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Schottenheimer faces Belichick in divisional playoffs

Jan 14, 2007 - 5:09 PM New England (13-4) at San Diego (14-2) Sunday 4:30 pm EST AFC Divisional Playoff

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Marty Schottenheimer's coaching career has been clouded by playoff failure. Bill Belichick is known for his postseason success.

Schottenheimer and the top-seeded San Diego Chargers host Belichick and the fourth-seeded New England Patriots in the AFC divisional playoffs on Sunday.

The winner will meet the third-seeded Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game.

Schottenheimer leads all active coaches with 200 regular-season wins, but is 5-12 in the playoffs with Cleveland, Kansas City and San Diego. He never has been to a Super Bowl, going 0-3 in AFC championship games.

Belichick is one of four coaches in NFL history with at least three Super Bowl titles. The others are Chuck Noll (4), Bill Walsh (3) and Joe Gibbs (3).

Belichick has a postseason record of 12-2, including 11-1 with the Patriots, and is the only coach in league history to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span (2001-04). Only Vince Lombardi (9-1) has a better postseason winning percentage.

Tom Brady improved his playoff record to 11-1 last week, passing for 212 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-16 win over the New York Jets in the wild card round. The backfield tandem of Laurence Maroney and Corey Dillon complemented the passing game, combining to rush for 122 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.

But the Chargers finished with the league's best record this season, closed with 10 consecutive wins and went 8-0 at home. MVP LaDainian Tomlinson had a season for the ages, setting a record with 31 touchdowns and rushing for a league-high 1,815 yards.

Belichick will probably devise his defense to contain Tomlinson much like his Super Bowl XXXVI game plan was geared to stop Marshall Faulk in a 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

That will put the onus on quarterback Philip Rivers, who will have the distinction of having his first playoff game come against a Belichick defense. The 6-5 Rivers passed for 3,388 yards and 22 touchdowns with just nine interceptions this season.

The Patriots will not have former Charger Rodney Harrison back for this game to cover Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates, who had 71 catches for 924 yards and nine touchdowns. Harrison suffered a sprained MCL in the regular-season finale and did not play in last week's win over the Jets.

San Diego led the league with an average of 30.8 points per game. But the Patriots set a franchise record for fewest points allowed (237) in a 16-game season, ranking second only to Baltimore at 14.8 points per game.

Pro Bowl end Richard Seymour and linebackers Rosevelt Colvin, Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel and cornerback Asante Samuel lead the defense. Samuel tied for the league lead with 10 interceptions and returned one for a touchdown lst week against the Jets.

Patriots wide receiver Reche Caldwell will get a chance to play against his former team. He led the Pats with 61 catches for 760 yards and four touchdowns after spending his four seasons with the Chargers.

Led by linebackers Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips and defensive tackle Jamal Williams, the Chargers topped the NFL with 61 sacks and ranked seventh in points allowed (18.9 per game). Despite missing four games due to a steroid suspension, Merriman had a league-high 17 sacks. Phillips added 11 1/2.

The teams last met on October 2, 2005 at New England and the Chargers rolled to a 41-17 victory as Tomlinson rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns. It was the worst home loss for the Patriots since they moved into Gillette Stadium in 2002.

The Chargers have lost their last three playoff games, last winning in the AFC championship game in January 1995 at Pittsburgh.