Turner believes raucous crowd gives Chargers advantage

San Diego Chargers head coach Norv Turner looks on from the sideline against the Washington Redskins. (January 3, 2010) Credit: Getty Images
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - The forecast calls for a temperature of 64 degrees with a 10 percent chance of precipitation Sunday, a typically balmy January day in San Diego. But with the run-oriented Jets coming to town for an AFC divisional playoff game against the pass-happy Chargers, San Diego coach Norv Turner has been peppered with questions about how weather might affect the game.
"It's kind of crazy to monitor the weather and give it a bunch of attention now,'' Turner told the San Diego media Friday. "What I usually do is, about two hours before the game, go out and walk around the field and see what the weather is. Then you plan accordingly. We'll have a plan based on if it's windy, if it's rainy or if it's dry. Our guys have played extremely well on all kinds of surfaces. I don't think, if it rains, it will be a disadvantage to our football team.''
Asked to identify the Chargers' biggest advantage, Turner pointed to the home crowd, which has a reputation as one of the loudest in the NFL
"I refer back to our Cincinnati game and the way the crowd reacted that game,'' Turner said. "I thought our crowd was the big difference in that game.
"Through the third quarter, [the Bengals] struggled offensively. They had a bunch of pre-snap errors, and I thought our crowd had a lot to do with that. I expect them to be as loud as they've ever been, and that's obviously why you want to play at home.''
The Jets may have been headed toward the warm weather on their cross-country flight Friday night, but it might have been a good idea to pack their ear muffs anyway.