"The 44-year-old grandfather looked like he was throwing the football without a thumb. He had been retired for five years, presumably spending his Sundays arguing with a lawnmower or organizing a crowded minivan, before unretiring last week. And yet, there he was, carving up the San Francisco 49ers' defense on national television like a Whoville roast beast. It was some truly woeful stuff for a Niners squad that was in the driver's seat for the NFC's No. 1 seed."
"Snap after snap on Monday night, Robert Saleh's defense lined up in the same static looks. And snap after snap, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers hiding his dad-bod pot belly under a flak jacket that looked two sizes too small would shift a player, gauge the Niners' defensive response, and bark out a new play. The right play. He didn't need a manifesto. Just needed a word or three. Insert. Rat. Flipper. Maestro Right."
"It worked, picking up a nice eight-yard gain. The Colts scored three plays later. But then Rivers, operating on pure wits and gall all game, tried to go back to the well. Down two scores with under four minutes to play, inside the Niners' 30-yard line, he saw the look he wanted from San Francisco. Orlando Right, Rivers yelled. Winters heard him. And then Rivers threw it right to him."
Philip Rivers, a 44-year-old grandfather who unretired after five years, methodically dissected the San Francisco 49ers' defense using simple audible words and pre-snap shifts. Rivers repeatedly moved players, gauged defensive responses, and called short verbal triggers to find favorable matchups. One audible, 53 Orlando Left, successfully isolated linebacker Dee Winters and yielded an eight-yard gain. Late in the fourth quarter, with the Colts trailing and inside the 30, Rivers called Orlando Right; Winters recognized the check, trusted his instincts, jumped the route, and intercepted the pass, delivering a decisive defensive play.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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