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The Once-Over: Week One

Posted: Sep 4th 2008 12:00PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: NFL Fans, NFL Real Talk

Get ready for Broadway Brett. After weeks of hype, Brett Favre makes his regular-season debut in a Jets uniform against the Dolphins. Fittingly, it's Chad Pennington, the quarterback New York cast aside, who will be calling the signals for Miami.

Al Pereira, Getty Images

Marion Barber and the Cowboys aren't settling for anything less than a Super Bowl berth this year. Their Week 1 matchup against an explosive Browns team should be a great defensive test to start the season.

Ronald Martinez, Getty Images

It won't be an easy first game for a Jaguars team that's still coping with the tragic shooting of lineman Richard Collier. AFC South bragging rights will be on the line early as Jacksonville heads to Tennessee for a hard-nosed defensive battle.

David Drapkin, Getty Images

While Favre leads the Jets for the first time, Aaron Rodgers will still be game-planning as the Packers prepare for a Monday night clash with the Vikings. Rodgers could silence doubters quickly with a strong performance against an NFC North rival.

Paul Spinelli, Getty Images

The Bengals and Ravens, two disappointing clubs from last year, both have a lot to prove as they open the new season. But their rivalry will likely be overshadowed by the NFL's most flamboyant star and the spectacle of his brand new name -- Chad Ocho Cinco.

Al Behrman, AP

Will Peyton Manning's balky knee hold up against Chicago in a Sunday night showdown? Despite undergoing offseason knee surgery, Manning is expected to be under center when the Colts host the Bears in their first game at the new Lucas Oil Stadium.

Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images

Shawne Merriman will simply not be a bystander this year. The Chargers star will play through two torn knee ligaments when San Diego kicks off its season of high expectations against Carolina.

Denis Poroy, AP

It appears all systems are go for newcomer Jeremy Shockey and New Orleans. After dodging a direct hit from Hurricane Gustav, the Saints will take the field for an NFC South tilt with the Bucs.

Joe Robbins, Getty Images

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.

The 1s

Cincinnati at Baltimore: Ed Reed is iffy for the Ravens, but Chad Ocho Cinco is literally insane, so that's a wash. The Bengals will be starting a converted tight end at fullback, so I hope Ray Lewis doesn't load up on pre-game carbs; he'll have a chance to eat Chris Perry on the field. Despite a new coach and rookie quarterback, the Ravens have had a more stable offseason than the Bengals, which I guess doesn't say much but could make a difference.

Jets at Dolphins: I think the storylines of this game have been discussed to the point of inducing nausea, correct? OK, good, let's just move on before my eyes start to bleed.

Continue Reading The Once-Over: Week One

Shawne Merriman Says His PCL Injury Could Be 'Career Threatening' If He Plays

Posted: Aug 24th 2008 9:35PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Chargers, AFC West, NFL Injuries, NFL Media Watch

2 COMMENTS

So, there's been plenty of talk about the woes of Shawne Merriman; he has a PCL injury and it's much worse than we originally thought. Not good news for either him or the Chargers.

Turns out though, that it might actually be worse than we could even have imagined before.

"It could be career-threatening if I did (play)," Merriman said. "It's a possibility. That possibility is still open."

A course of action has not been decided. Merriman, who will consult with a doctor in Miami early next week before making a decision, has been told reconstructive surgery would sideline him for the entire 2008 season. Another option is a less-invasive surgery that would allow him to play at some point in the season.

Quite the conundrum for the Pro-Bowler, especially considering the Chargers are considered strong contenders for the Super Bowl this year. (It's also interesting to hear that quote -- is the "career ending" part open or is it the playing that's open? I think the former, but I digress.)

Does Merriman play and attempt to help the Chargers head to the Super Bowl as is now? That notion seems pretty foolish, considering the strong, strong risk for an early, and worse, injury. What seems likely to me is that he opts for the less invasive surgery referenced above and tries to return around mid-to-late season and help give the Chargers a playoff push.

The smart thing is to just miss 2008 and make sure not to tank the rest of his career, but with the Chargers in a division that they should win pretty handily, it's certainly viable for Merriman to be thinking immediate future rather than long-term as he examines his options.

Eli Manning and Philip Rivers Story Comes Together Again

Posted: Jan 20th 2008 12:29PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Chargers, NY Giants, AFC West, NFC East, NFL Draft, NFL Playoffs, New York, San Diego

1 COMMENT

There are tons of storylines in today's AFC/NFC Championship games. One that hasn't gotten much press but is rather interesting is that the Giants and Chargers are led into today by quarterbacks that were dealt for each other.

Remember that the theme heading into the 2004 NFL Draft was that Eli Manning didn't want to play for the San Diego Chargers. San Diego owned the #1 pick in that draft. When the pick was made, Manning famously had a forced smile on his face and refused to wear the customary cap during the photo op. Maybe he knew that the New York Giants were feverishly working behind the scenes to get him.

Later in the day, New York drafted Philip Rivers with the #4 pick ... then dealt him and three draft picks to San Diego for the rights to Manning.

For New York, it has been an on/off love affair with the younger Manning. He is criticized more than any QB in the league ... yet has led the Giants to the playoffs the past three seasons and into today's NFC Championship game. Also, the Giants did a great job of not folding to San Diego's wishes to include Osi Umenyiora in any deal.

Continue Reading Eli Manning and Philip Rivers Story Comes Together Again

Titans Deny They Tried to Take Out Chargers' Shawne Merriman

Posted: Dec 13th 2007 9:00PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Chargers, Titans, AFC East, AFC West, NFL Injuries

5 COMMENTS

FanHouse's J.J. Cooper wrote earlier this week that Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman believes Titans head coach Jeff Fisher ordered his team to go after him. Apparently, so Merriman thinks, this was in retaliation for the former Maryland star knocking Tennessee quarterback Vince Young out of the game last Sunday.

