{"id":12992,"date":"2017-02-18T13:56:31","date_gmt":"2017-02-18T18:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=12992"},"modified":"2017-02-18T13:56:31","modified_gmt":"2017-02-18T18:56:31","slug":"philip-rivers-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2017\/02\/18\/philip-rivers-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Incomparable Legacy of Philip Rivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legacy. It’s one of the platitudes most commonly utilized\u00a0when discussing an NFL quarterback’s impact on the sport. Football fans and media members alike spend hours of time discussing, analyzing, and dissecting this particular matter.\u00a0In the eyes of many, Tom Brady<\/a><\/strong> just solidified his legacy as the greatest of all time with his fifth Super Bowl victory. Peyton Manning<\/a><\/strong>‘s legacy was questioned and deemed incomplete for years\u00a0before he ultimately won his second title in Super Bowl XL. Dan Marino<\/a><\/strong>, one of the most talented and prolific passers to ever play the game, frequently has his legacy questioned because he never hoisted the Lombardi trophy.<\/p>\n

So then,\u00a0what is\u00a0the legacy of\u00a0Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers<\/a><\/strong>? After 13 seasons in the league, Rivers has yet to win the big one, despite producing\u00a0stretches\u00a0of statistical brilliance and compiling a veritable laundry list of heroic performances. As a new chapter opens in Chargers history<\/a>, many\u00a0issues remain\u00a0for this organization, but nothing\u00a0lingers more prominently\u00a0than\u00a0questions about\u00a0the legacy of\u00a0the franchise player.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Incomparable Legacy of Philip Rivers<\/h2>\n

So what is Rivers’ place, not just in today’s NFL, but in the annals of the league’s history? At the end of the day, what does he mean to this sport? Indeed, for much of the last decade there has been a general lack of consensus about\u00a0his positioning among the game’s elite passers. Many pundits\u00a0laud him as one of the very best in the NFL, while others point\u00a0out his 4-5 post-season record and occasional late-game meltdowns as a means to discredit him.<\/p>\n

Some will argue that he throws too many interceptions.\u00a0Some will point to the fact\u00a0that he didn’t win a Super Bowl with players like 2017 Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson<\/a><\/strong> and certain future Hall of Famer Antonio Gates<\/a><\/strong> around him. Many will have harsh words about his fiery and occasionally abrasive on-field displays, or his quirky shot-put style throwing motion. There might even be a comment or two about his affinity for bolo ties (okay, probably not that last one).<\/p>\n

But why? Why is Rivers so harshly critiqued while so many other passers who have accomplished so much less are given a seemingly free pass. The reasons are numerous, but the most common\u00a0culprit has to do with where\u00a0his NFL career\u00a0began.<\/p>\n

Peer Pressure<\/h3>\n

Working against Rivers is the fact that he was part of the 2004 NFL Draft, which\u00a0also included Eli Manning<\/a><\/strong> and Ben Roethlisberger<\/a><\/strong>. These\u00a0three franchise players would go on to form one of the greatest quarterback classes in the league’s illustrious history. In fact, in the minds of many analysts, the collection of passers in the 2004 selection extravaganza was second only to the class of 1983 that featured John Elway<\/a><\/strong>, Jim Kelly<\/a><\/strong>, and the aforementioned Marino. So why should that hurt Rivers, you ask?<\/p>\n

In sports, more often than not, greatness is judged by what a comparable\u00a0player\u00a0in a similar\u00a0era is doing. One needn’t look any further than\u00a0the last 15 years\u00a0of\u00a0NFL lore\u00a0for proof of this. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have spent their entire careers being compared to\u00a0one another. The media blitz that occurred whenever these two faced off (which was quite often) was overwhelming.\u00a0Manning’s retirement in March of 2016 may have ended the year-to-year debates, but the long-term argument will always rage on.<\/p>\n

