Why Philip Rivers Is A Hall Of Famer

Philip Rivers is a future hall of famer, it is a phrase that has become very polarizing of late.

In a world where attention spans and memories are short among typical football fans (and people in general), it is a “what did you do for me last play?” type of league.

Nobody is shielded from this perspective, even past players are retroactively measured by today’s standards.

“Look at Dan Marino’s passer rating, it is 86 the same as Joe Flacco, he is overrated!”

Context is lost and forgotten, favoritism is the only criteria that matters in the current era of evaluation.

In modern football circles a Super Bowl ring is used as a shielding mechanism. In what is heralded as the “ultimate team sport” one person is credited or blamed for all of the team’s successes or failures, the quarterback.

Those that are carried to the promised land by their great surrounding cast have guaranteed themselves immunity.

No amount of mediocrity or horrible play will be criticized, and past sins are washed away.

Whenever the Philip Rivers hall of fame conversation takes place, it always turns to a “he hasn’t won a ring argument”.

Rings are not the only criteria, method, or route towards the hall of fame however. Warren Moon, Dan Fouts, Jim Kelly are among those in the hall that played the position that weren’t a part of a championship team.

When this fact is brought up, fans like to claim that “Rivers is nothing but an overrated stat padder” but when we look at the actual truth, not opinions, it is clear Philip Rivers is a hall famer.

He is undeniable, no matter how the argument is sliced, and it will be very clear to all objective thinkers once we break it all down by dissecting each and every single argument.

Traditional Statistics Argument

This particular website was created pointing to the flaws of traditional statistics, though the reality is that these numbers are often used to evaluate a player’s hall of fame candidacy.

As this is a comprehensive look at Philip Rivers hall of fame case, it is important that we look closely at the data.

All Time Quarterback Statistical Rankings (Entering 2020 season)

Passing Yards – 59,271 (Ranked 6th):

Drew Brees – 77,416
Tom Brady – 74,571
Peyton Manning – 71,940
Brett Favre – 71,838
Dan Marino – 61,361

Philip Rivers – 59,271

Eli Manning – 57,023
Ben Roethlisberger – 56,545
John Elway – 51,475
Matt Ryan – 51,186

Touchdowns – 397 (Ranked 6th):

Drew Brees – 547
Tom Brady – 541
Peyton Manning – 539
Brett Favre – 508
Dan Marino – 420

Philip Rivers – 397

Eli Manning – 366
Aaron Rodgers – 364
Ben Roethlisberger – 363
Fran Tarkenton – 342

Passer Rating – 95.1 (Ranked 10th):

Aaron Rodgers – 102.4
Russell Wilson – 101.2
Drew Brees – 98.4
Tony Romo – 97.1
Tom Brady – 97.0
Dak Prescott – 97.0
Kirk Cousins – 96.8
Steve Young – 96.8
Peyton Manning – 96.5

Philip Rivers – 95.1

Completion Percentage – 64.7% (Ranked 9th):

Drew Brees – 67.6%
Kirk Cousins – 66.9%
Chad Pennington – 66.0%
Dak Prescott – 65.8%
Kurt Warner – 65.5%
Matt Ryan – 65.4%
Tony Romo – 65.3%
Peyton Manning – 65.3%

Philip Rivers – 64.7%

Aaron Rodgers – 64.6%

Wins – 123 (Ranked 9th):

Tom Brady – 219
Brett Favre – 186
Peyton Manning – 186
Drew Brees – 163
John Elway – 148
Dan Marino – 147
Ben Roethlisberger – 144
Fran Tarkenton – 124

Philip Rivers – 123

Johnny Unitas – 118

In every major traditional quarterback statistic, Rivers is ranked in the all time top 10. His name is above several players already in the hall of fame or those considered sure fire future hall of famers.

Based on this information, not opinion, Philip Rivers is one of the best quarterbacks the game has ever seen, and deserves the honor of hall of famer.

