The loss to the Patriots just happened to be the most glaring.

The biggest change since then “is that we’re not having major negative plays,” Turner said. “The feeling was we couldn’t do anything in those first four weeks, but we actually did a lot of good things, but when you do good things and have major negative plays it takes away from the good things you do.

“It’s interesting to look at when we were 1-2 and the sky was falling that two of those losses were to two of the teams that are getting ready to play this weekend and are pretty good. We didn’t play nearly the way we wanted to play in New England certainly, but we had every chance to beat Green Bay. So maybe it wasn’t as bad as it was perceived.”

The defense certainly has changed since the first game. The Chargers were without inside linebacker Matt Wilhelm then, and Antonio Cromartie was a nickel back who was still several weeks away from going on an interception binge that earned him a starting job at cornerback and a spot on the elite All-Pro team.

“It’s changed a lot,” Pro Bowl outside linebacker Shawne Merriman said. “I think we’ve started adjusting a lot better before games and knowing what kind of teams we’re playing. We’ve been coming in with a better game plan and a better focus in understanding what we have to do to win that game. I think we probably struggled a little bit more early on.”

Cromartie, who led the NFL with 10 pickoffs, said he doesn’t take a thing from the Sept. 16 debacle.

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“If you look at our team, we are playing a whole lot better than we did in Week Two,” he said. “This is Week 20 now and we’re a whole different team. We’ve been undefeated since I think Week 12. It’s a big thing for us just to keep it going.”

He’ll get the chance to defend Moss.

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“I was more playing the nickel package and now I’m the starter. I can help out a lot more and see things to help out my teammates also,” Cromartie said. “Just being able to cover Randy Moss is probably going to be one of the biggest things for me. It’s going to be a big challenge for me in trying to put myself out as one of the best corners in facing one of the best receivers in the NFL.”

Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour called the Chargers “one of the best teams in football the season half of the season. It’s definitely not the same team we saw earlier in the year. They’re playing their best football at this point and I think if you want to be successful in this league, I think that’s when you have to do it. You have to do it in November, December, January, and they’ve done that.”

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