CHARGING AHEAD RIVERS' FLOW FIRST-ROUND PICK WAITED PATIENTLY FOR TWO SEASONS AS BACKUP QUARTERBACK IN SAN DIEGO. NOW, HE HAS HIS SHOT.

Byline: BILLY WITZ Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO - Many of the San Diego Chargers admit that they don't know what kind of quarterback Philip Rivers will turn out to be.

What they can tell you is how close he plays his cards to the vest at the poker table, that he craves Southern cooking, that he can handle a basketball almost as well as a football, and that if you're looking for him in the weight room, a good place to start is amongst the defensive linemen.

While Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger, the quarterbacks chosen with him atop the 2004 draft, have become the faces of their franchises, Rivers has remained incognito.

Except in the Chargers' locker room.

``What surprised everybody about him is he came in as such a high pick, didn't play at all and the way he was able to maintain the relationship with players in the locker room, on the road and still feel like he was part of this team,'' said tight end Antonio Gates, whose locker is again next to Rivers. ``A lot of guys in that position would want to fade away.''

The Chargers are hoping that Rivers will stand just as tall in the pocket Monday night when he makes his first career NFL start at Oakland.

The Chargers are one of seven teams that changed quarterbacks during a turbulent off-season in the NFL, letting free agent Drew Brees leave rather than commit to a long-term deal with a quarterback coming off shoulder surgery.

None have more at stake.

Even with the loss of linebacker Steve Foley, who was placed on injured reserve Monday after being shot by police the day before, the Chargers have many ingredients of a Super Bowl contender: one of the NFL's best front sevens, an improved secondary with the additions of safety Marlon McCree and rookie cornerback Antonio Cromartie, and two of the NFL's best offensive weapons in tailback LaDainian Tomlinson and Gates.

Add to that the need for the Chargers to win now. The relationship between general manager A.J. Smith and Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer is so frosty -- they rarely speak -- that team president Dean Spanos called them into his office last March with an ultimatum: work together or else.

Translation: make the playoffs or else.

Also, the Chargers are angling again for a new stadium. If they don't have an agreement in San Diego County by Jan. 1, they're free to look elsewhere -- Anaheim is a possibility -- and can leave after the 2008 season. Winning games can help them gain momentum there, too.

It's a lot to expect from a 24-year-old who has attempted 30 passes in his career, but the Chargers aren't hedging their bets.

Though Smith has spoken with Tennessee about acquiring Billy Volek, the only other quarterbacks in the organization are rookies -- Charlie Whitehurst, the backup, and Brent Elliott, who is on the practice squad.

His protection on the field is just as green. Rookie Marcus McNeill will start at left tackle.

``Philip's extremely talented, we've a lot invested in him, I have a personal stake in it and I'm very anxious to see how he'll help us,'' Smith said. ``But his resume will be determined in January. Hopefully, he'll be a darn good quarterback, but until he builds a resume like Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger, you just don't know.''

In his preseason resume, Rivers showed both his potential and his inexperience: he carved up Green Bay, but then was baited into an interception that Brian Uhrlacher returned for a touchdown against Chicago, and fumbled three times against Seattle.

``I'm ready to step in there,'' Rivers said recently after practice. ``It's been a good transition thus far.''

Ever since he was a ball boy for the high school team his father, Steve, coached in Decatur, Ala., Rivers has felt most comfortable with a football in his hands. After playing for his dad, he went to North Carolina State where he started an NCAA-record 51 games, became the NCAA's second all-time passing leader with 13,484 yards, and was chosen the MVP of all five bowl games he played in.

When he left school, then-USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who coached Rivers as a freshman, dismissed the knock on his sidearm motion and told one NFL coach that if he took Rivers, he'd get him to the Super Bowl.

Those weren't platitudes. Chow, now the offensive coordinator for the Titans, was ready to lobby for acquiring Rivers this winter if he had become available.

The Chargers, after swinging a trade with the Giants for Manning on draft day in 2004, expected Rivers to unseat Brees. But a three-week holdout allowed Brees to begin the season as the starter and he never let go, leading SanDiego to a 12-4 record and earning the league's Comeback Player of the Year award.

The Chargers slumped last season, but Brees played well enough that Tomlinson publicly lobbied for the team to sign him to a long-term deal.

Smith said he had every intention of doing so until the final, meaningless game, when Brees suffered a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum diving after a loose ball.

``I never tried to analyze how it was going to play out,'' said Rivers, who has four years left on a contract that could pay him $50.5 million. ``I never got into detail -- I'd worry myself to death. But as free agency grew closer, I knew more and more the possibilities. You saw the writing on the wall. I was prepared for either way and when a decision was made, I was ready to step in there.''

That preparation took some work.

Rivers had to look for his opportunities in the film room, watching Brees at practice, and in his scant reps. He made efforts to get to know his teammates, but in a way that was respectful of Brees' status.

``I tried to set the foundation so that if it did occur, I'd step in there and they'd know my personality, that all I wanted to do was win,'' Rivers said. ``To me, it's the most important aspect of a quarterback -- not arm strength, not all that. Obviously we can all throw it a little bit or we wouldn't be here, but it's those other intangibles that ultimately can help us out. I feel like I have some trust and respect to still earn from the guys, but I've been able to get a little foundation set and ultimately it builds when you get into the games.''

Rivers says this with the aw-shucks drawl of a Southern gentleman, which he surely was as a college freshman when he asked North Carolina State coach Chuck Amato for permission to marry his high school sweetheart, Tiffany, with whom he has three daughters.

On the field, Rivers isn't so deferential.

Linebacker Shawne Merriman, who played against him in the ACC for three years, remembers a Peyton Manning-like control freak. ``He knew everything that was going on,'' Merriman said.

Receiver Keenan McCardell, in his 15th year in the NFL, sees ``a guy who wants to work hard, who wants to be the best at his position and is confident in his ability -- almost to the point of where he's a little arrogant. That's a good quality. If you're going to fight the pressure from the press, the fans and the coaches, you've got to have a swagger.''

McCardell says Rivers will have to earn the respect of opposing defenses, and that the Chargers figure ``to lean on 21 (Tomlinson) a little more.''

But Schottenheimer says any changes to an offense that was fifth in the NFL in scoring will be subtle.

``In our case, it's not a rookie, it's a veteran,'' Schottenheimer said of the quarterback he is breaking in, one he compares to Bernie Kosar. ``As with every player, you're always working to find out what he does best because that's what you want to rely on. We think we've got a pretty good indication. We're very comfortable with Philip.''

Wishful thinking? Perhaps not. Kurt Warner had never started an NFL game and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title. Tom Brady did the same. Daunte Culpepper and Ben Roethlisberger had never taken a snap prior to the season they took their teams to the conference title games.

In any event, after holding a clipboard for two seasons, the Chargers will be putting something more important in his hands when he's snapped the ball Monday night -- their future.

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CAPTION(S):

9 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers has thrown 30 passes in two seasons as Drew Brees' backup.

(2 -- color) Philip Rivers, left, has shown promise in the preseason, such as beating Brett Favre and Green Bay handily.

Photo courtesy WireImage.com

(3 -- color) DAUNTE CULPEPPER

(4 -- color) STEVE MCNAIR

(5 -- 6 -- color) BILLY VOLEK(L)/KERRY COLLINS

(7 -- color) AARON BROOKS

(8 -- color) JON KITNA

(9 -- color) DREW BREES

Box:

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