I know--you, as a Broncos fan, dislike Philip Rivers.
Any doubt you had about that was replaced with certainity on Christmas Eve night when he and Jay Cutler were exchanging some, shall we say, holiday jeer. I mean, Jay is from Santa Claus Indiana, so Rivers couldn't leave any coal in his stocking...but did anyway.
Safe to say that after Sunday's win in Indianapolis, Colts fans feel a kinship with Broncos Country. In his latest adventure, Philips wasn't just challenging Cutler, but the entire Colts crowd. Love the moxie, though I'm not so not sure about his odds at taking on about 60,000 fans. Then again, after winning nine in a row with a fire and brimstone attitude and fire-in-his-belly quarterback, the Chargers feel they can stand up to anyone, including the Patriots.
San Diego will get their chance to do just that on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game. A win puts them in the Super Bowl and Rivers will then have two weeks to talk, possibly meaning everyone might need earplugs after the second day.
Let's face it: Rivers will get feisty with anyone. It is a trait that many people wish was different about him However, I'll take the contrarian viewpoint--I like his demonstrative behavior.
The night he was yapping with Cutler--two quarterbacks, that at that point, between them had won zero playoff games--was an event that brought an incredulous but correct reaction from the broadcasting crew. They wondered aloud whether Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, two far more accomplished quarterbacks, would act this way. Of course, the answer is no; those two do their talking on the field (well, I guess Manning does talk in his commercial spots), and their four combined Super Bowls prove it.
However, fast forward three weeks. Cutler still has no playoff wins but Rivers has two. The Chargers, not coincidentally, are now thriving because a quarterback that had supposedly regressed in the regular season is being reborn in the postseason, and that's what matters.
Nobody knows this better than San Diego.
After all, last year during the regular season they were a League best 14-2, but come playoff time, were one and painfully done, at the hands of the Patriots. This year, it's different for the quarterback and the organization that has pinned its hopes on his shoulders--and mouth.
Prior to this season, the Chargers had not won a playoff contest in 13 years. They have now won two playoff games in a span of one week.
Rivers can talk all he wants, and he should.
The NFL continues to evolve at a very rapid pace. Just a few years ago, there was significantly less pressure to throw quarterbacks into the fray. You could let them develop, you could watch them mature and pick up the nuances of an offense.These days, not a chance. After all, time is not a luxury for anybody, especially that quarterback and his coach.
The pressure is on from all avenues to win, and win now. You're paying your franchise quarterback a lot of money and the fans want to see him play. Ownership wants to see if their investment is worth it. The media is applying the heat. Everyone knows that the NFL has been a place where parity is currently parked. You can go from a division worst to first in the span of a year. With such rapid progress, coaches can't use the "patience is a virtue" phrase to placate the fans. If your rival can turn it around quickly, why can't you? Therefore, coaches have to do whatever it takes to win, even if it means possibly recklessly mortgaging your future by rushing players in.
If that is the way business is run, and players are labeled busts in their mid 20s, when years ago quarterbacks weren't judged until they were in their 30s, then I would much rather have a guy like Rivers. Young, cocky, and brash. He may not always be right, but he thinks he is--he exudes confidence and that is what other players rally around.
Champ Bailey let it be known doesn't care much for Rivers. However, I think if he played with him, his opinion would be different.
-"Z"
