Chow helped mold Rivers, Leinart

By: MIKE SULLIVAN - Staff Writer | Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:10 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- Philip Rivers doesn't know Matt Leinart well. The two quarterbacks have engaged in just one brief conversation, prior to December's contest between the Chargers and Arizona Cardinals.

The two meet again Saturday for a preseason contest, and Rivers doesn't need to have an extensive conversation to know that he and Leinart share similar feelings about one subject: offensive mastermind Norm Chow.

"We both have a lot of respect for him," Rivers said of Chow.

Chow, the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans, tutored both Rivers (North Carolina State) and Leinart (USC) during his 32-year college coaching career. The two are among the six first-round draft picks ---- USC's Carson Palmer and Brigham Young's Jim McMahon, Marc Wilson and Steve Young are the others ---- that Chow helped groom.

Leinart, Palmer and BYU's Ty Detmer all won the Heisman Trophy while being tutored by Chow.

"The first thing with Norm is his resume speaks for itself," Leinart said through an Arizona reporter.

"The quarterbacks he has had ---- and he has coached Heisman winners ---- it was a no-brainer for me to attend SC because of Norm and (coach Pete Carroll).

"I learned the basics of football at that level and that helped me to get to where I am now. Obviously it has evolved because I have become smarter and more experienced as the years go by, but he really was the first coach to help me understand football.

"I owe a lot to what I have accomplished to Norm."

Leinart, Arizona's top pick in 2006, won the Heisman as a junior in 2004, Chow's final season at USC. Prior to joining the Trojans, Chow spent one year at North Carolina State (2000) and worked with Rivers, an incoming freshman from Athens High in Alabama.

"I was coming out of high school and I played in every game my freshman year," said Rivers, who passed for 3,054 yards and 25 touchdowns that season. "He had a very distinct and simple approach.

"Obviously, he could make it as complex as he wanted to, but he knew I was a freshman playing and he made it a simple approach and gave me a chance to succeed. He really taught me how to understand the passing game."

Though Chow left for USC, Rivers continued to flourish, throwing for 13,484 yards and 95 touchdowns during his North Carolina State career. He was the fourth pick of the 2004 NFL draft and threw for 3,388 yards and 22 touchdowns last season in his first campaign as the Chargers' starting quarterback.

Leinart started 11 games last season and impressed teammates with his advanced poise while passing for 2,547 yards and 11 touchdowns. His biggest moment occurred when he became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to top 400 yards passing in a game with a 405-yard effort against Minnesota.

Chargers coach Norv Turner, a renowned developer of quarterbacks, was impressed with Leinart's first NFL season.

"I watched him play a lot in college and on TV and saw all the tape and he's got such presence and confidence and he's extremely accurate," Turner said. "That's a great combination."

Just as Chow and talented quarterbacks team up to be terrific combos. Vince Young had a stellar rookie season in Tennessee, adding to Chow's quarterback legacy.

"He's been around so many guys and does so many things with them," said Rivers, "and they always seem to be successful."

Chances are that Rivers and Leinart will cross paths either prior to or after Saturday's game at University of Phoenix Stadium. Perhaps this time the conversation will touch on Chow.

"It is funny, when I was playing for Norm, he was always saying, 'You and Philip would love to talk to each other. He is a great guy,' " Leinart said. "He'd always talk about his old quarterbacks. I saw Philip when we played San Diego last year and I talked to him, although we didn't talk about Norm much at all."

Chargers notes

QB Philip Rivers will see some familiar faces in Arizona's secondary: Starting safeties Terrence Holt and Adrian Wilson were teammates of his at North Carolina State. "That is kind of neat for me," Rivers said. "They were probably my two best buddies at NC State. It will be fun going against those guys." ... LB Marques Harris (shoulder) will likely miss Saturday's game, but should be healthy for the final preseason game against San Francisco on Aug. 30. ... Training camp ended Thursday and coach Norv Turner feels his first camp as Chargers coach went well. "Every year, it's a start-over deal," Turner said. "I like how our guys approached things from the beginning of March and all through our offseason work. I believe we've gotten done to this point what we need to get done in training camp."

Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or msullivan@nctimes.com.

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