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7/8/2008 8:04:55 PM

Quote :

"San Diego Chargers: If Philip Rivers' knee were worse than it is, this would be the premier spot for Favre. The Chargers are poised to win and he could lead them to their first Super Bowl victory. But Rivers appears to be recovering, and he is the Chargers' leader. "

At the beginning of last year, most ESPN "gurus" were calling for Billy Volek to take his job! Its amazing that one gutsy story can silence all that prior negativity (surrounding his consistency and talking back to Indy fans )

7/9/2008 11:16:57 AM

Interesting article.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8371486/Rivers-runs-his-mouth,-Chargers-like-what-they-hear

Quote :

"SAN DIEGO - There may be a new face of the San Diego Chargers. One whose lips don't stop moving. During the Chargers' first training camp practice Monday, quarterback Philip Rivers shouted good-natured encouragement toward injured players in rehabilitation drills a football field away. He chatted with the media afterward about his speedy rehabilitation from off-season knee surgery. He even spotted tight end Antonio Gates in the locker room doing the last of a series of interviews and chided, "You're going through it big time on day one. God!" The Chargers regard such loquaciousness as one of Rivers' most endearing qualities. "The way he's able to communicate with his players, he doesn't act like a typical quarterback," said Gates, who has watched Rivers blossom over the past two seasons since becoming a starter. "Some quarterbacks can be like, 'I'm only going to speak to the guys that are good.' He interacts with everybody. "For you to interact with a guy on the practice squad, that says a lot about your character and leadership abilities. He knows how to lead a team." And how to aggravate others. As his play has improved, so has Rivers' propensity for verbal altercations. He taunted Denver quarterback Jay Cutler from the sideline last December toward the end of a 23-3 Chargers rout, prompting Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey to tell the Rocky Mountain News that Rivers talks "too much trash." Rivers was at it again three weeks later in a second-round playoff game at Indianapolis, jawing with Colts fans sitting behind the Chargers bench and those jeering as he left the field with a knee injury. Even the Chargers brain trust of coach Norv Turner and general manager A.J. Smith believe those antics were unnecessary. "He's got to use better judgment," Turner said. "He doesn't have to be yelling at people in the stands. That was an unusual circumstance. But he's a competitive guy. I think that's one of the things that gets him and our guys going." Rivers told FOXSports.com that he was sorry about what happened in Indianapolis but isn't about to apologize for a mouth that sometimes roars. The 26-year-old son of a fiery Alabama high school football coach, Rivers joked about his interaction with college fans who chanted "Arena Ball" while he played at North Carolina State. "You can look at it two ways," he said. "You can't always worry about what everyone thinks. But at the same time, I wasn't trying to be blind to what it does appear to be. Certainly, you've got to be smart with your actions. There's nothing I regret. Being excited and having a good time, if you can't do that, we shouldn't be playing. "There's a boundary to it. Ultimately, the question is whether it's a distraction to you or your teammates. As long as it's not and you can keep it to the confines of what we're doing, enjoy it and play." Playing is what silenced some of Rivers' critics. Rivers started in last season's AFC Championship game loss to New England despite having suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament against the Colts. It wasn't one of Rivers' best performances (19-of-37 passing with two interceptions and no touchdowns) but he won universal respect for competing with what is normally a debilitating injury. "People are saying, 'I like Philip Rivers. I couldn't stand him before that, but for him to get out there and play, it shows guts,' " Gates said. "Seeing somebody out there with a brace playing his heart out and throwing passes with a torn ACL, they've got so much respect for him now." Conversely, star running back LaDainian Tomlinson removed himself from the game early because of a sore knee. Tomlinson, a future Hall of Famer, deserves credit for shelving his ego when feeling ineffective. But with Rivers playing through his injury and Tomlinson ultimately not even requiring surgery, has the leadership mantle been passed inside the Chargers locker room? "People are starting to debate whether (Rivers) is the face of this team now based on that performance," Gates acknowledged. "It's still outsiders. Outsiders see the situation and say, 'He didn't play and he did. We're going to make him the face.' But still, we understand why (Tomlinson didn't play). We're not going to let outsiders come into this family and (debate) why he's not playing." Rivers awoke from his ACL surgery with his right leg already in a motion machine. While he is wearing a black metal brace, Rivers' rehabilitation has gone so well that he isn't expected to miss any preseason practice time. That will give Rivers a chance to better his strong finish in 2007. Over the season's final nine games (including the playoffs), Rivers completed 60.6 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Chargers won eight of those contests before falling to the Patriots. Such improvement stemmed from a combination of factors: Rivers growing increasingly comfortable with Turner's play-calling style in their first season together, quicker decision-making, the addition of wide receiver Chris Chambers via trade from Miami and the maturation that comes with being a second-year starter who spent 2004 and 2005 as Drew Brees' backup. Basically, Rivers is becoming everything Smith envisioned when acquiring him and two picks (including a first-rounder) from the New York Giants in exchange for fellow quarterback Eli Manning on draft day in 2004 . "He's made leaps and bounds both in his play and experience," Smith said. "He's somebody you can win a Super Bowl with." That would speak louder than any words. "

