Joe Chacon's Blog
Get your mind out of the gutter.
As a San Diego Charger fan, I was doing cartwheels at the end of the first half of their game against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.
The Bolts were up 24-0 and my Charger flag was blowing proudly in the wind off of my front porch. Oddly enough, I have two neighbors who are Broncos fans and they live on either side of me. I was planning my victory lap, everything was going so well.
Peyton Manning opened up the second half with a quick touchdown pass and the score was 24-7. Rivers then has the ball stripped, which is returned for a Denver touchdown and the score gets closer at 24-14.
Rivers then goes on a tear, and not the good kind. He's out there slinging footballs like the peanut guy at Dodger Stadium throws nuts. Half of his passes look like lame ducks as he shotputs them across the line of scrimmage. Four interceptions later and I'm staring at the clock ticking down in a 35-24 loss. Rivers looks dejected, Norv Turner is scratching his head (as usual) and the Chargers blow their second big lead in as many weeks.
Through the first six weeks of the season, most of the jokes in the NFL have been directed towards Tony Romo and Jay Cutler. It's time to add a new routine to the act -- Philip Rivers.
Remember when Rivers was one of the first QBs picked in the fantasy football world? It seems like a decade ago. Let's take a look at the "real world" though. Rivers simply does not give Charger fans a sense of confidence whenever the team is trailing late in the games. Even when the team has a big lead they are holding their breaths wondering how Rivers and Turner are going to blow the lead.
Should Rivers be characterized as a bigger disappointment than Romo through week 6 of the NFL season? Here's how he stacks up to the Dallas quarterback, who is criticized the most by fans and media alike:
Tony Romo - 126/187 (67%) - 1,409 yards - 7 TD - 9 INT
Philip Rivers - 139/209 (67%) - 1,493 yards - 10 TD - 9 INT
The two signal callers have nearly identical stats and both the Chargers and Cowboys have three losses. Rivers is 30-years-old and Romo is 32.
I'm usually not a fan of knee-jerk reactions and I really admire Rivers' intensity on the field, but I don't think the Bolts would be any worse off if Romo was calling the shots.
It's a completely hypothetical question that is posed because of their similar season stats and success (or lack therof) of their respective teams.
OS Voice: Who would you rather have as the quarterback of your team -- Tony Romo or Philip Rivers?
Joe Chacon is a staff writer for Operation Sports and a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
# 16
qchris1 @ Oct 17
We're comparing a Top 10 pick against a undrafted player lol. Congrats 2 Romo, he has made it.
# 17
SFNiner52Giants28 @ Oct 17
I wouldn't take either of the QB's but if someone put a gun up to my head and said take Romo or Rivers OBVIOUS CHOICE IS RIVERS! Philip Rivers I think shoots himself in the foot as much as Romo but I think if Rivers career depends on it he would play out of his mind. Pathetically, yes why would he wait until his career is in jeopardy but I think if Tony Romos career was in his hands he wouldn't just shoot himself in the foot he'd blow his whole foot up. Tony Romo tries to hard when it comes down to a final possession. Look at the Bears game for instance. The 'boys pulled him out because of how bad he was playing. They had multiple opportunity's to come back but Romo blew it with a interception or a fumble. So in this case Rivers would easily be my choice.
# 18
Beastly Wayz @ Oct 17
[ 
# 18 qchris1 @ Oct 17 (3 Hours Ago) We're comparing a Top 10 pick against a undrafted player lol. Congrats 2 Romo, he has made it.
^^^^^^
Amazing huh, lol
]
# 18 qchris1 @ Oct 17 (3 Hours Ago) We're comparing a Top 10 pick against a undrafted player lol. Congrats 2 Romo, he has made it.
^^^^^^
Amazing huh, lol
]
# 20
Aftershock9958 @ Oct 18
As a 'boys fan, this is the type of fellow fan I have to put up with. People who can't even spell our backup QB's name, but blindly think he's better than Romo.
And then this is the type of rival fan I have to deal with.
The truth is neither wants to talk about how terrible Dallas' team has been. The focus always falls on "well Ware and Austin and Bryant and etc etc", but past maybe the top 8 or 10 players on our team, we have no depth. Our sure-handed HoF-bound TE didn't want to catch anything in the first couple of games, our supposed stud WR Bryant seemed to follow his lead and drop most of the important catches he needs to make, Austin would be better off spending one half of the game on the sideline because he's so invisible.