Of course, this tradition is\u00a0not just exclusive to football. Arnold Palmer<\/strong><\/a> and Jack Nicklaus<\/strong><\/a> are two of the all-time greatest golfers, and they were subjected to this same situation for years. Ditto for current hockey phenoms like\u00a0Sidney Crosby<\/strong><\/a> and Alexander Ovechkin<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0Ultimately, the\u00a0point of all this is that Philip Rivers’ career will always be linked to those of Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.<\/p>\n

This is particularly true of Manning. After making it very clear that he had no interest in playing for the (then) San Diego Chargers, the team went ahead\u00a0and drafted him with the first overall pick\u00a0anyway. The pained expression on Manning’s face as he held up his Chargers jersey on stage was evident, and it was clear that this situation was never\u00a0going to work out for any of the parties involved. Shortly thereafter, a deal was consummated between the Chargers and the New York Giants<\/a>. The Giants\u00a0took Rivers with their fourth overall selection, and the two teams swapped quarterbacks, with the Giants throwing in a 2004 third-round pick, as well as 2005 first and fifth-rounders.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t an ideal start to Rivers’ NFL career. Spending approximately fifteen minutes as a member of one team before being traded to another, along with an abundance of draft picks no less,\u00a0for another player\u00a0at the exact same position probably wasn’t what the former N.C. State star had envisioned for his draft day experience. The trade would go on to become one of the most famous draft\u00a0deals in league history, and would forever link the careers of Rivers and Manning. Shortly thereafter, Roethlisberger was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 11th overall selection, and ever since that moment, these three men have been at the center of\u00a0countless debates.<\/p>\n

Of course, Manning and Roethlisberger have gone on to win two Super Bowls each, for the Giants and Steelers respectively, and Rivers is still seeking his first Lombardi. Whether or not Super Bowl victories should be the measuring stick\u00a0of quarterback greatness is one of the most hotly debated topics around the league, and one that is highly unlikely to produce consensus any time soon.\u00a0Fairly or unfairly, this often seems to be the sole criterion used for any comparison between these players. This seems short-sighted, especially when one considers how different each player’s situation was upon entering the league.<\/p>\n

Manning took over from Kurt Warner<\/a><\/strong> as the starting quarterback of the New York Giants\u00a0in Week Ten of his rookie season. Roethlisberger made his first start as a rookie even sooner. After playing well in relief of Tommy Maddox<\/a><\/strong> in Week Three, he was given the job full-time the following week. For Rivers, it was a much longer and arduous path to the starting lineup. In fact, he spent two full\u00a0season sitting on the bench behind Drew Brees<\/a><\/strong>, before finally making his first start on opening weekend in 2006 after Brees\u00a0departed for\u00a0New Orleans.<\/p>\n

What this means, more or less, is that at the height of the Chargers’ window of Super Bowl\u00a0contention, Rivers was either on the bench or in his first couple of seasons as a starter. It’s not fair to judge what he accomplished\u00a0in 2006 and 2007 the same way you would judge what Manning and Roethlisberger were doing at the same\u00a0time. For all intents and purposes, they were veterans before he ever stepped onto the field. It’s not Rivers’ fault that he had the most difficult path to playing time of any of the three\u00a0young signal callers. The Chargers simply couldn’t take Brees out of the lineup in the midst of his breakout. What is undeniable, however, is what River accomplished once he was finally handed the reins.<\/p>\n

By the Numbers<\/h3>\n

In spite of the fact that Manning and Roethlisberger had made 23 and 25 starts, respectively, before\u00a0he made his first, Rivers’ counting career\u00a0statistics approach or supersede those of his two peers.\u00a0Furthermore,\u00a0his yearly average\u00a0numbers blow them both out of the water. Rivers’ statistical brilliance as an NFL signal caller is simply undeniable. Since\u00a0taking over as the starter in 2006,\u00a0he has produced some of the best totals in league history.<\/p>\n

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Philip Rivers is currently 12th all time in passing yardage, 8th all time in passing TDs, 8th in all time passer rating…<\/p>\n

\u2014 Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) December 21, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n