Raleigh News & Observer

by Chip Alexander - Staff Writer

How two sides prepare
The Player: 'Let's strive for the first round'

Friday, April 23, 2004

Philip Rivers and his wife, Tiffany, were on a cruise this week, planning to return to Raleigh on Thursday.

Why not take a little time to rest and relax before the 2004 NFL draft on Saturday? The N.C. State quarterback has earned it.

For the past four months, since his Wolfpack career ended in the Tangerine Bowl, Rivers has been passing, sprinting, lifting, jumping, stretching, straining and sweating. He has been X-rayed, head to little toe, and poked by doctors. He has played in the Senior Bowl, taken intelligence tests and been ogled by 200 men as he stood in nothing but gym shorts.

Rivers has been compared to Bernie Kosar, Drew Bledsoe, David Carr and Opie Taylor. He has been analyzed by Dan Marino, Marty Schottenheimer, Bill Cowher, Mel Kiper Jr. and two Jerry Joneses. He has worked with former NFL quarterback Zeke Bratkowski on his footwork and spent time at Xplosive Speed in Cary working on his foot speed.

Rivers' agent has the player spend more time on his cell phone than a John Kerry advance man, doing interviews coast to coast. He has dined with NFL team owners and done private film work with NFL coaches.

Today, according to the NFL, Rivers is scheduled to be in New York to appear on CBS' "The Early Show" with six other players deemed the best of the 2004 draft class. Later, they'll see City Hall and the World Trade Center site.

Finally, on Saturday, Rivers will hear his name called by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue at Madison Square. That could happen early in the first round of the draft, setting up Rivers to become a very rich young man.

Asked whether the whirlwind process had been fun or stressful, Rivers smiled.

"A little of both," he said. "Going into my senior season, you're not worrying about the draft at all. But in the back of your mind, you have a goal of going on the first day of the draft. Just having that goal: the first three rounds.

"Then, as your season's over, you think, 'Let's strive for the first round.' Then, after the Senior Bowl, that's looking likely. It has been certain steps."

Despite being named the 2003 ACC player of the year, despite setting all those passing records, despite shredding Kansas in the Tangerine Bowl, Rivers generally was considered a borderline first-rounder by most draft analysts. Mississippi's Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger of Miami (Ohio) were projected at the top of the list of available quarterbacks, with Tulane's J.P. Losman also rated ahead of Rivers.

One of Rivers' first steps was to hire an agent, Jimmy Sexton of Athletic Resource Management. The firm, based in Memphis, Tenn., represents several NFL players, including quarterback Patrick Ramsey, the first-round pick of Washington in 2002.

"I probably could have talked to 20 [agents], but do you want to talk to 20?" Rivers said. "It's a matter of who you're most comfortable with, who's been there before, who's done it the longest. Is it someone who will tell you the truth?

"I had a good feel for [Athletic Resource Management]. I think my dad and family did also."

The next stop was Mobile, Ala., and the Senior Bowl in January. One of Rivers' first tasks was to strip to the waist and parade before a room full of NFL coaches, scouts and other officials to have his height and weight announced.

"It's the ultimate meat market," NFL scout Steve Keim said.

Rivers was on the South team, coached by San Diego Chargers head coach Schottenheimer and his staff. He beat out Losman to become the starter, impressed many onlookers, including Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, at the practices, then was the game's MVP as the South won.

"In just a few days, you knew he was special," Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said. "He has the whole package. He's tough, he's bright. He has the intangibles, the height, the work ethic and the accuracy."

And an awkward passing motion and low delivery.

"He's effective with it," said Ron Wolf, a former general manager of the Green Bay Packers. "Why change it? I wouldn't."

After the Senior Bowl, ESPN's Kiper raved about Rivers. So did other would-be draft experts.

"Everyone suddenly was enamored by him," said Tony Pauline of TFY Draft Preview. "He did everything right in Mobile."

Schottenheimer compared him to Bledsoe, the Buffalo Bills quarterback. Others said Rivers reminded them of Kosar, who played for Cleveland, or Carr, the Houston Texans' quarterback and the No. 1 pick of the 2002 draft.

But there was more to do. In February, Rivers went to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, which he found to be both exhausting and interesting. Rivers didn't throw or run in front of the horde of NFL people but endured physical exams that lasted for seven hours.

"You go to six different stations, having every doctor pulling every toe, your shoulder," Rivers said. "They look at all the X-rays. They say, 'What about that toe?' and you take your sock off. It goes on and on, at every station."

Next was NCSU's Pro Day in late March. Schottenheimer, Pittsburgh's Cowher and Green Bay's Mike Sherman were the head coaches who came to Raleigh along with a host of scouts and others to see Rivers go through various agility tests and passing drills.

To help increase his overall flexibility and lower his time in the 40-yard dash, Rivers spent five weeks training at Xplosive Speed.

"The big knock on Philip in most NFL evaluations was he was stiff and mechanical," Xplosive Speed trainer Scott E. Pucek said.

Rivers was timed in 4.92 seconds in the 40 on Pro Day. Pucek was disappointed.

"I'm greedy," Pucek said. "I wanted him to break 4.9. I wanted at least a 4.89."

Rivers apparently improved on another test as well -- the Wonderlic Personnel Test, which measures cognitive and problem-solving ability and is given to NFL prospects. The Sporting News reported that Rivers scored 30 of a possible 50 (20 is the median score). He later scored 35, according to NFLdraftscout.com.

"Rivers just escalated up the charts," said draft analyst Jerry Jones, who publishes a draft guide called "The Drugstore List," used by several NFL teams. "He may have passed Roethlisberger.

"At this point, this close to the draft, guys are really rising and falling. Some can fall 15 to 20 draft spots. But Rivers remains a hot name, a guy on the rise."

While Manning could be picked No. 1 on Saturday, Rivers isn't conceding anything to the son of former NFL star Archie Manning and the younger brother of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.

"Any quarterback has to be confident, and I'm confident I'm as good as anybody in the draft," Rivers said. "He's a great player, but I think it would be a heck of a game if we played one another."

Yes, it has been some four months.