Rivers Has to Bend With Chargers’ Brees

Quarterback Philip Rivers made his debut Sunday for the playoff-bound San Diego Chargers in front of a sellout crowd at Qualcomm Stadium.

Momentous occasion? Not exactly. Certainly not the game plan he had diagramed in his head coming out of college.

Instead of the first game of the season as the Chargers’ starter, Rivers came in at the start of the second half of the last game.

Instead of being at the controls for the meaningful games, Rivers was sent in to mop up in a meaningless game after the division title had been clinched and San Diego’s playoff seeding was assured.

And Rivers wasn’t even allowed to start that game, first-half honors going to 42-year-old Doug Flutie, old enough to be his father.

Instead of playing with the headline performers, LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates, Rivers shared the huddle with bench warmers. And Saturday, when the Chargers play host to the New York Jets in a first-round playoff game, Rivers will be back in his customary place on the sidelines.

How did this happen? How did the NCAA’s second-leading passer with 13,484 yards, the most valuable player of all four bowl games in which he appeared for North Carolina State and a player who finished seventh in balloting for the 2003 Heisman Trophy, end up so far down on his first pro depth chart?

Isn’t this the same Philip Rivers who was good enough to be drafted fourth overall last spring by the New York Giants, good enough to be traded to San Diego for the No. 1 pick, quarterback Eli Manning, good enough to sign a six-year, $40.4-million contract with the Chargers, which included a $14.25-million signing bonus?

Rivers has never shown the character flaws that brought down another supposedly can’t-miss San Diego quarterback prospect, Ryan Leaf. No steroid rumors about Rivers, no hint of scandal.

The simple answer is that Charger starter Drew Brees, thought to be the warmup act for Rivers’ 2004 season, proved to be better than anyone, the Charger front office included, had imagined.

Brees had been with the Chargers for three seasons, and his third had been his worst. He had thrown more interceptions, 15, than touchdown passes, 11, and his passer rating, 67.5, was the lowest of his career. His struggles were reflected in the standings, where San Diego finished tied for last in the AFC West at 4-12. The Chargers had some attractive options as they headed into the off-season. One was veteran Mark Brunell, the other Manning.

Brunell, however, was traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Washington Redskins, taking him off the market. Manning made it plain he didn’t want to play for the Chargers.

So, after making Manning the first pick in the draft, San Diego shipped him to New York for Rivers and draft choices.

All seemed in place for Rivers. Trouble was, he wasn’t in place. Instead of reporting to camp to compete with Brees for the starting spot, Rivers held out for the first six weeks of training camp, leaving himself no time to show what he could do.

Brees had the starting job -- at least until he messed up.

When the Chargers lost two of their first three games, the moment for the big switch seemed at hand. Rivers had moved ahead of Flutie for San Diego’s fourth game, against the Tennessee Titans at San Diego.

He never budged from the sideline, though, as Brees threw three touchdown passes to lead his team to a 38-17 victory.

And Brees has been successfully leading the Chargers ever since, completing 65.5% of his passes for 27 touchdowns, with only seven interceptions and a passer rating of 104.8.

Even Rivers has been impressed.

“The way things are going this year, it has been a blast,” he insisted after completing five of eight passes, one for a touchdown, in Sunday’s game. “Obviously, you want to play, but from the sideline, learning and watching Drew playing is great.”

But what about next season?

General Manager A.J. Smith has said that he would not part with Rivers, even though San Diego could avoid paying him a $6.6 million-option bonus by getting him off the roster before March 10.

Brees, meanwhile, will be a free agent who figures to want more than the $1.5 million the Chargers paid him this season. They are expected to re-sign him, perhaps to a one-year deal, praise him for his career year and say, “Let’s see you do it again.”

Should Brees maintain his excellence into the playoffs, that one year could prove to be extremely expensive for the Chargers. Especially considering what they are already paying Rivers.

Still, the Chargers aren’t about to bemoan their embarrassment of riches. Not if they think back to the recent past when, with Leaf at quarterback, all they had was an embarrassment.