Tomlinson: Chargers have the pieces but can't look too far ahead

SAN DIEGO -- Maybe the San Diego Chargers won't take things for granted should they, as many expect, be playing again in January.

The Chargers went through their first full-squad workouts of training camp on Saturday knowing that many of their fans won't be satisfied with anything short of a Super Bowl victory by a lineup that's generally considered the NFL's most talented.

The players, under new coach Norv Turner, expect the same thing.

A lot of people did last season, too, before the Chargers tripped all over themselves in losing 24-21 to the New England Patriots in the second round of the playoffs. It was a stunning finish for a team that went an NFL-best 14-2 behind league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson and had 11 Pro Bowlers and five All-Pros.

Were the Chargers looking too far ahead?

"I think honestly we were kind of looking past New England," said Tomlinson, who's always been as brutally honest as he is tough to tackle.

Tomlinson said the top-seeded Chargers figured there was a good chance they'd be playing the No. 2-seeded Baltimore Ravens, a matchup that would have been in the AFC championship game.

On Oct. 1, the Chargers turned conservative and coughed up a late lead, losing 16-13 at Baltimore.

Neither team survived its playoff opener, though. The Ravens lost to eventual Super Bowl champion Indianapolis the day before the Chargers were ushered out by the Patriots.

"I think that was a situation where we wanted to kind of avenge our loss," Tomlinson said. "I would say we probably were looking past New England a little bit, but we shouldn't have been, because as great of a team as they are, and with us being back in the playoffs and not very experienced, we shouldn't have been looking past anyone."

The Chargers, who'd gone 8-0 at home in the regular season, blundered their way to four turnovers against New England after committing only 15 in the regular season. Punt returner Eric Parker had a double muff, safety Marlon McCree fumbled when he tried to return an interception rather than just going down, and Philip Rivers was sacked and fumbled on a doomed fourth-and-11 call by then-coach Marty Schottenheimer.

"I think experience is the biggest teacher," Tomlinson said. "You experience different things that happen in a big game and you make sure they don't happen again. Because you're already been through that, you know not to look past anyone."

The Chargers are 0-2 in the playoffs in Tomlinson's brilliant career. Overall, their postseason losing streak is four, starting with an embarrassing loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl following the 1994 season.