Tag Archives: Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers: Player profile
Meet Philip Rivers, quarterback, San Diego Chargers. From Jack Kemp to Dan Fouts, Mark Malone to Stan Humphries, like his lifelong number that he adopted from his father, in the history of the Chargers, Philip Rivers is the 17th quarterback to start eight or more games in a season.
Why the Chargers are again primed for mediocrity in 2012
If the 2012 free agency period thus far is any indication as to the upcoming season for the San Diego Chargers then Bolt fans can bank on another disappointing year. Following the Chargers 2011 season finale victory against the Oakland Raiders, amidst swirling speculation that head coach Norv Turner would be fired, quarterback Philip Rivers used the media in a postgame interview to go to bat for his coach before taking his message directly to San Diego owner Dean Spanos. It was then that the momentum towards mediocrity in 2012 began.
3 Free Agents who could help Chargers in 2012
For several years now the San Diego Chargers have been perennial underachievers. Despite possessing some of the best talent on both sides of the football the Chargers have missed the playoffs the last two seasons finishing a disappointing 9-7 and 8-8 in 2010 and 11 respectively. Fans expectations after a disappointing 2011 were that head coach Norv Turner and General Manager A.J. Smith would be let go. To the surprise of many they were retained and unfortunately it sets up low expectations for the 2012 season. If the Chargers want to make any noise in 2012 they are going to have to add some playmakers via free agency and the draft. Here are three free agents who could help the Chargers in 2012.
Nature vs nurture: What if Eli Manning was a Charger?
Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning of the New York Giants was originally drafted by the San Diego Chargers with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NFL draft. Eli made his desire not to play in San Diego public prior to the draft. His reasons were that the Chargers organization didn’t promote a winning environment. In hindsight, Eli made the right call. Four quarterbacks were taken in that first round of that draft: Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, and J.P. Losman. Two of the four now have multiple championships. Rivers hasn’t even made it to a Super Bowl and Losman turned out to be a bust. In the case of Rivers is it because the Chargers don’t field championship caliber teams? Isn’t an elite quarterback usually the cornerstone of successful NFL franchises or is it more important that the elite quarterback be surrounded by the right pieces? This is a classic case of the age-old debate of Nature versus Nurture. That concept leaves one to wonder; what if Eli Manning was a Charger?
The argument of nature versus nurture dates back thousands of years. It’s the back and forth debate as to which element has the bigger impact on who we become. Those who argue nurture would say that the environment or an individual’s personal experiences has more to do with it. Where those who say nature, side with a person’s innate qualities as the bigger factor – it’s what’s inside the individual.
When applying the nature vs nurture debate to Manning it’s quite interesting. On the nature side, Manning has a quarterback pedigree. Father Archie was an NFL quarterback with the New Orleans Saints in the 70’s. Older brother Peyton has been the undisputed leader of the Indianapolis Colts since entering the league in 1998 and is one the best quarterbacks of all-time. Those who argue nature would say that Eli’s quarterbacking lineage allows him to succeed anywhere in the NFL. It’s in him to succeed at the position as did his father and brother. Eli obviously disagreed and sided with nurture believing that he could win, but only with the right surroundings.
Despite Eli not wanting to play for the Chargers, San Diego took Manning with the first pick in the 2004 draft. The Giants drafted 4th that year and took Philip Rivers from North Carolina State. The two teams swapped the draft rights to their selected players and completed a move that would reshape the identity of the league over the course of the next eight years; or did it?
In support of the nurture argument if the Giants and Chargers had stuck with their original first round picks in 2004, it would be Philip Rivers with multiple Super Bowl championships instead of Eli Manning. The Giants have a championship organization winning two Super Bowls prior to Manning’s arrival and two since then. Nurture supporters would say that despite Manning’s quarterback ancestry he would not have been able to overcome his surroundings in San Diego and that it is the championship culture in New York that has allowed Manning to succeed.
