Antonio Gates (1 Viewer)

[Despyzer]

it just seems Rivers can't put the game on his shoulders and win it... where as Anderson has that ability.

You should have seen the Tennessee game. The Chargers were getting their butts handed to them on both sides of the ball for three quarters. Nobody was playing well and everyone was angry and blaming everyone else. Rivers got hurt and had to come out of the game. Volek comes in and throws an INT. Rivers is hobbled but realizes his team needs him and comes back in. He had a phenomenal 4th quarter and really rallied his team to a win in a situation that could have been a HUGE emotional setback for the Chargers. He CAN do it, but he doesn't do it consistently enough to win anyone's appreciation just yet. I have faith that that day is coming though.

 

[Gr00vus]

Again, does SD have a quarterbacks coach? This type of thing sounds exactly like what a QBs coach would work on one-on-one with a QB, both during the offseason and in season.Also, looking at his game logs, I see that he has had 6 games with QB rating of 101.7 or higher... and 9 games with QB rating of 74.2 or lower... no games between 74.3 and 101.6. Truly a Jekyll-Hyde season to date. Last season, he only had 2 of 16 games below 75.0, with 10 games of 90 or better. Hard to attribute such a dropoff merely to bad footwork, happyh feet, and impatience... but I hope you are right, since those things will improve with age/maturity, more experience, more film work, and better coaching.

They do have a QB coach - John Ramsdell. He was with the Rams from 1999-2002 and 2004-2005. He helped develop Warner and Bulger. He was with the Chargers last year. I can't think of a better QB coach to have.In addition there's Norv, who's been an excellent developer of QBs throughout his career.Like I said before I think the physical flaws are mainly attributable to mental flaws, particularly composure and concentration. You can coach all you want, but if the player can't keep their composure and concentrate on a consistent basis - well you get results exactly like what we've seen from Rivers this year. Wild swings from game to game, quarter to quarter, even play to play. The coaches can only do so much. At this point it's really up to Rivers - he needs to decide he's going to keep his head where it should be all game long, all season long and actually keep it there. The coaches can help guide him in that process, but they can't think for him and keep his emotions in check on the field, during the game, and that's where his failings have been this year. In his bad games you can see him getting swept away with the flow of the game, letting external events and his emotions totally rule him, instead of managing the game and himself like championship QBs do.

 

[gheemony]

Since we're on the topic of Rivers, I think he's a buy low. He's the son of a football coach. He's struggled in his second full year as a starter. I expect that he'll work his tail off to improve his game and will get back to where he was headed after year one as a starter. He's got a nice OL, a RB to dump off passes too, a stud TE for the red zone, and some decent WRs.

I see him as a good buy low like Big Ben two years ago. This team will evolve as LT gets older. When the team is forced to be less reliant on LT, Rivers' role will increase. Buy now in dynasty. Temper your expectations for a year as he gets settled and SD continues to rely on LT, but he'll eventually get it.