cphil006 Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 San Diego Chargers have a "problem" we all wish we had. Two quarterbacks of the future...Drew Bress and Philip Rivers...seems next year that Brees is gone, but to where? He is playing well. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/don_banks/11/03/banks.burning.questions/index.html Has red-hot Drew Brees changed San Diego's thinking at quarterback? Drew Brees has 14 TDs and just three INTs this season. Brees' strong first-half performance this season has pleasantly impacted the Chargers' present in a surprising way, but it hasn't changed anything about their long-term future at the quarterback position. Next season and beyond still belongs to Philip Rivers, the former N.C. State star who came to San Diego in that ballyhooed Eli Manning draft-day trade with the Giants. The Chargers, having won four out of five and tied Denver for first place in the AFC West at 5-3, have no reason to come out and talk about 2005 at this point. Why mess with success and give Brees any reason to lose his mojo? But know this: Barring the unexpected, like Rivers suffering some sort of serious injury or setback, the Chargers will be his team next season, with Brees allowed to leave via unrestricted free agency. That's not set in stone, but the writing's at least on the wall -- much the way it was in Cincinnati last year, when quarterback Jon Kitna's strong play didn't keep the Bengals from turning things over to No. 1 pick Carson Palmer this season. Credit to Brees for at least making San Diego's decision topical. His 11 touchdown passes and just one interception in the past five games have sparked San Diego's high-powered offense, and represent the best run of his four-year NFL career. Against the Raiders on Sunday, Brees set a team record for completion percentage, with a 22 of 25 day (88 percent) for 281 yards, a 153.1 quarterback rating and a career-best five touchdown passes. For the season, Brees has tossed 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions, a far cry from 2003, when his 11 touchdowns and 15 interceptions resulted in him getting benched for five games and pulled from two others. The Chargers are averaging 27.3 points per game, which trails only the Colts and Chiefs league-wide. Can San Diego either hold onto both Brees and Rivers, or get something of value in exchange for Brees? Yes, but neither scenario appears very likely. The Chargers could retain Brees by placing their franchise tag on him, but then they would owe him a one-year salary in the range of $9 million in 2005. With Rivers receiving a $40 million contract this summer, there's no way San Diego could afford to tie up that much money at quarterback. The Chargers also could franchise Brees with the intention of trading him, but that too comes with a salary-cap risk, given that Brees could sign San Diego's one-year tender at any time and put that $9 million on the team's 2005 books. If Brees doesn't like the team the Chargers arrange to trade him to, he could refuse to negotiate a cap-friendly deal with that club as part of any transaction, thereby holding San Diego hostage to his demands. That would mean the Chargers would have to work out the whole deal before they even apply the franchise tag, and that's probably a situation they're not going to mess with. The odds are they'll stick with their intention to elevate Rivers and bid Brees farewell. How fond that farewell will be depends on how far Brees can take them this season. Then again, he's already exceeded expectations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Diggler Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=79566 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cphil006 Posted November 3, 2004 Author Share Posted November 3, 2004 different article Chest Rockwell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 As much as I like Ramsey, if Gibbs wont start him and we could upgrade the play of the center and the LG, I wouldnt mind trading Pat for a pick and get Brees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 what's ironic about bringing up the SD situation is the realization that at this time last year Drew Brees was in the same situation that Ramsey is in now, where people are doubting that he may be the long-term answer. as we see by the SD example sometimes you have to give a young passer more chances than you expect to make a go of it. the last thing we want to do is not give Ramsey time and then go ahead and bring in another quarterback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Originally posted by bulldog what's ironic about bringing up the SD situation is the realization that at this time last year Drew Brees was in the same situation that Ramsey is in now, where people are doubting that he may be the long-term answer. as we see by the SD example sometimes you have to give a young passer more chances than you expect to make a go of it. From all the Chargers fans that Ive talked to about Brees, the major difference between last year and this year is the amount of protection that he has from the O line. He now has time to be accurate with his passes and has time to set and throw deep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 and THAT my friend could be the situation here in regards to Ramsey's performance in 2003 under Spurrier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Originally posted by bulldog and THAT my friend could be the situation here in regards to Ramsey's performance in 2003 under Spurrier That was obviously his issue last year (along with not having much of a running game) but that doesnt explain Brunell at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Originally posted by bubba9497 :doh: care to explain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsarethebest Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Originally posted by Oldskool That was obviously his issue last year (along with not having much of a running game) but that doesnt explain Brunell at all. here's what explains Brunell: he sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Brunell is clearly a transitional figure at qb. The odds of him returning as the starter in 2005 to me are very slim absent a sudden discovery of the fountain of youth by #8 the Redskins do have some other issues to address on offense for 2005 and I am hoping we get to see at least a little bit of McCants and Cartwright down the stretch as some of the other skill players haven't made much of a contribution as expected. We need to find a capable backup running back to Portis who can block as well in protection and Betts after 2 plus years doesn't look like he has a clue. Gardner to me is far too inconsistent to depend upon as a possession/third down receiver, so we need to see what Jacobs, McCants have to offer. I also want to see more of Chris Cooley in the passing game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Originally posted by Oldskool care to explain? I just can't believe somebody wants to bring in another FA in and start from scratch again. Gibbs likes what Ramsey brings....he is grooming him.. people just need to be patient Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Originally posted by bubba9497 I just can't believe somebody wants to bring in another FA in and start from scratch again. Gibbs likes what Ramsey brings....he is grooming him.. people just need to be patient So you believe that Gibbs is grooming him and Gibbs believes that he can win with Brunell? Or has he thrown in the towel for the season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Originally posted by Oldskool So you believe that Gibbs is grooming him and Gibbs believes that he can win with Brunell? Or has he thrown in the towel for the season? I have posted this several times. Brunell is the vet to play until Gibbs can get the offense going. Gibbs wants to give Ramsey an environment to succeed. So when he makes mistakes, they won't be game breakers, and erode what's left of his already shaky confidence. With the offense so out of sync, PR has little chance of succeeding. And no one to lean on to help him out of a jam (like with the Vikings did when they had Carter and Moss and an experienced OL to help ween Daunte Culpepper as a starting QB) Gibbs likes to groom his young QB's until they are ready. PR needs to sit and learn Gibbs offense, and needs more work in the off season and training camp before he is ready to go under fire. He hasn't had a great deal of reps since training camp, and giving him a week to step in and expect to improve a sputtering offense is simply unrealistic... and would do more harm than good in his development. Getting playing time is important, but only if it is positive learning experience. Gibbs is building for the future, not a quick fix attempt for one season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Easy Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 But is Brees courageous? Is he showing courage? Because I don't see how you can replace a veteran guy who's playing courageously with courage, and insert some guy who's just producing. Screw production. It's all about the courage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Originally posted by cphil006 different article Chest Rockwell lmao is that name from boogie nights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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