7/23/2008 4:12:54 PM

^That is an interesting article. I like this one a little better, just b/c it's a bit more upbeat for us Priv fans. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that this article was published by a San Diego paper.

http://news.zdnet.com/2424-9595_22-211916.html

Quote :

"On Jan. 20, 2008, Philip Rivers became the undisputed leader of the Chargers. If there had been doubts before then, they ended on a day when global warming somehow missed Foxborough, Mass. The Kid became The Man in the New England chill. The Chargers quarterback was unable to do enough to overcome the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. But few people knew he played without an anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Even fewer knew he had undergone arthroscopic surgery to remove loose cartilage in the joint the previous Monday. Writers have compared what Tiger Woods did with a torn ACL in the U.S. Open to what some football players have gone through, playing through pain. As game as Tiger's effort was, he didn't have 300-pound men after him on every hole. On Jan. 20, 2008, Philip Rivers became the undisputed leader of the Chargers. If there had been doubts before then, they ended on a day when global warming somehow missed Foxborough, Mass. The Kid became The Man in the New England chill. The Chargers quarterback was unable to do enough to overcome the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. But few people knew he played without an anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Even fewer knew he had undergone arthroscopic surgery to remove loose cartilage in the joint the previous Monday. Writers have compared what Tiger Woods did with a torn ACL in the U.S. Open to what some football players have gone through, playing through pain. As game as Tiger's effort was, he didn't have 300-pound men after him on every hole. Face it. Rivers, the Chargers quarterback of now and the future, shouldn't have suited up. But because he could play through the pain, he did, and he hardly disgraced himself. If a true NFL quarterback was born that day, then perhaps so was an entire football team. The Chargers, if they didn't know already, had found the person to lead them. Nobody seems to understand exactly what makes a leader, but a quarterback without the respect of his teammates might as well lead a search for Atlantis. Rivers doesn't like to speculate on whether he's considered more of a leader now than he was on Jan. 19, but he will. “It's hard to answer that, but yeah,” Rivers was saying yesterday, as he and a few veterans joined rookies on the team's second day of training camp. “Maybe it (the leadership level) didn't go up. I'm saying this humbly, but maybe it reaffirmed the confidence my teammates had in me. I have great respect for the guys in this locker room. “That isn't why I played with the knee, to get praise, to have the guys say, 'Philip, you're a tough guy.' A lot of guys were playing tough out there; a lot of guys were playing in pain. I obviously was in discomfort, but what I did was not surreal.” Maybe not, but Rivers lifted himself that day, as the text messages and e-mails he received from his teammates pointed out. Rivers likes to talk. But, after leading his side to eight straight wins – including two playoff victories – he probably can say anything he wants. “The No. 1 goal is to lead,” he says. “I take it as my No. 1 responsibility. A lot of guys can throw and look pretty throwing it. Hopefully, I can do enough to help get us to the top. It takes more than one guy. It takes all of us.” Rivers had surgery on that knee and what followed was some serious, rigorous rehab. And it worked. “I can't tell any difference between my right and left knee right now,” he says. Head coach Norv Turner can't believe what Rivers went through to get the knee ready. “I've never been around anyone who put in more time and work after an injury,” Turner says. “I can't imagine doing what he did coming off surgery. He was in at 5:30, 6 in the morning, four days a week. “Philip didn't just work on his knee. Once he was given the green light to work out, he worked to strengthen all his muscles. I really don't know how anybody could do more to get himself ready.” Rivers simply calls it “a challenging offseason,” but he seems to have turned it into an incredible positive. There's no denying anymore that the Chargers are very good. Now it's a matter of them getting to the top branch of the tree. Medicine has come so far, it's safe to say the rehab Woods is going through now will be different from what Rivers had to do. Maybe it used to be that if a golfer and football player tore a knee ligament, they'd go through a similar regimen. No longer. “We worked it hard,” Rivers says. “James (trainer James Collins) said there would be a positive, specific plan. This is a quarterback ACL, he said, and whatever we did, I'm not as sore. It actually feels like I'm a little more explosive just dropping back from center than I was before.” Philip Rivers has played a lot of football. He started more major college games than anyone in history while at North Carolina State. He's not one to sit comfortably, one of the reasons, including playoffs, he's 27-9 as an NFL starter. “I learned a lot last year,” he says. “I learned how to deal with adversity. I had a smooth ride my first year (as a starter in 2006). And I made some bonehead plays.” Rivers likes to “talk” to fans in the stands during games. Some may call it bonehead, too. I find it refreshing, and a reflection of who he really is. “It's all in fun, but I think I'm going to leave the fans alone,” he says. I can believe many things. I can see Rivers playing a week after surgery. I can see him stronger after rehab. But shutting him up on the sidelines (or anywhere)? Forget it. "