So nature or nurture, which is right? What if neither is? Maybe it’s a combination of both? Three of the four quarterbacks taken in the 2004 first round are championship quality. Of the three, Rivers has the best stats but Roethlisberger and Manning have four rings between them. Giving Rivers’ quarterbacking acumen it’s arguable that if he were on the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Giants that he too would have multiple championships. The same couldn’t be said if Manning or Roethlisberger were on the Chargers. Like Rivers, they too, would likely be ringless.
The reality is that winning quarterbacks benefit from both nature and nurture. If this wasn’t the case then any team with a solid foundation could draft any serviceable quarterback and make a run at a championship. As we all know, it doesn’t work that way. Great teams want great quarterbacks because it takes a certain makeup to succeed as an NFL quarterback. Likewise, it takes a certain team atmosphere to field a winning franchise; even with a Pro Bowl quarterback. It’s why Jim Kelly never won a Super Bowl and why Matt Ryan and Philip Rivers will never win one with their current organizations. Their teams just don’t know how to be winners.
You can follow Aaron on Twitter and Facebook @Da_Bear Truth. He can also be followed on Google+ Aaron Moon.
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AFC West Quarterbacks: Pick Your Poison
Now that the Denver Broncos have named Tim Tebow the starter for 2012, at least going into camp, it’s time to put you in the owner’s box of the AFC West teams. Ask yourself, going into the 2012 season, which starting quarterback grants you the most confidence that your team can win the division? Your choices: Tim Tebow, Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer, or Matt Cassel.
Denver Broncos’ Tim Tebow: This season’s Mr. Controversial, setting aside the likes of Michael Vick, Terrell Owens, and Randy Moss, Tim Tebow had horrific passing statistics, but still managed a positive win-loss ratio. Although putting up most of his numbers in the waning minutes of games, Tebow has still managed a 9-7 record in his first 16 starts. Seven of those wins have come while trailing at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Tebow has a motivating factor for his teammates and the fans that gives him an emotional edge late in games. However, in regards to statistics, throwing motion, and general command of the offense, Tebow is conceivable the worst quarterback in the NFL, let alone the AFC West.
San Diego Chargers’ Philip Rivers: Once one of the most feared quarterbacks in the league, his team has diminished around him and left him mostly unprotected and alone. Free agency has taken outlet receiving backs like LaDanian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles, as well as third wide receiver Legedu Naanee. Rivers’ limited options have lured him into throwing 20 interceptions this year. Those errors, combined with an attitude you would expect to see from an impatient 12-year old, lead the Chargers to an over-inflated 8-8 team record. In contrast, Rivers had thrown for over 4,000 yards and 27 or more touchdowns in four consecutive years.
Oakland Raiders’ Carson Palmer: Palmer was thrown to the wolves in his first start with Oakland this year, resulting in three interceptions in a half. That pattern would slow, but continue nonetheless. Palmer finished his partial season with 16 interceptions. However, in nine starts, Palmer threw for over 2,600 yards and 13 touchdowns. He holds ten team, game and career, passing records for his previous team, the Cincinnati Bengals. Although Palmer is a seasoned leader, he has no playoff experience in over his nine-year career.
Kansas City Chiefs’ Matt Cassel: Arguably the most statistically average quarterback in the NFL, Cassel has neither amazed nor disappointed the Chiefs since being traded from New England in 2009. Over the past three seasons, Cassel has an average quarterback rating of 79.8 with 53 touchdowns and 38 turnovers (interceptions and fumbles lost, combined). The Chiefs are 21-27 since Cassel took over as the starter, an unimpressive record, without presenting enough impetus to make a quarterback change. On the bright side, Cassel threw 27 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions in 2010 and put the Chiefs into the playoffs as the AFC West winner.
