Prediction roundup

The last time Patriots fans saw LaDainian Tomlinson and his Chargers teammates in person, the San Diego running back was licking his wounds on the Gillette Stadium sideline, sunshield down as dusk settled over the AFC title game in Foxborough, not to mention his team’s shot at the Super Bowl.

Come to think of it, that might have been the last time Chargers fans saw Tomlinson too.

At age 29, Tomlinson has been a shell of his former self this season, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry, and showing no sign of the burst that defined him since his rookie season. Meanwhile, former backup Michael Turner is in Atlanta, and leads the NFL with 543 yards and six touchdowns. Current backup Darren Sproles is averaging five yards a carry, and sparking through the offensive line the way Tomlinson used to.

It is a cautionary tale, indeed, as Tomlinson’s body has seen its share of beatings since entering the NFL in 2001, 2,454 carries over that time. Well, guess who is only three carries off the AFC lead again this season, with 89 through five games.

Sproles, meanwhile, has just four more than Jaguars quarterback David Garrard.

Tomlinson has had one nice game this season, at Oakland two weeks ago when he rushed for 106 yards and two scores. He was dreadful against Miami last weekend, running the ball 12 times for 35 yards, and that wasn’t even his worst game of the year (Week 2 vs. Denver, 26 yards on 10 attempts including a long of 6 yards).

There is the turf toe, sure, but when you’re Tomlinson’s age, with that much abuse on your body, the “finished” accusations seem to come out a lot quicker. We’re not going to go that far, but wouldn’t it at least behoove Norv Turner to, you know, not keep abusing him week in and week out?

Then again, if Tomlinson pouting on the sideline is the alternative, we’d probably keep handing him the rock too.

Who they're picking

Our roundup of pundit picks for this week's Patriots-Chargers showdown:

• Jim McCabe, Boston Globe: Chargers. “So, when you think of great television journalism, do you conjure up thoughts of Edward R. Murrow? Walter Cronkite? Or Andrea Kremer gushing over Tom Brady in that postgame interview last year?”

• Peter King, Sports Illustrated: Chargers 26, Patriots 23. “We get the game of the weekend at NBC, and this is a good old-fashioned John Madden drooler. He'll be really fired up Sunday night, and it'll be because of the new star that flies across the American TV sky: Darren Sproles.”

• ESPN.com staff: (Incomplete as of Friday morning) Only Dave Fleming and Ron Jaworski go with the Patriots.

• Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: Chargers 26, Patriots 21. “The Chargers have to get this one for a chance to win the division, They have road games with Buffalo and then New Orleans (London) after this. They can't go 2-4. The Patriots stayed on the West Coast after beating San Francisco, so the trip isn't bad. Even so, look for San Diego to right things here.”

• CBS Sports staff: Three of six pick the Patriots to cover.

• Cold, Hard, Football Facts: Chargers 23, Patriots 17. “Last season’s two finalists in the AFC have struggled in the early going, with a loss to Miami being the low point for both. The Chargers are second-best in Scoreability, trailing only the Jets, who have played one game fewer. That potential for points could pose problems for the Patriots, as their defense has looked mediocre. "

• Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: Patriots 23, Chargers 20. “The Chargers, when healthy, remain the NFL's most talented team. They have dynamic playmakers -- LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, Chris Chambers, Vincent Jackson, Antonio Cromartie -- and never are out of games with their capacity to score in any each way. The problem is, they are having trouble sustaining solid play on either offense or defense. When they get enough of one, they don't get enough of the other.”

• USA Today staff: Only two of eight pick New England.

• Greg Cote, Miami Herald: Chargers 27, Patriots 24. “Welcome to the Embarrassed by Dolphins Bowl. Not quite the AFC heavyweight bout we imagined, but still worthy of prime time. Pats on an 11-2 series roll including 38-14 early last season and then the AFC title game, but like Bolts here despite those awful powder-blue throwbacks unis.”

• Yahoo! staff: Chargers across the board.

• Peter Schrager, FOXSports.com: Chargers 31, Patriots 24. “These aren't quite the same Chargers and Patriots that played for the AFC title last year, but they're also not that far off. Don't expect any dancing at midfield on the Chargers logo, but do expect some offense.”

• Nancy Gay, San Francisco Chronicle: Chargers. “The injury-plagued Chargers look vulnerable, despite scoring 29.6 points per game. They're facing a hot Patriots team.”

• T-Bone: Chargers.

• Our pick: Patriots 37, Chargers 28. At this point of the season, the Chargers are scoring an average of 10 points more per game than the Patriots, and frankly, the potential for them to break out Sunday had us ready to mark it as a loss for the Patriots. But New England has also watched its point total increase in each of its three wins, from 17 to 19 to last week’s season-high of 30. The San Diego defense, even without Shawne Merriman should be considered one of the best in the league, but it has thus far been sporadic week-to-week. And while New England’s certainly hasn’t been great the last two weeks, allowing a combined 59 points, maybe the offense is starting to click just enough to win a shootout.

  This is a tough stretch for the Patriots, with Denver, Indy, Buffalo, the Jets, Miami (I guess), and Pittsburgh upcoming over the next seven weeks. So while a win Sunday isn’t critical, it certainly would help heading into that killer slate. It may not be a character building game for the Patriots, but it could very well be one for the Chargers, who could either be a Super Bowl contender by the time the season ends, or an absolute mess. Right now, they’re leaning toward the latter.