Will Rivers rebound this season?

[Jules]

What do you think?

Will he rebound and make up for last years shoddy up and down season which was downright awful at times?

[Nobody]

He lost V Jackson, and Gates is hurting. I think he gets a little better, but doesnt fully recover to full form.

[21isSuperman]

He shouldn't have had a bad season since he was one of my fantasy QBs....the other was Peyton....I finished last in the league. Anyone know the reason for his bad year? Was it a hidden injury? Or did they try to make a lot of changes to their offense? I know Mike Lombardi was speculating that he was injured and wasn't saying anything.

Regardless, I do think he will bounce back...even though Vincent Jackson is gone and Antonio Gates seems to be injured every year and Ryan Mathews hasn't been anything special and Norv Turner is his head coach....

[Jules]

He shouldn't have had a bad season since he was one of my fantasy QBs....the other was Peyton....I finished last in the league. Anyone know the reason for his bad year? Was it a hidden injury? Or did they try to make a lot of changes to their offense? I know Mike Lombardi was speculating that he was injured and wasn't saying anything.

Regardless, I do think he will bounce back...even though Vincent Jackson is gone and Antonio Gates seems to be injured every year and Ryan Mathews hasn't been anything special and Norv Turner is his head coach....

I was wondering the same and read the speculation on injury. It all seemed so.......odd.

At the end for a while there I almost thought SD was going to sneak in and win that division for a few weeks but they didn't. Really strange team. And strange QB. They blew a few games but they always seem to?

Another enigma squad.

[FireJimCaldwell]

He shouldn't have had a bad season since he was one of my fantasy QBs....the other was Peyton....I finished last in the league. Anyone know the reason for his bad year? Was it a hidden injury? Or did they try to make a lot of changes to their offense? I know Mike Lombardi was speculating that he was injured and wasn't saying anything.

Regardless, I do think he will bounce back...even though Vincent Jackson is gone and Antonio Gates seems to be injured every year and Ryan Mathews hasn't been anything special and Norv Turner is his head coach....

He denied being injured in the season.

He denied being injured after the season.

There were no reports of any off-season work being done on him.

He looked off his game... There haven't been any reports of family related issues that could easily take a guy off his game mentally, so who knows how he will play.

[HOFClipboardHolder]

River's off season was divine intervention to allow tebow to sneak into the playoffs. I expect rivers to be back to regular form and for brady to have a down season.

[Gavin]

Rivers is good but makes bad decisions at the worst times thats why he struggled and hasnt been much more of a consistent playoff threat

[southwest1]

Jules,

As crazy as this sounds, I think losing DC Ron Rivera to the Carolina Panthers made a huge difference in River's mental psyche. Philip knew his current DC & the men under his leadership weren't good enough to create consistent turnovers & get the ball back if he threw a pick.

Rivers is an elite QB who will easily bounce back this season. Peyton must slay the new dragon in that division the Chargers; the team that always gives Yoda fits & an early playoffs exit. No team in the NFL scares me except the Chargers, especially if they are wearing their powder blue, throw back uniforms. Philip Rivers is the real deal ladies & gentlemen.

[Jules]

River's off season was divine intervention to allow tebow to sneak into the playoffs. I expect rivers to be back to regular form and for brady to have a down season.

Best answer yet.

It is all making sense now.

[OZOC01]

Rivers will be fine, last sesaon was a fluke. Prior to 2011, Rivers had three straight 100+ QB rating, and it's likely he will eclipse 100+ rating in 2012 with the addition of Robert Meachem joining Malcolm Floyd and Gates. But as long as Norv Turner is Head Coach, the Chargers will stay barely above average, record wise...

[mvbighead]

Rivers will be fine, last sesaon was a fluke. Prior to 2011, Rivers had three straight 100+ QB rating, and it's likely he will eclipse 100+ rating in 2012 with the addition of Robert Meachem joining Malcolm Floyd and Gates. But as long as Norv Turner is Head Coach, the Chargers will stay barely above average, record wise...

Not to be a negative nancy, but my math doesn't seem as favorable as yours:

Chargers + Robert Meachem - Vincent Jackson < 2011 Chargers

[OZOC01]

Not to be a negative nancy, but my math doesn't seem as favorable as yours:

Chargers + Robert Meachem - Vincent Jackson < 2011 Chargers

Oh, I whole-heartedly agree that Meachem is not on Jackson's level. But Meachem is a very good receiver that was over-shadowed in New Orleans. He will not be over-shadowed in San Diego.

[mvbighead]

Oh, I whole-heartedly agree that Meachem is not on Jackson's level. But Meachem is a very good receiver that was over-shadowed in New Orleans. He will not be over-shadowed in San Diego.

I don't really see Meachem as being overshadowed in NO. Unless you consider Devery Henderson and Lance Moore as terrific receivers. I know they spread the ball around in NO, but it just seems like Meachem never beat out sub-par receivers. Honestly, no homer glasses here, but I consider Garcon to be a much better receiver than Meachem ever will be, and Garcon has issues with simple catches.

[oldunclemark]

River's off season was divine intervention to allow tebow to sneak into the playoffs. I expect rivers to be back to regular form and for brady to have a down season.

You're all over this one, Clip

Now that he doesn't have to bow down to the Lord....Rivers can rebound and put it on the board

[RGIII]

I'd be surprised if Rivers didn't rebound. Then again, I'm surprised every year to find that AJ Smith and Norv Turner still have jobs.