All four starting quarterbacks have their strengths and weaknesses, and none of them seem completely detrimental to their team. However, there also seem to be no “world beaters” in the AFC West, and it’ll be a matter of time until one of them will need to shine if this division plans to return to prior glories. Now, the question falls on the owners and general managers of who increases the likelihood of winning in 2012. You decide.
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Can the San Diego Chargers Have Another December to Remember?
The last two weeks have logged two more wins for the San Diego. Does this indicate an upswing at the end of this pendulum season for the San Diego Chargers?
The Kansas City Chiefs lost today and the Oakland Raiders fell victim to the unstoppable Green Bay Packers, but the Denver Broncos proved unstoppable once again under the unsteady leadership of Tim Tebow. The race for the AFC West Division may come down to the final week of the season. There is no clear front-runner and the proverbial fat lady has not yet opened her mouth to shriek the end of the show.
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If history has taught us anything, it’s that you can never rule San Diego out, with the schizophrenic season of the San Diego Chargers; from week to week you never know what you’re going to get, but December has proven to be a very kind month for San Diego in the past. However, week after week, Denver has surprised again and again. With their overtime win against Chicago today, it just goes to show that you can apparently never underestimate Tim Tebow and his last-minute saves.
While the nail-biting anxiety is heart attack inducing, it should make for an exciting last few weeks to the season. Every game is exciting; is Tebow going to pull another win; is San Diego going to show up or blow up? Is Carson Palmer going to surprise everyone and lead Oakland to a division title?
One thing is for sure: San Diego, Oakland, Kansas City and Denver fans are going to be tied to their computers and TV’s for the next few weeks until this thing is decided.
For San Diego Chargers fans, though, while it’s a long shot, they’ve managed to surprise us in the past. First they break your heart, then they bring you to unimaginable heights of hope. Remember, never underestimate the power of a General Manager, a Head Coach and Quarterback fighting for their lives and reputations.
Theresa Weed is an NFL writer for The Penalty Flag. She can be contacted at tweed@the penaltyflagblog.com.
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Could This Be AJ Smith’s Last Year as General Manager for San Diego?
The dysfunction could go all the way to the top. With the past several weeks as the San Diego Chargers continue to lose and their playoff hopes fade into obscurity, word is starting to buzz about not only Norv Turner but also General Manager AJ Smith going the way of the Dodo.
The reasons are obvious; an incredibly talented team with a losing record and some flat-out embarrassing showings this season. The reason is obscure. It’s not necessarily defense, it’s not necessarily special teams. Philip Rivers has struggled this year, but there seems to be a total disconnect between players and coaches and the whole unification of the team seems to be tentative at best.
Something is broken, that much is obvious. So, now, if you’re the owner of the Charger’s organization, what do you do? Right now, it’s more than just a matter of wins and losses; you’re dealing with business decisions. For starters, after a couple of years of threatened and executed blackouts from poor ticket sales combined with the prospect of building a new stadium, this organization cannot afford to face their fans’ apathy and loss of ticket sales and especially season ticket holders. The City of San Diego needs to see a new stadium as a viable business option to back it and spend tax payers money on this venture when the city and state as a whole are in financial crises.
As the Chargers continue to lose and the fans become more and more disappointed and apathetic, how do you salvage your franchise and grow, besides turning this rag-tag franchise into a winning team again?
Well, the answer is: you’ve got to go all the way to the top. Rivers, possibly he can be saved under the right coach. Turner, he’s got to go; the Chargers need a passionate coach to fire up the fans on top of some exciting play calls, a few wins would be nice too. AJ Smith; this is the heart of the matter, AJ fired Marty, AJ hired Norv. AJ got rid of Marty despite a winning 14-2 season because he felt they couldn’t make a win in the playoffs and stood behind Norv even when they couldn’t make the playoffs. Why? because AJ likes a “Yes man.” That’s why he got rid of Marty and that’s why he likes Norv. AJ needs to quit stroking his ego and put the organization first. Dean Spanos needs to instill some passion into the fans and for that he needs to show them that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to fix the problems that this team is facing this year. If that means cleaning house all the way to the top, then that’s what he has to do.