Shockingly, the Titans deny Meriman's claim:

Titans center Kevin Mawae said he's sorry Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman was injured, but strongly denied taking a cheap shot at him....

"If the NFL deems it is a cheap shot I will pay whatever fine I have to pay," Mawae said Wednesday. "But I am moving on and it is unfortunate that he got hurt in that play.

"I understand that he thinks I took a cheap shot on him. But it is what it is. I'm sorry that he got hurt - there was no intention by it. I was just downfield trying to make a block. It happens.''

Mawae sounds contrite, but also says he is used to such accusations: "I've been called dirty, I have been called a cheap-shot guy ... The thing is, I have found out in 14 years that if you are doing it to somebody else it is a 'cheap shot' but when they do it to you it is 'tough football.'"

Fair enough on that last point. The Titans have been accused of taking cheap shots at various points this season so the latest round of charges aren't all that surprising. Good news for San Diego fans, though: Merriman heals quicker than most NFL players, so he should be raring to go, Steve Lattimer-style, this weekend.

Maurice Jones-Drew Is Just a Great Tackler

Posted: Nov 20th 2007 7:53PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: Jaguars, Saints, AFC South, NFC South, New Orleans

1 COMMENT

You've probably already seen the video of Maurice Jones-Drew laying the lumber (not to be confused with laying the pipe) on ~~Jamal Williams~~ Shawn Merriman. But that wasn't the first big hit Jones-Drew has delivered this year.

The above video came at the tail end of the Saints' 41-24 win over the Jaguars. Quinn Gray threw an interception to Jason Craft in the endzone and, as you can see, Craft was probably better served just kneeling that ball. The game was over anyway, meaning all that return was good for was a nice view of the Superdome lights.

Granted, the hit on Merriman, a player roughly 13x the size of Jones-Drew, is more impressive. But oh my ... when his legs begin to slow down, MJD might want to think about converting to strong safety.

Grading Cutler: Week Two

Posted: Dec 13th 2006 11:08AM by Gabe Stein (author feed)
Filed under: Broncos, AFC West

2 COMMENTS

I know I didn't do this in week one - but from here on out, it's going to be a staple. Last Sunday, Cutler took on (arguably) the best team in the NFL, and the Broncos easily lost to the Chargers. But Cutler's play was one of the few bright points of the game for the Broncos, and with the exception of Tatum Bell, who turned in his usual strong performance, Cutler was the only Bronco on the field who played well. In fact, look at his line: 188 yards, 17/30, 2 touchdowns, no interceptions. This would have been a pretty good day for Jake Plummer, which is exactly why Cutler is in now - because he really isn't a substantial decrease over Plummer, and he can learn for next year at the same time.

Positives: He threw two touchdowns, and lead the team on four scoring drives, two over 70 yards. And all of this when the offensive line could do nothing to stop the fierce San Diego pass rush - hence why he spent most of his time out of the shotgun. He and Tatum Bell were the sole reason that the Broncos even made it a game after the first half where the defense allowed 28 points - his passes were crisp, and he looked much more poised and comfortable in the pocket than he did last week. The other exciting part of his play was that he seemed to be finding open receivers down field. Oh yeah, he didn't throw an interception - the last time Jake Plummer did that was against Pittsburgh, four starts ago.

Negatives: Cutler's still having trouble taking snaps from Tom Nalen - he fumbled snaps twice, which was a problem last week. He was also stripped of the ball late in the fourth quarter when Shawn Merriman came on a blitz, but we can hardly blame Cutler - Merriman was untouched and Cutler didn't have time to throw. Cutler also couldn't convert twice on fourth down. Once was when he was sacked before he even had a chance to look down field, and the other time was when he threw what was probably a poorly-advised ball right into the outstretched arms of Merriman, who was again untouched off the corner.

Improvement Over Week 1? Definitely. Aside from not throwing a pick, Cutler was effective leading the offense down the field four times, against a San Diego defense that has made established quarterbacks look far worse. He showed a good deal more accuracy and touch down the field than last week, and at least in the third quarter, he was hitting every open receiver. He still made a few mistakes, and was almost picked in the end zone (great catch by Scheffler), but overall it was an enormous improvement over his first week, and there were glimpses of the great quarterback he could become. If this is any indication, he'll be even better next week - especially against a lousy Arizona defense.

Merriman Suspended for Steroids

Posted: Oct 22nd 2006 10:22PM by Kyle Decker (author feed)
Filed under: Maryland Football, ACC

2 COMMENTS

Former Terrapin linebacker and current San Diego Charger linebacker Shawne Merriman is suspended four games for abusing the steroid policy in the NFL. I realize that this is more a Chargers story than a Terps story, but it definitely deserves some comment from the Maryland Fan House guy yours truly.

It's really a shame. Merriman was a beast at school, and now you have to wonder how far back this steroid use goes. He was unstoppable at Maryland and now it's a question if he was dominating opponents because of steroid use. This will definitely hurt his legacy as one of the top Maryland defensemen.

I doubt Coach Friedgen's program will get a lot of heat for this question, but Merriman was rookie of the year last year and was probably using then. It would only make sense that he was using at school too. Do you really think as soon as he entered the NFL he started 'roids? Doubtful. This use probably went back to his Maryland days.

Too bad that the legend of Lights Out at Maryland will be somewhat tainted from here on out and even worse if Friedgen gets some questions for this. The last thing Ralph needs now is steroid use going on under his nose.