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Rivers belongs in great QB debate.

Article Excerpt
Now that the NFL has barreled through the Scouting Combine and is heading toward the draft, the debate escalates: Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger?

The problem with this debate is its narrowness. Any discussion about which quarterback should be selected first also must include Philip Rivers, who could end up being the best pro from the trio. Rivers hasn't received as much attention, mostly because his awkward throwing motion eclipses his phenomenal passing skills. He leads with his throwing shoulder and delivers the ball sidearm. If he were a baseball pitcher, he'd be Byung-Hyun Kim.

"Dan Marino and he get their power from the same movement, although Rivers is a little more sidearm, compared with Marino having more of a three-quarters delivery," says one front office executive. "It's a turning of the body."

Initially, Rivers' delivery is all I saw when I watched him. But then I saw Rivers practice at the Senior Bowl, reviewed some of his games and thought about it.

Hey, dummy: How a quarterback throws the ball doesn't matter nearly as much as where it goes.

Just ask Bernie Kosar.

The concern with a sidearm passer is defenders will be able to bat down more of his passes at the line than those thrown by quarterbacks with overhand deliveries. But the 6-5 Rivers did not have that problem at N.C. State, where his coaches say they counted four pass breakups at the line in 483 attempts last season.

If you watch Rivers closely, you probably would come to the conclusion, as several scouts have, that he is a precision passer, a pure passer, the best passer in this draft class. Rivers is...