Merriman ready for battle

San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Shawne Merriman believes his side are ready for the fight as they prepare to take on the NY Jets in the play-offs.

The Chargers (2/7 on Stan James' money line to beat the Jets) ended the regular season as the NFL's hottest team, winning 11 games in a row to secure second spot in the AFC rankings.

They welcome a Jets side (5/2 on the money line) who have ended the season strongly as well and who recorded a surprise play-off victory at Cincinnati last weekend.

While the Jets (10/1 to win the AFC Championship) have the number one ranked defence in the league and a quarter-back on fire in rookie Mark Sanchez they still travel to San Diego as big underdogs.

The Chargers (10/3 to win the Superbowl) are likely to give the Jets defence a thorough examination with quarter-back Philip Rivers having some formidable weapons at his disposal in the form of Vincent Jackson (7/1 to be the first touchdown scorer), Malcolm Floyd (12/1), LaDainian Tomlinson (11/2) and Darren Sproles (10/1).

While the Chargers have been keeping quiet about their chances of finally winning a Superbowl they are the form team in the NFL and they will be contesting the AFC Championship next week if they can stop Sanchez and the Jets running game.

"You have a team in the Jets that is very physical and wants to come in and kick our [rear]," Merriman said. "Here we've got a team in this locker room that is very focused, humble about winning, not saying much, that's eager to get on the field and play on Sunday. It's going to be a battle."

Waiting for whoever gets through Sunday's play-off game will be the Indianapolis Colts (2/1 to win the Superbowl with Stan James) after they cruised past the Baltimore Ravens 20-3 on Saturday night.