The starting quarterbacks for the two Los Angeles NFL football teams back in 1994 were the Rams’ Chris Miller and the Raiders’ Jeff Hostetler. They combined to throw 30 interceptions. Their t…
The starting quarterbacks for the two Los Angeles NFL football teams back in 1994 were the Rams’ Chris Miller and the Raiders’ Jeff Hostetler.
They combined to throw 30 interceptions. Their teams won a total of 13 games. The playoffs were a pipe dream. A year later, both teams were gone. With them went not just their mediocre quarterbacks, but L.A.’s long history of rarely getting it right at quarterback.
When the NFL returned to Los Angeles last year, 22 years after the Rams and Raiders left us, it was journeyman Case Keenum and not-yet-ready Jared Goff lining up behind center.
The results were disastrous. A 4-12 record. An utterly boring, inept offense. And a bunch of fans turning away in disgust.
When it comes to NFL quarterbacks in L.A., it’s much more miss than hit.
It’s been more than three decades since we’ ve had a legitimate one. All the way back to Jim Plunkett in 1983 and Jim Everett in 1990. And frankly, neither one of them had much longevity in terms of stacking one great season on top of another.
If you trace back even further, you’ d have to reach as far as Roman Gabriel from 1966-72 and before him Norm Van Brocklin from 1950-57 to find two L.A. quarterbacks who played well over an extended period of time.
And even then, only Van Brocklin actually won a postseason game, leading the Rams to the 1951 NFL Championship.
Other than that — and some brief flashes by the Pat Hadens, Vince Ferragamos, Plunketts and Everetts of the world — it’s been a steady bunch of wannabes, flashes in the pan, washed-up has-beens and stop-gaps.
For all of L.A.’s glitz and glamor, we’ ve never truly had that charismatic, bona fide star quarterback so many other franchises seem to have secured over the years.
Someone about whom we can legitimately say: If everything else is in place, there’s no reason not to talk about Super Bowls.
The Chargers’ move from San Diego to Los Angeles did more than just supply L.A. with its second NFL team.
We finally have a legitimate star quarterback to rally around.
From the moment he stepped foot in Los Angeles, he immediately became one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to call L.A. home.
He might even be the best ever.
The six-time Pro Bowler has thrown for 45,833 yards over his 13-year career while throwing 314 touchdowns. He’s a top 10 NFL quarterback and potentially a Hall of Famer. And he’s something we haven’ t had around here in decades.
Someone capable of carrying a team on his shoulders. No one is good enough to do it all by themselves, and certainly not Rivers. But give him a decent offensive line, decent wide receivers and a good defense backing him up, and there’s really no limit to how far he can carry a team.
As Denver Broncos coach Vance Joseph told the San Diego Union-Tribune recently, Rivers is in that exclusive first-name quarterback club.
“I put Philip in the same category as Tom, as Peyton, ” Joseph said. “He’s a top-five, -six quarterback every single year.”
Broncos defensive end Von Miller took it a step further, calling Rivers a top-three quarterback.
“Sometimes he doesn’ t even need an offensive line, he can just get the ball and throw it, ” Miller said.
The Chargers play in Denver on Monday night in their first game since returning to Los Angeles. A retooled Chargers offensive line, a healthy Keenan Allen, an explosive Melvin Gordon and an even better Hunter Henry already have Miller thinking this might be one of the best Charger teams he’s faced.
Throw in Rivers, and Miller’s attention has genuinely been grabbed.
“We’ re going to have our hands full with this L.A. Chargers team. It should be a good one, ” Miller said.
That’s the power of taking the field with a feared, respected and effective quarterback.
Rivers gives the Chargers that edge.
When was the last time we could actually say that here in L.A.?
And how many of us even remember?
The key now is keeping him healthy. As good as Rivers has been — and he’s been outstanding — his durability is just as impressive. Since taking over as the Chargers starter in 2006, Rivers has made 185 consecutive starts, counting playoffs.
That almost seems impossible for a quarterback who plays with the kind of gunslinger mentality Rivers does.
But he says there’s actually some method to the madness.
“I have been reckless at times with the football, but I’ ve never felt like I’ ve played reckless, from the standpoint of putting of myself in position to take silly hits, ” he said. “There is a fine line. If it’s third-and-4 and the game is on the line and I’ m right there at the first-down marker, I’ m probably gonna lay out for it.
“But there are times when you know to throw the ball away as opposed to gaining two yards or slide as opposed to trying to do something you can’ t do. I could do it when I was 12, and sometimes the kid comes out in you, and you remember what you did in the backyard, but these guys are a lot faster and better than I am.”
Still, pretty impressive. Even for a 6-foot-5,225-pounder.
“If you had an answer for that, there’ d be a lot of people that would pay to do that, ” marveled Ken Whisenhunt, the Chargers’ offensive coordinator. “First of all, his work ethic is tremendous. His preparation skills; he’s one of the better ones I’ ve been around. I think that certainly helps. But some of it may just be luck. We’ re very lucky to have a guy like that leading our team.”
For the Chargers to have any sort of chance this year, that has to continue.
Rivers is backed up by 11-year pro Kellen Clemens, who has thrown all of 10 passes in his three years with the Chargers, and Cardale Jones who, for all his physical tools, is nothing more than a long-range lottery ticket at this point. If he pays off, it won’ t be anytime soon.
That’s a whole lot of uncertainty behind Rivers.
“If something ever happened to Philip Rivers… oh boy, ” lamented Rex Ryan, the longtime former NFL head coach and now ESPN commentator. Ryan will be in the booth Monday night when the Chargers play the Broncos.
And he knows this much: Whatever the Chargers’ ceiling is this year, reaching it hinges on Rivers staying healthy.