The offensive line doesn't seem to want to block anything, and though the defense is greatly improved, we're dead last in take-aways and our average starting field position is around the 20; If we score 28 points, we're already looking at 320 yards on offense not even taking into account the yards we pick up on stalled drives.
I hate these types of comparisons because the circumstances surrounding one QB to the next is never the same, but Romo gets the short end of the stick always. When we lose, it's because he's mistake-prone and unclutch, but when we win it's never a big game or a clutch win. Go figure.
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The truth is neither wants to talk about how terrible Dallas' team has been. The focus always falls on "well Ware and Austin and Bryant and etc etc", but past maybe the top 8 or 10 players on our team, we have no depth. Our sure-handed HoF-bound TE didn't want to catch anything in the first couple of games, our supposed stud WR Bryant seemed to follow his lead and drop most of the important catches he needs to make, Austin would be better off spending one half of the game on the sideline because he's so invisible.
The offensive line doesn't seem to want to block anything, and though the defense is greatly improved, we're dead last in take-aways and our average starting field position is around the 20; If we score 28 points, we're already looking at 320 yards on offense not even taking into account the yards we pick up on stalled drives.
I hate these types of comparisons because the circumstances surrounding one QB to the next is never the same, but Romo gets the short end of the stick always. When we lose, it's because he's mistake-prone and unclutch, but when we win it's never a big game or a clutch win. Go figure.
# 21
Colonel Cuba @ Oct 19
Aftershock9958 knows what he is talking about ^^^ The Cowboys just happen to fall short time after time. There's only so much Romo can do. He is just one player on a team of many. They could have easily been 3-2 had Bryant made the catch for the 2-pt conversion against the Ravens or If Dan Bailey actually kicked the ball between the pylons after that rare onside kick conversion that we will probably never see that team do again this season. It was just a blown chance like many others in the past seasons. I tell you what though, if the team were able to produce the running game they got (surprisingly) against the Ravens consistently, they'd be much better off.
# 22
BezO @ Oct 19
I'd take Romo. He's more talented. His problems in the clutch can be overcome. It wasn't long ago Eli Manning was throwing INTs left & right, leading the league one year. Now he's considered the most clutch QB in the league.
I'd like to see him with a different coach. It seems all of Dallas' offensive talent is underachieving.
I'd like to see him with a different coach. It seems all of Dallas' offensive talent is underachieving.
# 23
Pandetta @ Oct 28
God, they are both just terrible at this point. Three years ago this question was easy - Rivers. Today, Rivers is in a nose dive and neither has ever been good in the clutch. I would trade either for 2 first rounders and rebuild. They both have 5 years left, and neither situation seems good enough to win a Super bowl.
# 25
wolfpackfanatic @ Nov 1
Rivers all the way. Both of them show signs of greatness, but then make you scratch your head at their decisions, but Romo does it more. Romo can put up numbers, don't get me wrong, but he has more weapons than Rivers and still struggles. Norv felt it necessary to trade away all of Phillip's receivers.
# 26
Only1LT @ Dec 5
Is this a serious question?
Rivers on one leg battled his heart out and nearly got the Chargers to the Super Bowl.
Romo has how many playoff appearances? How many playoff wins???
You can't be serious.
Rivers on one leg battled his heart out and nearly got the Chargers to the Super Bowl.
Romo has how many playoff appearances? How many playoff wins???
You can't be serious.
# 27
Joe Chacon @ Dec 6
Nothing relating to sports is really a "serious" question, but yeah, it was open for debate when I posted it a while back. As you can tell by the responses it turned out to be pretty good. Thanks for checking in!
# 28
Koolie G @ Dec 19
Here are the stats with 2 games left. Not a huge difference, but Romo has sparked his team over the past 6 games going 5-1. Both QB's have had terrible offensive lines for most of the year, but I'd take Romo if I had to choose.
ROMO: RIVERS:
QB Rating 90.2 86.0
Comp % 66.7 64.3
YDS 4269 3290
Yards/Att 7.52 6.74
TD's 22 22
Int 16 15
Yds/GM 305 235
ROMO: RIVERS:
QB Rating 90.2 86.0
Comp % 66.7 64.3
YDS 4269 3290
Yards/Att 7.52 6.74
TD's 22 22
Int 16 15
Yds/GM 305 235
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