Philip Rivers thinks Chargers nailed pic

2015 was a nightmare for the . Amid speculation of the team moving to Los Angeles, the Bolts limped their way to 4-12, a difficult thing to do when there's a franchise quarterback like on the roster.Despite the struggles, the San Diego QB remains optimistic about the coming season. Rivers, who worked with , told CBSSports.com in an interview that he sees a bounceback for the in the coming year.That's in large part to the addition of some high-quality players in free agency ( on defense, on offense) and in the draft. In particular, stood out to Rivers during OTAs, with the quarterback saying he thinks the Chargers "nailed" the pick of the defensive end. " Calle Rosen Kids Jersey We feel good about where we are and we feel good about the pieces we added in free agency. And I think defensively you think about and offensively you go get and in the draft you draft ," Rivers said. "And I know it's still a little early to say but I think we nailed that pick at No. 3 overall. Bringing in tight end , a handful of other things. , we signed late from the at center, looks like he's penciled in there at center. So we're better. "I know everybody gets excited in OTAs but we're better than we were at the end of last season. We're healthy and we added some good players."What's interesting about Bosa is the fit for him in John Pagano's 3-4 scheme. Bosa, who spent most of his time rushing the pa ser at , was pegged as more of a 4-3 end and le s of a fit for San Diego at No. 3 overall. The Chargers took him, though, because he was the top player on their board. Bosa's run-stopping abilities make him fairly scheme-versatile, and Rivers doesn't believe what the Bolts run will matter at all for the rookie lineman. "I think it's a little bit misleading when you see teams, are they a 4-3 or a 3-4 -- guys line up in so many different fronts. Our guys when we're in the 3-4 personnel, they're mostly in an under front, and he's been all over the place in these OTAs, we've used him everywhere," Rivers said. "But John Pagano, he's in nickel and sub defenses over 70 percent of the time and that's where Joey is probably gonna fit in right there at the end. Shoot, I saw him on some college tape playing 3-technique in a 4-3. He's very versatile Martin Kaut Women Jersey so I don't think that's an i sue. I think GM Tom Telesco's philosophy is just get good football players and we'll figure out where they go. We don't have to fit a certain, exact scheme, and I think Joey fits that mold."Rivers notes this, but it's OTAs. Everyone feels good about where they are in May and June. But the Chargers to feel better about where they are relative to the end of last season, when they limped to a close and were fielding a roster that was destroyed by injury. With all the hype the are getting and all the attention the get after winning a Super Bowl, the Chargers are a sleeper to win the division. If they do, it's not unreasonable Bosa could be a big part of it. Rivers certainly would be. Read the rest of the interview with Rivers about the Chargers in 2015, their expectations for this coming year, some of their additions and what it's like being a dad of eight (!) below:At any point did you guys you were a little snakebit? You might've had one of your kids out there playing offensive line at one point it felt likeIn many ways, yes. We kept losing close games. We get a ball batted in Pittsburgh that's probably going to run for a touchdown with like two minutes left. And we kick a field Philipp Grubauer Jersey goal and they score with five seconds to win. In Chicago we're ahead the whole game -- I could go on and on. We could not win a close game, and there's a lot of factors in that, both in getting a stop defensively and executing offensively down the stretch. But we had so many guys hurt up front. It was just a revolving door. That's no excuse, that's just truth.And we didn't play as well as we needed to when the game was on the line. I don't think there's any lost confidence. I think getting healthy was the first thing that was going to make us a better team. And then adding some key pieces is going to help. Guys who were in places that they played a lot of football, they've won where they've been and that can bring some good culture and things and hopefully get us going.How much of a transition is it bringing Ken Whisenhunt back? Is it easy sliding right back in with him as your offensive coordinator ? No we kept -- it's exactly the same for the most part. There's always some tweaks here and there that coordinators like or the way they like to call plays or formations. We kept it from what he installed in 2013, which was totally brand new for me to what we did with Frank Reich . It's the same, it's the same offensive, plus or minus a few things. So that's been smooth.And there are some guys who were on the team with him in '13, there are some that aren't, that don't know him like some of us do. But he's a great manager of people, he has a great command of the room and he's got us off to a great start this offseason.Quarterbacks learn under other quarterbacks, but how about tight ends learning under another. I think it's interesting gets to learn behind a sure-fire Hall of Famer in . How much does that help Henry? I think that's awesome because Gates is so unique in the way he does things. There are so many things you Matt Calvert Men Jersey can coach on the chalkboard, as they say, and draw up the routes and those things. There are certain things you can't coach, you've got to watch a guy do it. How did he get open on that route? That's not how's it drawn, but he just has a feel for it and has been doing it for a very long time.Hunter, I can tell very early on he's going to be a technique-sound guy. He's going to run crisp routes and he catches the ball really well, but he can add to that with a natural feel and a playmaking ability and kind of a knack for getting open and watching Gates who's one of the best at, will certainly help him. He's had a good 10 OTAs and Hunter's been good -- when you lose a guy Sven Andrighetto Men Jersey like , who was on the field a lot for us, Hunter's going to have to step in and play early. is another rookie you drafted -- when you play the in November, does having Derek on the field make it better or worse for you with his brother J.J. Watt of Houston ? I don't know -- if we put his brother out there it might make him more motivated. That's guys something else. We've already kind of teased Derek about that and said we'll try and set up where he can block him once or twice. I don't know that's the matchup we want though. They're not quite the same size. We kind of went with a hybrid tight end to play fullback the last few years so we'll see.He seems to do things well, but it's so hard ... inside linebackers when you're running leads and ISOs and full downhill when you're in helmets and T-shirts. You kind of go, yeah, I don't know -- he looks good but we'll see how it is when it really gets going. It's hard to re