I thought he had a really good speech.

Definitely better than his last performance here against Maryland

5/13/2012 12:17:10 AM

Yeah, I really liked his speech! Too bad he can't run out of the tunnel at Carter Finley Stadium one more time.......well at least in a jersey about to play at least. LOL

5/13/2012 1:25:48 AM

http://nflfilms.nfl.com/2012/06/13/cosell-talks-philip-rivers/

Quote :

"I’ve written many times about the attributes it takes to play quarterback consistently well in the NFL. Not many possess those traits as completely as Philip Rivers. Rivers certainly did not have his best season for the San Diego Chargers in 2011. But based on his previous five-year track record, I strongly believe he will rebound and have an outstanding year in 2012. From a public perception standpoint, Rivers is a fascinating case study. He has started for six years and has never missed a game. He’s led the NFL in touchdown passes (2008) and passing yards (2010). He’s eclipsed 4,000 yards passing in each of the past four seasons. He’s won playoff games with some outstanding performances. No one would dispute that Rivers is an excellent quarterback, one of the six or seven best in the league, depending on personal preferences. Yet, he’s never won an AFC championship — losing to the New England Patriots the only time he got there; of course, he was playing with a torn ACL — and therefore has never played in a Super Bowl. Rivers forces one to return to the age-old question: How important are Super Bowl appearances (and victories) when evaluating quarterbacks? Let’s put that in context, with recent history as our guide: Is Eli Manning a better quarterback than Rivers, simply because he’s won two Super Bowls? Is the ranking of quarterbacks solely a mathematical equation: The more Super Bowls you’ve played in (and won), the higher you should be ranked? I would strongly argue that quarterback evaluation is a little more subtle — and nuanced — than that. It doesn’t take much thought to say that a quarterback is ultimately judged by wins, but that reduces a complex, detailed set of parameters to a single, overly simplistic measurement. It ignores the process, and the factors, by which results are achieved. When you do that, you lose all objective analysis. It’s always easy to make judgments when you have access to the outcome, but that misses the point entirely. I have studied Rivers very closely in his six seasons as the Chargers’ starting quarterback. I have reached this conclusion: He is the toughest pocket passer in the NFL. To understand how to evaluate NFL quarterback play, you must begin with a basic premise: The position is played, first and foremost, from the pocket. Many characteristics, each of which can be tangibly identified and quantified, are necessary to do just that. One critical measure can be summarized as pocket toughness. There are a number of factors that define it. In the NFL, you have to be able to throw the ball effectively when the pass protection, for any number of reasons, is not sturdy and secure. It could be a stunt in which a looping defensive lineman is not blocked. It could be a blitz scheme in which a rusher is not accounted for and gets in clean. In either scenario, the quarterback must look down the gun barrel and release the ball knowing he is going to get hit. More often than not, it’s a situation in which the pocket gradually closes in, and the functional space to deliver the football is significantly reduced. The overriding point is you must throw the ball in the eye of the storm. It’s a compulsory attribute to play the position at a high level. Rivers does this better than any quarterback in the league. He plays in a Norv Turner offense that puts a premium on intermediate and downfield throws. That features a higher percentage of five- and seven-step drops. The ball, by design, does not necessarily come out quickly. The ideal timing of a five-step drop is 2.1 seconds; a seven-step drop is 2.6 seconds. (By contrast, the ball should come out on a three-step drop in 1.5 seconds.) More time in the pocket means more time for the pass rush to diminish space and minimize that comfortable cradle. Rivers does not flinch in the face of pressure. Even when it’s present, he still steps into his throws and delivers the ball with accuracy and velocity. And he has been doing this since 2006, his first year as a starter. Another aspect of Rivers’ play I have always appreciated is his inherent comprehension of the delicate balance between game management and risk taking. Many folks think the term “game manager” is a negative, i.e., a quarterback who must be managed and controlled because he’s not quite good enough to play aggressively without making the kinds of mistakes that lose games. That’s not the correct explanation of game manager. It’s better classified as a quarterback who understands game situations, and what those situations demand of his decisions. It’s third-and-10 early in the fourth quarter, the Chargers lead by more than one score and a pass play is called to attempt to get the first down. There is no clearly defined throw. The coverage won. Rivers intuitively knows that situation does not call for a stick throw into a tight window. You check it down, you throw an incompletion, you take a sack if it’s the best — or only — option. Conversely, if the Chargers were down by more than one score in that same scenario, Rivers would pull the trigger on a tough throw. That’s game management. In 2011, Rivers threw 20 interceptions, far more than he had thrown in any previous season. Interceptions don’t tell you much as an abstract number. You have to look at each one individually to evaluate it properly. As is always the case, the reasons were plentiful, but there’s no question Rivers struggled at times with both his accuracy and his decision making. It was especially apparent in a difficult five-game stretch in the middle of the season when he threw 10 interceptions. Over the last six games, Rivers was sharper, both with his ball location and his coverage recognition. That final month and a half trended more toward his career tendencies. Remember, Rivers is an intermediate and downfield thrower. Given that, his low career interception percentage (2.6) is remarkable. Rivers has always been an excellent deep-ball thrower. That’s an attribute rarely talked about in today’s NFL, with the league-wide focus on the quick passing game. In addition, Rivers is a very good progression reader. He has a great understanding of the myriad concepts that define his offense, and the multiple defensive fronts and coverages that he sees each week. It’s what I refer to as instant recall and application. His ability to transfer classroom to field is as good as any quarterback in the NFL. The word “elite” is often tossed around. Different people ascribe different meanings to it. We can debate whether it applies to Rivers. What I know is this: Rivers is an outstanding quarterback, by any measure. If it takes a Super Bowl win for some to see him that way, so be it. But a ring would not change what kind of player he is."

