When stars went down, Volek, Turner, Sproles came up big for Bolts

When stars went down, Volek, Turner, Sproles came up big for Bolts

The victorious players filed into the locker room one after another, hollering, "How about the Chargers?!"

Yes, how about the Chargers, especially ones the fans don't usually hear a lot about?

How about Michael "The Burner" Turner taking over for injured LaDainian Tomlinson and bulling his way for 77 yards, essentially a $2.35 million insurance policy paying off?

How about speedy little Darren Sproles catching a screen pass from Philip Rivers and racing 56 yards untouched down the left sideline for a touchdown?

How about Billy Volek—yes, Billy Volek—coming in after Philip Rivers got hurt? Volek not only calmly led the winning drive, but he scored the go-ahead touchdown as well, on a 1-yard sneak with 4:50 to play.

How about this—Chargers 28, Indianapolis Colts 24?

The Chargers kept their composure even as their star players were limping off the field, stunning last season's Super Bowl champions in the divisional round Sunday.

Their reward is a trip to face unbeaten New England in the AFC championship game next Sunday, the third time the Chargers will play the Patriots since the end of the 2006 season.

"Nobody ever flinched," said Rivers, who injured his right knee after releasing the TD pass to Sproles on the last play of the third quarter.

"No one seemed rattled," said Tomlinson, the two-time NFL rushing champion who had only 28 yards on seven carries. "Guys just kept playing.

It was really amazing to watch, to be honest with you."

While the Chargers stood around in their huddle, waiting for play to resume after getting the ball on a punt early in the fourth quarter, left tackle Marcus McNeill and Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates—playing with a dislocated left big toe—bounced along to the music blaring at the RCA Dome.

The Chargers led 21-17, and Volek was just taking over for Rivers.

"You've got to keep your cool," McNeill said. "We wanted to keep ourselves loose, especially when the game is on the line and it is crunch time. You don't want nobody playing uptight. You want everybody loose, flying around doing what they have to do.

"When we were bouncing around like that, everybody was feeling good, kind of gets your mind off of, 'Oh, we have to do this, we have to do that.' We just go out there and play."

The Chargers will be in the AFC championship game for the first time in 13 years. They stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-13 on Jan. 15, 1995, at Three Rivers Stadium. Two weeks later they were embarrassed 49-26 in their only Super Bowl by the San Francisco 49ers.

San Diego collapsed against New England in the playoffs last year, then were schooled 38-14 at Foxborough on Sept. 16.

source: http://www.orovillemr.com/news/

Backup QB Volek's TD lifts Chargers over Colts

Backup QB Volek's TD lifts Chargers over Colts

Gone — Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Adam Vinatieri and the rest of the Colts.

By stunning Indianapolis, the San Diego Chargers just knocked off New England’s biggest road block to the Super Bowl.

Now San Diego must avoid a repeat of its last performance at New England.

That will be especially difficult without an injured LaDainian Tomlinson, who departed in the first half with a bruised left knee, and starting quarterback Philip Rivers, who went out in the third quarter with a damaged right knee in the Chargers’ stunning 28-24 victory Sunday.

With Billy Volek at quarterback and Michael Turner as the main runner, San Diego went 78 yards on eight plays, with Volek sneaking in from the 1 with 4:50 remaining for the lead. The Chargers’ big-play defense then held on downs at its 7, and stopped Indy again in the final moments to preserve their eighth straight win.

To make it nine in a row and advance to their second Super Bowl — the other was a loss to San Francisco after the 1994 season — the Chargers will need all the resourcefulness they showed at Indianapolis. Being undermanned against undefeated New England hardly is an enticing prospect.

Still, with All-Pro cornerback Antonio Cromartie getting an interception and fumble recovery, and linebackers Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips plaguing Manning, the Chargers showed they have the ability to throw off any offense. Maybe even the most prolific attack in NFL history.

The Chargers didn’t come close against the Patriots in Week 2, falling 38-14. That was the beginning of a slide to 5-5 for San Diego, but the Chargers (13-5) are rolling now.

“A lot’s happened since then,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “We’ll definitely start all over on the preparations. It’s like it’s a new team.”

It was a gutty showing by Rivers, who threw for three scores — he banged his right knee on a 56-yard screen pass TD by Darren Sproles to end the third quarter. And Turner, who could be a starter elsewhere but usually sits behind league rushing leader Tomlinson, gave the offense the balance it desperately needed in the late stages of the upset, rushing for 71 yards.

The Chargers’ opportunistic defense, which led the league in takeaways (48) and turnover margin (plus-24), grabbed two interceptions — both on tipped balls — and a fumble. While San Diego couldn’t stop Manning’s offense from steadily marching downfield most of the game, it could make the key plays that get you closer to the Super Bowl.

Still, if Tomlinson is limited or sidelined, how much chance do the Chargers have against the perfect Patriots? Not to mention perhaps missing Rivers or tight end Antonio Gates, who courageously played much of the day on a dislocated toe.

source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com