The persevering San Diego fans deserve it.
Theresa Weed is an NFL Writer for The Penalty Flag. She can be contacted at tcbird80@yahoo.com.
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Sorry Norv but Rex May Have Been Right
Back in October as Rex Ryan’s New York Jets were preparing to face off against the San Diego Chargers, Ryan made a statement to the press that he would probably have a “couple of rings” by now if he had inherited the talent that Norv Turner had when Turner was hired as San Diego’s coach. Rex quickly retracted the statement then promptly coached his team to a victory over the Turner-led Chargers.
Now many people will point to Rex Ryan’s Super Bowl “predictions” over the past couple of years and easily dismiss anything he has to say about the subject but watching the San Diego Chargers’ six-game meltdown has to make you wonder; could Ryan have done it better? Or better yet, could a Ryan do it better?
Norv Turner is on his way out as head coach of the Chargers. It’s inevitable and there really isn’t anything he can do at his point to keep his job short of black-mailing his team’s owner with some incriminating photos or something. Regardless of what his team does the rest of the season they are virtually out of the playoff race and have underachieved on both sides of the ball all season long.
But back to my question, could a Ryan do it better? I only ask because although Rex Ryan is not in the running for the Chargers’ soon-to-be-open coaching position, there is speculation that his brother Rob Ryan might be. Rob did a great job with the Cleveland Browns’ defense while he was there and has the Dallas Cowboys’ defense playing well this year. The Cowboys were allowing over 27 points-per-game last season and are now allowing just over 20.
The Chargers on the other hand are trending the other direction. They were a top ten scoring defense last season but are now in the lower third of the league in that category. With five games left to play, the Cowboys’ defense has registered 30 sacks and is only five sacks off their sack total from last season while the Chargers (19 sacks) have yet to register even half of their sack total from last year (47).
Offense is where Norv Turner lays his hat though and sadly the Chargers have seen a decline there also. San Diego had the number one offense in the league last season and is ranked seventh this year. While the drop in total offense may not be that bad, the drop in offensive scoring is. They went from being the second best scoring team last year scoring 27.6 points-per-game and have fallen all the way down to 17th this season.
This team is still very talented though which was the basis of Rex’s argument. Take Philip Rivers for example. Although Rivers has struggled this season, I don’t think there is any coach in the league including Rex who would take Mark Sanchez over him.
There are plenty of teams that would prefer to have the talent that the Chargers have at some of their other positions also. Too bad we can’t go back in time to 2007 when Rex was a candidate to replace Marty Schottenheimer and see for ourselves but maybe we will get the chance to see what Rex’s twin, Rob can do next season.
Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Featured Journalist for The Penalty Flag and can be contacted at RHall@ThePenaltyFlagBlog.com. Follow him on Twitter @rhall_tpfb.
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Ready, Aim, Fire: Chargers’ Norv Turner Can Run but Can’t Hide
The San Diego Chargers have dropped six games in a row for the first time in a decade and find themselves in an unfamiliar position going into December; last place in the AFC West and all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. The Chargers latest setback came on Sunday in a 16-13 overtime loss to Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. For the Chargers, disappointment has come all too often under head coach Norv Turner with this season possibly taking the cake. With nothing left to hope for in 2011 it’s time for the Chargers to take a serious look as to whether or not Turner is the right man to lead the them to their ultimate goal; a Super Bowl championship.
On Sunday, Turner saw his running game get going as second year running back Ryan Matthews ran for a career best 137 yards on 22 carries. For the Chargers, it was the performance they had been waiting for from Matthews since taking him in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Despite the career day, Philip Rivers managed to throw for less than 200 yards for only the second time this season. Both outings resulted in a Chargers’ loss.
