San Diego Chargers’ quarterback Philip Rivers focused on ball protection – NFL News
San Diego Chargers’ quarterback, Philip Rivers, has said that he is focusing on improving ball protection game that was the team’s biggest flaw in the 2011 National Football League (NFL) season.
Even during the games that Chargers won, the team was unable to maintain possession of the ball and conceded many giveaways.
This time around, however, Chargers are hoping to work on pass protection and ensure entry into the playoffs in the 2012 season.
They could have qualified for the playoffs last year as well, but they finished the season with eight victories and eight defeats. Had they won one more game, they would have qualified for the postseason and failing to protect the ball properly can be determined
as one of the main reasons for their failure.
According to U-T San Diego, Chargers are working out hard during the present offseason to overcome their flaws especially the pass protection and the players and coaches believe that countering this flaw can help them qualify for the postseason.
Last year, Rivers played and started all 16 games in which he completed a total of 366 passes of 582 attempts for 4,624 yards. He also threw 27 touchdown-passes, but struggled with accuracy and ended up throwing 20 interceptions.
Rivers said of the last season:
“That was obviously the thing that stood out last year. It's one thing if we couldn't get a first down or convert third downs or couldn't run the ball or couldn't have any big plays. We had all of those.”
While asserting that all those errors should be rectified, the quarterback said that the players should stay focused. He also said that pass protection can help the team’s victory chances in the upcoming season.
Rivers said:
“You can't assume the other things are going to happen. We have to continue to work hard to stay high in the league at converting third downs and all those other categories. But certainly, a continued emphasis on protecting the football — that's game to
game. If we can do that, we have a much better chance at winning the game.”
On the other hand, Chargers’ head coach, Norv Turner, has also said that the players should focus more on pass protection.
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