SAN DIEGO -- Say Ow. Say Wow. Then say this: Junior Seau and his buddies are having another sensational season.

	Junior Seau and the Chargers are stuck in Eliminationville.

The excitable San Diego Chargers linebacker and his teammates gained attention last year when they finished with the NFL's top-ranked defense.

But there was one problem. Their work was constantly undermined by all those blunders by inexperienced quarterbacks Ryan Leaf and Craig Whelihan.

The offense is still taking baby steps, even behind veterans Jim Harbaugh and Erik Kramer. While it improves, it's getting a free ride. That's how good San Diego's defense is.

The surprising Chargers are 4-1 and leading the AFC West following their 13-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in which the defense again starred. Another big game is coming up Sunday, at home against the Green Bay Packers.

The Chargers were knocked off the No. 1 perch by allowing the Colts' Peyton Manning to throw for a franchise-record 404 yards in their only loss. But they stuff the run like no other team, allowing just 2.57 yards a carry, and no 100-yard rusher in 24 consecutive games. They've forced 14 turnovers, leading to 55 points.

The Chargers are a force because of coordinator Joe Pascale's attacking, harassing, scheme; Pro Bowlers Seau and strong safety Rodney Harrison; and free-agent acquisitions such as linebacker Eric Hill and cornerback Darryll Lewis.

But it all starts with Seau, whose motor runs the same whether it's a Friday practice or a Sunday encounter with Ricky Watters.

"I'm having a great time with a great group of guys, and I'm enjoying it more this year than ever before," said Seau, a 10-year veteran who's played in the last eight Pro Bowls.

Seau won't say it, but his teammates will: He might be playing as well as anyone in the NFL right now.

"In my opinion, he's playing the best football of any linebacker in the game, any defensive player period," said fellow 'backer Lew Bush.

"No doubt," said backup safety Greg Jackson, a former teammate of Lawrence Taylor's with the New York Giants. "I mean, he's incredible, the things that he sees on the field as far as the run defense. He makes everyone else around him better with the things that he does.

"Junior's not a real vocal guy in the huddle, but when we line up to play, he's another person."

After the second of Kramer's four interceptions in the second half Sunday, Seau squashed a Seahawks drive by throwing Watters for a 5-yard loss on a third-and-8 draw play. Plays like that limited Seattle to just seven points off those four turnovers.

Kramer, who spent his previous 10 seasons with Detroit and Chicago, has only had to face Seau in practice.

"You know, there's very few guys you come across you have to account for where they are all the time," said Kramer, who's directed two consecutive wins as the starter for the injured Harbaugh. "And every time you come to the line of scrimmage you figure out where this guy is and how he might hurt you. Junior's one of those guys."

Although Seau is the leader, the Chargers have spread the wealth.

Cornerback Lewis, picked up after Tennessee released him at the final cutdown, has a team-high three interceptions. He scored on a blocked punt and on a fumble caused by a hard hit by Harrison.

In the season opener, linebacker Gerald Dixon scored on a fumble forced by you know who -- Seau.

"We're a great defense because we play together, not because we have individuals who are running around crazy doing a great job," Seau said. "If you broke us up separately, who knows what would happen. When we're together and we're playing as a unit, it's hard to beat us."

Again, it all goes back to Seau, who had double-digits in tackles the last three games to lead the team with 42. He also has a team-high three sacks.

"Junior used to take a lot of risks, a lot of chances, and now they're calculated and they equal results," Bush said. "I just think this organization has surrounded him with guys that are thinking the same way. His intensity is contagious. It carries the team, his energy."

Seau was Bobby Beathard's first draft pick after he took over as general manager in 1990.

"I think the neat thing about Junior is his enthusiasm has never done anything but continue to go up," Beathard said. "After this many years and that many years of being a Pro Bowler, some guys go into cruise control. Not with him."

It's because of the defense that the Chargers, so awful the last two years, can dare think about getting back to the playoffs.

"I'm tired of being unemployed in January," Seau said. "Those were probably the hardest months the past two years, in my life, just watching the game go on without me.

"It feels as if everyone is going to recess, and we're in detention. We've been in detention for two years. We want to get to the posteason."