“Elusive” Philip Rivers
November 9th, 2012
There are a lot of things fans could call Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. Thin-skinned, prickly, obnoxious are a few that come to mind.
But also terms like stud, rocket-armed and gutsy are equally accurate.
How about “elusive?” Well, that word wouldn’t jump right out at Joe. Rivers always reminded Joe of a classic throw-back, statue of a quarterback with no wheels.
That’s not an accurate description of Rivers, so a few Bucs defenders told Joe. In fact, the word “elusive” was thrown out more than a few times.
“He is sneaky elusive,” Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. “He can slip you. I’m not saying he can scramble. There is a difference between being able to scramble and being elusive. He can slip you and make the throws.”
Bucs linebacker Quincy Black agreed with GMC.
“He can buy time in the pocket,” Black said. “That’s what elite quarterbacks do, they find a way to be elusive.”
Fellow Bucs linebacker Mason Foster was a bit more descriptive in how Rivers, not fleet of foot, avoids the pass rush.
“He buys time by sliding to his left or fight to avoid rushes and get ball to athletic playmakers,” Foster said.
Given how the Bucs pass rush isn’t scaring anyone outside of Bucs fans this season, Bucs defenders know they have a large task at hand in trying to stop Rivers.
“Last time he came down here he lit us up,” Black said of the 2008 Bucs home game that almost knocked the Bucs out of playoff contention. In that 41-24 loss to the Chargers, Rivers tossed four touchdowns, two in the fourth quarter.
“We are always working to get better, each and every week,” Foster said of the porous pass defense. “That is one of the main points we focus on.”
At least for one Sunday, GMC won’t be a fan of Rivers.
“I am actually a fan of his throwing style,” GMC said. “It looks cool.”
November 9th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Hopefully “sneaky elusive” becomes “face in the dirt writhing in pain” this Sunday. One can hope.
November 9th, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Please stop blitzing or learn how to blitz effectively.
November 9th, 2012 at 5:19 pm
His picture looks like Gomer Pile.
November 9th, 2012 at 5:31 pm
I hate to agree with anything miguel says but he is right. All the delayed blitzing is not fooling opposing offenses.
The pass rush is not as bad as it looks. When the qb is taking 3 step drops then firing off the pistol it’s hard to get in his face. The d-line has to go jj swatt on’em! This started last year. Jake Locker & Matthew Gabbert got the game plan from video “just throw quick passes on Tampa major success”
F#%$ the grammer police
November 9th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
The best way to handle Rivers is to not allow him on the field very much. Tampa will need to run, and control the ball on Sunday. I think we will, because we are on a roll.
November 9th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Oh yeah, Rivers can torch us bad. Look what we almost let Carson Palmer do.
November 9th, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Could you imagine that picture being the face of our franchise? Feel kinda bad for San Diego fans.
November 9th, 2012 at 7:23 pm
Blaine Gabbert
November 9th, 2012 at 7:33 pm
@Chris
The problem with running the ball 47, 67 and 70 yards is that it doesn’t use enough clock. It puts the defense right back on the field. Curious problem.
November 9th, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Uhhh, rocket armed and Rivers don’t belong in the same sentence. Like Matt Ryan, his arm is good enough… definitely not a rocket though. If anything, both Rivers and Ryan have been accused of having an average arm or worse.
Something I finally saw us do on Sunday that we hadn’t done all season, was show the blitz and drop out of it… we intercepted a pass off that look. Considering we don’t disguise our defenses very well, and QBs always know what to do when facing our CBs in 1 and 0 coverage, when we finally do disguise a coverage it works pretty well. On Ahmad Black’s INT we showed the blitz and apparently went into a form of the cover 2 and Black was there for the easy pick. Palmer thought we were bringing the house and went with the 9 route. Wrong move against the cover 2 and Black made the interception. We need to do a better job of disguising our blitzes and perhaps have a little more faith in our DL to get pressure and play a mix of zone and man under a cover 2 shell to help out our CBs.
November 9th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Brandon you are full of crap.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:53 am
Buc Fan #238, Brandon’s analysis looked good to me. What don’t you like about it?
November 10th, 2012 at 9:58 am
Re Gerald’s comment–if you go back & watch film of Unitas & Marino, they were masters of shuffling slightly in the pocket to avoid pressure & give themselves the extra half-second to look downfield. You don’t have to be Bobby Douglass or Fran Tarkenton back there.
November 10th, 2012 at 10:43 am
I thought Brandon’s words were well spoken too, Buc Fan #238. I realize he didn’t attack anyone as seems to be becoming the norm around here, but whether he was right or wrong, it was well spoken.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:24 pm
And if you don’t chew Big Red, then f@*k you!