Performance Argument

Recency bias is very strong in sports, a players’ career is often judged on their last play. From moment to moment we see legends like Tom Brady and LeBron James hailed as GOAT and in the next overrated bums.

When players in these GOAT conversations are judged this harshly by “fans”, it’s no surprise that everyone else is as well.

Fortunately many of these athletes have a strong fan base that always come prepared with data to support their favorite players standing in history and shut down the hate.

Philip is a player without a fan base, this elevates criticism to much higher heights with no opposing side bringing up data. The Chargers move to Los Angeles essentially eliminated all of his defense team.

This lack of support allows false narratives about Philip Rivers’ career to reign supreme over the facts.

Every player’s hall of fame candidacy should be based on how he played on the field, not opinions however. Philip needs a fair look at what he has done, a real performance evaluation.

Aside from the legendary numbers in traditional statistics, Philip Rivers has played at elite levels for a long time.

224 Consecutive Starts

Since taking the starting quarterback reigns of the Chargers in 2006, Rivers has not missed a game. Playing every single contest for 14 consecutive years is not only a tremendous feat of durability but it is a major sign of consistent productivity.

In a league where the average career length is slightly above 3 years, only 3 other quarterbacks in the history of the game have started over 200 consecutive games (Rivers ranks 2nd all time).

Durability aside, this shows Philip has had to keep a high level of performance to continue to stay on the field. The NFL is not known for sentimentality, if you don’t perform, a replacement will be sought and found.

The fact that the other players in the 200 club are either in the hall of fame or considered as such with similar statistics, speaks volumes of Philip’s candidacy.

8 Time Pro Bowl Selection

The Pro Bowl is a yearly showcase of the best players in the league, and while many individuals opt out of the game thus diluting the talent pool, everyone ultimately on the field had a great year.

Philip Rivers is an 8 time pro bowler, a feat that ranks 11 (tied with Bob Griese, Joe Montana, and Aaron Rodgers) among quarterbacks. This number is higher than many players currently found in the hall of fame.

We all know the hall of fame is a place where players that played great for a long time are found, and Rivers has certainly done that.

Elite Quarterback Seasons

The argument that greatness is not enough, you need to be legendary is often used to try to discredit Philip Rivers candidacy, “He never won an MVP!” critics shout.

A big number of the quarterbacks in the hall never won the MVP award. This however is not the only measurement of elite play.

Let us take a look at our QB rankings that uses advance metrics to measure performance:

Philip Rivers in his career has had 6 seasons where he was arguably a top 3 player at the position, those years being 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017, and 2018.

He has ranked in the top 10 in other years including 2006, 2011, 2014. (For the record that is 9 total years of sustained high level quarterbacking.)

In the years 2008 and 2009, he had very strong cases for being the best quarterback in the entire league based on the data. (Pro Football Focus named him an all pro in 2009 and 2013, including their MVP in 2009. He was also awarded the 2010 NFL Alumni Player of the Year Award at Quarterback.)

It’s true he has not won the AP MVP, but his sustained level of elite play places him among elite company.

Since 1985 (players that entered the league that year to now) he ranks 6th in the amount of years of elite quarterback play, placing him above several hall of famers and current players (or recently retired) which are called hall of fame locks.

It is clear by either traditional or advanced analytics that Philip Rivers has been an elite player for a long time, that is deserving of the hall of fame jacket. The idea that he is a stat accumulator is not supported by any credible data.

Supporting Cast Argument

Critics will always find a way to try to diminish player’s even when all the information supports a players’ great play.

Philip Rivers performance on the football field is that of a hall of famer but some will still argue, “well he had LT and an amazing roster, he should have won more”.

This long sustained myth that the Chargers are an amazing organization has lived on for two decades.

It is time we put an end to this false narrative.

I understand Chargers games are not the go to selection of football fans when deciding to consume a game. This has led to the spread of this misinformation that the team is loaded with talent.

