P-Riv is my dogg!!! Philip Rivers is a winner. As if you needed me to tell you that. Since he has been starting in the NFL, he has gotten 13 wins in 15 tries. This most recent win on the chilly, wet, and wind-whipped day in Seattle against the reigning NFC Champion Seahawks is just more proof of his uncanny knack for winning. (You should enjoy this excerpt) A week after being named to the Pro-Bowl over the lovable Thomas Edward Brady Jr. and listening to national "analysts" rant about an undeserving Rivers, Philip delivered again. Rivers' fourth quarter performance was actually quite Brady-esque. Agreed, Brady is Pro Bowl caliber because it's never about the numbers. It's about what it says on the scoreboard at the end of the game. The only thing that matters are letters – L or W. Rivers gift-wrapped a perfect spiral to Vincent Jackson in the end zone with the game on the line, and got it to him right on the word "Seahawks" stenciled on the turf. And guess which letter Jackson was standing on when he caught it? Right. The "W." Could it have happened any other way? After all, it was Christmas Eve…no "L."
The thing about Rivers that continues to amaze is his propensity for making plays when you absolutely need him to, and doing it with the casual confidence that underscores his spirit. Shoot, he was doing it in short sleeves, on a flat-out nasty weather day. Most quarterbacks would bundle up – Rivers was, yes… sleeveless in Seattle. (Sorry.)
There he was when you needed him most. After another day of frustration, the Gosh N' Golly Kid rallied the troops, and insisted after the game he never needed to say anything special to do it. "This is not to sound cocky," he assured reporters after the game. "We all just honestly felt that with 2:00 left and the ball in our hands, we were going to win that game. It just didn't dawn on us that the outcome would be any different."
On the plane ride home, the quarterback and the coach were among those assembled for a while back by the plates of shrimp cocktail, and you could tell they enjoyed rehashing those final minutes.
"Boy, that 'one play at a time' thing really works," the quarterback gushed to his head coach, and both men laughed, but both men knew it to be true.
Marty preaches "one play at a time" every Sunday, and Philip has bought into it completely. At the time of the deciding play, Rivers had been 9-for-29. But purging that from his mind – with that ridiculously loud crowd screaming, and the rain sloshing off his helmet – Rivers simply stepped up, noticed safety Michael Boulware cheating in to contain Antonio Gates, and heaved his most beautiful pass in three weeks into the waiting arms of his new-favorite target. Jackson – who had dropped a ball at the 15 just minutes before – cradled the spiral like it was a baby. Touchdown, San Diego. Hello, 13-2. Our Chargers still need to win this week to guarantee home field throughout the playoffs. They will have to do it against a surging Arizona Cardinals team with nothing to play for except a low draft pick. We should wrap up home field and be ready to fasten our seat belts for what will be a face paced, hard hitting AFC playoffs.
GO CHARGERS!!!
P.S. My wife gave me an amazing powder blue P-Riv Jersey for Christmas.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
P-Riv Update: Week 15
P-Riv is my dogg!!!
Philip Rivers is human after all (LT is not). A week after throwing for almost 300 yards and a passer rating near 140, Rivers was humbled. He finished the night just 8-for-23 passing for 97 yards with two interceptions. Throughout the game, he could be seen scolding himself. So frustrated after throwing a lame duck in the 3rd quarter, he ripped his helmet off and threw it toward the bench shouting, “GOD ALMIGHTY!” Clearly, P-Riv is not used to sub-par performances.
Even still, it is amazing to see his team support him following such a tough game. Speaking of his uncompromising nature, Marlon Mcree said, “You could see his competitiveness, his fire. He wanted so badly to make a play. When you see the emotion that Philip showed tonight, it tells you how important it is to him.” And Lights Out said, “He's very intense. That guy really hates to make mistakes. It's the worst thing I've ever seen, because he really gets on himself before he gets on anybody else. But he's a perfectionist. That's why we love having him. We're going to go a long way with that guy.” Everyone loves our man, Philip Rivers.
As for the team performance, it took a little bit of everything to dominate the way my beloved Chargers did. We saw a more trickeration with a direct snap to Michael Turner on a fake punt that kept the opening drive alive. We saw a fluky blocked punt result in another first down for the Bolts. We saw a decisive defense sack Trent Green 6 times and hold the 2nd best running back in the league to just 84 yards. And, of course, we got a Thanksgiving dinner size helping of LT (199 yards, 2 TDs).
Bottom Line: The San Diego Super Chargers avenged an early season loss to the KC Chiefs to win their franchise record tying 12th game. P-Riv is now 12-2 as a starter! The Chargers have won 8 straight and still have their mind set on gaining home field advantage throughout the playoffs. By the way, Qualcomm Stadium has gotten loud and has become a big asset.
