Where Do the Chargers Go from Here?

[Sluss]

With the San Diego Chargers trading for AJ Feeley (http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/chargers/20051019-9999-1s19chargers.html)does this mean resolution for their QB situation? Despite what AJ Smith says this seems like a pretty big step.

If your the Chargers do you keep Drew Brees or Phillip Rivers? It seems crazy to give up Brees who has been very good the past two years. However, how in the blue hell are you going to move that absurd contract that Rivers has? A contract so bad that Bears spent the pre-draft time telling agents they would not a work a deal that matched it.

You can't just hold on to all three cap wise. If you do your just hurting a combination of your O & D-lines and special teams.

I have this feeling that they are going to try and move Rivers then when that fails they will be forced to get rid of Brees. After a tough season this year with THE hardest schedule in the NFL, can this team stand to go through the growing pains of a rookie QB when the team is built to win right now?

[bugstud]

it probably depends on how rivers looks in practice. I think given the acquisition and cap related issues, they're moving brees, but this was a big suprise to me.

[jakethebake]

I'm not sure why this was a big surprise opther than they could've found someone better than Feeley. It was obvious they wouldn't keep both those guys around and Feeley will never challenge for the job so there won't be any more QB controversy.

Being in Miami I'm more curious about what the Fins got out of this (other than getting Feeley out of town). Is this Lemon guy any good at all? His preseason numbers looked pretty good.

[siccjay]

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I'm not sure why this was a big surprise opther than they could've found someone better than Feeley. It was obvious they wouldn't keep both those guys around and Feeley will never challenge for the job so there won't be any more QB controversy.

Being in Miami I'm more curious about what the Fins got out of this (other than getting Feeley out of town). Is this Lemon guy any good at all? His preseason numbers looked pretty good.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea he looked good in the preseason (I Heard) and it gets rid of that other Dave "I couldn't coach pee-wee flag football" Wannstedt QB of the future. A genius that guy was......

[JayLear]

I think the Bolts are going to wait until the end of the year and decide what to do. If the offense continues to look good and Brees continues to look like the future, look for Rivers to get moved. There are probably a good number of teams that would give away at least a high first round draft choice for a QB like Rivers. Look for Rivers to get dealt next March or April, Brees to sign a big long-term deal, and Feely to take over as Brees' backup.

[Sluss]

From what I hear Saban has a real hard-on for Lemon and it was the Dolphins who really pushed for this trade.

i think its probably a salary cap thing for miami. i think he feely got a ptretty good contract cause he did ok for philly for a few games one yr. they probably did not care what they got back

[Sluss]

[ QUOTE ]
I think the Bolts are going to wait until the end of the year and decide what to do. If the offense continues to look good and Brees continues to look like the future, look for Rivers to get moved. There are probably a good number of teams that would give away at least a high first round draft choice for a QB like Rivers. Look for Rivers to get dealt next March or April, Brees to sign a big long-term deal, and Feely to take over as Brees' backup.

[/ QUOTE ]

You see this makes too much sense in the NFL world. With Salary Cap issues it is going to be damn near impossible to move Rivers. The only way your going to get rid of him is for a song and I don't think Smith wants to do that.

Your main candidates would be he Lions, Bears, Jets, Titans, Cowboys, maybe the Bills, maybe the Ravens.

Maybe you can get Matt Millen to take a shot at him, but I don't think the Bears would take on that contract. I don't think the Jets can. I know the Titans can't and they have Voleck anyway. The Cowboys might have the room, but do you want to spend that much money on a QB or would you just prefer to draft your own? I'm not sure the Ravens have the cap room either.

That is one nasty contract Rivers has and it is not going to net them the 1st Round draft pick they are going to want.

[bugstud]

other longshots are AZ, STL, NO, TB, Miami (ha!), OAK, KC, HOU, CLE. All these teams have either a QB that may get booted because of performance/injury issues or a young guy that may falter. I'd agree with the primary ones, but if someone like Al Davis gets a hardon for Rivers...

[HDPM]

well, they could start by grtting rid of the coach who by my estimation is the third winningest coach in Broncos history. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Jack of Arcades]

[ QUOTE ]
Where Do the Chargers Go from Here?

