Can fantasy managers trust Philip Rivers Week 16?
Yahoo Sports' Fantasy Football Live crew looks ahead to Monday's matchup between San Francisco and Indianapolis and if Philip Rivers can produce for fantasy managers.
Video Transcript
I mean, Philip Rivers unlocks a lot up here, mentally, right?
I mean, I think that's obviously why he's there, in addition to getting some more health insurance.
For his many kids, get that extendedmm-hmm.
...
In addition to doing his buddy, Shane Steichen, a favor.
Uh, they got, those guys are longtime friends.
He's also there because he has a mental Advantage over the quarterbacks that they would be starting otherwise at this point.
Those inexperienced guys like Riley, Leonard, and the boys.
Rivers was able to come in there and pick out mismatches and get everybody aligned.
That, that's a big part of this, but it is a limited offense with Philip Rivers at 44 years Old.
He was in the shotgun for 98.3% of his plays.
Last week.
That was the highest among any quarterback.
Week.
5.3 air yards per attempt.
2.4 average time to throw.
This is a quick-hitting offense with Philip Rivers under, under center.
They have all those wide receivers.
They have all those tight ends.
And guess who led the team in catches and yards.
Last week?
Running back Ameer Abdullah.
That's backup running back, passing down space back: Ameer Abdullah.
So, it is problematic for Jonathan Taylor, because when your quarterback is in shotgun That much, you're it limits your run game menu.
This was a problem for JT when Anthony Richardson was the starter because he was in shotgun so much.
That's gonna be an issue for him, and also for these pass catchers.
You're just not getting... Maybe it looks different in week two of Rivers starting, but if it's gonna look anything like that, You're not gonna get a lot of those big in breaking routes that Michael Pittman was Hitting on The downfield stuff to Alec Pierce.
I mean, Josh Downs was more involved last week, uh, than he's been in quite some time.
'Cause he is the slot guy in this offense.
So, it, I think it can be an effective offense, one that, uh, Uh, has some nice wrinkles to it, but it's certainly just way more limited with Philip Rivers, no matter how cool the story is.
