Turner's take

Comments from Chargers coach Norv Turner's press conference:

(opening statement)
Anything I say isn’t going to change the disappointment I feel or the guys in our locker room feel, because we came in here with every intension of winning this football game. I think our guys executed the plan we had. I know our guys competed. We had some unbelievable efforts, some guys make remarkable commitments in terms of laying it on the line when they probably shouldn’t have been out there on the field, and I can’t say enough about guys who care that much. Obviously the game, you know, we had opportunities and ended up having to kick field goals. Chris [Chambers] had a ball in the back of the end zone – it was close. We had the third and one where Junior [Seau] ran through and made a heck of a play. We knew we’d have to find a way to get touchdowns down in there. Even with that being said, the biggest play in the game was when Philip’s [Rivers] getting grabbed around the legs. He tried to get the ball to Chris and [Asante] Samuel made a great play. Chris had his hands on the ball, Samuel went up and got it and when you look back, that’s probably the difference in the game. They end up getting a touchdown off a short field and that was a big part of it.

Q: What was the deal with LaDainian Tomlinson?
"LT tried to go, and he just couldn’t go. The pain in the knee, what he felt, he couldn’t push off it and he couldn’t go."

Q: What was the difference in practice in San Diego where he was able to go, vs. the cold weather here?
"No, you’re not getting hit. He ran and cut and every day got better and felt he could go, but there’s a lot of difference when you lower your shoulder and run into a 300 pound guy, as compared to running and cutting and splitting against air."

Q: I’m sure Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates had pain and they played. What do you think his teammates think --
"Well, don’t get into that. I mean, that’s the stupidest thing you could ask. The guy was not able to go. The doctors and trainers said he couldn’t go."

Q: With about nine minutes to go, you chose to punt down two scores. Was that a hard decision?
"It’s a hard decision, but we’ve been playing good defense. We didn’t do a good job getting them off on third down and if it was fourth and four, it’s a different deal. We had a chance to get in that situation. It was fourth and 10 and we just barely avoid a sack on third and 10. If we could back them up and get them out, we could get back and have good field position."

Q: Why did you punt the ball on fourth down on the 36 with nine minutes to go?
"Fourth and 10? Because, again, as I said, they had a pressure package, they came off the edge, they got us on third and 10, we made the decision with nine minutes – We had the ball against Tennessee down 14 points with 10 minutes and scored twice."