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How do people think they are doing? At first I figured they needed to replace Mathews, but hadn't realized they had signed the best guard on the market. I think that is huge. For one, when Rivers has good protection, it makes the world of difference with this team. With adequate protection, he can keep up offensively with most teams and is up there in the elite category. Without it, he is awful.

But since Mathews was injured so much anyway, if Woodhead comes back, I don't feel that bad about the RB situation. I know many soured on Oliver, but I love him. In space he is fantastic. I think they ran him up the middle too much, since we didn't have adequate blockers, he would just run into a wall of defenders. With this great blocking guard, who made things so easy for CJ Anderson, I think he could be good. Plus there is a good chance they draft Gurley or Gordon or at least and if not them, you can usually find a good back in later rounds, and most can be adequate with good blockers.

I used to really like Stevie Johnson, but Royal never failed to impress. Had you asked me who I'd rather have two years ago, I would say Johnson hands down...but right now, it's tough to see Royal leave, because he was just clutch when you needed it. But maybe Johnson will be that way too with a guy like Rivers passing to him...by far the best passer he will have worked with.

Defensively we need to improve, but if Verrett can stay healthy, and keeping Flowers that helps. A healthy Ingram would help too. I imagine we will draft more for defense other than a RB.

bwgood77 wrote:How do people think they are doing? At first I figured they needed to replace Mathews, but hadn't realized they had signed the best guard on the market. I think that is huge. For one, when Rivers has good protection, it makes the world of difference with this team. With adequate protection, he can keep up offensively with most teams and is up there in the elite category. Without it, he is awful.

But since Mathews was injured so much anyway, if Woodhead comes back, I don't feel that bad about the RB situation. I know many soured on Oliver, but I love him. In space he is fantastic. I think they ran him up the middle too much, since we didn't have adequate blockers, he would just run into a wall of defenders. With this great blocking guard, who made things so easy for CJ Anderson, I think he could be good. Plus there is a good chance they draft Gurley or Gordon or at least and if not them, you can usually find a good back in later rounds, and most can be adequate with good blockers.

I used to really like Stevie Johnson, but Royal never failed to impress. Had you asked me who I'd rather have two years ago, I would say Johnson hands down...but right now, it's tough to see Royal leave, because he was just clutch when you needed it. But maybe Johnson will be that way too with a guy like Rivers passing to him...by far the best passer he will have worked with.

Defensively we need to improve, but if Verrett can stay healthy, and keeping Flowers that helps. A healthy Ingram would help too. I imagine we will draft more for defense other than a RB.

What's your thoughts on the whole Rivers situation?

He's my favorite athlete in sports, I would be devastated to see him leave.

I don't care about Mariota who is super raw or Winston who has off field concerns.

SF88 wrote:What's your thoughts on the whole Rivers situation?

He's my favorite athlete in sports, I would be devastated to see him leave.

I don't care about Mariota who is super raw or Winston who has off field concerns.

I don't want to see them trade him. But if he ends up forcing his way out by not signing a new contract and threatening to retire if we throw the franchise tag on him, then I'd trade him.

I think trading him would be a team killer in more ways too, as guys like Gates, Weddle, etc, are all in their final years as well, and likely wouldn't be happy to start over.

I like Mariota ok though.

Even if we keep him though, I'd draft a qb, so hopefully they are doing their due diligence with the others like Huntley so they can take him if they think he can be a future quality nfl qb.

bwgood77 wrote:

SF88 wrote:What's your thoughts on the whole Rivers situation?

He's my favorite athlete in sports, I would be devastated to see him leave.

I don't care about Mariota who is super raw or Winston who has off field concerns.

I don't want to see them trade him. But if he ends up forcing his way out by not signing a new contract and threatening to retire if we throw the franchise tag on him, then I'd trade him.

I think trading him would be a team killer in more ways too, as guys like Gates, Weddle, etc, are all in their final years as well, and likely wouldn't be happy to start over.

I like Mariota ok though.

Even if we keep him though, I'd draft a qb, so hopefully they are doing their due diligence with the others like Huntley so they can take him if they think he can be a future quality nfl qb.

I don't think Rivers will actually retire, I think he's bluffing. This is a guy that just loves football so much, I can't see him walking away while in his prime.

I say we keep him and then just keep putting the franchise tag on him if he doesn't resign long term.

