Pats Seek Better Performance Vs. L.T.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. _ LaDainian Tomlinson ran at will against the New England Patriots when San Diego beat them by 24 points last season, their worst loss in 41 games. They'll try again to stop him in

Wednesday, January 10th 2007, 6:35 am

By: News On 6

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. _ LaDainian Tomlinson ran at will against the New England Patriots when San Diego beat them by 24 points last season, their worst loss in 41 games. They'll try again to stop him in Sunday's playoff game. Problem is, he's even better now. And so is his team.

The Chargers' 14-2 record was the best in the NFL, with both losses by three points. They've won their last 10 games and are unbeaten at home, where they'll play New England.

``They're a great football team,'' Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. ``It looks like they can do it all. They can score a lot of points, run the ball, stop the run, rush the passer, return kickoffs. They don't look like they have a lot of weaknesses.''

They looked pretty good to the Patriots last season.

In the fourth game for both teams, the Chargers won 41-17 by outscoring the Patriots 24-0 in the second half as Tomlinson had 134 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Three years earlier, he did even better against them in a 21-14 win at San Diego _ matching the team record of 217 yards rushing and scoring on runs of 58 and 37 yards.

It was New England's first loss in 14 games.

``A team might keep him down for a few carries,'' Belichick said, ``but it's just a matter of time before he breaks out, in one way or another, and gets in the end zone.''

In last season's matchup _ the Patriots' first home loss in 22 games _ he did it on a 1-yard run midway through the third quarter that broke the 17-17 halftime tie.

Less than six minutes later, Reche Caldwell caught a 28-yard scoring pass from Drew Brees. Both touchdowns came against a defense that was missing Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi, both sidelined, and linebacker Ted Johnson, who retired before the season.

This season, Brees led the New Orleans Saints to the No. 2 seed in the NFC and Caldwell stepped into the depleted Patriots' receiving corps _ David Givens left as a free agent and Deion Branch was traded to Seattle _ and led the club with 61 receptions.

``The whole team was hurt, so it was a lot easier'' for the Chargers in last season's game, Caldwell recalled. ``But the Chargers are a good team (with) one of the best running backs probably ever to play the game.''

He's certainly the best now.

Tomlinson was named MVP after rushing for an NFL-high 1,815 yards and scoring a league-record 31 touchdowns, 28 of them on the ground. He also caught 56 passes.

But the Patriots (13-4) allowed the second-fewest points and the fifth-fewest yards rushing this season. Tomlinson must get by a defensive line of Richard Seymour, headed for his fifth Pro Bowl, Ty Warren, the NFL's defensive player of the month in December, and 325-pound Vince Wilfork, who returned a fumble 31 yards in last Sunday's win over the New York Jets.

Warren also was part of a defense that allowed the Chargers 431 yards in their last meeting that kept them unbeaten after four games, although their 9-7 record left them out of the playoffs.

But that game may not mean much in Sunday's rematch.

``What we did in the past doesn't matter,'' Warren said. ``That's a different team.''

Five of the 11 Patriots who started on defense in that game are no longer with the team. A sixth, safety Eugene Wilson, is on injured reserve.

Still, the Patriots allowed only four runners to gain more than 100 yards. Three of them _ Sammy Morris, Maurice Jones-Drew and Travis Henry _ did it in the last four regular-season games.

Tomlinson, though, is the best runner in football this season.

``That's one of those guys I'm sure we'll be game-planning for because if you don't and you sit back, he'll gas you like he does everyone else,'' New England cornerback Asante Samuel said. ``They beat us up and down the field. It was kind of like an NFL team versus a college team.''