[/ QUOTE ]

The super bowl?

[Sluss]

[ QUOTE ]


[ QUOTE ]
Where Do the Chargers Go from Here?



[/ QUOTE ] The super bowl?

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That's why this is so interesting to me. I've become a closet Chargers fan ever since I got the Sunday ticket four years ago. I've seen them build up a team and really start to look like a Super Bowl contender. I think they may be able to do it with Brees, not with Rivers. Not that I think Rivers will be bad, it is just that the way the team is set by the time Rivers gets to the same level of Brees, they might be past or coming near the end of their "window."

[brettbrettr]

I don't think their window is that small at all. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought they were a pretty young team.

[Sluss]

I think almost every team's window is four years max. Between injuries and the cap almost every team blows up. The Eagles and Pats are trying to disprove this, but I don't think the San Diego front office is as good as either of those teams.

[brettbrettr]

The SD FO is extremely conservative and way under the cap. I think they'll be ok, especially when they get rid of one of their QBs in the offseason.

The team with the smallest window is undoubtedly the Colts.

[Sluss]

[ QUOTE ]
The SD FO is extremely conservative and way under the cap. I think they'll be ok, especially when they get rid of one of their QBs in the offseason.


[/ QUOTE ] They are $3.3 million under the cap (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2152462) about middle of the pack. Not in cap trouble, but not way under. The Eagles are $12.6 million, they are way under.

[brettbrettr]

Fair enough. I thought SD was lower, but clearly I'm wrong. Philly resigns a lot of players during the reg season though, and that # will be higher before its all done, I'm sure.

[Sluss]

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Philly resigns a lot of players during the reg season though, and that # will be higher before its all done, I'm sure.

[/ QUOTE ]
I would think they are going to use a good chunk of it on Westbrook. However, still nothing. I do like the fantasy numbers he is putting up in his contract year. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[brettbrettr]

Yeah, I would think a lot of it would be for him. He hasn't gotten the ball that much in the last two games. I don't know why.

[Soul Daddy]

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He hasn't gotten the ball that much in the last two games. I don't know why.

[/ QUOTE ]
He doesn't have a 20 touch game all season! I don't get it either. This is borderline criminal negligence.

As for the Chargers, I don't understand why you (OP) think it will be so difficult to trade Rivers? Wouldn't they be responsible for all of the signing bonus and take the cap hit? The contract isn't bad at all. Teams fall over themselves to give money to young QBs, this would be a relative bargain. Unless I'm mistaken about cap rules, SD would bear the financial burden here. And they should, as it would be foolish to relieve themselves of Brees's services.

[Jeff W]

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The SD FO is extremely conservative and way under the cap. I think they'll be ok, especially when they get rid of one of their QBs in the offseason.


[/ QUOTE ] They are $3.3 million under the cap (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2152462) about middle of the pack. Not in cap trouble, but not way under. The Eagles are $12.6 million, they are way under.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is not the most important number to look. The key is how flexible they are. How much of their money is locked up in gauranteed contracts(signing bonuses, etc...) and how much they will have free at the end of the season. It is inefficient for a team to be too far under the salary cap.

[Jeff W]

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I would think they are going to use a good chunk of it on Westbrook. However, still nothing. I do like the fantasy numbers he is putting up in his contract year. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I would not be surprised if Philly let Westbrook go in the off-season. Philly's front office is smart.

Running backs are replaceable and they're usually overpaid relative to their value. However--his value lies in his receiving abilities, he may come cheap enough for them to resign.

[Jeff W]

[ QUOTE ]
With the San Diego Chargers trading for AJ Feeley (http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/chargers/20051019-9999-1s19chargers.html)does this mean resolution for their QB situation? Despite what AJ Smith says this seems like a pretty big step.

[/ QUOTE ]

Look at who we traded for him--our 3rd string QB who has never thrown a pass in the regular season. And they threw in a 6th round draft pick. I think that speaks about how important he is to our future plans.

