Broncos' Bailey: Rivers has earned right to yap

"Back then, he was talking when he shouldn't have. I think he hadn't earned his respect around the league at that point," Bailey said. "But now it's a different story."

At the time, Rivers was in his second season as a starting quarterback, had yet to win a playoff game and was still considered a secondary light on the Chargers' offense behind running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who was a year removed from scoring an NFL-record 31 touchdowns.

Rivers was still maturing, but by then had already established mastery over the Broncos, which continued with 23-3 victory on Dec. 24, 2007 — Rivers' fourth in as four starts against them. With 5:35 left in the fourth quarter, Rivers and then-Broncos quarterback Cutler engaged in a shouting match, while Chargers linebacker Matt Wilhelm stood alongside, waving goodbye to Cutler after the Broncos had been stopped on downs.

There was every reason for the Chargers to feel cocky at that moment. Not only had they won four straight in the series, but they'd outscored the Broncos 130-33 dating to the third quarter of their Nov. 19, 2006, meeting. Rivers' actions sat poorly with Bailey, who shot back two days later, calling him "the classless guy on that team," adding that Rivers had "lost my respect."

Given the perspective of hindsight, Bailey not only sees the Rivers of today differently, but also the 2007 incident. The object of Rivers' derision that night wasn't Bailey or any of his current teammates, but Cutler, the talented-yet-surly passer who was dealt to Chicago in April 2009.

"I think he mostly hated our quarterback at the time," Bailey said.

Five years, eight head-to-head matchups and three Broncos quarterbacks later, Bailey's respect for Rivers is profound. The relationship between them evened out because of time and the experience of being together for two Pro Bowls in 2011 and 2012.

Rivers is the same trash-talker, Bailey said — but he's easier to ignore now.

"It's kind of funny to me," Bailey said. "He doesn't get under my skin, but I think he still affects a lot of people. You can't really listen to him too much, because he loves to talk."