New York Jets 'D' Faces Huge Test in Ageless Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Philip Rivers
He may be set to turn 39-years old this December, but Philip Rivers is showing no signs of age. The Indianapolis Colts quarterback already showcasing in the first two games of the season why he remains among the elite quarterbacks in the NFL as he readies to face the New York Jets on Sunday.
It is a match-up nightmare for a Jets defense that has been riddled with injuries, prone to penalties and given to gaffes through the first two games of the NFL season. Rivers started the season strong in a loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars, throwing for 363 yards with a touchdown. His two interceptions in that game, however, show that the old gunslinger remains one to occasionally take risks with the ball.
Despite the tendency to throw interceptions, Rivers remains among the best quarterbacks in the NFL and is the best pocket passer the Jets have forced so far as the season turns to its third week. He signed with the Colts this offseason after spending the first 16 years of his NFL career with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers.
“He looks good, he’s still the same Philip. Quick release, knows where to go with the ball. As far as the defense, we have to be prepared for what he has to do,” Jets safety Marcus Maye said on Friday.
“Obviously he’s been around for a long-time so he’s seen a lot. As I said, we just have to be prepared for him.”
The drop-off from the veteran quarterback is negligible. While he is throwing more underneath stuff this year and utilizing his tight ends more, Rivers still has the arm strength and read of the game to go down the field.
Last year, he threw for 4,615 yards, third-most in his career. He’s still got it.
It isn’t going to be easy for the Jets, who have struggled on defense this year. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, as respected in his role as anyone in the league, sees in Rivers a quarterback who is as intelligent as he is talented.
He has been named to the Pro Bowl seven times in his career.
“You know I’ve faced him a bunch, I have a lot of respect, he’s one of the guys that I love watching play as well as anybody in the league all these years. I have a lot of respect for how intelligent he is, how competitive he is,” Williams said on Friday. “He’s a really good teammate too. And I don’t know that people really give him enough credit for how smart he is on understanding defenses and understanding what opponents do. You know, we’ve got to do a good job on the things that we do from a disguise standpoint, but Philip studies every single interview that a guy does, you know with you guys he studies every different every single TV copy, he listens to every word that’s being said. “
The scary issue for the Jets is that Rivers’ completion percentage of 77 percent is the highest of his career. And while two games is a small sample size, it is indicative of a quarterback who is showing no signs of slowing down even as he creeps towards turning 40-years old.
For the Jets, the issue is not just Rivers and a balanced Colts offense. To start the year, the Jets have been sloppy both in execution and technique. Missed tackles, such as on San Francisco 49ers running back Raheem Mostert’s 80-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage last week underscored that the Jets are coming out of the locker room stale. Couple that with penalties and a lack of depth on defense and the Jets defense is a bit hamstrung to start the year.
The late-July trade of Jamal Adams, while necessary in the long-term, hurt the Jets by sending away the defense’s one true playmaker.
In both games to start the year, opposing offenses have raced out to a 21-3 halftime lead as both the offense and defense have struggled.
“We got to tackle, as far as the defense, we have to do a great job of pursuing to the ball,” Maye said. “All 11 hats doing their job at one time, from the first play on just come out of the gates hot. We can’t look around for somebody to make a play, waiting for us…We have to make it on our own, come out on fire basically.”
