Rivers clearly better QB than Eli Manning

Eli Manning never did want to come to the San Diego Chargers in 2004 because he thought San Diego had the worst team in the NFL.

Well, Eli, here is some news for you.

Since your refusal to come to San Diego when the Chargers made you the number one draft pick in 2004; the Chargers have yet to experience a losing season.

Not only that, they are now 2-0 against you with Sunday’s 21-20 win over you and your New York Giants at the Meadowlands.

Clearly, Philip Rivers has been better statistically over his career than you.

Besides that, Rivers led the Chargers on an 8-play, 80-yard drive in 1:46 to beat you with a last-minute pass of 18 yards to Vincent Jackson.

(This came after you and the Giants were unable to score a TD after an interception left you with first-and-goal at the Chargers 4 with 3:14 remaining. With a TD, you would’ve clinched the game with a 10-point lead.)

Certainly, Eli, you have the Super Bowl ring that Rivers does not.

However, it’s not always the best QB who wins the Super Bowl. Do you really believe Trent Dilfer was the league’s best QB when the Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl?

All things considered, Rivers has turned out to be a better QB than you, Eli.

Chargers-Giants step away from dregs of NFL

It’s amazing how perspective can be sometimes.

The San Diego Union-Tribune dutifully notes that the New York Giants (5-3) have four wins against the “dregs” of the NFL (Washington, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland.)

What it doesn’t note is that the San Diego Chargers (4-3) have recorded three of their four wins against the dregs of Oakland and Kansas City.

This Sunday, the Chargers and Giants step away from the dregs when they meet each other in the Meadowlands.

San Diego QB Philip Rivers should have a field day vs. the porous Giants secondary.

On the other hand, look for Brandon Jacobs to record his first 100-yard rushing game of the season vs. the weak Chargers’ defense.

Over the past four years, Rivers has been a better QB statistically than Eli Manning of the Giants. But Manning has a Super Bowl ring … and a better team surrounding him … to show for it.

That should make the difference Sunday.

Prediction:
Giants 27, Chargers 23

Manning vs. Rivers: Who got the best of the trade?

Certainly, a majority of football fans in San Diego still remember the 2004 NFL Draft.

There was Eli Manning pouting after he was the first overall pick by the San Diego Chargers. (He didn’t want to come to what he thought was the worst team in football; a Chargers team that went 12-4 in 2004.)

Less than an hour after being drafted by the Chargers, Manning was a member of the New York Giants.

The Chargers wisely instituted a trade for Giants first-round pick Philip Rivers, adding some future draft picks along with Rivers.

As it turned out, those future selections included a couple of stars to be in linebacker Shawne Merriman and kicker Nate Kaeding.

Who got the better of the deal?

Without a doubt, you could argue that the Chargers did. After all, they received what turned out to be three quality players for Manning.

But on the other hand, Manning has won a Super Bowl. That’s more than Rivers, Merriman or Kaeding have ever accomplished.

Come Sunday at the Meadowlands, Rivers and Manning will start against each other for the first time.

No matter what happens, Manning still has a one-up on Rivers with a Super Bowl ring.

That fact alone makes the 2004 draft swap a good trade for the Giants.

Norv Turner: Downfall of the Chargers?

Let’s compare the head coaching careers of Marty Schottenheimer and Norv Turner.

The rap on Schottenheimer was that he could turn around a terrible team and win in the regular season, but never in the playoffs.

In contrast, Turner just flat-out has a history of not making the playoffs as a head coach (he’s only done it twice in 10 years.)

Two seasons very well justify the feelings about each coach, when you consider 2004 vs. 2008.

In 2004, Schottenheimer was coaching what was believed to be the least talented team in the NFL with the Chargers. (It was so bad that first-round draft pick Eli Manning refused to play for San Diego.)

So what happened?

The Chargers went 12-4, were the surprise team of the NFL and lost in the first round of the playoffs when Nate Kaeding couldn’t make a 40-yard field goal.

(Just what you would expect from Schottenheimer, who was 200-126 in the regular season and 5-13 in the playoffs.)

Fast forward to 2008:

The Chargers have what many consider the best talent in the NFL.

So what has Turner done for them lately? How about leading them to a 4-6 record and the distinction as the most disappointing team in the NFL thus far?

The Chargers got rid of Schottenheimer for not winning in the playoffs, only to hire someone who rarely makes the playoffs. What a shame it would be if this Turner-led team didn’t even make the postseason coming from a crummy AFC West division.

You want a head coach who at least make the playoffs, or one who makes the GM happy by being his buddy?

Unfortunately, you’re stuck with the latter.

Weekend predictions:
Indianapolis Colts 26, Chargers 24
UNLV 27, San Diego State 17

Chargers primed to beat Favre, Jets

Did you know Brett Favre is quarterback of the New York Jets now, lol.

You probably haven’t heard it more than 10,000 times on ESPN ... and 20,000 times elsewhere.

That being said, the new Mr. Jet (not to be confused with Joe Namath) brings his team to town for Monday Night Football against the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium.

So much seems to point in Favre’s favor:

He is 5-0 vs. the Chargers
He beat them in Week 3 last year in Green Bay (this happens to be Week 3)
He’s almost always at his best on Monday Night Football

Well, there is another way to look at this.