7/23/2008 4:56:04 PM

great article even though the first three paragraphs are repeated

7/24/2008 9:50:57 AM

^^ That's a good column. Hope he has a killer year.

7/24/2008 10:27:41 AM

^^shit! sorry y'all. stupid pages with ads and shit in the middle of the article...

7/24/2008 10:39:46 AM

Just need PRiv to get his ring, then we can start talking about that qb class as being one of the greatest ever, and they all still have a lot of seasons left on teams that should be good for a while.

7/24/2008 11:00:33 AM

Great read. I am looking fwd to PRiv getting that ring soon. One problem, he plays in the AFC with Peyton and NFL's God-Like Tom Brady. And I don't see either of them giving up the reigns anytime soon barring some injury.


III

7/24/2008 11:41:41 AM

7/26/2008 5:13:22 PM

lol that site is bananas

http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2008/07/the-pass-is-not-dead-its-not-even-a-pass.html

7/27/2008 4:24:13 PM

Philip Laserface Rivers

7/27/2008 4:40:36 PM

7/27/2008 5:02:27 PM

7/27/2008 5:08:46 PM

fastest baby thrower ever

7/27/2008 6:08:16 PM

GO P RIV

BEAT THE COWBOYS

8/9/2008 11:43:01 PM

P Riv. Be prepared to say hello once again to J pep.

8/10/2008 1:18:05 AM

You're saying Rivers is going to be one of Peppers' 3 sacks this year?

Somehow I'm not buying it.

8/10/2008 2:08:30 AM

i say he gets sacked more times by lamarr woodley than he does by peppers.

best of luck to rivers this year though.

8/10/2008 2:50:12 AM

yeah averaging 10.7 sacks a season and then 1 season he has 3. Guess that will be the trend from now on .

8/10/2008 7:08:12 PM

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/lee_jenkins/08/12/chargers.postcard/index.html

Nice Chargers pre-season report with this good blurb about Rivers:

Quote :

"acing an all-out rush in 11-on-11s, Rivers found tight end Brandon Manumaleuna in the flat with a funky sidearm throw -- even more funky and sidearm than usual. "A little Brett Favre action," chirped one of the Chargers. Rivers has always endeared himself to teammates, but never more so than when he played on a torn ACL in the AFC championship game at New England in January. The Chargers lost, but Rivers solidified his place as a team leader. Of all the ludicrous stories that filled air time last season was the one about Rivers somehow being a bad citizen because he jabbered with Denver quarterback Jay Cutler on the field and participated in some playful dialogue with fans in Indianapolis during a game. The NFL has plenty of diva quarterbacks. Rivers comes across as one of the most down-to-earth, a guy who got married when he was in college at NC State, but made sure to ask his coach for permission first. His personality, relentlessly upbeat and engaging, should be embraced by the league, not quashed by it."

8/14/2008 11:06:11 AM

Good find. I like it.

Hopefully some of the haters will start to see it that way.

8/14/2008 11:09:39 AM

plz to keep all things p riv in this thread

8/29/2008 4:14:59 PM

I'm an admitted NC State and Priv homer, so perhaps I'm being irrational. I came across this while killing time on ESPN.com, 4 experts rating quarterbacks for week 3. Priv is rated 11th, while Cutler is No. 2. I'm not saying he should be rated #1, but he should be in the top 5 or 6, I mean he's tied w/ Cutler for leading the NFL in touchdowns and led the league in week 2 for passing yardage. Just food for thought/discussion:

http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/football/ffl/story?page=week3qbranks

9/18/2008 10:19:38 AM

He's DREAMY!

9/18/2008 10:20:30 AM

i believe that's fantasy rankings for the week, therefore taking into account their opponents

sort of a projections type deal

untie your panties

9/18/2008 10:34:33 AM

yeah, and its not fair to compare Rivers to Cutler...