We have so many other needs though, I wouldn't be happy drafting a QB in the early rounds. We don't even have a starting RB anymore.

Weddle looks like he's already upset at the Chargers.

SF88 wrote:

bwgood77 wrote:

SF88 wrote:What's your thoughts on the whole Rivers situation?

He's my favorite athlete in sports, I would be devastated to see him leave.

I don't care about Mariota who is super raw or Winston who has off field concerns.

I don't want to see them trade him. But if he ends up forcing his way out by not signing a new contract and threatening to retire if we throw the franchise tag on him, then I'd trade him.

I think trading him would be a team killer in more ways too, as guys like Gates, Weddle, etc, are all in their final years as well, and likely wouldn't be happy to start over.

I like Mariota ok though.

Even if we keep him though, I'd draft a qb, so hopefully they are doing their due diligence with the others like Huntley so they can take him if they think he can be a future quality nfl qb.

I don't think Rivers will actually retire, I think he's bluffing. This is a guy that just loves football so much, I can't see him walking away while in his prime.

I say we keep him and then just keep putting the franchise tag on him if he doesn't resign long term.

We have so many other needs though, I wouldn't be happy drafting a QB in the early rounds. We don't even have a starting RB anymore.

Weddle looks like he's already upset at the Chargers.

I don't think he will retire either and is probably bluffing, but if he wants out and we'd have to franchise him, it would suck because he would be unhappy, and eat up a ton of cap space...you don't want an unhappy leader.

I've been a Chargers fan long enough to have gone through so many bad years pre Brees (or even the first year or two with Brees) that to not have a young guy in the wings would be a BAD idea. The 6-8 teams in each conf with quality qbs are always in the mix, and the others are usually out of the mix for years. If you don't reload when you have to you could be in trouble for awhile.

That's one good thing about McCoy, is that he has even gotten Tebow to the playoffs, so he could probably do better than most coaches with a new qb.

All that being said, I hope we keep Rivers for the next five years and I hope we sign him to a long extension. He is better than most people think when he has adequate protection. I would consider taking Gurley or Gordon with our first round pick, and would rather spend a mid round pick on a qb, but I think we should get one somewhere, so hopefully they like a guy that slips to the 4th or 5th round. I'm also higher on Oliver than most. I think with a better line and better run blocking, and more runs in open space and passes into the flats, he can do a lot better. He had flashes of looking great. I'd like to draft a back, but if Woodhead, Oliver and Brown are healthy, I don't think it's that bad as long as we still have Rivers and a good offensive line.

bwgood77 wrote:

SF88 wrote:

bwgood77 wrote:
I don't want to see them trade him. But if he ends up forcing his way out by not signing a new contract and threatening to retire if we throw the franchise tag on him, then I'd trade him.

I think trading him would be a team killer in more ways too, as guys like Gates, Weddle, etc, are all in their final years as well, and likely wouldn't be happy to start over.

I like Mariota ok though.

Even if we keep him though, I'd draft a qb, so hopefully they are doing their due diligence with the others like Huntley so they can take him if they think he can be a future quality nfl qb.

I don't think Rivers will actually retire, I think he's bluffing. This is a guy that just loves football so much, I can't see him walking away while in his prime.

I say we keep him and then just keep putting the franchise tag on him if he doesn't resign long term.

We have so many other needs though, I wouldn't be happy drafting a QB in the early rounds. We don't even have a starting RB anymore.

Weddle looks like he's already upset at the Chargers.

I don't think he will retire either and is probably bluffing, but if he wants out and we'd have to franchise him, it would suck because he would be unhappy, and eat up a ton of cap space...you don't want an unhappy leader.

I've been a Chargers fan long enough to have gone through so many bad years pre Brees (or even the first year or two with Brees) that to not have a young guy in the wings would be a BAD idea. The 6-8 teams in each conf with quality qbs are always in the mix, and the others are usually out of the mix for years. If you don't reload when you have to you could be in trouble for awhile.

That's one good thing about McCoy, is that he has even gotten Tebow to the playoffs, so he could probably do better than most coaches with a new qb.

