He panics in the pocket, which makes him unpredictable and incapable of establishing a rhythm. If you watch him you can see it. There is no three-step back, progression, pass. His dropback always changes and he gets happy feet in a perfectly good pocket. It's like someone pumps him full of amphetamines before every game.
Not only that, but he doesn't make the throws consistently as a result of not always throwing off his front foot. He's obviously still a bit shell shocked due to the beating he took earlier in the year and doesn't seem to trust that he'll have time/space to throw correctly. He's making easy passes look hard as a result and leaving a lot of yards on the board. He looks very good when he has good footwork, he just doesn't have good footwork often enough. I hope they're pointing this out to him when they watch tape, because it's pretty obvious.
I don't get enough Chargers games to have an informed take on Rivers' footwork. However, if that is a big problem for him, that's actually a good thing, because it is correctable. It kind of makes you wonder why the coaching staff hasn't worked with him on it this season. Do the Chargers have a QB coach?Also, for those who have seen a lot of his games last year and this year, was this not a problem last year?
I'd think the coaching staff is working on it, I just think he's rattled and his head isn't in the right place much of the time this year, as jonessed mentioned. His predilection to let external things get into his head is effecting is game, you can see it, and I've been talking about it all year. It's really mental with him, although lately he's had the knee problem too. He did have the same problem last year, but not as often. The line was much better in pass protection last year, giving him fewer occasions to get spooked.You can trace nearly every bad throw this year (and there have been tons) to bad footwork, some happy feet and impatience, but mainly a failure to step into his throws. It all boils down to composure and concentration - two things he's really lacked this year. I hope Norv pulls a Phil Jackson and puts together a video of all the meltdowns and mental lapses Rivers has had this year, sits him down and makes him watch it and if somehow Rivers still doesn't get it, emphasizes that it's not o.k. to operate that way as a starting NFL QB.
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Chris Chambers?
We just don't know how banged up he has been the last few weeks, I suspect he could've used some time off but didn't take/demand it.
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