San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers spoke to the Atlanta media on Wednesday.
Here’s what he had to say:
On their passing attack:
“We do like to throw to the tight ends. We can mix it up. The ball can go anywhere on any play. I think every receiver now has had a 100-yard game.”
On his durability, sleep and recovery (Matt Ryan tries to get nine hours of sleep):
“I certainly think it helps. First off, I just feel thankful I’ve been blessed to be healthy enough to play. … But I think, too, I think all of us quarterbacks take a certain amount of pride in being tough and fighting through things to make sure you are out there for your team.
There’s been plenty of nights where you’re studying or you’re looking back over the film or the game plan and I’ve said to myself ‘I’ve got to go to bed. Sleep right now is more important than looking at another play or film.’ I do think rest is important, but also I have eight children.
In my mind, if I get over (six hours of sleep), I’m in good shape. I’d say it’s very rare you don’t get six.”
On how the Chargers season record could be flipped:
“It’s been tough. We are where we are. We’re sitting here 2-4. I know every team could say what if. I know the Falcons could sit there and say what if, they could be 6-0. …Two losses in particular that hurt the most: We had a 17-point lead at Kansas City in the opener with 10 minutes to play and lost. We have a 13-point lead with six minutes to play against the Saints and fumble on two consecutive plays and lose. Those two games are the toughest. Those win probabilities need to be all but guaranteed and we didn’t win either one of them.
“We lost two other close games, Indy and Oakland. The fact we were in those situations mean we were playing pretty good, but we just can’t have the mishaps down the stretch. Winning against Denver last week was big. We feel like we needed to feel what’s it’s like to finish out a game and win, though we made that one a little more interesting as well.
“So we’re coming to Atlanta with a ton of confidence. We know we’re playing a good team. Then we go right back to Denver. So this is a tough stretch we’re in, Denver, Atlanta, Denver. … We know they’ve got a heck of an explosive offense and we’re excited about the challenge.”