Unfortunately for Turner, the Chargers’ performance on Sunday may be what tips the scales for San Diego management to finally say enough is enough. For years now, Norv Turner has had more talent than any other AFC West team yet he can’t get it done whether Rivers is throwing for 500 yards or with Matthews pacing a solid ground game. Both the Broncos and Raiders have shown significant improvements this season under new head coaches and will battle it out for the AFC West crown down the stretch. When talented teams are consistently inconsistent it boils down to one thing; coaching.
In the opinion of many Chargers’ fans firing Norv Turner is no longer a question of if but more of a matter of when. One thing that is for certain is that until a change is made, the San Diego Chargers will continue to be an underachieving model of inconsistency. With five games left in the regular season the Chargers should go ahead and pull the trigger on firing Norv. Not only would it give the organization the opportunity to honestly evaluate the team for future changes and needs, but it would also restore hope to a fan base that is in desperate need of it.
Aaron Moon is the CEO and a Featured Journalist for The Penalty Flag. An active duty Navy Chief and an avid writer, Aaron is a lifelong Bears’ fan who writes about his team from a critics’ point of view. You can contact Aaron on facebook or follow him on Twitter @DA_Bear_Truth. Contact Aaron directly by emailing him at amoon@thepenaltyflagblog.com.
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The Sad Case of Philip Rivers’ Lost Mojo
Another week, another collective head drop of dejection for San Diego Charger fans. Somehow, even though the odds were not good for the Chargers to win today against the Chicago Bears, it still hurts.
Watching a great team fall into a decline that they’re not likely to climb out of anytime soon is a pitiful, depressing vista. To see this young, incredibly talented young man, that at one time was the stronghold of this team continue to fall further and further into the well is sad. What’s happened to the dynamic Philip Rivers of seasons past? That incredible, cocky young man that seemed so confident of his ability to carry this team to a Super Bowl that he could sweep you along and make you believe him, even if you weren’t so sure by his performances, is gone, replaced by a weak, shadowy ghost.
Philip Rivers’ has lost his mojo. While the Chargers are not completely written off for the season yet, it’s still not looking good. What broke around Week 5 is still broken and as the season progresses and the Chargers continue to lose and Oakland and Denver, carried along by their new QB’s Palmer and Tebow respectively, get better and better every week, San Diego’s hopes get dimmer and dimmer.
So, moving on from this season, what about next? Is it possible for Philip Rivers to regain his mojo? Is the monotonous, blah existence of Norv Turner what’s breaking this young man? Or is he washed up? At a career high 17 turnover this season, he’s got a lot to work on during the offseason: clearly the parts of his game that have always been lousy; case in point, his footwork, being able to scramble and still get the pass off before he’s sacked or his ability to change up the play if he needs to. Rivers is not a good thinker on his feet; if his intended receiver is not open, instead of looking around and clicking off all of his other receivers, he will, 9 times out of 10, throw the ball away. He’s slow and awkward on his feet when the defense gets him on the run. These are things fans were willing to overlook when his game was top notch in other areas. Now that he’s struggling in his pass ratings and his turnovers are high, these problems are glaringly obvious.
The real problem is that he doesn’t appear to be addressing these issues. His footwork has always been a problem and there’s been no noticeable improvement on this. Does Rivers ever run drills to work on his scrambling during practice or private workouts? Where’s his coaching staff drilling this into him, making him work on his feet, isn’t that what these coaches are there for? Who’s driving this sinking ship?
So, the question remains, can Philip Rivers break out of this? Last year, Drew Brees threw a league leading, whopping 22 interceptions and look at him now. So, there’s hope for Rivers. Here’s a big difference though; Brees has a great head coach in Sean Payton and seems to have a good, solid relationship with him and was willing to put in the work during the offseason to clean up his game. Does Rivers have that same dedication and tough love from his coaching staff to do the same thing?
Theresa Weed is an NFL team writer for The Penalty Flag and can be contacted at TWeed@ThePenaltyFlagBlog.com
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