if only norv had proven he knows how to use a great back effectively. Oh wait

LT is hurt and the line is banged up, plain and simple

9/19/2008 12:00:34 PM

Yeah Norv Turner is one of the best offensive coordinators in the league.

9/19/2008 12:19:32 PM

^He's good, not spectacular.

The offense he ran in Dallas was innovative and unstoppable at times. Since then he has gotten a reputation for being somewhat predictable and conservative.

Off the top of my head, I'd say that Mike Shanahan, Payton, Garrett, Tom Moore, Holmgren, and Josh McDaniels are better play-callers at this point. Some of that comes from the fact that the NFL has evolved into more of a pass-first league, while Norv has continued to emphasize the run.

[Edited on September 19, 2008 at 1:01 PM. Reason : 2]

9/19/2008 1:01:03 PM

Quote :

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

he led the league in rushing -- i'm not sure of your definition of 'incredible' but i'd say his season was better than 'good' (2006 was definitely 'incredible' but he's been very good for awhile now, not just one season)

Quote :

"LT is hurt and the line is banged up, plain and simple"

it's possible to be a huge PR fan and not hate on LT

go bolts

9/19/2008 1:47:14 PM

Quote :

"he led the league in rushing -- i'm not sure of your definition of 'incredible' but i'd say his season was better than 'good' (2006 was definitely 'incredible' but he's been very good for awhile now, not just one season)"

Weak year for rushers last year. No workhorse backs. No Larry Johnson's getting 30 carries a game. LT barely beat out Peterson, who might have played 12 full games. Parker got hurt. Westbrook had a helluva better year than LT, but got a ton of his yards receiving.

So I'd still consider it just a "good" season. His season was saved at the end when he got some big numbers against lesser teams.

I was thinking LT could have one last "monster" year in him...but we could be seeing the end of his big years.

9/19/2008 2:00:58 PM

Quote :

"he led the league in rushing -- i'm not sure of your definition of 'incredible' but i'd say his season was better than 'good' (2006 was definitely 'incredible' but he's been very good for awhile now, not just one season)"

Weak year for rushers last year. No workhorse backs. No Larry Johnson's getting 30 carries a game. LT barely beat out Peterson, who might have played 12 full games. Parker got hurt. Westbrook had a helluva better year than LT, but got a ton of his yards receiving.

So I'd still consider it just a "good" season. His season was saved at the end when he got some big numbers against lesser teams.

I was thinking LT could have one last "monster" year in him...but we could be seeing the end of his big years.

Quote :

"it's possible to be a huge PR fan and not hate on LT"

And I'm not hating on LT either...just stating the facts. Running backs don't usually have long shelf lives and LT is not young anymore. I'd love for him to have a great year so Philip wouldn't have to carry the team as much. I think they're going to need a lot of help from Sproles this year though.

9/19/2008 2:03:22 PM

LT will round into form when his toe heals and the O-line gets healthy. I'm expecting a big year from him considering the schedule. 4 games against the Raiders and Chiefs, plus games against Miami and the Jets, will give him plenty of chances to once again be near the top of the league in rushing and TD's. No reason to panic.

Quote :

"And I'm not hating on LT either...just stating the facts. Running backs don't usually have long shelf lives and LT is not young anymore. I'd love for him to have a great year so Philip wouldn't have to carry the team as much. I think they're going to need a lot of help from Sproles this year though."

The funny thing is that Rivers has played better when LT is limited and they are forced to pass first. So far this year he has been outstanding, the lone bright spot on the team. Hell, he's averaging 10 yards per attempt, with 6 TD's and 1 bullshit "interception". We all know from Rivers' college days that he is great in the shotgun when he has lots of options.

It might be time for the Chargers to open things up and use the pass to open up the run, rather than vice versa.

[Edited on September 19, 2008 at 2:19 PM. Reason : 2]

9/19/2008 2:18:45 PM

^Yeah...but they're losing. I'm all for Phil having great stats...but I'd rather him have mediocre stats and win. Eli didn't have Dan Marino stats when the Giants were winning ball games last year...but now most people consider him a better QB than Rivers.

9/19/2008 2:27:50 PM

Yep, fairly or unfairly, QB's are judged by wins and losses. Rivers has played as good as any QB in the league the first 2 weeks, but the defense (and reffing) has failed so he doesn't get any credit for his 4th quarter clutch play.

