The Facts:
Rivers earned the 2013 Comeback Player of the Year award by operating as Peyton Manning lite. He diagnosed the defense's intention before the snap, torched blitzes and tossed accurate passes to a bevy of receivers. Now we have reason to believe Rivers will be running Manning's old Colts offense in 2014. NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks revealed on Friday that Rivers is running the same heavy no-huddle scheme that the Colts used when new Chargers OC Frank Reich was Manning's position coach in Indianapolis.
Reported by NFL.com
Fantasy Football Diehards Line:
Reich is even incorporating "K-Gun" concepts from his playing days as Jim Kelly's backup in Buffalo -- when both were teammates of Brooks. "I think they're going to give Phillip Rivers more leeway than he's ever had," Brooks explained. "I think you're going to see them play at a pace that we haven't seen them play at, and I think they're ramping up and they'll be far more exciting than we're used to seeing the Chargers in terms of passing." As NFL.com suggests, that faster pace should lead to more plays and scoring opportunities while limiting defensive substitutions, in similar fashion to offenses run by the Broncos, Patriots and Eagles. One of the primary beneficiaries will be Ladarius Green, who was limited to a deep threat role as the No. 2 tight end last season. Brooks believes Green is ready to outproduce Antonio Gates as long as Reich uses more two-tight end sets this season. Whatever the case at TE, Rivers should continue to provide high-end fantasy football production at a reasonable cost.
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