Vince Lombardi was fond of telling friends that football was the perfect team game except for one conspicuous problem—The quarterback was too important.

As the first week of preseason games just concluded we had a chance to see three former NC State signal callers take the field. I would like to break down each of these guys and give insight to their seasons ahead.

Philip Rivers (6-5, 228) Entering 11th season:

Last year was a welcoming sight not only for San Diego Chargers fans but also Philip River’s supporters. Prior to last season Philip struggled mightily with turnovers and subpar team performances. Personally, I attribute most of his struggles during those seasons to a leaky offensive line and a lack of weapons on the perimeter. Take into consideration the constant rumors swirling around Norv Turner at the time and all together you had an environment less than conducive for success.

Enter in Mike McCoy and a new scheme to breathe fresh air into the Chargers and what did you see? Many saw a rejuvenated Philip Rivers and a potent offensive unit. The Chargers ranked 5th in total offense by gaining 393.3 yards a game and ranked 4th in passing yards per game at 270.5. Philip Rivers was instrumental in helping the Chargers reach these numbers. However a favorite statistic of mine speaks volumes of just how good of a quarterback Philip Rivers is. This can be found in 3rd down completion percentage. The Chargers lead the league in 3rd down percentage, converting at a 49% clip. Games are won and lost on 3rd downs!

Philip has always been a big time performer when the game is on the line. He always seems to come up the biggest when his team needs him the most. In his career he has led 33 comebacks in the 4th quarter! That ranks 38th all time according to Pro Football Reference.

As for the upcoming campaign I expect to see even more improvement from the Chargers and Philip. Yes he has a new Offensive Coordinator, following Ken Whisenhunt’s departure to the Titans. With Whisenhunt gone, the Chargers promoted Frank Reich to Offensive. Reich served under Coach Whisenhunt while he was with the Cardinals and as an assistant with the Chargers last season. I expect to see a similar offensive scheme that focuses on the run game and picking and choosing when to take shots down the field.

The passing game was a huge weapon but Philip was quick to praise the ground attack and deflect the compliments to his teammates for his personal accolades last season. A saying that the Chargers frequent around their practice facility is Nunc Coepi, a Latin phrase that means; “Now I begin.” In a recent interview Philip spoke on this mantra, he talks about how he has had the mind set to begin again no matter the outcome. Philip stated, “You can always begin again, you throw a touchdown, well, now we begin. You throw an interception, you can begin again, and constantly you can start over.”

I believe it is because of this mindset, “Now I begin,” Philip will have zero hangovers from his success last season. As a whole the Chargers should be even better than they were a season ago. I expect a healthy Malcolm Floyd and the continued emergence of Keenan Allen to be a deadly one-two punch on the perimeter for Philip. With great complimentary pieces of Gates and Royal working the underneath and middle, I expect the passing attack to be even more efficient.

Just how important is Philip Rivers to San Diego’s success? Nick Hardwick, longtime center, sums it up perfectly, “He’s the top man on the totem pole in this building for sure.” He goes on to say, “but just interacting with teammates, he’s just a guy. He’s one of your buddies. There’s no pretense about him whatsoever.”