San Diego had to make this deal to lock up Rivers. Last year he was one of the top quarterbacks in the league and he was entering the final year of his rookie deal. Had they not signed him now his price would have only gone up. Although they could have kept him with a Franchise tag next year, it would have cost well over what they will be paying him now. The Chargers did a good job not panicking and overpaying Rivers. Given his stats there is a case to be made that he should have made more or at least just as much as Manning did in his deal. San Diego held firm and saved themselves a few million for their trouble.
Rivers will now need to take the Chargers to the next level and bring home a Super Bowl victory to show that he really is a "Franchise Quarterback". This deal also shows how 2004 may be close to replacing 1983 as the "Year of the Quarterback". With all the respect in the world to Elway, Marino, and Kelly, they could very well be out'classed' (bad pun I know). Though they are three Hall of Famers, set records and went to a combined 10 Super Bowls, the class of '83 managed to win just two rings (both by Elway). Already the class of 2004 have won 3 of the 5 Super Bowls since they were drafted (2 by Ben Roethlisberger to go along with Manning's) and they are just getting started. Roethlisberger, Manning and and Rivers are among the elite quarterbacks in the league (not to mention highest paid), and all lead perennial playoff contenders. When its all said and done, the 2004 draft class will shape the first two decades of the 21st century, more than '83 class shaped the 80's and 90's.
It'll be interesting to see what happens to the Chargers once they enter their post LT era. I'm not saying they won't be good, and I'm not knocking Rivers; but Marino had his greatest team successes very early in his career. We forget how much has to happen around a qb to enable him to carry his team to Super Bowls.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't personally prescribe to the philosophy that championships make or break a QB's career it does seem to be the prevailing wisdom right now. That's why Tom Brady is considered such a great QB even though his numbers (outside of 2007) don't support the claim. I think it is pretty impressive what these 3 QB's have done. 3 for 3 in Super Bowls is pretty impressive, especially considering the Steelers were the 6th seed in 2005 (albeit an 11-5 6th seed) and the Giants were the 5th seed in 2007. Both times they had to play 3 games on the road only to meet up with the top seed from the other conference.
ReplyDeleteMarino also lucked out somewhat, remember he went to a Dolphins team that went to the Super Bowl the previous year (and having Shula has your coach can't hurt either). All three of these QB's were top 10 picks. Even though it was Brees who first brought the Chargers back to the playoffs, Rivers did go 14-2 in his first year as a starter.