The Chargers are 0-2, playing in a nationally televised night game.

The last time that happened was in 2005, when Eli Manning and the New York Giants came to town.

Manning was booed unmercifully for his disparaging comments the year before about San Diego; the Chargers beat the Giants, 45-22.

Although Favre will receive a much warmer reception than Manning, the rest of this game smells a lot like 2005.

Prediction: Chargers 38, Jets 24

Best Super Bowl chance: Brees or Rivers?

Of the first three quarterbacks taken in the 2004 NFL draft, two have won Super Bowls and one has not.

The haves are Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Eli Manning of the New York Giants.

The have not is Philip Rivers of the Chargers.

Now another question looms on the horizon: Which of the last two Chargers’ starting quarterbacks will win a Super Bowl first?

Will it be Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints or Rivers?

Brees took the Saints to the 2006 NFC championship game; Rivers led the Chargers to the 2007 AFC championship game.

Neither has played in the Super Bowl.

We know for a fact that Rivers has the cast around him to reach this season’s Super Bowl.

Ditto with Brees in New Orleans; especially now that the Saints have traded for former New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey.

Who will win the Super Bowl first? Brees or Rivers?

It’s your call.

Did Eli Manning one-up Chargers?

OK, Charger fans; does everybody still believe the Chargers got the better of the draft day trade with the New York Giants in 2004?

After all, the Giants did receive Eli Manning in the trade. And Manning was the MVP on Sunday when the Giants shocked the New England Patriots, 17-14, in the Super Bowl.

You can still make the contention that the Chargers did much better in the trade. In essence, by trading Manning to New York, the Chargers were able to get quarterback Philip Rivers, linebacker Shawne Merriman and kicker Nate Kaeding.

Certainly, a case can be made that the Chargers went from 4-12 in 2003 to the playoffs each of the last two years because of the Manning trade in April 2004.

But what about the Giants? They were also 4-12 in 2003 … and now they have won the Super Bowl with Manning.

There’s no question that the Chargers received plenty of overall talent by trading an unhappy Manning to the Giants within an hour of drafting him in 2004.

Yet until the Chargers win the Super Bowl like Manning and the Giants did, it will be difficult to say they got the best of the trade.

A.J. Smith's new contract: Good! Bad!

The good news is the bad news for the Chargers.

The good news is that general manager A.J. Smith has been signed through 2014. And, yes, that’s the bad news.

On the good side, Smith seems to have a great ability to secure great players.

Trading Eli Manning on draft day 2004 for what turned out to be Philip Rivers, Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding was brilliant.

Bringing in Keenan McCardell in the middle of the 2004 season and Chris Chambers the middle of this season were both strokes of brilliance. Taking a chance on Antonio Cromartie in the first round of the 2006 draft looks superb right now.

Then there’s the personality.

Smith has run off such mainstays as Drew Brees, Donnie Edwards and Marty Schottenheimer with his piranha personality.

In the future, the Chargers can only hope Smith continues to make above average personality evaluations.

But on the other hand, he may even be more likely to run quality people off with his lack of people skills now that he has the longest-term contract in the organization.

We’ll see.

A.J. Smith: Genius or Not?

A.J. Smith is an absolute genius … or is he?

Smith is certainly given the most pats on the back for the San Diego Chargers’ impressive 35-13 record the past three regular seasons. But if that be the case, he’s also part of the team failing to win its playoff games in 2004 and 2006.

The team’s cornerstone players are LaDainian Tomlinson on offense and Jamal Williams on defense. Both players were with the Chargers before Smith became general manager.

Smith had a stellar draft in 2004.

Selecting quarterback Eli Manning in the first round and trading him to the New York Giants for QB Philip Rivers was a steal; considering the Chargers also received a third-round pick (kicker Nate Kaeding), and first-round selection in 2005 (linebacker Shawne Merriman).

San Diego’s 2004 draft was further bolstered by picking current starters Igor Olshansky (defensive end, second round), Nick Hardwick (center, third round) and Shaun Phillips (linebacker, fourth round.)

What about Smith’s other drafts? You might want to close your eyes on some.

2003: This draft yielded busts in two of the first three picks with defensive backs Sammy Davis and Terrence Kiel. However, it did yield current starters CB Drayton Florence (2nd), LB Matt Wilhelm (4th) and P Mike Scifres (5th).

2005: Besides Merriman, current starters DE Luis Castillo (1st) and WR Vincent Jackson (2nd) were also taken. Beyond that, none of the draftees figure to be starters this season.

2006: Starters were chosen in the first two rounds with CB Antonio Cromartie and OT Marcus McNeill. Once again, that’s where the starters stop among draft picks.

We’ll find out if Smith is a true architect in 2007. The Chargers did not sign any free agents from outside the organization, so they are certainly no stronger than the day they lost to New England in the playoffs with leading tackler Donnie Edwards (now a Kansas City Chief) at linebacker.

The Chargers fired Marty Schottenheimer, at least in part, because he cannot win in the playoffs despite being one of the best regular-season coaches in NFL history. They might not have to worry about a playoff loss with new boss Norv Turner, who has failed to make the postseason in eight of his nine seasons as a head coach.

A.J. Smith: Genius or overrated? This year’s NFL draft could tell a lot about that question.