San Diego Chargers veteran quarterback Philip Rivers is once again putting up impressive numbers in season 2016.
Rivers and the San Diego offense continue to put up the points and after a rough opening month, the Chargers are back to one game behind .500 and looking good despite imploding on a number of occasions.
Rivers has been a beacon of strength in San Diego this season, as he has been since taking over from Drew Brees in 2006. This season he has endured trade talk, a leaky defence, massive injuries on offence and at times inept special teams play. All the while he has effused praise for his teammates and expressed his confidence in their ability to turn it around.
What we have seen from San Diego’s defence in the last two games is testament to River’s leadership and a vote of confidence in coach Mike McCoy. The Chargers shut the Denver Broncos down on Thursday night football on a night where Rivers picked apart the Bronco’s elite secondary when needed. He then watched on as his own defence stood up and secured a crucial win.
Down by 17 at halftime on the road against Atlanta, a fired up Rivers repeatedly told the team that they were going to win the game, and win they did. The defence allowed just three points after half time to a high-powered Falcons offense with some crucial plays from thumper Denzel Perryman and the ever-growing Joey Bosa, allowing the offense to come from behind to eventually win.
Chargers GM Tom Telesco deserves some credit for what looks like a top rookie class including Bosa, do-it-all tight end Hunter Henry (who has relegated future Hall-of-famer Antonio Gates to the back-up role) and fifth-round gem Jatavis Brown who has playmaking ability, great instincts and a nose for the football. These players are clearly benefitting from having a leader such as Rivers in the locker room.
Getting back to the career of Rivers, few could doubt his passion, intensity and week-in week-out commitment to playing quarterback for the Chargers. However to describe him in only those terms would be a discredit to his ability and record.
Rivers recently became the Chargers all-time leader in passing yards, surpassing Hall-of-Famer Dan Fouts. Rivers has tossed 293 touchdowns in his career, good for ninth all-time in the NFL, only ten behind fellow 2004 draftee Eli Manning and ahead of another great quarterback from that class, Ben Roethlisberger. This is in spite of the fact that both Manning and Roethlisberger assumed the full time job at quarterback in 2004, while Rivers sat until 2006 before taking over from Brees.
Manning has thrown 205 picks over his career while Rivers is at 139, a significant difference especially when considering that Rivers averages more yards per attempt than Manning. Eli of course has two Super bowl rings that cemented his legacy and the younger Manning had some great moments in the clutch.
The difference is that Manning has often relied on pieces around him to achieve success (especially in his Super Bowl runs) whereas Rivers has so often carried the team on his shoulders, especially in recent times. In a league where the best ability is availability, Manning and Rivers sit third and fourth all time respectively for most consecutive games played by a quarterback, a tremendous achievement for both players.
The Chargers would be foolish to trade Rivers as has been suggested by former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson and others. These suggestions were made as the world watched the Chargers crumble inwards in the opening weeks of the season.
Despite coming off a 4-12 season and currently sitting in last place in the AFC West, the Chargers have a lot of talent and with a few more pieces they may finally be able to achieve some tangible success for all of Rivers’ efforts over the years.
Telesco has had hit on a number of players in the draft, especially in the later rounds which is a good indicator of the organisation’s talent evaluators and decision making. Free agent acquisition Brandon Mebane has been a stand out on the defensive line and has clearly brought valuable intangibles and production from Seattle’s elite defence.
Look for Philip Rivers to continue to lead from the front in San Diego and don’t be surprised to see some success down the line when the Chargers make improvements to their roster, especially along the offensive line and in the secondary. Times have been tough for this franchise who have yet to claim the Lombardi trophy, but they have been lucky to have a quarterback such as Rivers at the helm. Players of his calibre come around rarely.
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