Young QBs should stay the course

By Jim Trotter
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

January 13, 2007

Philip Rivers started an NCAA-record 51 games in college, won MVP awards
in five bowl games, directed the Chargers to a franchise-record 14
victories in his first year as the starter and finished with an
NFL-leading 116.6 fourth-quarter passer rating.

Yet as the Chargers prepare to open the playoffs tomorrow against the
New England Patriots in Qualcomm Stadium, Rivers is regarded by many as
the great unknown. There are so many questions about him he should have
“??” on his jersey instead of “17.”

The uncertainty stems from the fact that Rivers has never played in an
NFL postseason game, let alone started one. No one is sure how he'll
respond. Will he buckle beneath the weight of expectations? Will he
struggle with the defensive looks Patriots coach Bill Belichick will
show him? Will he answer the critics by trying to do too much?

“In a way, (a playoff game) is more than a game during the season, but I
don't think you can approach it as such,” Rivers said. “I'm not going to
try to not throw an interception in this game more than I've tried not
to throw one in any other game. I'm not going to play faster. I'm not
going to try harder. Those are all outside pressures that if you let
them get to you they can.

“I don't have to all of a sudden (say), 'All right, it's time for me to
work magic now.' I haven't been working magic all year. I've just been
playing within the system and the guys have been making plays and the
line's been blocking and (LaDainian Tomlinson has) been running for
30-something touchdowns. I've been a part of something that's done some
great things, but it hasn't been me and it doesn't have to start being
me now because we're in a playoff situation.”

Just as Rivers feels no need to change, coaches who have been in this
situation – handling a young quarterback making his first postseason
start – contend San Diego's staff should keep it on cruise control.

Norv Turner was offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys in 1992,
when Troy Aikman made his first postseason start. Aikman got a taste of
the playoffs the previous year as a sub, and in his first start in the
'92 playoffs the Cowboys gave no consideration to condensing the
playbook. Aikman responded by leading Dallas to the first of three Super
Bowl wins in four years.

“I think when you're in the playoffs, you have to ask yourself how it is
that you got to the playoffs,” Turner said. “You have to continue to do
what got you there. You have to play like you have all year to win. We
didn't worry that Troy had never started a playoff game. We were a good
team, so you've just got to do all the things that you've done all year.
If you change and say, 'Well, we have this issue or that issue or an
inexperienced quarterback,' it usually comes back to get you, in my mind.”

Tom Brady was in a situation similar to Rivers' in 2001. After sitting
on the bench for a year in New England – Rivers backed up Drew Brees for
two seasons with the Chargers – Brady replaced the injured Drew Bledsoe
in the first month of the season and led the Patriots to an 11-5 record.
When the playoffs arrived, Belichick and his staff changed nothing, and
Brady responded by leading the team to the first of three Super Bowl
wins in four seasons.

“We did what we thought was best for the football team, the entire team,
not just the quarterback,” Belichick said. “Look, whoever you put out
there, they have to play. It doesn't make any difference what position
they play, they have to play. And you have to coach. You do what you
think is best and go out there and try to execute it.”

Recent postseason history is filled with quarterbacks like Rivers who
sat on the bench for a year or two, then performed well in the
postseason in their first year as the starter. Atlanta's Michael Vick
handed the Packers their first home playoff loss; Daunte Culpepper, then
with Minnesota, threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns in a win over
New Orleans; and Chad Pennington completed 76 percent of his passes for
222 yards and three touchdowns in a defeat of Indianapolis.

Of course, not every young quarterback excels the first time out. The
Giants' Eli Manning was dreadful in his first playoff start last season,
throwing three interceptions and no touchdown passes and losing a fumble
in a loss to Carolina. And big brother Peyton, a perennial Pro Bowler
for Indianapolis, completed only 45.2 percent of his passes and did not
throw a touchdown pass in a loss.

“Experience always is a help, but it's not the definitive thing in terms
of a young quarterback succeeding in the postseason,” said former Bills
coach Marv Levy. “There are so many other things that surround it, like
if he's got a good cast around him. I don't think Philip Rivers will be
thinking, 'Oh, I've never been in the playoffs before.' He's in the NFL
and he has played well. I don't think this is a hold-your-breath type
experience. I'm sure he's built his confidence and knows he has a great
cast around him.”

Turner echoed that.

“It doesn't matter if he's been in a playoff game or not if he has a
hell of a team around him,” he said. “The thing with Troy was, he
understood that you don't have to win the game by yourself.”

At the same time, you have to be yourself. That's the message the Rams
stressed in 1999 with first-year starter Kurt Warner at quarterback.
Coach Dick Vermeil ran a pass-happy, wide-open attack under offensive
coordinator Mike Martz during the regular season, and he was adamant
about keeping his foot on the gas in the playoffs, even with a
quarterback who was only five years removed from stocking shelves on a
late-night shift at a supermarket. The result was a storybook Super Bowl
run, with Warner taking home the MVP award.

“He was aggressive and he put the ball in my hands and that's a lot of
the reason why we won,” Warner said. “I don't mean I was the reason, but
he let me play the game and get it to our playmakers. Everybody
basically said, 'That's the way we've won up to this point, that's the
way we're going to win in the playoffs. Don't worry yourself about it.
We're going to put the ball in your hands and go do what you do.'

“They never got to the point where it was like, don't screw it up. They
said let's enjoy this, let's have fun. We're going to do what we did to
get here. And fortunately we rode it out to a Super Bowl.”

Jim Trotter: (619) 293-1859; jim.trotter@uniontrib.com

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