Philip Rivers’ NFL stock still rising

Chargers coaches aren’t the only ones touting Philip Rivers these days. Rivers is getting a lot of praise from football experts in the national media.

Rivers comes in at No. 30 in an ESPN panel’s listing of the NFL’s top 100 players on offense.

Just a year ago, he was at No. 121.

Are there 29 other offensive players better than Rivers? Considering the importance of quarterbacks, perhaps not.

How well a player fits his team’s system and personnel shapes performance, too, and the fit between Rivers, 32, and the Chargers is very good.

There may not be another quarterback who’s as familiar with teammates at key positions. Rivers, center Nick Hardwick, tight end Antonio Gates and receiver Malcom Floyd have worked together since Rivers took over in 2006.

Rivers was coming off two so-so seasons when Mike McCoy came aboard. Their first season together may have been the best of Rivers’ career. The benefits of McCoy’s move to a quick-passing game and no-huddle offense were evident as early as last August. From there, Rivers trended upward.

Can Rivers and the offense build on their fine season? The odds are good, considering that Floyd is healthy again and the other starters all returned.

Offensive coordinator Frank Reich, who was Rivers’ position coach last year, said he’s “very pleased with where the starting offense has progressed to” since offseason workouts began.

“We talked from the very beginning about developing habits that are going to carry us through the season,” said Reich, who replaced Ken Whisenhunt in January. “It’s a long season. It’s a tough season. We play good defenses. So does everybody. So we wanted to establish a foundation of good habits, good thoughts, that would carry the day week in and week out. I think we’ve done that.

“I think we feel good about our process on game day,” Reich said. “And our execution by the 1s, for the most part, has been very, very good.”