Philip Rivers key to Chargers success

Aug 21, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

With a new regime in place in San Diego, one building block remains the foundation: Philip Rivers. Rivers, who’s now best known for being the winningest quarterback to never make it to a Super Bowl, will be a key building block that head coach Mike McCoy and general manager Tom Telesco want to make sure they build around.

There are few players on this roster that Chargers fans want to keep but Rivers seems to be one of them. Rivers has had the word elite thrown around his career for quite some time now but it comes and it goes with how good of a season he has. Is that fair? Ehh.

Rivers has a career QB rating of 94.5, which is good for the 6th best career QB rating of All Time and the 5th best active rating. He ranks 7th out of active QB’s in career passing touchdowns with 189 and 8th out of active QB’s in career passing yards with 27,891. The other QB’s drafted in 2004 started from the get go while Rivers sat behind now Saints QB Drew Brees for his first two seasons but yet he’s right up there with Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.

Moving forward, the Chargers success will ultimately lie in the hands of Rivers. The new coaches are going to be building around him and have great expectations for wide receivers like Danario Alexander and Vincent Brown. Rivers needs to get his confidence back up, and when he does, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. He should be playing with something to prove and Chargers fans everywhere are hoping that he’ll finally prove it in 2013.

Dec 30, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; General view of the San Diego Chargers helmet of quarterback Philip Rivers with the initials S.H.E.S. in honor of the shooting victims of Sandy Hook elementary school during the game against the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

You can follow Matt on Twitter @Welch1048.