[Boiler_Colt]

I hope he doesn't, he's a Dirt Bag

[indynorth]

Rivers is a great QB whose stuck on a bad team,Gates and Jackson leaving did hurt.Lucks biggest threat will be Ben,Brady,Rivers.And really thats not much compeitition except for maybe Ben.Bradys getting older. :throwback:

[GoPats]

The Chargers seem to be everyone's offseason darling team but I'm not seeing a lot of that this year. Ryan Mathews could have a huge year both running and catching the ball, but generally speaking that kind of one-man-show doesn't cut it in the NFL anymore.

Personally I think the slide will continue.

[Rich Cannon]

What do you think?

Will he rebound and make up for last years shoddy up and down season which was downright awful at times?

I think he rebounds, just dont think we will see as many 30+ yd passes down field without Vincent Jackson

[HtownColt]

Being that the Chargers defense wasn't up to par last year played a part. Now the drafting of Melvin Ingram,Kendall Reyes, Brandon Taylor, and Ladarius Greene(Gates future replacement)..and picking up Meachem. I think Rivers is going to be back on top as one of the AFC top 5 QBs..Rivers knew he wasn't going to get the ball back as often as he would have like because of the poor defense so he forced alot of balls which led to his turnovers

[chad72]

It all depends on how well Jared Gaither and the rest of the O-lineplays. With Marcus McNeil's concussion and Kris Dielman retiring, they have enough questions on their O-line. Their O-line did not give Rivers the time and he pressed. The D giving up points was one factor but the O-line was a bigger factor.

Norv likes to stretch the field and a lot will depend on how well Floyd and Meachem can help with those 20+ yard routes where VJax used to help them a lot. Eddie Royal and Antonio Gates will man the intermediate routes, no doubt. The entire AFC West plays the NFC South and AFC North, two real good divisions. So, there are not going to be too many games to make up any kind of deficit this year for the Chargers like years past if they start slow. This year, with that schedule, could either see spirited play from the Chargers or you could see the season going down the toilet pretty fast and might clinch A.J.Smith and Norv's departure.

[Girlzarefanstoo]

Rivers just did an article this week - there was no injury, nothing at home, nothing unusual just a crappy year. He thinks it's kind of people to make excuses for him, but he makes no excuses for himself and as usual shoulders the blame for the bad year. We will miss VJ, but he wasn't on the field as much as needed with injuries the past couple of years and Rivers was able to pick it up with who ever was put in the game. Vincent Brown is a name to watch for. He really came on last year after being injured in training camp as a rookie. Gates is healthy and excited to be playing at full strength for the first time in 2 years. Ryan Mathews put in the work this off season and is looking like an absolute beast - AND has worked hard on ball protection.

As always... we'll see. I personally would not bet on Rivers having two bad years in a row.

[Jules]

Rivers just did an article this week - there was no injury, nothing at home, nothing unusual just a crappy year. He thinks it's kind of people to make excuses for him, but he makes no excuses for himself and as usual shoulders the blame for the bad year. We will miss VJ, but he wasn't on the field as much as needed with injuries the past couple of years and Rivers was able to pick it up with who ever was put in the game. Vincent Brown is a name to watch for. He really came on last year after being injured in training camp as a rookie. Gates is healthy and excited to be playing at full strength for the first time in 2 years. Ryan Mathews put in the work this off season and is looking like an absolute beast - AND has worked hard on ball protection.

As always... we'll see. I personally would not bet on Rivers having two bad years in a row.

Thanks for the info. I don't like SD but I always liked to watch Rivers play. But, last year lol. He was so sporadic it was almost amusing at times. That game vs. the Packers was a fun one to watch though. I darn near though the Pack were going to blow it in the end too.

[Qwiz]

Rivers just did an article this week - there was no injury, nothing at home, nothing unusual just a crappy year. He thinks it's kind of people to make excuses for him, but he makes no excuses for himself and as usual shoulders the blame for the bad year. We will miss VJ, but he wasn't on the field as much as needed with injuries the past couple of years and Rivers was able to pick it up with who ever was put in the game. Vincent Brown is a name to watch for. He really came on last year after being injured in training camp as a rookie. Gates is healthy and excited to be playing at full strength for the first time in 2 years. Ryan Mathews put in the work this off season and is looking like an absolute beast - AND has worked hard on ball protection.

As always... we'll see. I personally would not bet on Rivers having two bad years in a row.

I wouldn't bet on it either...The guy is a monster. Why does the offseason have to be so long? I'm already in football mode again lol.

[Girlzarefanstoo]

I wouldn't bet on it either...The guy is a monster. Why does the offseason have to be so long? I'm already in football mode again lol.

I am sooooo with you on the offseason being too long and the season too short! Is it August yet???!!!

[Superman]

I think Rivers is a very good quarterback (before last season, I had him rated above Ben Roethlisberger in my personal top five). Can't imagine that he plays poorly again.

That said, AJ Smith and Norv Turner are dragging that team down. I don't know what it's going to take for them to get rooted out, or if Spanos even cares. But maybe their stink is rubbing off on Rivers.

[Andy]

It's going to be tough to say... Gates is getting old, Floyd is the best receiver since V-JAx is gone. Ryan Matthews is also taking a bigger role. The O-line probably won't do as well.

Everything is stacking up against him. I think he'll have an okay season, but not a rebound season. Don't expect anything special, if you ask me.