Philip Rivers was completely immobile and often threw weak passes off of his back foot. At no point am I or is anyone questioning Rivers' heart. He shrugged off the bad media coverage he has received for running his mouth and backed it all up by his passion.
But here's where I have an issue. "Gutsy" is a word many people are using to describe Rivers, which is true for his persona but that didn't make it the right decision. I am questioning who is in charge of the
Chargers and their ability to make important decisions despite their popularity.
“I can’t say enough about Philip Rivers and what he did,”
Chargers Coach Norv Turner said. “He gave us a chance to win.”
Did he NORV? Did he give you a chance to win or did you just not have the balls to make a mid-game decision that could spark your offense? Norv addressed pulling Rivers by saying “I couldn’t get him off the field if I tried.” Sure you could, it's called being a head coach and putting your team in the best position to win. Stats please.
Rivers completed 13 of 23 passes in the first half and finished 19 of 37 with 2 interceptions. More importantly than Rivers' "gutsy" yet inconsistent performance was that his offense was 3 for 12 on third downs. Tom Brady showed he can be human and made three mistakes to a great
Chargers secondary. But there was no conversion.
Ultimately I respect Rivers' intensity and passion to play, however after seeing his 1st half performance it was apparent that he was immobile and unable to throw with the same strength in his plant foot, weakening his velocity. Backup Billy Volek had prepared all week and had shown his maturity in the Indianapolis win. There is no reason that Rivers should have played the second half. What would have hurt to put Volek in? The answer: Rivers pride. Coach Norm didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings especially his starting quarterback.
Sorry Charger fans. I am sorry that you had an amazing defense with a good game plan to shut down the best team in the NFL. I am sorry that Coach Norm Turner couldn't make an in-game decision to allow the
Chargers to battle for a win. They did it last week with Volek and their backs against the wall. They had every opportunity to do it this week against the Pats.
Well at least Rivers is "gutsy." Give me a break.
