Dome no longer will be home

INDIANAPOLIS - Unless the Patriots lose tonight, tomorrow's playoff date with the Chargers will be the last game in the RCA Dome, with the Colts moving into the adjacent Lucas Oil Stadium for next season.

"It will be a little bit bittersweet," said Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy. "You have good memories, you have the things that will never go away. I think the energy in that building, the compactness of it, and just the fun that we've had the last four or five years, I know that's something that I'll never forget. So if it is the last game, we definitely want to go out with a win."

If anything, the Colts' new brick-and-glass home, which looks like a massive power plant from the outside, may be even more of a cockpit than the dome when its retractable roof is closed, with its 63,000 seats (approximately 7,500 more) stacked in a rectangular layout.

Loud and clear

Besides practicing their usual road noise antidotes - silent counts, hand signals, hand signals in two-minute mode - the Chargers have been blaring the noise machine to get ready for the dome din.

"We've had this thing cranked up as loud as we can get it, and I've got a little bit of a headache because of it," reported coach Norv Turner. "We've been on the road and we've been in some noisy places. I know this is one of the noisiest."

Still, San Diego has played exceptionally well here, winning eight of 11 meetings, including the 26-17 decision two seasons ago that wrecked the Colts' unbeaten campaign after a 13-0 start.

Gates uncertain

Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, who sprained his left big toe against the Titans last Sunday, said he won't know until game time whether he can play. "I'm not going to make any decisions before that," he said. "We're just going to wait to see how it feels [tomorrow]." Gates says the toe has been sore all week ("That's expected with this kind of injury."), but if he can run and cut, odds are he'll play. "It wouldn't hurt my feelings if they rested him up and tried to get him healthy for the following week," said Dungy, whose defensive game plan will change significantly if Gates is out. "They go to him in such big ways, it does dictate what you can do." The Colts' primary concern, though, is stopping league-leading rusher LaDainian Tomlinson, whom they held to 76 yards on 21 carries in the Chargers' 23-21 win in Week 10. "If you don't account for him, he will definitely kill you," said defensive end Robert Mathis. "It all starts with LT. He's the engine behind their offense. We want to stop him first." . . . The Colts may well bolster their special teams with starters as they did a year ago, particularly seek-and-destroy linebackers such as Tyjuan Hagler and Freddie Keiaho. "We're going to put the best coverage units we can have out there, and that may include some of our front-line guys, I would think," said Dungy. The Colts have had brutal kickoff coverage this season (29th in the league), giving up three touchdowns, two to start games. San Diego's Darren Sproles stung them twice in the first 10 minutes on an 89-yard kickoff return and a 45-yard punt return. "I hope we kick to him a lot," Dungy cracked. "Kickoffs." . . . One thing seems certain about the Colts-Bolts rematch. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning won't have another Pick-Six, with Adam Vinatieri missing a 29-yard field goal with the game on the line, both of which happened at San Diego Nov. 11. "Every one I've ever thrown has its own story, but nobody wants to hear it," said Manning, who has been intercepted only four times since being picked off six times by the Chargers. Vinatieri, who has made his last seven field goal attempts, likened his miss to a bad golf swing. "I think I just short-legged it a little bit and left it out to the right," he said. "It's one of those you wish you could have back but you can't, so you move on."

John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com.