Rarely has that ever been true in reality. In fact it would be far more accurate to call the Chargers one of the worst run organizations (their horrible track record extends way into the past), and it will all become very clear once the data is dissected.

The Great Run Game Myth

“Rivers has had Tomlinson’s help for his entire career”.

Tomlinson’s final year of his prime was legendary, he was the 2006 MVP, and that has led to the strength of this myth staying power.

The belief that the Chargers rushing attack has been great is one of the biggest falsehoods held by the common NFL fan.

LT last played in the league in the 2011 season with the Jets. The last year of his Chargers career was 2009, that year the team ranked 31st in rushing (there are 32 teams in the league).

Since Philip Rivers took over the starting quarterback job, the Chargers have had more bottom 5 rushing ranked seasons, 4, than top 10 ranked seasons, 2 in total.

The teams’ rushing game has been consistently bad, providing little to no help in most seasons of Rivers’ career.

Chargers rush ranking year to year:

2006 – 1
2007 – 11
2008 – 19
2009 – 31
2010 – 18
2011 – 12
2012 – 28
2013 – 12
2014 – 25
2015 – 31
2016 – 24
2017 – 27
2018 – 7
2019 – 24

Talented Defense Myth

“Well the running game might be bad based on the data just presented but their defense is still the best”.

This is another lie believed by NFL fans.

The Chargers have never had a top 5 defense during the Rivers era, and in only 4 seasons did they rank in the top 10.

Compare the above figure against 8 seasons where the Chargers ranked in the bottom half of the league in team defense.

The majority of Philip’s career he has had the help of an objectively bad defense.

Chargers team defense rankings year to year:

2006 – 15
2007 – 6
2008 – 22
2009 – 23
2010 – 7
2011 – 29
2012 – 18
2013 – 32
2014 – 24
2015 – 28
2016 – 7
2017 – 12
2018 – 8
2019 – 21

Historically Bad Special Teams

Not even the biggest Rivers detractors dare claim the Chargers have had great special teams.

Nate Kaeding sure fooled people during his early career, consistently making kicks in the regular season.

Come playoff time though, he was arguably one of the worst kickers in playoff history. He was the opposite of Adam Vinatieri, predictable uncluth.

In the Rivers era the Chargers special teams have been mostly historically and laughably bad.

Chargers special teams rankings year to year:

2006 – 3
2007 – 5
2008 – 12
2009 – 16
2010 – 32
2011 – 23
2012 – 8
2013 – 15
2014 – 23
2015 – 31
2016 – 29
2017 – 31
2018 – 25
2019 – 32

GOAT Wide Receiver Corps Myth

“Well his running game, defense, and special teams might be bad but he has had the greatest receiver corps ever”.

Antonio Gates is a legend at the tight end position but having a reliable receiving weapon is not a negative and aside from Gates, the Chargers have only had 5 seasons where an actual wide receiver was selected to the pro bowl.

That is far from the riches of receiving weapons people claim that the Chargers have had.

Chargers leading wide receivers in yards year to year (Bold = Selected to Pro Bowl):

2006 – Eric Parker (659), Vincent Jackson (453), Keenan McCardell (437), Malcolm Floyd (210)
2007 – Vincent Jackson (623), Chris Chambers (555), Craig Davis (188), Malcolm Floyd (97)
2008 – Vincent Jackson (1098), Malcolm Floyd (465), Chris Chambers (462), Legedu Naanee (64)
2009 – Vincent Jackson (1167), Malcolm Floyd (776), Legedu Naanee (242), Chris Chambers (122)
2010 – Malcolm Floyd (717), Patrick Crayton (514), Legedu Naanee (371), Seyi Ajirotutu (262)
2011 – Vincent Jackson (1106), Malcolm Floyd (856), Vincent Brown (329), Patrick Crayton (248)
2012 – Malcolm Floyd (814), Danario Alexander (658), Eddie Royal (234), Robert Meachem (207)
2013 – Keenan Allen (1046), Eddie Royal (631), Vincent Brown (472), Malcolm Floyd (149)
2014 – Malcolm Floyd (856), Keenan Allen (783), Eddie Royal (778), Dontrelle Inman (158)
2015 – Keenan Allen (725), Malcolm Floyd (561), Steve Johnson (497), Dontrelle Inman (486)
2016 – Tyrell Williams (1059), Dontrelle Inman (810), Travis Benjamin (677), Keenan Allen (63)
2017 – Keenan Allen (1393), Tyrell Williams (728), Travis Benjamin (567), Mike Wlliams (95)
2018 – Keenan Allen (1196), Mike Williams (664), Tyrell Williams (653), Travis Benjamin (186)
2019 – Keenan Allen (1199), Mike Williams (1001), Dontrelle Inman (132), Andre Patton (56)