6/13/2012 3:08:13 PM

Great read, thanks

6/13/2012 4:02:35 PM

whoa whoa, why is this thread dead?

9/10/2012 10:21:54 PM

9/10/2012 10:41:52 PM

SACK!

Chargers D already looking like crap!

9/10/2012 10:43:46 PM

I hope Rivers can go to a competent team at the end of his six year contract, which I think ends in 2014. I also hope he stays focused and stops throwing interceptions so much.

9/10/2012 10:55:09 PM

Rivers actually had a pretty underrated season. His turnover problem at the beginning of last year made everyone think he sucked but by the end of the year he was pretty productive.

just missed an open TD to Floyd and a slightly off/slight missed catch by Gates there though

9/10/2012 10:57:51 PM

Both balls were catch-able, off their hands

9/10/2012 11:00:18 PM

that throw to Floyd was not catchable

9/10/2012 11:02:01 PM

first one was near impossible, ball was moving too high/hard and well out of bounds. Maybe Calvin Johnson catches that.

2nd one was catchable but a relatively tough one

9/10/2012 11:02:46 PM

9/10/2012 11:08:00 PM

TD Rivers to Floyd. Rivers looking pretty good so far.

9/10/2012 11:27:15 PM

just imagine how good he could be if he had a running back and/or an offensive line

9/10/2012 11:37:49 PM

The O-line actually looks good in pass protection...but horrible in run blocking.

Their defensive line sucks. I dont think Palmer's uniform has touched the grass since per-game warmups.

9/10/2012 11:43:31 PM

mckayla is only impressed with chargers football

9/10/2012 11:45:21 PM

Quote :

"Their defensive line sucks. I dont think Palmer's uniform has touched the grass since per-game warmups."

That line held Oakland to 45 rushing yards on 20 carries. They also sacked Palmer 3 times and hurried him numerous other times. I'd say that the front seven did its job. The chargers have spent most of their early picks the last few years on the defense, and its showing.

[Edited on September 11, 2012 at 2:00 AM. Reason : 2]

9/11/2012 2:00:04 AM

They must have done that in the 2nd half after I fell asleep. He was spotless in the first half.

That's good. The first few drives it looked like the Raiders were doing whatever they wanted...except that Palmer still sucks. If the Chargers can have at least an average run game...then they could be trouble this year.


Yeah...just looked and all three sacks came late in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Looks like they really put the clamps down in the 2nd half.

[Edited on September 11, 2012 at 6:54 AM. Reason : .]

9/11/2012 6:52:01 AM

Yeah the defense looked really good in the second half. Running game still nonexistent though.

9/11/2012 8:07:28 AM

Refs paid off in this game?

10/7/2012 11:31:25 PM

it was absurd.

