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Honestly, I find it hard to gauge the San Diego Chargers. They have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, have won the AFC West three seasons in a row, and draft incredibly well. So why haven’t they won the big one yet?
In my opinion, it has nothing to do with the players, and it’s mainly the coaching staff. Norv Turner has to go, as he doesn’t utilize the Chargers strengths.
Really, he’s not much of a head coach, but more of an offensive genius. The Chargers have talent at just about every position, so it reveals a lot about the coaches when they haven’t been to a Super Bowl yet.
There are tons of good players on the Chargers, like Antonio Gates, Shawne Merriman, Antonio Cromartie, Darren Sproles, and Vincent Jackson. But the best one? Definitely quarterback Philip Rivers.
Rivers entered the NFL draft in 2004, and was selected by the New York Giants, but since the Chargers pick, Eli Manning, didn’t want to play in a San Diego uniform, the Chargers traded Eli to New York for Rivers.
Four months later, the Decatur, Ala., native signed a six-year, $40.5M deal. With the developing Drew Brees already on the roster, the selection and signing of Rivers was controversial.
In fact, it ranks as one of the best quarterback controversies of all time, up there with Montana-Young, Simms-Hostetler, and even Brady-Bledsoe.
In the first two years, he combined to go 17-for-30 with 148 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, and he didn’t start a game.
But after the 2005 season, the Chargers elected not to bring Brees back, and let Rivers get the starting job for 2006. Boy, was that a good move.
The Chargers went 14-2, and Rivers had 3,388 yards, 22 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. In a Nov. 12 game against Cincinnati, the Chargers were down 28-7 at the half.
Former San Diego center Nick Hardwick reminisces: “He's yelling ‘Y'all don't think we're out of this’ to the Bengals. When he said that, I said, 'Shoot, I guess we ain't out of this. Right on.’”
So what happened? The Chargers scored 42 points in the second half , winning the game, 49-41. That’s a leader.
In the playoffs, the Chargers faced the always tough New England Patriots. Rivers struggled, going 14-of-32 with 230 yards and an interception, as the Chargers lost, 24-21.
But would he come back? Absolutely. Under Norv Turner, the Chargers went 11-5.
Rivers didn’t have the best year, with 3,152 yards, 21 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, and an 82.4 rating. It clearly wasn’t as good a year as the prior one, but he showed that tremendous leadership.
After a 14-3 win over the Bears in Week 1, the Bolts lost three straight, to the Patriots, Packers, and Chiefs. At this point, they’re 1-3, and in trouble.
But Rivers and the Chargers came back to win ten of the next 12, and even advance to the AFC Championship. It started with a 41-3 win over the Broncos in which Rivers went 13-of-18 with 270 yards and two touchdowns, and from then on, it was tough to stop them.
He came through when it mattered. At 5-5, the chances of the Chargers going to the playoffs were looking dim. But in the next six games, the Chargers outscored their opponents, 183-75, and didn’t lose.
They even won their next two in the playoffs, beating the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts. In the AFC Championship, San Diego lost to the New England Patriots (18-0 through that game).
But during that game, Rivers turned in one of the gutsiest performances in NFL history. Against a stout New England defense, he played on a torn ACL, and he announced after the game that it would take six months to fully heal.
And once it healed, you could bet he’d be back. Not only did he return, he had the best year of his career...and that’s a huge accomplishment. His 105.5 passer rating led the NFL, he had 34 touchdowns (a Chargers franchise record), and after a 4-8 start, he led his Chargers back again.
Week 15 pretty much sums up his career, to me. The Bolts are playing the Kansas City Chiefs, and it’s not looking good early. Down 7-0 with 10:53 left in the second quarter, Rivers fumbles, and it’s recovered by the Chiefs.
Down 21-10 with 1:13 left, he throws a touchdown to Malcolm Floyd. That’s great and all, but game over, right?
Actually, no. An onside kick was recovered by San Diego. However, the Chargers still needed to drive 61 yards and score a touchdown. A field goal wouldn’t win it. He calmly threw a 41-yard strike to Vincent Jackson, putting the Chargers on the 20-yard line.
And with 36 seconds left, Rivers hit Jackson again...this time for a touchdown. Think about this...Rivers had thrown for two touchdowns in a span of 73 seconds to lead his Chargers from a 21-10 deficit to a 22-21 win.
And then, in Week 17, the Chargers beat their top rival, the Denver Broncos, 52-21, to win the division.
In the playoffs, Rivers led the Bolts past Peyton Manning’s Colts. Well, to be honest, Darren Sproles won that game, but Rivers did play well. In the next round, they played the eventual Super Bowl winning Pittsburgh Steelers, and he played better than just about anyone else had that year.
He went 21-of-35, threw for 308 yards, and had three touchdowns. To put that in other words, that’s like a defense holding this year’s New Orleans Saints to 200 yards and seven points.
In the offseason, he was awarded with a six-year, $92M extension. New contract, new Rivers? Nope. New contract, same (arguably better) Rivers.
He’s had two extremely gutty games. In Week 2 against Baltimore, he threw for 415 yards and two touchdowns, doing basically anything a quarterback could do to win, but the Ravens won, 31-26.
Oh yeah, in Week 4 against Pittsburgh, with his team trailing 28-7 after three quarters, he threw three touchdowns to make it 35-28, but his defense couldn’t hold it, as San Diego lost, 38-28.
Oh, and in Week 9, he threw a touchdown with less than a minute left at the Meadowlands to beat the team who traded him, the New York Giants.
San Diego Chargers fans don’t know how lucky they are. With Rivers, not only do they have an elite quarterback, they have one who has the heart of a champion. With him at the helm, the Chargers are never out of it.
In every game this year, he’s played well, and the reason for the team’s demise in three games has been mainly defense, and now that the defense has figured it out, watch out for the Chargers.
In my opinion, he deserved the MVP last year. Peyton Manning, the winner, had seven fewer yards, seven fewer touchdowns, and one more interception. On top of that, Rivers and the Chargers beat Manning in the playoffs.
In his career, Rivers has 12,942 yards, 92 touchdowns, 42 interceptions, and a 38-18 record.
Remember last year? When the Broncos had a comfortable road to the AFC West title, and Rivers and the Chargers stormed back to win it? I have a feeling it’s happening again.
Once, the Chargers were 3-3 and the Broncos were 6-0, but now, the Chargers are 5-3, while the Broncos are 6-2, so this year could be more of the same.
Rivers provides everything you could ask out of a quarterback. Toughness: he played on a torn ACL in the 2007 AFC Championship. Gaudy statistics: where do I start? Clutch ability: Multiple dramatic comebacks.
That’s the ultimate gamer.
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