Incompetent Head Coaching

Football is the sport where coaching matters the most out of all others.

Since firing Marty Schottenheimer, the Chargers have had a series of incompetent head coaches.

Chargers head coaches during Rivers era:

Marty Schottenheimer – 2006 – 14-2 record in 2006 and fired. This move was followed by the hiring of Norv Turner, that should signal how bad the Chargers front office is.
Norv Turner – 2007 to 2012 – 58-82 overall head coaching record prior to joining the team. 56-40 record with the Chargers but don’t be confused, he remained the horrible coach he was before arriving.
Mike McCoy – 2013 to 2016 – New head coaching hire, 27-37 record with the club. Universally considered a bad head coach. Further cementing this has been him being fired during the first season of his next two proceeding coaching jobs.
Anthony Lynn – 2017 to 2019 – 1 year of coordinator experience prior to being hired as head coach. 26-22 record with the Chargers but the verdict is still out on him, his lack of preparation against the Patriots in their 2019 playoff meeting showed he still has a long way to go in order to be considered a competent head coach.

The Move To Los Angeles

The move to Los Angeles from San Diego placed another obstacle in the Chargers way toward success.

This is an obstacle no other team has previously had to face.

For 3 years (and for the foreseeable future) the Chargers have been unable to garner any kind of fan support in their new home.

The element of “home field” advantage has been completely removed. The Chargers are the only team in NFL history that essentially plays 16 away games.

Home games in Los Angeles have been filled with opposing team’s fans throughout their tenure.

Lack Of Organizational Support

Football is called the ultimate team sport.

Those not blinded by bias understand the Chargers organization from front office, coaching, and players have not provided help to their quarterback (all the evidence was put on the table, you just need to look at it) who has had a hall of fame career on the field.

Despite these roadblocks that normally derail other quarterback’s careers, Philip Rivers has not only thrived but achieved greatness against all odds.

The fact that he has had individual success, should be enough to show he is a hall of fame player.

But far more impressively he has also carried one of the worst run franchises the past 14 years to a 123-101 record during his time with the club.

Being the 9th winningest quarterback in NFL history when the data clearly demonstrates your organization failed you is no better illustration of Rivers greatness.

Hall Of Famer

No matter how the argument is sliced, when objectivity is brought into the equation, when real numbers are analyzed, a seemingly heated debate becomes an undeniable fact.

Philip Rivers is deserving of the hall of fame honor when he calls it a career.

Every lie used to try to diminish him, is easily shattered by not words but by actual data.

Let us bring credible numbers and information to these type of arguments.

People should be judged by what they did, not by hearsay.

We all ask for fair trials in the criminal justice system. We ask for an equal shot in life. We ask to be judged by our actions, not our appearance.

We want facts to be spread, and that they drown out misinformation.

Philip Rivers is a hall of famer, the data supports it. Now the question is will he be given a fair, unbiased, and honest shot at earning that yellow jacked he already deserves?

Knowing the nature of fans, it is highly unlikely they change their minds, but hopefully hall of fame voters are a little more thoughtful.