With Philip Rivers’ Career Slowing To A Halt, Only A ‘Super’ Ring Is Missing
Put another candle on the birthday cake, as Sheriff John used to sing (look him up, millennials).
That should be the working title for the Chargers 2017 highlight reel.
The team made a smooth commute from San Diego to Los Angeles this past summer. The band-box stadium where they played was better suited for a Mater Dei High School home game, but it will do for a couple years.
Stumbled Out Of The Starting Gate
The team stalled at the start, like a steeplechase horse refusing the first barrier, but recovered and fought back from an 0-4 start to get in the race — they finished one game behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the West Division.
There were many positives to eyeball during the Chargers return to Los Angeles.
All that did was age quarterback Philip Rivers. He is one year older and no closer to a Super Bowl appearance.
Time Is Running Out!
The clock is ticking.
The Chargers looked like a team in transition the past year, from packing up the moving vans to hiring Coach Anthony Lynn, who preached a meat-and-potatoes running game to a team accustomed to a wing-it-and-fling-it style.
They set up shop in L.A. where the Raiders remain the fan favorite despite playing in Oakland (for now) and the Rams were cultivating their old fan base with a resurgence.
Young Studs!
Yet the Chargers were able to trot out fresh faces that can be folded neatly into a marketing campaign.
- Defensive ends Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram seemed to take turns battering quarterbacks.
- Melvin Gordon continues to grow as a running back, topping 1,000 yards for the first time (1,105).
- Receiver Keenan Allen gave weekly demonstrations on what he can do when healthy, finishing with 102 receptions for 1,393 yards.
- Tre Boston and Trevor Williams helped make an already talented secondary one of the best in the NFL.
That is the foundation on which the [begitalic] Los Angeles [enditlatic] Chargers will be built.
And just where does that leave Rivers?
The clock is ticking.
Where Is Rivers’ Ring?
Rivers turned 36 in December as his 14th NFL season lurched to a close. Beyond the career numbers and his standing among quarterback peers — which will follow shortly — he has given the team Gunga Din-like service.
Fans see him go ballistic on the field and know he truly cares. They see him admonish teammates and know there is accountability. They see him take that first snap every game — 201 consecutive starts and counting — and know he is reliable.
So would a Super Bowl be too much to ask from the team in return?
The clock is ticking.
Awkward Beginning!
Rivers made a controversial entrance into the NFL, through no fault of his own. Eli Manning wanted no part of San Diego. The Manning Royal Family orchestrated a trade to the New York Giants after the Chargers took Eli first overall.
Rivers, the fourth overall pick, was shipped to the Chargers. The two quarterbacks were forever linked from that point.
They both can be found near the top of the NFL’s all-time passing lists. Manning ranks sixth in yards passing (51,682) and eighth in touchdown passes (339).
Rivers ranks ninth in yards (50,348) and tied for sixth in touchdowns (342).
Only one thing provides separation in comparison: Super Bowls. Manning has been to two, winning both.
Super Spectator
Rivers has consistently been at home, presumably watching the game on TV, although with eight children he might not have the time.
Certainly Rivers has been worthy. He guided the Chargers into the playoffs five times between 2006 and 2013 and even put them in the 2007 AFC championship game.
But the Chargers have not been to the playoffs since 2013.
The clock is ticking.
Of course, there are Charger fans who gripe about the team keeping Rivers and dispatching Drew Brees. They are revisionists. The move was a smart one.
Brees, who is two years older than Rivers, suffered a severe shoulder injury near the end of the 2005 season. He required surgery to repair a torn labrum in the shoulder of his throwing arm.
Take A Hike
The team was already heavily invested in Rivers and allowed Brees to walk as a free agent.
He continued to pile up yards and touchdown passes with the New Orleans Saints, and now ranks third in passing yards (70,445) and tied for third in touchdown passes (488). Rivers is not too far behind in either category.
Ah, but there’s that pesky Super Bowl again.
Brees took the Saints there in 2009, beating Indianapolis Colts, and could get a return trip this season.
It doesn’t end there. Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, taken seven spots below Rivers in the 2004 draft, has played in three Super Bowls and won two.
So it is understandable if Charger fans go around humming Beyonce’s “Single Lady.” Rivers has never put a ring on it.
The clock is ticking.
Chargers All About Today, Not Tomorrow
Rivers won’t get many more chances. Fortunately for him, the Chargers are far from a rebuilding frame of mind, not with the need to create a fan base from scratch.
The Rams may have been hated for moving to St. Louis, but enough fans stayed loyal to welcome them home.
Very few actually attended Chargers games in 1960 — their only previous season in L.A. — and attrition has cut into that number. After 56 years, death from natural causes has certainly taken its toll.
The Chargers need to win now, especially if the Rams are for real. So breaking in a new quarterback is a non-starter, especially when their current model is capable of handling a few more miles.
The chore becomes augmenting the talent base.
Chargers Could Have Kicked Themselves!
The go-to demand is for a kicker.
The Chargers went through four during the 2017 season because of injury and incompetence.
It can be argued that Younghoe Koo’s missed field goals against Denver and Miami at the start of the season cost the Chargers a playoff spot.
It can also be argued that the team’s clumsy finish against Jacksonville and the pathetic performance in Kansas City late in the season cost them as well.
There are no shortages of quality legs. A kicker will be found. The Rams found Sam Ficken in a brokerage firm for example.
Other areas need personnel upgrades.
Run, Run, Run
The defensive line is formidable. The secondary solid. In between, the Chargers have holes, big ones that running backs rumbled through.
Their linebackers weren’t often up to the task of tackling, which pretty much is a prerequisite for the job. When linebacker Denzel Perryman was injured, teams trampled the defense like wine grapes.
The offensive line was better. Rivers was sacked 18 times last season, which was 18 fewer than in 2016. Less pressure meant less panic. Rivers had 10 passes intercepted last season compared to his career-high 21 in 2016.
Lynn, though, wants to pound teams with the running game, as former running backs who become coaches often desire.
The Chargers were not always up to that task. A little more tinkering is in order, as well as the healthy return of guard Forrest Lamp, the team’s second round pick in 2017.
There will be the usual payroll wrangling, a rodeo every team experiences. But an improved line and a couple linebackers who know how to use arms could finally get Rivers that spotlight dance in the Super Bowl.
The clock is ticking.
image: fineartamerica.com/featured/vince-lombardi-trophy-vidal-ortiz.html
Chris Foster
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