BakoSaint

I see a narrative on another forum that Philip Rivers is not worth a look and gives us nothing over Hill, Semien, Book, Savage, or Weurffel.

Then I see statistics: Philip Rivers 2020 Colts: 4169 yards passing, 24 TDs, 11 interceptions, 2 fumbles, 68% completion percentage. These seem like decent stats, not elite franchise QB stats, but still like B grade decent game manager who can win with an elite defense. I don't think he racked them up with any world beater receivers either, though basically any receiving squad is better than what we have now without Thomas.

I also hear that Rivers could barely get himself on the field. Then I see he started all 16 games last year, and in fact started 16 games every year for 15 straight years. So limp as he might, he seems very durable.

I see that in 4 QB starts last year, Taysom Hill passed for 834 yards, 4 TDs, and 2 INTs which for a full season projects to 3,736 yards, 16 TDs, and 8 INTs which is a little less but close. The problem I see is that in those 4 games Hill rushed for 4 TDs but fumbled 6 times, so overall Hill accounted for 8 TDs and 8 turnovers in 4 games, a 1:1 ratio of scoring to turnovers. And Hill is coming off a concussion. And Hill is useful as a target on the offense if he is not a QB.

I don't know if we can afford Rivers. I don't know if he can pick up our offense fast enough. But his 2020 stats seem to indicate he is a good B grade starting QB, on a similar stage in his career to a Matt Ryan for example. I think there is a reasonable argument that he is better than Trevor Semiens resume beyond half of one game, that he was a bit better in 2020 than Taysom Hill, and that Hill is more valuable as a gadget player. I think Rivers is good enough to win a championship with an elite defense if that elite defense performs in the playoffs, he is better than Dilfer and comparable to a late career Eli Manning, probably better than Peyton Manning's final season of being benched for Osweiler. I don't know that we can say that Hill or Semien are better than those guys.

For reference, Cam Newton threw for 2,657 yards last year, while Drew Brees threw for just under 3,000 yards the past two seasons, and we have to go back to 2017 for Brees to top Rivers 2020 yardage of 4,169 yards. Yes, Rivers never won a ring. But did Brees win a ring on the Chargers? Are the Chargers winning a ring now with a new great QB? Did any of their coaches win rings elsewhere. Rivers could gut out one more solid season and give us a chance if our defense peaks at the right time.