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Philip Rivers is Playing Like an MVP

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Former NC State quarterback Philip Rivers is playing like an MVP.

Rivers is on the hottest streak of his 14 season NFL career.

Last 4 games

96-139 (69%)
1,348 yards (337 yards per game)
8 touchdowns
0 interceptions

The Los Angeles Chargers started the season 0-4, but now sit at 7-6 in a tie with the Chiefs for 1st place in the AFC West.

If you ask Rivers, he doesn’t think he’s the MVP.

But Chargers running back Melvin Gordon disagrees with him. He thinks that Rivers should definitely be in the MVP discussion, especially if they keep winning.

“This is the best I’ve seen him play. He’s on,” running back Melvin Gordon said. “You know, you want carries and things like that, but you can’t complain, baby. Can’t complain, the way he’s throwing that thing right now, I’m cheering more than anybody else.”

“I think it’d mean the world to him. At the end of the day, it’s a great compliment to say you’re the MVP,” Gordon said. “You don’t [get it when you’re losing]. It’d be awesome right now if Philip was able to get that. Later on down the line, I think he’d appreciate it a little more. I think right now, he would just look at it as it what it is. He’s super focused. But, I think at the end of the day when it’s all said and done and he’s looking back at everything he’s accomplished, and he sees that … man.”(LATimes)

Yes, Tom Brady is still playing like the best quarterback in the NFL, and should be at the top of the MVP conversation again. Carson Wentz was riding all of the MVP hype (deservedly so) before he tore his ACL. But Rivers is in the Top 5 in passing yards and touchdown passes, and no one is closing out the year like him.

Sure, Brady is beating Rivers in both yards and touchdowns, and the Pats are 10-3.

But check this out.

According to Football Outsiders, Rivers is the NFL’s top quarterback when using the DYAR metric, which measures Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement. In simple terms, it measures how effective Rivers is, in a cumulative sense, when you take into account factors such as what down it is and the distance needed for a first down.

Rivers is second in DVOA, a stat that measures the same value, but on a per-play basis, trailing only New England’s Tom Brady.(LATimes)

Odds are Rivers doesn’t win the MVP. I get it. But if he keeps this up, and the Chargers keep winning, then he should be in the top 2 or 3 in votes in my opinion.

Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

Pack in the Pros

T-Wolves Sign Former NC State Forward TJ Warren for Remainder of the Season

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Back during the first week of March, former All-ACC NC State Forward TJ Warren signed a 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. After finding success as a scoring option off the bench, the T-Wolves signed him to another 10-day contract.

With only 11 games remaining in the regular season, Minnesota went ahead and signed him for the rest of regular season yesterday.

In the 7 games Warren has played for the T-Wolves, he has averaged 4.1 points per game in 14.0 minutes of play, shooting 47.8% from the field and 38.2% from beyond the arc.

Warren has not played in Minnesota’s past two games, but he has a chance to prove his worth once again tonight in the T-Wolves matchup vs. the Pistons. As things currently stand, Minnesota sits in 3rd place in the Western Conference.

Here’s a look at the former ACC Player of the Year’s stats over 10 seasons.

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Former NC State All-American Nyheim Hines Signs 1-Year Deal With Cleveland

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Former NC State All-American Nyheim Hines has signed a 1-year deal with the Cleveland Browns worth up to $3.5 million.

Maybe Cleveland will use Hines to his full potential. If you’re not using him as a Swiss Army Knife in the passing game, you’re wasting an opportunity.

The former All-ACC Running Back Hines missed all of last season due to a torn ACL he suffered in a boating accident.

This will be Hines’ 7th season in the NFL.

When you look at what former NC State players have done in the NFL, Hines ranks in the Top-10 in Rushing and Receiving.

His 1,015 rushing yards ranks 7th in school history and his 10 rushing touchdowns rank 9th. Hines’ 240 receptions rank 8th and his 1,778 receiving yards rank 10th.

In the return game, he’s one of the best to represent NC State in the NFL as well. His 1,015 punt return yards ranks 2nd in school history and his 817 kickoff return yards rank 6th. Hines’ 2 punts returned for TD’s ranks 3rd, and his 2 kickoffs taken to the house ranks 1st.

 

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Former NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett Signs 1-Year Deal with Pats

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Former NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett is signing a 1-year deal with the New England Patriots, rejoining the team that drafted him in the 3rd Round back in 2016.

The deal is worth $8 million.

After the Pats traded away Quarterback Mac Jones to the Jaguars yesterday, it’s abundantly clear what they are planning to do with the 3rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

After winning a Super Bowl in his lone season in New England in 2016, Brissett went on to spend 4 seasons in Indy, before spending the next 3 seasons in 3 different cities: Miami, Cleveland and Washington.

Brissett has had a great career as a backup Quarterback through 8 seasons in the NFL, playing in 79 games (starting 48), throwing for 10,574 yards and 51 touchdowns, with 23 interceptions, and a QB Rating of 85.3.

Brissett ranks 5th in NC State history in career passing yards and touchdowns, and 3rd in QB Rating by a former Wolfpack player in the NFL.

Prior to making a dime from New England in 2024, Brissett has made $50.9 million through his first 8 seasons in the league.

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Former NC State Defensive Tackle Justin Jones Signs with Arizona

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Former NC State Defensive Tackle Justin Jones (2014-17) has signed a 3-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals.

The deal is worth a total of $30.1 million, with $19.75 million guaranteed.

Jones spent the past two seasons in Chicago, where he started in every game, recording 101 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

In 2018, Jones was taken in the 3rd round by the Chargers. After playing in 15 games as a reserve as a rookie, Jones started for the Bolts for the next 3 years before signing with the Bears.

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