Foxborough, Mass. ? Linebacker Shawne Merriman wants a strong start for the Chargers in Sunday’s playoff game – from their fans.

The sooner they begin screaming, the better he’ll like it when San Diego faces the New England Patriots. Tom Brady is traveling all the way across the country only to be greeted by a hostile crowd whose decibel level may drown out his signal calling.

“I want to hear it ASAP,” said Merriman, the NFL sacks leader. “Louder when L.T. is about to get the ball and going to break another record or something.”

Fans at Qualcomm Stadium have cheered LaDainian Tomlinson all season. He has four of the best 11 single-game rushing performances in the NFL this season, three of them at home. And the Chargers are 8-0 at home with an average victory margin of 14.6 points.

As if a team with a 14-2 record and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs needed more of an edge, ticket sales to the divisional playoff game were restricted to Southern California residents this week.

Curious, then, that the Patriots saw some positives in taking the long journey Friday to play a team that fell short of an unbeaten season by just two three-point losses.

“I love traveling, man,” Patriots backup defensive end Jarvis Green said Thursday, “getting on the plane. It’s a time to relax for me, just getting out there, just time to get away from home. I’ve got three kids at home.

“Getting a nice hot meal on the plane, it’s like a vacation time. I don’t take many vacations, but going on the road for me is fun.”

Disneyland, it’s not. But some of his teammates see it as just another challenge to overcome. Besides, they’ve done very well on the road with a 7-1 record and a point differential of 13.9 per game.

“It’s a challenge when everybody’s against you,” nose tackle Mike Wright said. “It just makes you that much more focused and that might not be a complete advantage, but I look at it as a positive.”

The Patriots’ only road loss was their worst performance of the season, 21-0, at Miami in their 13th game. Since then, they are 4-0, including a 37-16 home playoff win over the New York Jets, and have outscored opponents by an average of 35-17.

“That Miami game was tough for everybody,” Brady said. “We have to go out and learn from it and try to make improvements. And I think we’ve really done that.”

The teams have faced off only once in the playoffs, at Balboa Stadium in San Diego in the 1963 AFL title game. The Chargers won 51-10 behind a big game from another outstanding running back – 206 yards rushing and 123 yards receiving by Keith Lincoln.