Scott Kaplan: Please! This is so easy.

Drew Brees is headed for Canton. Year in and year out, Brees is consistently one of the top three quarterbacks in the NFL. Last year he broke Dan Marino’s single season passing-yardage record, then followed it up by breaking Johnny Unitas’ 52-year record for consecutive games with a TD pass.

When the Chargers gave up on Brees, they let go of a player that none of us had any idea would be this good. But they also let go of his leadership, and from an outsider’s perspective, it has never been replaced.

Darren Sproles is one of the unique talents in the NFL. Every time Sproles touches the ball, he is literally a threat to score from anywhere on the field. The Chargers had already invested so much into Sproles and their special teams were so bad back then, they gave up on him too early.

Vincent Jackson is very quietly having another terrific season. The Bucs don’t have one of the premier quarterbacks, and VJ is leading his team with 20 catches for 370 yards, averaging over 18 yards per reception, with four TDs.

You don’t replace a star like Jackson with guys like Meachem and Eddie Royal.

Ask yourself this question, would the Chargers be a better team right now with Brees, Sproles and VJ? The answer is undeniably YES!

Billy Ray Smith: I will take the current triumvirate of Rivers, Mathews and Meachem.

I think we can all agree that Drew Brees has a Super Bowl ring, while Philip is still looking for his. Another truth would be that world championships are won by teams, not individuals. A statistical fact is that NFL quarterbacks are judged by the quarterback rating statistic.

Are we all on the same page? Good. Please consider:

Rivers’ career passer rating of 95.5 is fifth-best all-time among NFL quarterbacks with at least 1,500 passing attempts, behind Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo, Steve Young and Tom Brady. Good company, right?

That, ladies and gentlemen, is all-time. Not some of the time or most of the time.

So the Charger trio of Rivers, Mathews and Meachem has, as its quarterback, the fifth-best in the history of the game.

The quarterback is the activator for any other player in the offensive huddle. He makes his receivers better by reading the coverage and throwing a ball that is catchable. He makes his running backs better by demanding defenses play an honest game plan that can’t afford to favor one phase over another.

There is simply no need to further the discussion. That would involve the different roles that Sproles and Mathews play out every week. The same applies to the Jackson–Meachem scenario.

At this moment, we can also boil this comparison down to wins and losses. Three wins and three losses really stinks if you are a Charger.

But it sure smells better than 1-4 for Brees or 2–3 in Jackson’s case.

scott vs. B.R.



