most dominant Chargers team in our history. The pats will be doing good to keep us under 40. I say 38-17 Bolts"

"Let's see. Rivers plays bad for a month, and we win every game. What happens if he has a good game? Chargers 51- Pats 0?"

"Everything is going in our favor for next Sunday against New England. The past two seasons we have been extremely GREAT at stopping streaks...
...next Sunday shall be no different. The Pats are gonna get electrocuted!!!"

"Let's see:
The Chargers have Merriman, Gates, O'Neal, Castillo;
9 PRO BOWLERS;
NFL MVP LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON;
Second best rushing team in the NFL (Atlanta was first, the Patriots were 12th)
A young QB (Philip Rivers) trained by Drew Brees and is terrific.
and the Patriots have? QB Tom Brady rated 9th, Philip Rivers rated 8th."

There's plenty more to pick from, considering it took me all of about 15 minutes to find these gems. You'll have to look for yourselves, though, because I'm tired of reading all that. If I wanted to decipher things written with the punctuation, spelling and grammar expected of a second-grader, I'd have been an elementary school teacher.

INJURY ANALYSIS

As much as he'd love to play against the team that tossed him to the trash heap, Pats safety Rodney Harrison is the only player either team has ruled out in advance of Sunday's game.

And, really, his is the only significant name on the injury report. There are starters for both sides listed among the wounded, but each are expected to play. Fullback Heath Evans and tight end Ben Watson are questionable (along with wideout Bam Childress), but all are expected to be available for the Pats, as are probables Tom Brady, Ellis Hobbs, Richard Seymour and Mike Vrabel.

The Chargers' Jacques Cesaire, a backup defensive end, is doubtful. Derreck Robinson and Luis Castillo, who play the same position, are listed at questionable and probable, respectively. Safety Bhawoh Jue is probable as well.

That's all for now, but check back tomorrow for the latest from the Gillette Stadium locker room. I'll be down there in the morning, and will have any important, breaking news posted by mid-afternoon Thursday. See you then.
-Dave