10/7/2012 11:41:50 PM

When Faith Hill announced the the record would be broken I knew there was no hope. Conspiracy ya'll #canttrustnoone

10/7/2012 11:42:57 PM

just as many super bowls as Cam

10/7/2012 11:43:23 PM

The holding calls were legit...but the Gates PI call was pretty fucking ridiculous.

His left tackle should have subbed the fuck out. I understand playing through pain/fatigue...but that guy was barely moving.

Thank god I had a big day in fantasy. I was going Rivers/Floyd/Graham against Brees tonight. Graham gets hurt and Floyd and Rivers do okay...but Brees fucking tore it up. And Colston was a fucking beast.

[Edited on October 7, 2012 at 11:50 PM. Reason : .]

10/7/2012 11:45:52 PM

I, too, had rivers and floyd. and went against colston FML

10/7/2012 11:46:48 PM

My opponent had Colston.

fml.

10/7/2012 11:46:53 PM

Fix was in

10/8/2012 12:10:24 AM

up 25 with houston defense...going against foster and owen daniels

/fantasy thread post

10/8/2012 12:11:38 AM

Stick a fork in Rivers. He's been a below average QB for the past year and a half. You can make excuses all you want, but he's making bad decisions, bad throws, and seems to have lost a lot of velocity. Nice knowing ya asan elite QB for a few years.

Eli and Cutler are probably having a good laugh on the couch tonight.

10/15/2012 11:51:23 PM

he looked pretty good in the 1st half

and pretty horrible in the 4th quarter

10/15/2012 11:54:30 PM

^^I only half agree with you.

I'm trying to think of a QB who has been asked to do more with less than Rivers and actually had even average years. They haven't had a running back worth a shit in what, 6 or 7 years. His only legitimately good WR was Vincent Jackson and they let him go. Gates hasn't been the same since his foot injury. The O-line is shit, and the defense has really gone to hell as well.

Yeah, Rivers looks bad on occasion and he's probably on the downslope of his career at this point, but what does he have to work with?

10/16/2012 12:14:06 AM

^wanna get in to some laughably good stuff? Compare his weapons with the weapons of other great QB's in the league. I'll do it for you:

Brady: Welker, Branch, Gronk, Hernandez
Manning, P: D. Thomas, Decker, McGahee(all are infinitely better than anything SD has)
Manning, E: Nicks, Cruz, Bradshaw
Roethlisberger: Wallace, A. Brown, H. Miller
Rodgers: Jones, Nelson, Finley, Jennings
Cutler: Marshall, Forte
Ryan: Jones, White, Gonzalez, Turner, Douglas
Schaub: Johnson, Walter, Daniels, Foster
Brees: Colston, Graham
Stafford: Megatron, Burleson, Pettigrew

Rivers: special teams ace Floyd, Meachem, Eddie Royal, methusala gates, oft injured/fumbled matthews.....i mean wow

10/16/2012 5:33:00 AM

P riv has screwed my fantasy team for the last time!

10/16/2012 6:55:41 AM

Floyd and Gates are fine. Matthews has looked great the last couple games. Meachem has been an extremely solid #3 WR for the Saints for the past three years. Eddie Royal is "meh"...but it's not like he's being asked to be a go-to guy.

They're not the best WR corp in the league, but who the fuck has Tom Brady been throwing to for the majority of his career?? How about when Manning took Garcon, Collie, and an aging Wayne to the Super Bowl...he's never had a great running attack.

He just blew a 24 point lead....by himself. That's pretty fucking impressive. He also shit the bed against the Saints last week. The guy is being put in position to close out games and is simply not getting it done.

He's been getting "better-than-average" protection this year. No excuses. I think he's following the Carson Palmer career path. First half of career, you look like one of the elite QBs in the league...then its a big drop to where your team is ready to move on and shitty teams in the league make moves to get you because they think you might still "have it"...but you don't.



* By the way, he's on my fantasy team and I want him to throw for 5tds and 400+ yards a game. He's probably my favorite NFL players as well, but he's just not getting it done right now and I normally have a pessimistic outlook in regards to these things. Eli has easily passed him, and it's kind of painful to watch. He looks like a 5-year old, whining after every bad throw. Its no wonder everyone has a bad impression of him.