9/18/2008 10:36:05 AM

there's no reason to, really

9/18/2008 10:39:25 AM

When asked what receivers are supposed to do when he throws a consistent duck pass




He needs to join Brady Quinn in some Myolpex commercials and help his public image, both are renobs anyways

9/18/2008 11:32:40 AM

what the hell are you talking about?

9/18/2008 1:05:39 PM

^he's a retard ECU fan.

9/18/2008 4:00:53 PM

^
is an 18 yr old Computer Science major

9/18/2008 4:30:34 PM

I'm 22 and graduated, I don't update my profile.

edit: and I'm married to an ECU grad.

[Edited on September 18, 2008 at 4:32 PM. Reason : wife time]

9/18/2008 4:32:09 PM

[Edited on September 18, 2008 at 4:32 PM. Reason : shitwrongthreadsorry]

9/18/2008 4:32:19 PM

David Garrard #1 yay

9/18/2008 4:33:14 PM

thug4life

9/18/2008 4:48:07 PM

lots of haters here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3594747
P.-Riv will show he's the man over time

9/18/2008 10:06:18 PM

I love P.Riv, but I can't find any fault with the article.

I could only justify ranking him ahead of Cutler, maybe Eli, if Eli didn't have a ring.

[Edited on September 18, 2008 at 10:12 PM. Reason : .]

9/18/2008 10:12:03 PM

I don't understand all the Cutler love, but that's just me.

9/18/2008 10:13:25 PM

b/c he's off to a good start this season & all reports/broadcasters care about is what you've done lately

9/19/2008 1:00:20 AM

im sorry but Rivers is a much better QB than Eli

9/19/2008 1:07:05 AM

I think he's better than Eli but there is the ring, which is obviously important.

Romo is good but is a choker and is prone to having terrible days.

Ben always puts up amazing QB ratings and good TD numbers, but he's propped up by his running game, and it doesn't seem like he's as effective when he has to lead the team by himself (Rivers is also propped up by the running game, but he can win with his arm). I would still put him on top of the class right now.

Cutler I don't get either. He's good, and he has looked real good this year, but no better than Rivers, I don't know why they have him so high.

9/19/2008 1:37:14 AM

that's the thing about rivers. he doesn't choke. Everytime these last 2 games his offense has needed him, he has come through. They have put up enough points to win 3 games, but their defense is terrible. I know he is underated, but it's only a matter of time.

also, LT isn't that good anymore. He's kinda like Jamal Lewis, incredible season and now everyone figured you out.

9/19/2008 9:35:50 AM

^You realize LT had like 6 incredible seasons in a row, right?

9/19/2008 10:13:54 AM

Wouldn't exactly call last season "incredible." It was good...but I would stop at that.

9/19/2008 10:15:33 AM

i think he's been figured out

9/19/2008 10:16:54 AM

He's definitely not as good now as he has been in the past, but how many other players have had 3 2000+ yard seasons in their past 6 years (no year less than 1750 yards) and atleast 15 TDs in all 6 of those years?

9/19/2008 10:20:07 AM

^^That's just stupid. He hasn't been "figured out". LT has been running wild over defenses ever since he came into the league 8 years ago.

LT is injured, plain and simple. Once he's healthy and the Chargers get 2 pro-bowl linemen back from injury (McNeill & Hardwick), Tomlinson will be back to his dominating self.

The funny thing about it is that Rivers actually seems to play better when LT is out of the game or limited. When the team goes to a pass-first, spread offense, as it did against the Colts in the playoffs and Denver last week, Rivers has been outstanding. He's much better when he has lots of options and can go through his progressions. Last year when the offense struggled, it was because they kept doing the "run, run, pass, punt" offense that is as predictable as it is ineffective.

[Edited on September 19, 2008 at 10:24 AM. Reason : 2]

9/19/2008 10:23:48 AM

Yeah, I think the problem when LT is healthy is that Norv is a pass first coach but he feels pressure to give the ball to LT just because of who LT is. It feels to me like they'd be better off to come out passing/utilizing LT with screen passes and then working in the run once the D has backed off the line.

9/19/2008 10:33:50 AM

What?

Norv is, and always has been, a run-first coach. In every stop he has used between-the-tackles running as the basis of his offense, with the vertical passing game mixed in to keep defenses honest.

The problem is that LT is not a bruiser. Although he can be effective between the tackles, he is more productive on power sweeps and in space. Norv frequently runs him right up the middle on first down, for little to no gain. In essence, he is trying to relive the Dallas glory days when everybody knew they were running the ball and they still got 4 yards every time.

9/19/2008 10:52:42 AM