After watching a game where the quarterback struggles and the Bolts still win easily, you realize what a complete team they have. Rivers spoke of the 3 aspects of the game in his press conference. Offense, Defense, and Special Teams. Our Chargers are extremely strong in all 3.
Our Chargers travel north to face the sinking Seahawks at 4:15 next Sunday and finish the season at home against the offensively talented Arizona Cardinals. Expect a bounce back effort from P-Riv in both games.
Notes:
LT has pretty much solidified his MVP status.
- LT’s 85 yard TD was the longest run of his career.
- That run gave him 186 points which breaks the single season scoring record of 176 that stood for 46 years.
- LT has 31 total TDs and 28 rushing, which is the most rushing TDs in a season ever. He has also thrown for 2, which are not counted in the total.
- LT broke another record by having 8 multi-TD games in a row.
- PR had a passer rating of, gulp, 12.4.
- PR has only had 5 games with a passer rating below 90, all wins.
- PR’s 91.5 passer rating is higher than the first 14 games of Kosar, P. Manning, T. Brady, and Roethlisberger
- This same guy has 3 daughters.
We all have to feel good about P-Riv and our San Diego Chargers' chances to get to the Super Bowl.
GO CHARGERS!!!
P.S. I debated on whether or not to include this: Rivers is not one to make excuses and in all the post-game conversations, he has not mentioned it. But…Rivers is hurt, not injured, but hurt. His lower pinky and right hand is sore, he still has a slightly bruised right shoulder, and his right leg was rolled on in the first quarter and he did not seem to being putting full weight on it during throws. I will not use this as an excuse, but rather a possible explanation for his throwing woes.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
P-Riv Update: Week 14
P-Riv is my dogg!!!
I’m running out of superlatives here. Another scintillating performance by Mr. Rivers and the AFC West Champion Chargers. They just keep winning. It is a beautiful thing to watch and cheer for.
Its almost tough to talk about Rivers here…not because he did not have an amazing game (15 of 23 for 279 yards 2 TDs no INTS and a QB rating of 136!), but because it was such a great overall team effort, from the coaching staff down. 6 receivers caught passes, 4 backs had rushes, and 16 defenders made tackles. Cam Cameron made some great calls, especially the fumble-rooskie trickeration that got Lorenzo Neal his first TD in 3 years. Marty let P-Riv air it out in the first half and P-Riv capitalized with precision passing, hitting on every long pass he threw. Cromartie looked great returning the ball on kick-offs, except the fumble. Kaeding was 2/2 of field goals and 6/6 on PATs. He also had a few touchbacks. Scifres landed 2/3 punts inside the 20. I could go on and on and on, but you’re getting the point. Basically, if you were a Chargers player, coach, trainer, fan, or water boy, you had a good game yesterday.
El Tee
It really seems unfair, doesn’t it? How can one team be so fortunate to have P-Riv and Ladainian at the same time? What can you say? LT is tremendous. He continues to delight with 7 straight games of 100+ yards, 7 straight multiple touchdown games, and 29 touchdowns in just 13 weeks. Following Lights Out’s sack and subsequent fumble recovery in the fourth quarter, everyone sensed history was just around the corner. 1st and goal. You could hear the fans chanting, ‘LT! LT! LT! I knew it, you knew it, the fans at the stadium knew it, the viewers at home knew it, Mike Shanahan knew it, the Broncos’ defense knew it; LT is going to get the ball, but they still couldn’t stop him. Run off left tackle, one quick move to elude Darrent Williams, a sudden acceleration to the front corner of the end zone, and LT finds pay dirt for the 29th time this season. The difficulty of scoring 29 touchdowns in the National Football League would be comparable to me beating Usher, Michael Jackson, Paula Abdul, Prince, K-Fed, Derek Zoolander, and 23 other professional dancers in a dance-off. Possible, but highly unlikely.
As usual, this guy seems so nice it is almost sickening. “We made history today,” Tomlinson said. “There is no better feeling than to be able to share it with the group of guys that are in this locker room.” LT is special. Regarding his skills and knack for success, one reader sent me an email this morning saying, “I think Tomlinson might be the closest team athlete to Jordan I've seen.”
All of his teammates and coaches had uniquely positive things to say. Said Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer, “I don’t want to embarrass him, but for all the skills he has as a player, they pale in comparison to the person.” I hate to harp on a subject, but are you serious? Now his coach thinks he is one of the greatest persons ever. Lets just focus on his football abilities. We all know he is very, very good.
LT. Thank you.
Our Chargers seem to be the class of the NFL and now lead the AFC. It is a great year to be a Chargers fan. I hope everyone has added a lot of Chargers gear to their Christmas list and you all need to go to http://www.nfl.com/probowl
GO CHARGERS!
