Philip Rivers is on a short lease with the San Diego Chargers. The quarterback has seen a drop off in recent years and as the Chargers continue to make changes in the team's structure, the quarterback could be next. Rivers was once an elite quarterback, but after a plague of interceptions and fumbles, he has seen a fall from grace. Despite the troubles, Rivers is promising better football in 2013.
Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt continues to put his faith in the quarterback. He said he believes Rivers can get past the 47 turnovers he created in the past two seasons and become a Pro Bowl passer once again. Rivers is echoing that statement.
"I think my best football is ahead of me, I really do. That's being optimistic, because we've had a lot of really good years. I am probably on the second half of my career, the back end, but I think I've got a lot of good football left. To me, the bad is always magnified more than the good, and there has been some bad. But there has been a heck of a lot of good," Rivers said.
Rivers once led the league in passing yards back in 2010 and touchdowns in 2008. However, in the past two seasons, he has thrown 25 interceptions and was sacked 79 times. Now the Chargers are certainly making strides to prevent that this season. The team beefed up the offensive line and provided Rivers with more weapons that will hopefully get the offense moving instead of turning the ball over.
But this is the NFL and nothing is guaranteed. The new regime of Chargers coaches and front office staff want the quarterback winning now and not later. Rivers understands that this league is built off performance and if he does not show improvement, he will likely be playing his last season with the Chargers. Rivers has made the San Diego job very attractive and the Chargers can get a new quarterback very quickly.
"You can get comfortable going into your 10th year. But when you've had the struggles we've had the last few years, and you have this newness-it's kind of like, 'Let's go!' I want to learn and try to improve as much as possible," Rivers said.
With a slew of new players to help lead, Rivers says the transition has gone much better than expected. As the team prepares for mandatory minicamps in a week, he expects the Chargers to have a much better 2013 than 2012.