When the kids in Decatur, Ala., were choosing sides for a pickup game and there were uneven numbers, Philip Rivers would volunteer to be on the team with one fewer player.

Decades later, when he and his oldest son watch football games on TV, they generally identify the underdog and root for that team.

“That’s how I’ve always been,” Rivers said.

So trust the Chargers quarterback when he says this about a 2016 season without No.1 receiver Keenan Allen:


“Keenan is a unique guy. But I’m confident in the guys we have. And we’ll go. I feel like we can still do what we need to do.”

Of course he feels that way. And it’s a good thing he does.

Once again, Rivers will be spreading passes around the way few other quarterbacks have to. It may just be his lot, throwing to lots of receivers. He certainly makes the most of it. He even sort of relishes it.

Make no mistake, Rivers was crushed that Allen tore his ACL in Kansas City – devastated for a teammate he has come to respect and rely on, for the good of the team and for himself. Too, Rivers wouldn’t mind another season of the embarrassing riches of the old days – Keenan McCardell and Chris Chambers, Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd, LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates.


But that’s not how it is, and that’s just fine.

“It’s kind of like a challenge: ‘What do you mean? We’re still going to throw for 300 and beat you,’ ” Rivers said.

That’s a great outlook. The only approach with a chance to succeed.

But still.


“It’s crazy,” Rivers said, smiling and shaking his head. “It’s out of control.”

The Allen injury came after Chargers lost tight end Jeff Cumberland, whom they envisioned replacing Ladarius Green, and slot receiver Stevie Johnson in August.

“You never anticipate this,” Rivers said. “We’re not looking for any sympathy. But if you would have told me going into week (two) we would have lost Cumberland, Stevie Johnson and Keenan Allen, I would have shook my head. But here we are, and we’ll keep going.”

This is, really, pretty much business as usual.


The 11 Chargers who caught at least 10 passes last season was tied for most in the NFL, as was the nine who caught at least 20 and the eight who caught at least 30.

By comparison, the average number of players to catch at least 10 passes for playoff teams last season was eight. That average was six players who caught 20 passes and just more than five who caught 30.

When the Chargers were a perennial playoff team, from 2006-09, they averaged four players catching 30 passes, six catching 20 and eight catching 10. In the playoff campaign of 2013, those numbers were five, six and seven.

This unfortunate trend began in 2010, which was, not entirely coincidentally, the dawn of a run of relative futility. After making the playoffs in five of six seasons (2004-09), the Chargers have missed the playoffs five of the last six seasons.


Since the start of the 2010 season, Rivers has completed at least 30 passes to a total of 21 different players and at least 50 passes to 14 different players. Those numbers are second-most and third-most, respectively, in the NFL in that span.

Remarkably, Rivers has a 95.3 passer rating over the six-year stretch. That’s eight points higher than New York Giants QB Eli Manning and 11 points higher than the Baltimore Ravens’ Joe Flacco, who have both completed passes to a similarly high number of receivers over that span. The multiple quarterbacks for the Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns, who have thrown large numbers of passes to large numbers of receivers, have combined ratings 15 and 20 points lower than Rivers.

There are not many quarterbacks better suited to having to direct such a large cast. Rivers’ cognitive capacity helps him exploit matchups, he gets players in the right spots and generally throws precise passes.

“It’s a lot easier when you have someone like that,” McCoy said.


That doesn’t mean it’s good.

The predicament of the Chargers being without their best receiver(s) puts a lot of pressure on other players who were not expected to be as big a part of the offense or run certain routes. But more than anyone, the burden is on Rivers.

The multi-faceted, quick-switch offense that Rivers runs simply cannot operate at as high a level without its best pass-catchers, and it can’t function as efficiently with an abundance of new players. Rivers’ quick release and accuracy can’t be fully optimized without the weapons he has practiced with again and again and again.

Sometimes the only option is to slow down his process or hope everyone can keep up. The latter is unrealistic to expect on a consistent basis, the former is not conducive to optimum operation.


Rivers doesn’t deny the challenge. He knows he has to find a balance between forcing passes, trying to make big plays and being aware of limitations. But he paints it as an opportunity rather than a quandary.

“I think the thing I have to do is let it rip,” Rivers said. “… Just trust it and go. That’s the only way we’re going to build (trust) and start making those plays.”

He’d love to be throwing to all All-Pros, but he can’t deny he also kind of likes playing a man down.

RELATED

Union-Tribune Sportswriters Kevin Acee and Michael Gehlken talk about the Chargers devastating loss to Kansas City as the team prepares for the Jaguars. The writers ponder why it seems, despite great perfomances by some players, the results seem the


kevin.acee@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @sdutkevinacee