Monday, December 4, 2006
P-Riv Update: Week 13
P-Riv is my dogg.
Philip and my Chargers let us breathe easy for the majority of the game yesterday, which was a nice change. They jumped to a 17-0 halftime lead and did not really look back, beating the Bills 24-21 on a blustery day in Buffalo.
The much improved and feisty Bills made us work a little in the 2nd half. My beloved Chargers gave them 2 short fields thanks to a fumble and long punt return. After those plays, a five-yard Willis McGahee run made it a 17-14 game as momentum appeared to swing.
Then along came that long drive that the Chargers so desperately needed. After failing to move the ball more than 30 yards on their first four drives of the second half, they got into a rhythm. Mixing short passes in with a heavy dose of LT, the Bolts marched 80 yards in 13 plays and ate up 8:06 of the game clock before LT scored his league-best 26th touchdown of the season on a two-yard run.
McCardell, speaking of the long scoring drive, noted,” That drive really solidified us as a true contender. On the road in a hostile environment, an 80-yard drive, that means a lot. It shows people that when our backs are against the wall, we can come out and respond.”
Our man, Rivers, was an efficient 17-for-29 for 160 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.
The howling winds and freezing temperatures did not seem to bother LT as he finished the day with 178 yards on 28 carries, giving him his sixth-consecutive 100-yard game and allowing him to claim the league lead in rushing yards with 1,324 on the season.
This brings us to another interesting topic. Ladainian Tomlinson. Throughout the season, and several times yesterday, members of the media have talked about LT as the best football player in the world and possibly in history. This very well may be true. I do not know enough about the history of the game to speak to this point, but he seems like a great football player. Here in lies the problem. I have observed some of these very same analysts who have commented on LT’s football skills talk about him as a person. Many analysts say,” As great as he is on the football field, he’s an even better person.” LT may be the greatest football player ever. LT is a better person than he is a football player. Follow this logic and you can conclude that LT is quite possible the greatest person that ever lived or at least deserves mention in the conversation. Do I need to extrapolate this any further? I didn’t think so. Hint: If you are speaking to a national audience, make sure that what you are saying makes sense before you say it.
Our Chargers head back to the warmth to face a tough, but slipping, Denver Broncos team at 4:15 EST next Sunday.
Now, everyone go vote for P-Riv and all the other Chargers for the Pro Bowl.
http://www.nfl.com/probowl/ballot
GO CHARGERS!
Philip and my Chargers let us breathe easy for the majority of the game yesterday, which was a nice change. They jumped to a 17-0 halftime lead and did not really look back, beating the Bills 24-21 on a blustery day in Buffalo.
The much improved and feisty Bills made us work a little in the 2nd half. My beloved Chargers gave them 2 short fields thanks to a fumble and long punt return. After those plays, a five-yard Willis McGahee run made it a 17-14 game as momentum appeared to swing.
Then along came that long drive that the Chargers so desperately needed. After failing to move the ball more than 30 yards on their first four drives of the second half, they got into a rhythm. Mixing short passes in with a heavy dose of LT, the Bolts marched 80 yards in 13 plays and ate up 8:06 of the game clock before LT scored his league-best 26th touchdown of the season on a two-yard run.
McCardell, speaking of the long scoring drive, noted,” That drive really solidified us as a true contender. On the road in a hostile environment, an 80-yard drive, that means a lot. It shows people that when our backs are against the wall, we can come out and respond.”
Our man, Rivers, was an efficient 17-for-29 for 160 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.
The howling winds and freezing temperatures did not seem to bother LT as he finished the day with 178 yards on 28 carries, giving him his sixth-consecutive 100-yard game and allowing him to claim the league lead in rushing yards with 1,324 on the season.
This brings us to another interesting topic. Ladainian Tomlinson. Throughout the season, and several times yesterday, members of the media have talked about LT as the best football player in the world and possibly in history. This very well may be true. I do not know enough about the history of the game to speak to this point, but he seems like a great football player. Here in lies the problem. I have observed some of these very same analysts who have commented on LT’s football skills talk about him as a person. Many analysts say,” As great as he is on the football field, he’s an even better person.” LT may be the greatest football player ever. LT is a better person than he is a football player. Follow this logic and you can conclude that LT is quite possible the greatest person that ever lived or at least deserves mention in the conversation. Do I need to extrapolate this any further? I didn’t think so. Hint: If you are speaking to a national audience, make sure that what you are saying makes sense before you say it.
Our Chargers head back to the warmth to face a tough, but slipping, Denver Broncos team at 4:15 EST next Sunday.
Now, everyone go vote for P-Riv and all the other Chargers for the Pro Bowl.
http://www.nfl.com/probowl/ballot
GO CHARGERS!
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