The Fantasy Football Cafe is by far my favourite fantasy football website. It's low on nifty features, but is a massive resource in terms of knowledge and discussion and I wouldn't be close to the fantasy player I am without it. However, some times posts are made by members I respect immensely for their knowledge that I couldn't disagree more with. This was one of them.

What I said was all the blame on Turner. I can't stand him as a head coach and am on record here saying I think he should be the first HC fired. But, there is blame that needs to lie squarely on the shoulders of Rivers. Watch the games. Many, many times he doesn't take the simply dump off to LT or Sproles when they are the 2nd read in the progression. He either chooses not to take it or simply doesn't see it.

I've also stated that I beleive Rivers and/or Cutler are the next Marino. All the talent in the world for a statistical QB but I believe there is a very real chacne they never win Superbowls. They play too selfishly. Things can change and the ego can get knocked out of them but from what I have seen so far... they are stat whores and not winners.

I couldn't disagree more and my response is after the jump.

I'm hoping this will turn into a discussion about the rest of the league's opinion on Rivers. I continue to be flat out surprised by how little respect he gets for the talented, hard-working player he is. Why is this? Surely his reputation for jawing with opponents doesn't affect people's opinion of him that much? It boggles my mind.

You know very little about Philip Rivers.

One and a half seasons of posting good stats (after two years of solid stats, follwoed by two appearances to the playoffs) does not make him a stat whore. Philip has a reputation for trash talking and I think this clouds his professionalism off the field. Ever heard him speak in the interview? Maybe he doesn't talk with class during games, but when he's in front of the mic that all changes. He's humble, modest and it's all about the team. There's no ego there.

The guy works just as hard as any other QB in the league at identifying flaws in his game and fixing them, which was the other big reason for his stat jump in 2008 (than being forced to score quickly). It's flown ridiculously under the radar that people used to criticise him for lack of a big arm, yet he now throws one of the best deep balls in the league. He's developed a great touch and has the arm strength to match. He gets far more zip on passes nowadays, which allows him to make thsoe deep and sideline throws.

The aspect of his game Philip focused on improving mroe than anything else this apst off-season was throwing to his backs.

SAN DIEGO – Early this spring, Philip Rivers watched every one of his 2009 incompletions, all 166 of them.

He weeded through the drops, the passes broken up by a good defensive play and the like, and he focused on his mistakes.

"I'm talking times I flat-out missed," he said. "Where I saw the guy, I thought he was open, I threw it, and I threw it incomplete."

He found a trend that troubled him.

"The running back route, by far, was the route I missed more than any others," he said Monday after the Chargers' first training camp workout. " I'm working on being more efficient with our running backs."

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/27/28chargers192924-chargers-camp/

A specific little snippet from that article:

While Rivers attempted and completed the second-most passes in the NFL to his running backs, the short and intermediate passes to his backs were not as crisp as they could have been.

I can only assume you're basing this analysis on this season since in 2008 he managed to complete the second most passes to RBs while only having the 12th most total completions.

So your saying this season he should pass to his backs more to increase time of posession? Is this the game agaisnt Baltimore where San Diego were trailing for most of it? Or is it while being 28-0 down to Pittsburgh? Ball control goes out the window when you're 2 scores down after having only three offensive snaps.

Philip Rivers' job is to score points. He was incredibly efficient at doing so last season and as far as I can tell, his play hasn't regressed. If he thinks he can make a play deep and put his team in a better position to score (especially when behind), he's not going to go to the RB to make the drive last longer. "Hey, we have a chance of scoring here if I make this throw... Nah, dump it off to LT for 5 yards." See how ridiculous that sounds?

It is not Philip Rivers job to make sure the team scores in the most amount of time possible. It's Norv Turner's responsibility to improve the team's ball control. He calls the plays. It is his perogatve to ensure the offense eats up clock to give the defense a rest. But you don't do that by passingin Norv's offense where the WR's run deep, long-developing patterns. You do it by running the ball. If San Diego aren't controlling the clock well enough, it's because they simply couldn't run the ball.

As for calling Rivers a stat whore because he tries to score quickly, I question jsut how much you have watched San Diego to come to that conclusion. LT hasn't been healthy and the running game has struggled as a result. The defense (pass in 2008, run in 2009) has been awful. When the team needed a leader, it was Philip Rivers who stood up to the plate. It was Rivers who carried his team on his back, posting absolutely tremendous stats (and a massive leap for him in particular). Denver imploded, but San Diego wouldn't have made the playoffs last season if it wasn't for Rivers' stellar play. Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates are dominant at their position, but Philip Rivers is this offense. So to call him a stat whore? To say he isn't a winner after the way he stepped up for his team? That's downright offensive.