The 2004 NFL Draft will always be one of the memorable drafts of memory. That’s when we saw three quarterbacks who would become very well known to the common football fan begin their journeys in the NFL. I’m talking about Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and Philip Rivers. The Chargers shocked me when they traded for Philip when they had a guy named Drew Brees. Weirdly all worked out for them. Brees didn’t come back and number 17 became their quarterback. After 14 years, the Chargers and the long-time quarterback parted ways. As expected, he has now signed with the Indianapolis Colts.
The one thing people don’t realize about him is he’s a ball of energy. As a player, the one thing people notice about him is the awkward throwing motion. It looks strange, but he gets the ball to his receiver. Philip plays with the gunslinger mentality. He can make the awkward throws or those passes on the run with a moving pocket. In the clutch, he’s as cool as they come. One game I think of was in 2018 against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead. With the game on the line, he connected on pass after pass. Eventually, he led the Chargers down the field for the go-ahead touchdown pass on a fade to Mike Williams. He’s also tough. I often think of the 2008 AFC Championship game. He played with a torn ACL and meniscus.
I think this will be a good fit for both the veteran and the quarterback. His new head coach is a former quarterback. Then, he’ll have a new weapon in T.Y. Hilton to get the ball too. What about his offensive line? Chris Ballard made it a point of emphasis to improve the offensive front and he has. Welcome to free agency people. It’s only just getting started.