10/16/2012 7:02:43 AM

I'm dropping Phil not only from my fantasy team, but from my life

10/16/2012 7:11:41 AM

I'm keeping him for a little while longer just in case he turns everything around. He's given me a couple good weeks, but I've got Flacco as my other QB and he's put up better numbers so far. I think Russel is still available and if he has another solid week, he'll be my new back-up.

10/16/2012 7:17:26 AM

Lol jbrick couldn't wait to come in here and troll. He is absolutely giddy about rivers having a bad night.

Did the chargers d ever get around to forcing an incompletion in the 2nd half? I went to bed at the start if the 4th and they hadn't yet.

10/16/2012 7:35:01 AM

Nah...they were actually playing against a good QB.

And I've held off on criticizing Rivers through his mediocre year so far. I really don't see how you can take up for him right now.

10/16/2012 7:41:24 AM

He had a bad night, I'm not defending the game he had. Just noticing how happy you are about it.

And I think it is interesting that he is your fantasy qb considering you have claimed he is a below average starter over the past 2 seasons, and you have been the first to call him crap every time he has under a perfect qb rating for the past 5 years.

It's almost as if you use the "he's my fantasy qb" angle as a nice excuse to troll, like jaybee conveniently betting on the pack every time we lose. Either that or you are just really dumb.

[Edited on October 16, 2012 at 7:55 AM. Reason : ]

10/16/2012 7:54:42 AM

I didn't draft him or acquire him last year when he was struggling.

I only drafted him this year after I had already picked two RBs (Foster and Charles) and a TE (Graham). I kept hoping someone would pick him up to save me from drafting him, because I'm unfortunately still biased and thought he was going to rebound from last year. But after a somewhat decent start to the season, he looks like he's making the same mistakes he made last year.

I probably shit on him so much because he is my favorite player. He was the QB for 3 of the 4 years I was at State. And for some reason I have a bunch of friends who are Giants and Bronco fans and give me a ton of shit about Eli and Denver. It's just disappointing.

10/16/2012 8:15:47 AM

Quote :

"but who the fuck has Tom Brady been throwing to for the majority of his career??"

Randy Moss and Wes Welker are better than any WR PR has had.

10/16/2012 10:35:32 AM

LOL at people making excuses for Rivers. He is what he is what he always has been...an accurate passer with mediocre arm strength and questionable decision making. He tries to make too many throws into tight windows, ignores the open guy underneath, and pouts like an infant when things don't go his way. At his peak, he was a top 10 guy, but he's regressed to the point where he's arguably not even top 20.

10/16/2012 10:38:35 AM

Quote :

"Floyd and Gates are fine. Matthews has looked great the last couple games. Meachem has been an extremely solid #3 WR for the Saints for the past three years. Eddie Royal is "meh"...but it's not like he's being asked to be a go-to guy."

Floyd is fine. As a #3 WR. Gates is not the superstar he once was. Hell, Dante Rosario might be just as good now.

10/16/2012 10:53:34 AM

I used to get trolled A LOT here when I talked about Russell being a better QB than rivers.

Turns out I was right.


That being said, rivers is still a decent nfl QB and he was actually really good his senior year at state after struggling his soph/Jr seasons.

10/16/2012 10:55:18 AM

Quote :

"Randy Moss and Wes Welker are better than any WR PR has had."

Moss had 2 productive seasons with the Patriots.

Welker was a little-used punt returner for the Dolphins before blowing up with the Patriots.

Brady does have some bad-ass Tight Ends right now...but he's had below average running backs and mostly #3 WRs for the majority of his career.

Up until the last two years (his most unproductive)....Philip has had GREAT WR corps. And again...they aren't the best in the league, but they are adequate this year. They also aren't the ones that are under throwing and making dumb decisions. Stop with the excuses.

10/16/2012 10:59:24 AM

From 2006

10/16/2012 11:01:55 AM

Watch and learn, the sandwich trolling technique from the master!

10/16/2012 11:02:42 AM

Quote :

"He is what he is what he always has been...an accurate passer with mediocre arm strength and questionable decision making."

So, Drew Brees

Quote :

"Up until the last two years (his most unproductive)....Philip has had GREAT WR corps."

Who did he have in 2010?

[Edited on October 16, 2012 at 11:22 AM. Reason : ]

10/16/2012 11:22:08 AM

Brees is far superior in every way save for height and GIF-ability

10/16/2012 11:24:34 AM