He’ll Make Calls; Can He Answer One?

Philip Rivers has a most-valuable-player candidate in his backfield, a transcendent tight end in his sights, an up-and-coming defense in his corner, and the future of an NFL franchise in his hands. But is Rivers, who has yet to make his first pro start, the right quarterback to lead the San Diego Chargers where they want to go?

One of the most respected offensive minds in football -- an AFC competitor, no less -- has no doubt about that.

“I’ve made the statement that whichever team winds up with Philip Rivers is going to the Super Bowl,” said Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who coached Rivers in his freshman season at North Carolina State. “That’s a bold statement, I know, and I’m not saying it will happen right away. But he has that kind of ability and charisma.”

What’s more, Chow says he was quietly lobbying to trade for Rivers last season, when it looked as if the Chargers might keep Drew Brees instead. The Titans wound up drafting Texas quarterback Vince Young, in doing so taking a pass on Matt Leinart, one of Chow’s star pupils at USC.

“Selfishly,” Chow said, “I was hoping we might get Philip.”

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Antonio Gates, San Diego’s two-time Pro Bowl tight end, could tell from the start that Rivers was his kind of quarterback.

Having waited almost two seasons to take his first meaningful NFL snap after being chosen No. 4 overall in the 2004 draft, Rivers looked like an old pro when he finally got his chance. It came in the second quarter of a 2005 finale, at home against Denver when Brees suffered a shoulder injury.

As the Chargers walked to the line of scrimmage for Rivers’ first pass play, the quarterback looked over to Gates and gave him a hand signal to adjust his route. It was a simple gesture, sort of a wiggling “hang loose” sign, but it told Gates plenty.

“In a sense, I had been trying to get Drew to do that all game,” said Gates, who saw the same hole in the defense Rivers did. “Not saying that Philip’s a better player or better leader, but that mentality is really impressive. To come in a game and on the first play change the play the offensive coordinator has given you ... that alone just let me know that this guy had the capabilities to be a leader.”

The story didn’t have an ideal ending; the pass to Gates fell incomplete, and Rivers enjoyed only moderate success in the 23-7 loss. Still, that flash of chutzpah earned him instant respect with at least one of his most influential teammates.

“I saw the way Peyton Manning commanded a huddle in the Pro Bowl, told people where they were supposed to be, changed the plays,” Gates said. “I’ve seen Tom Brady do the same thing. And when I see Philip do it, it’s like, ‘Wow.’ ”

While it’s wildly premature to compare him to Indianapolis’ Manning and New England’s Brady, the Chargers are expecting big things from Rivers, who was promoted in March when Brees signed as a free agent with New Orleans. San Diego, coming off a 9-7 season that was better than its record suggests, is hoping Rivers becomes the first Chargers quarterback to notch a playoff victory since Stan Humphries in 1994.

Coach Marty Schottenheimer, whose team has been in camp for a week, likes Rivers’ instincts. “There are some people that have an intuitive ability when it comes to making decisions in football,” he said. “Those players, their development happens more quickly because it doesn’t have to come by rote memory.”

Things seem to come naturally for Rivers, the son of an Alabama high school football coach. He never stepped on the toes of Brees, yet never really acted like an understudy. There aren’t many teams in which the star players flock to the locker of the No. 2 quarterback for daily games of dominoes and cards.

“He’s extremely magnetic as a person,” center Nick Hardwick said. “Everyone wants to be around Phil.”

Explained Rivers: “The last two years I didn’t view myself as a backup. I mean, I was. I accepted that role. But I always looked at myself as a starter and tried to approach it from that mind-set.”

Not everything in Rivers’ life has unfolded at such a leisurely pace. He’s 24, and is already a father of three daughters -- the youngest born last month -- having married his childhood sweetheart, Tiffany, five years ago. He had a spectacular career at North Carolina State, where some compared him to John Elway for his strength, poise and quick release. There, he used his unconventional, from-the-shoulder delivery to throw for 13,484 yards, second-most in NCAA history.

The Chargers aren’t asking Rivers to be a star, at least not right away. The focus of the offense remains running back LaDainian Tomlinson, their MVP candidate, and their dream scenario has Rivers following in the footsteps of Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger -- drafted seven picks after Rivers -- who flourished with the help of an outstanding running back and receivers, a solid offensive line and a punishing defense.

The San Diego Steelers? Gates likes the sound of that.

“Ben Roethlisberger won a Super Bowl,” he said. “He was supported by the guys around him, the Jerome Bettises, the Hines Wards. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

And Rivers is happy he’s around to help put that plan in motion. For most of last season, he had doubts. He figured he would be a starter somewhere this season, but he had no guarantee it would be in San Diego. The Chargers might have let him go too, had Brees not suffered a serious injury to his throwing shoulder.

“That was tough,” Rivers said of last season’s uncertainty. “Literally every day, I’d talk to Tiff and it was like, ‘Am I going to be here? Am I going to be somewhere else?’ Honestly, I hoped it would be right here. I like this team, the coaching staff, the organization ... and it’s never been done here.”

First things first. Rivers, after all, is essentially a first-year player looking to make his first NFL start. He has been working on his consistency, often mixing higher-percentage passes with squeeze-it-in-there throws. He calls it being “aggressively patient,” and it’s a fitting metaphor for his career.

“I’ve had to stay aggressive and stay hungry, and yet still be patient,” he said. “It wasn’t easy. There were days when I probably didn’t live up to it to the fullest, but for the most part I stayed on course, hoping that this day would come.”