Philip Rivers looks forward to competing against Peyton Manning

San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said that he wanted Peyton Manning to sign with the Denver Broncos because he wants to play against the best competition.  Denver won the AFC West last season with Tim Tebow as their primary quarterback. While Tebow had a 7-4 record as Denver’s starter, led them to multiple fourth quarter comebacks and a game winning touchdown in overtime in the playoffs, Tebow’s QB rating was 27th out of 33 quarterbacks.

Manning last played in 2010 for the Indianapolis Colts.  Manning finished that season with 4,700 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.  Manning won four regular season most valuable player awards during his tenure with Indy from 1998-2010 as well as a Super Bowl and a Super Bowl MVP award.  Manning had four neck surgeries after the 2010 season, so I do not expect him to be his old self, but he will definitely play better than Tebow.

Denver and San Diego finished with 8-8 records last season and Denver won the division due to owning the tiebreaker.  Both teams made key acquisitions during the off-season, so it will be interesting to see how this translates on the field.  The Oakland Raiderswere also 8-8 last year while the Kansas City Chiefs were 7-9, so the AFC West could be up for grabs in 2012.

I understand what Rivers said and as a fan, it is good to see a guy who wants to go head to head against one of the all-time greats. Rivers has no control over the moves made by Denver’s front office and one does not always get what he or she wants in general. If Denver wins the West, I hope there are no articles that bash Rivers’ competitive nature by saying he should have been careful what he asked for because he got it.