As far as Eli goes, he has the ring, so he's considered better right now. The cake schedule honeymoon lasts 1 more week before they have to play some real teams like the Cowboys and Eagles. If he reverts back to his career 55% completion percentage, frequent turnovers and poor cold weather play and the team starts losing, it'll get ugly again for him.

The Eli / Rivers debate will continue for years and years. There is no clear winner so far.

9/19/2008 2:39:11 PM

Quote :

"There is no clear winner so far."

No clear winner to State fans...maybe Charger fans. But every other person in America will say it's clearly Eli.

9/19/2008 2:51:05 PM

LOL, hyperbole. And nonsense. A lot of people not in SD or Raleigh would take Rivers over Eli in a heartbeat. The problem is that people have a very short memory, and forget about just how bad Eli has been at times in his career.

54.9% career completion percentage?
55 interceptions in the last 3 years?
74.0 career QB rating?

Those are not good numbers.

And if you asked anybody before his improbable playoff run, 3 out of 4 would take Rivers over Eli. Ask them now, and 3 of 4 would take Eli. Ask them again at midseason, and it could swing right back to Rivers.

As I said, there is no clear winner up to this point. Just a bunch of people with short memories.

[Edited on September 19, 2008 at 3:00 PM. Reason : 2]

9/19/2008 3:00:17 PM

Eli Career Numbers:
54.9%
11,861 yds
74.0 rating
80/65 TD/INT
59 total games

Philip Career Numbers:
61.0%
7,282 yds
88.7 rating
50/26 TD/INT
38 total games

9/19/2008 3:22:15 PM

Quote :

"As I said, there is no clear winner up to this point. Just a bunch of people with short memories."

I don't get it. You say people who have short memories would pick Eli (and I would also say its a lot more than 3 out of 4...check the recent ESPN article where almost every guy has Rivers at the bottom of the top 5 young QBs)...but then you there is no clear winner.

Most people have short memories. Most people with short memories would pick Eli. So other than biased State and San Diego fans...Eli is the clear winner. I don't see the confusion?? Hopefully Rivers can change everyone's mind though.

9/19/2008 6:18:08 PM

Donovan McNabb is the clear winner over Tim Couch

Peyton Manning is the clear winner over Ryan Leaf

Aaron Rodgers is looking like the clear winner over Alex Smith

There's no clear winner because it's not even close to being over yet. Both are still starting and both have had good numbers.

9/19/2008 6:30:28 PM

^ Exactly.

Also, "who people would say is the clear winner" isn't the same as "who is the clear winner", unless you define public perception as the definition of a clear winner between 2 players. That's my point about people and short memories.

Analysts might say right now that Eli is better, but 6 months ago they were saying that Rivers is better. Does that mean Eli is the clear winner? No, it means that fans are fickle, popularity polls are ambiguous and you shouldn't read too much into them this early into Rivers' / Eli's career.

9/19/2008 7:13:29 PM

you'd have to throw in big ben in the mix too because he was in the same 1st round of the draft. 3/5 QBs in that ESPN article came out of the same draft.

it sucks that rivers doesn't have a SB ring yet while eli and big ben got theirs already

[Edited on September 19, 2008 at 9:03 PM. Reason : !]

9/19/2008 8:59:58 PM

the uber gayness of this thread still amazes me

9/19/2008 11:18:53 PM

^^ I didn't throw Ben in because I think that right now he actually has the stats to be considered the best of that class for now. It didn't hurt that he stepped into a perfect situation, a run oriented team that was very good at almost every position except QB, so all he had to do was be accurate with the few passes he threw and manage the game.

Besides, Rivers and Manning were traded for each other, so they will always be linked more than Ben.

9/20/2008 1:46:23 AM

OH WE BACK

9/22/2008 9:56:12 PM

leading the league in TD passes, yo

9/22/2008 9:58:22 PM

enjoying The Philip Rivers Show tonite

9/22/2008 11:14:47 PM

State just got a shout out about win over ECU

9/22/2008 11:23:30 PM

I think they just dropped the Favre post game interview for the Rivers post game interview.


I think that's likely because Favre is pissed and doesn't want to talk, but it's fun to think about him being dropped.

9/22/2008 11:39:12 PM

they were sucking off rivers post game

9/23/2008 12:01:19 AM

when are they going to have philip on the show?

they made mention of it at the end of the broadcast.

9/23/2008 12:04:30 AM

Yeah right now it's just the Favre conference....WE WANT PHIL!

Dammit each year we suck ass I miss him.

