29-year old QB Philip Rivers turned in his most amazing year of his NFL career in 2010.  He was putting up huge numbers without Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd quite a bit due to injuries and holdouts.  Rivers started all 16 games for the Chargers last season and he completed 357 of 541 passes (66%) for 4,710 yards with 30 TD passes and 13 INTs (101.8 QB Rating).  Rivers also carried the ball 29 times for 52 yards (1.8 ypc) last season.  Rivers has now played in 84 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,564 of 2,455 passes (63.7%) for 19,661 yards with 136 TD passes and 58 INTs (97.2 QB Rating).  Rivers has also carried the ball 168 times for 262 yards (1.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He seems to be getting better every season and that has to be downright scary for the rest of the league.

34-year old Billy Volek played in 3 games for the Chargers last season and he completed 1 of 1 passes (100%) for 8 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (100.0 QB Rating).  Volek also carried the ball 6 times for -5 yards (-0.8 ypc) last season.  Volek has now played in 37 games in his NFL career and he has completed 337 of 561 passes (60.1%) for 3,754 yards with 27 TD passes and 15 INTs (84.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 52 times for 33 yards (0.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far in his career.

VERDICT:  I look for Philip Rivers to continue being a dominating QB in 2011 for the Chargers.  But, I have a feeling that they will need to look for a new backup as Billy Volek will be looking to go somewhere where he can compete for a starting job.

The Chargers outlasted a pesky Broncos team in Denver yesterday.  Philip Rivers was so-so as he completed 21 of 37 passes for 313 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  Ryan Mathews saved his best for last in this game as he carried the ball 26 times for 120 yards (4.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 3 passes for 19 yards (6.3 avg) in this game.  Darren Sproles carried the ball 4 times for 43 yards (10.8 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 26 yards (13.0 avg) in this game.  WRs Legedu Naanee (4 rec, 79 yards), Malcolm Floyd (2 rec, 57 yards) and Vincent Jackson (3 rec, 53 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Chargers yesterday.  The Chargers finished up with 164 yards rushing on 31 carries (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 37 passes for 283 yards as they had possession of the football for 34:22 yesterday.

The defense was not too good yesterday for the Chargers.  LB Kevin Burnett (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), safety Eric Weddle (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and CB Quentin Jammer (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Chargers on D in this game.  The Broncos finished up with 146 yards rushing on 29 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 36 passes for 191 yards.  The Chargers finished up with a 9-7 record which was good for 2nd in the AFC West.

The San Diego Chargers are banged up right now and they have been lousy on the road this season going 2-5.  It will be interesting to see if the Chargers get up for this game or if they lay an egg.  Ivesco Field is a hard place to play because of the altitude.  The Chargers did punish the Broncos 35-14 in San Diego earlier this year but both teams look a lot different right now.  Rookie QB Tim Tebow has breathed some life into the Denver Broncos.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers will come out throwing the ball, as usual, with Philip Rivers taking aim at a Broncos’ secondary that is giving up 233.1 yards passing per game.  The Broncos only have 18 sacks this year so Rivers should have a lot of time to throw the ball meaning that he will have a big game.  With Antonio Gates out of action, look for Rivers to throw the ball a lot to Vincent Jackson this weekend.  Mike Tolbert is also out of this game due to injury so look for Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles to carry the bulk of the work in the running game.

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Chargers are going to have to put pressure on Tim Tebow and while doing that they need to contain him in the pocket.  If not, Tebow is going to make some big plays with both his legs and his arm as he has a nice set of WRs.  The Broncos might let Tebow wing the ball around the field because the RBs just have not added much to the offense as of late.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 24, BRONCOS 20

27-year old WR Vincent Jackson had a long holdout this year which was a huge reason the Chargers didn’t make the playoffs.  Are the Chargers going to ante’ up for Jackson in the off-season?  I think they should but I have a feeling they will try to play hardball again with him.  Jackson has played in 4 games for the Chargers this season and he has caught 11 passes for 195 yards (17.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 1 time for 14 yards so far this year.  Jackson has now played in 75 games in his first six years with the Chargers and he has caught 209 passes for 3,595 yards (17.2 avg) with 28 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 11 times for 110 yards (10.0 ypc) so far in his NFL career.  Philip Rivers really likes throwing the ball to Vincent Jackson and that should figure into the Chargers’ plans going forward.