If Brees is traded, the front office will have to deal with public backlash. He is the only successful quarterback we've had since journeyman Stan Humphries was knocked out in 1997. OTOH, we're not going to recoup full value for Phil Rivers.

I favor trading Phil Rivers and getting what we can for him, but I was never sold on him coming out of college and I felt we should have drafted someone else and let Brees keep the starting job. When Brees came out of Purdue, Bill Walsh said that he looked like a future hall of famer. Bill Walsh would know. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Sluss]

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As for the Chargers, I don't understand why you (OP) think it will be so difficult to trade Rivers? Wouldn't they be responsible for all of the signing bonus and take the cap hit? The contract isn't bad at all. Teams fall over themselves to give money to young QBs, this would be a relative bargain. Unless I'm mistaken about cap rules, SD would bear the financial burden here. And they should, as it would be foolish to relieve themselves of Brees's services.

[/ QUOTE ]
From what I've been able to gather in the past few day maybe his contract is not as bad as I had thought. FWIW, I think that the Chargers would have to eat signing bonuses. The team getting Rivers would have to pay salaries and incentives.

If it is going to cost you a first round or second round pick for Rivers why wouldn't you just wait for the draft and take one there with your own pick. Rivers isn't any more proven than any college QB at this point and I was never very impressed by him in pre-season to think he would be a Hasselbeck, Dellhomme, Bulger, Brunell or other QBs that were preseason dominators before they became starting QBs for other teams.

[Soul Daddy]

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If it is going to cost you a first round or second round pick for Rivers why wouldn't you just wait for the draft and take one there with your own pick.

[/ QUOTE ]
Assuming roughly equal ability, Rivers is going to be 2 years further along in his development than whatever rookie a team picked in the draft. He might not have gotten game snaps, but practice time, digesting and understanding an NFL playbook, understudying for a Pro Bowler, etc... all add up to experience that a rookie simply doesn't have.

A team might hit the jackpot with a Roethlisberger, but that's happenned twice in the past two decades. Much more likely is they'd have to wait 2 years before the QB they drafted is near where Rivers would be next season. And it would likely cost them a lot less, both cap-wise and real dollars, than it would if they drafted him anywhere near the top of the draft, due to not being responsible for the bonus.

[brettbrettr]

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If it is going to cost you a first round or second round pick for Rivers why wouldn't you just wait for the draft and take one there with your own pick.

[/ QUOTE ]

He's further along in his development that a rookie, IMO. And obviously a team would opt for him if they think he's a better prosect than whoever else is available....

[brettbrettr]

from Newsday...

The Chargers' acquisition of backup quarterback A.J. Feeley could indicate they're willing to part with one of their other quarterbacks next offseason. Just not the one most people believe.

San Diego could be willing to part with Drew Brees, not Philip Rivers, after the season, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Brees, the Chargers' starter, does not have a contract for 2006. The Jets would be interested because Brees, 26, has a strong arm and can run.

If the Chargers decide to go with Rivers, whom they've given $14.5 million in bonuses, the likely approach would be to franchise Brees and trade him. The Jets would then have to sign Brees to a contract so big, he'd have to be considered the starter.

[Soul Daddy]

I won't overreact to a Newsweek rumor story, but if that held true, they had better be right about Rivers.

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The Jets would then have to sign Brees to a contract so big, he'd have to be considered the starter.

[/ QUOTE ]

This statement made me laugh. As if he's going to be a backup for backup money somewhere. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[brettbrettr]

Yeah, that statement is funny. I doubt he'd even consider the Jets b/c the last thing this guy needs is another QB controversey. And I don't blame him at all. If its Brees who goes, I don't see why The Cardinals wouldn't sign him.

[arod15]

Trade rivers to the jets and get some value...

[brettbrettr]

If Pennington doesn't restructure--and this is highly likely--I don't think they can afford to take on a contract like Rivers. I think Brees' will be just as big, but given that they could negotiate it with their own cap in mind, I guess its possible. The Jets cap ain't exactly the most healthy looking thing on earth. And I don't know that they give up so soon on a QB they've invested so much $ in. I think they might opt to bring in someone good, not great, and see what's what with Pennington.