9/23/2008 12:07:11 AM

sportscenter says he's playing the best of any qb in the league now

9/23/2008 12:14:57 AM

statistically, he is.

there were some questions when i recruited him 2nd round in our draft. number 1 quarterback in the league - i'll take that.

i hope when stuart scott compliments philip, he replies with some joke about how he's usually so biased against state (and their alum).

9/23/2008 12:20:30 AM

Federal Agent Federal

9/23/2008 12:23:06 AM

Rivers is killing it right now... he's played great so far but he hasn't gotten the hype because the Chargers have "lost" two games.

9/23/2008 12:24:38 AM

they just said "chat with rivers coming up"

9/23/2008 12:28:30 AM

OMG! ITS HIM!!!!

[Edited on September 23, 2008 at 12:35 AM. Reason : nevermind]

9/23/2008 12:33:18 AM

......................Cmp..Att...Cmp%...Yds...Y/A. .TD..INT..QB Rate

_1 P. Rivers.............57...85...67.1...844...9.9...9... 2...124.8
_2 K. Warner...........54...84...64.3...750...8.9...6... 1...111.7
_3 J. Cutler............73..108...67.6...914...8.5...8... 2...110.6
_4 J. O'Sullivan........50...75...66.7...705...9.4...3... 1...104.6
_5 D. Brees............84..113...74.3...980...8.7...5... 3...103.9
_6 T. Romo.............62...92...67.4...892...9.7...5... 3...103.2
_7 A. Rodgers..........64...99...64.6...796...8.0...4... 0...102.9
_8 D. McNabb..........70..105...66.7...838...8.0...5... 1...102.8
_9 J. Campbell..........61...93...65.6...647...7.0...4... 0...100.1
10 B. Favre..............63...90...70.0...646...7.2...6... 3....98.7


Leads the NFL in QB rating, TD's, YPA, and is 4th in passing yards.

[Edited on September 23, 2008 at 12:39 AM. Reason : ]

9/23/2008 12:38:19 AM

"inner philip rivers"


hahahah

9/23/2008 1:00:08 AM

God Stu has to throw Carolina into everything.

[Edited on September 23, 2008 at 1:04 AM. Reason : ACC education....really?]

9/23/2008 1:04:30 AM

lol, was hoping philip was going to throw carolina in the trash after he brought it up.

9/23/2008 1:07:25 AM

Phil didn't know who he was talking to at first... "is stu talking to me or that squirrel?"

9/23/2008 1:11:27 AM

I'm glad I can say I got to see Rivers run the show at State for two years. He instilled an artificial sense of hope surrounding NC State football that's still with me to this day ... sadly.

I remember one time we were both in the cash-register line at the Atrium, and I accidentally stepped on his foot. What's crazy is he didn't even flinch ... just kept standing looking straight ahead. Those were good times

9/23/2008 1:29:26 AM

christ, good thing you didn't step on TA's foot, he'd have missed the rest of the season.




and you stay away from any current players.

9/23/2008 10:48:59 AM

^lol

9/23/2008 11:01:39 AM

i was in 10th grade at one of the "Meet the Pack" days he was at and he called me "Champ"......i felt like a million bucks that day.....it was cool

9/23/2008 11:02:44 AM

Yeah, he walked into my church in N. Raleigh one morning and everyone bowed down and shouted "He is risen!"

9/23/2008 11:05:56 AM

^lmao

9/23/2008 11:12:45 AM

^^^ depressing as fuck

9/23/2008 11:17:02 AM

^^^ LOOOOOL!

one time he fucked my girlfriend in front of me and let me video tape it

[Edited on September 23, 2008 at 1:23 PM. Reason : .]

9/23/2008 1:21:25 PM

Jesus can walk on water...

but Philip Rivers can swim through land.

9/23/2008 1:38:34 PM

Quote :

"there were some questions when i recruited him 2nd round in our draft. number 1 quarterback in the league"

no offense, but that's a ridiculous reach for rivers in a fantasy draft

9/23/2008 6:31:38 PM

Rivers is now an early, early MVP candidate.

... along with Cutler, Romo, Barber, McNabb and Turner methinks.



The obvious preseason choices of Manning, LT and Brady are pretty much out of the picture.

9/23/2008 7:17:53 PM

Quote :

"God Stu has to throw Carolina into everything."

what did he say? i was at the game and didn't get to see the interview -- did he just bring up PR playing against carolina in college?

9/23/2008 8:20:16 PM

^^I read the same article...

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/Features/MVP+Meter/2008/mvp03.htm

9/23/2008 9:31:02 PM