I can’t think of any QB that would have played with a torn ACL in the playoffs like Rivers did against the Patriots in the playoffs.  That showed what kind of warrior he is.  Rivers doesn’t have the strongest arm and he’s not very mobile…..but he’s a winner and that’s all that matters.  Rivers does have nice touch on his passes and he gets rid of the football extremely fast which makes up for his lack of foot speed.  Rivers started all 16 games for the Chargers last season and he completed 277 of 460 passes (60.2%) for 3,152 yards with 21 TD passes and 15 interceptions (82.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 29 times for 33 yards (1.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Rivers could miss a little bit of time early this season because of his rehab from ACL surgery but Billy Volek is a really good backup QB.  Rivers has now played in 36 games (32 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 578 of 950 passes (60.8%) for 6,688 yards with 44 TD passes and 25 interceptions (86.6 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 82 times for 76 yards (0.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.

Billy Volek is one of the better backup QBs in the NFL as he could start for some teams.  He might have to start a couple of games this season if Philip Rivers isn’t ready at the start of the season.  Volek has a strong arm but he’s not very mobile as he’s a classic dropback passer.  Volek played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Chargers last season and he completed 3 of 10 passes (30%) for 6 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception (0.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 11 times for -7 yards (-0.6 ypc) but most of those carries were kneel downs in Charger wins.  Volek will likely add some positive numbers to his career totals in 2008.  Volek has now played in 29 games (10 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 316 of 529 passes (59.7%) for 3,515 yards with 26 TD passes and 14 interceptions (84.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 37 times for 47 yards (1.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs.

The Chargers were dangling #3 QB Charlie Whitehurst on draft day this year but no one bit on the bait.  Whitehurst did not play for the Chargers last season.  He has played in 2 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has yet to attempt a pass but he has carried the ball 2 times for 13 yards (6.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Casey Bramlet has been brought in to battle Whitehurst for the #3 job.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B