SAN DIEGO - Philip Rivers is no kid.

He's 25 years old, he's been a pro quarterback for three years and the team he quarterbacked this season has a 14-2 record.

But as compared to the experience level of Tom Brady, the quarterback of the San Diego Chargers is a mere pup - and he knows it.

"How many playoff games has he played in? And I've played in none," said Rivers during a break in his preparation for today's AFC Divisional playoff between his Chargers and Brady's Patriots at Qualcomm Stadium (4:30 p.m.; Ch. 4, 12).

"That's what makes it fun on the outside, is the quarterbacks and all that," Rivers said. "He doesn't have to worry about me covering any of his passes, and I'm sure I won't see him over there. We're not playing one another. That gets thrown out there because we're the leaders. I understand that. You've got to start somewhere, right?" Brady, although only 29, is now considered a grizzled veteran next to someone like Rivers, who is treading playoff waters for the first time. Brady is 11-1 in playoff games over seven NFL seasons, but as Rivers reminded reporters last week, even he had to start somewhere.

"You can't play 13 playoff games without playing the first one," he said. "He's a heck of a player. It will be another sidebar for me just to be excited to be out there. Brett Favre here in the preseason … all these guys that you've seen that have been successful and you're fans of in a way, but at the same time, you're competing against.

"It's a lot of fun," he said. "It's what you grew up wanting to do. All the anxious and nervousness, it's all positive and exciting."

Rivers said he couldn't pry himself away from the television as Brady and the Patriots won their first Super Bowl, beating the St. Louis Rams in New Orleans in 2002 on Brady's famous last drive and Adam Vinatieri's game-winning field goal.

"I was in my second year (at North Carolina State)," Rivers said. "I was telling these guys the other day I'm a fan of quarterbacks and always have been. I've always enjoyed hearing him at the line of scrimmage, hearing Peyton (Manning) and him at the line of scrimmage.

"His calmness has always been the word that you see in him," Rivers continues. "Obviously he does a lot of other great things, but he's so calm. He's making checks. He's pointing out the Mike (middle linebacker) and doing all those things, and yet he doesn't even seem like he's moving fast at all."

Lest he sound like an awe-struck schoolboy, Rivers has been no slouch for the Chargers this year.

He has completed 284 of 460 passes (61.7 percent) for 3,388 yards, with 22 touchdowns and only nine interceptions for a passer rating of 92.0. It helps that he has two outstanding weapons in his arsenal in running back LaDainian Tomlinson and tight end Antonio Gates. Tomlinson, in fact, is the team's second-leading receiver behind Gates, beyond which is a relatively pedestrian receiving corps.

Rivers would naturally be concerned if someone found the scheme that takes Tomlinson out of the equation for him. But no one has yet.

"I would imagine that was the game plan of all 16 opponents," he said. "That doesn't surprise me one bit. At the same time, I don't know how many of those 16 took LT away." Many suggest that Patriots' coach Bill Belichick has an uncanny knack of developing game plans that turn rookie or inexperienced quarterbacks into cowering mice during the course of a game. Rivers, young as he is, speaks through the bravado of youth about that possibility, not having faced it yet.

"Obviously they've played 20 games counting the preseason, like we have," he said. "They're going to do some of the same stuff. It's hard to put in a brand new defense the week of.

"They have a heck of a group over there, a real smart group," he said. "You have to have a smart group to do all the things that they do. I'm going to expect everything you can put in a playbook. You study and be ready for what they've shown, then you don't get surprised by anything."

Like Brady and the Patriots, Rivers has learned to put his faith in his preparation for the game. He believes in his coaches and expects that they will put him in a position to compete for a victory.

After that, he said, it's up to each individual.

"We've had our highs and lows as a team," Rivers said. "I've had my highs and lows as a player, as a quarterback. You learn from them. If you get too high or too low, you're not going to have that even keel when you need it. I think our whole team has that … that's why we're 14-2 and have the best record in the league.

"Our offense and their defense are excited for the challenge," he added. "It's what the playoffs are all about. We knew coming into this thing that we were going to have a tough opponent. This is kind of who you expected to play.

"They're the fourth seed," he said. "You expected them to win and expected them to come in here ready to go with a lot of experience. We'll be ready, that's for sure. That's one thing about us … we'll be ready."