All that being said, I hope we keep Rivers for the next five years and I hope we sign him to a long extension. He is better than most people think when he has adequate protection. I would consider taking Gurley or Gordon with our first round pick, and would rather spend a mid round pick on a qb, but I think we should get one somewhere, so hopefully they like a guy that slips to the 4th or 5th round. I'm also higher on Oliver than most. I think with a better line and better run blocking, and more runs in open space and passes into the flats, he can do a lot better. He had flashes of looking great. I'd like to draft a back, but if Woodhead, Oliver and Brown are healthy, I don't think it's that bad as long as we still have Rivers and a good offensive line.

I don't think we need to worry about drafting a young QB that much because Rivers still has 5-6 years left in him easily.

As for him being unhappy and all that:

On Wednesday, Chargers G.M. Tom Telesco said the it’s the team’s “plan and intent” to keep quarterback Philip Rivers. On Thursday, Rivers essentially said it’s his plan and intent to stay.

Thanks to the magic that is Twitter, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report shared a message from Cameron Curran of The Classical Academies, who says that in a visit to the school Rivers told the assembled crowd “he’s playing in San Diego and not to believe the media.”

In this case, “the media” includes former Rivers teammate LaDainian Tomlinson, who has said that he believes Rivers wants out of San Diego. “The media” also includes U-T San Diego, to which Rivers said last month that he’s not inclined: (1) to extend his contract before it expires after the season; or (2) to move his family to Los Angeles.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... o-sort-of/

I'm not a fan of drafting a RB in the 1st round because I think our O line and pass rush still needs work. Also with Gurley's injury history, I'm a bit hesitant on him after all the injuries we went through with Mathews.

SF88 wrote:

bwgood77 wrote:

SF88 wrote:I don't think Rivers will actually retire, I think he's bluffing. This is a guy that just loves football so much, I can't see him walking away while in his prime.

I say we keep him and then just keep putting the franchise tag on him if he doesn't resign long term.

We have so many other needs though, I wouldn't be happy drafting a QB in the early rounds. We don't even have a starting RB anymore.

Weddle looks like he's already upset at the Chargers.

I don't think he will retire either and is probably bluffing, but if he wants out and we'd have to franchise him, it would suck because he would be unhappy, and eat up a ton of cap space...you don't want an unhappy leader.

I've been a Chargers fan long enough to have gone through so many bad years pre Brees (or even the first year or two with Brees) that to not have a young guy in the wings would be a BAD idea. The 6-8 teams in each conf with quality qbs are always in the mix, and the others are usually out of the mix for years. If you don't reload when you have to you could be in trouble for awhile.

That's one good thing about McCoy, is that he has even gotten Tebow to the playoffs, so he could probably do better than most coaches with a new qb.

All that being said, I hope we keep Rivers for the next five years and I hope we sign him to a long extension. He is better than most people think when he has adequate protection. I would consider taking Gurley or Gordon with our first round pick, and would rather spend a mid round pick on a qb, but I think we should get one somewhere, so hopefully they like a guy that slips to the 4th or 5th round. I'm also higher on Oliver than most. I think with a better line and better run blocking, and more runs in open space and passes into the flats, he can do a lot better. He had flashes of looking great. I'd like to draft a back, but if Woodhead, Oliver and Brown are healthy, I don't think it's that bad as long as we still have Rivers and a good offensive line.

I don't think we need to worry about drafting a young QB that much because Rivers still has 5-6 years left in him easily.

As for him being unhappy and all that:

On Wednesday, Chargers G.M. Tom Telesco said the it’s the team’s “plan and intent” to keep quarterback Philip Rivers. On Thursday, Rivers essentially said it’s his plan and intent to stay.

Thanks to the magic that is Twitter, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report shared a message from Cameron Curran of The Classical Academies, who says that in a visit to the school Rivers told the assembled crowd “he’s playing in San Diego and not to believe the media.”

In this case, “the media” includes former Rivers teammate LaDainian Tomlinson, who has said that he believes Rivers wants out of San Diego. “The media” also includes U-T San Diego, to which Rivers said last month that he’s not inclined: (1) to extend his contract before it expires after the season; or (2) to move his family to Los Angeles.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... o-sort-of/

I'm not a fan of drafting a RB in the 1st round because I think our O line and pass rush still needs work. Also with Gurley's injury history, I'm a bit hesitant on him after all the injuries we went through with Mathews.

Yeah, ideally we get a pass rush or a NT to gobble up the middle defenders and allow our edge guys to get to the QB. I'm never against more depth for the OL either, but we look a lot better there now.