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Merriman to play this season (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter thatguy
- Start date
Chachi
Footballguy
The team sure wants him to play, I think he's making a huge mistake although i never thought he was the sharpest tool in the shed. Once he hurts himself beyond repair I wonder how much the Chargers will care about this guy, he should sit out the season now and if reports on his recovery are positive this guy would get a monster contract, I don't like his attitude, showmanship but the guy can flat out play. Dumb, Dumb move.
T Bell
Footballguy
It's especially stupid when you consider the fact that the team would be paying him for every $$$ this year as an injured player while he took time to recover fully, but if he destroys his knee and they cut him, the rest of his career earnings are gone. What was the point of the medical exams if he was just going to ignore them?
blackjack23
Footballguy
Man I hope he's making the right decision here. Id love to hear his reasoning. As a SD Def owner Im happy but I dont want the guy to ruin his career.
wadegarrett
FFA Legend™
Mr. PadresLakers
Footballguy
Gotta love the hypocrisy getting thrown around here. Since when do we criticize players for putting their teammates over their own personal well being?
sholditch
Footballguy
Yeah, nothing like a paraplegic to help out the defense.
blackjack23
Footballguy
I have to wonder if his injury was a little overblown. Why else would he get 4 opinions and leave the possibility of playing with it alive?
blackjack23
Footballguy
T Bell
Footballguy
Relax, T. This is Merriman we're talking about, not Obama.
I don't know about hypocrisy, because I don't know how many of the same people criticized LT for not playing against the Patriots.But it does seem like an awful lot of people are certain of things they really can't be certain of. We don't know what the docs said to Merriman. We don't know whether Merriman ignored them or not. Etc.Anyway, best of luck to Merriman -- both with his decision (and any re-thinking he does on it), and with the season if he ends up playing.
Que?What hypocrisy? A tear is a tear is a tear. People can play through certain injuries. Playing through ligament damage/tear is stupid. Case in point...Cadillac Williams. One knee injury can put you down for a long time...and will impact your quality of life forever. He went to the best knee docs in the business and finally found a sucker to sign off him playing.
Gr00vus
Footballguy
He's got two torn knee ligaments - not one but two. Four doctors have recommended season ending surgery and told him is career is at risk if he plays on it the way it is now. How do you overblow that?There's one of 2 things going on here with his ego, or perhaps both:1)Merriman doesn't think the Chargers can win it all without him.2)He's afraid that they might win it all without him.It may work out for him, but even if it does I think he's making a bad decision.
GroveDiesel
Footballguy
Well, if he blows everything out, I'm sure he'll just load up on HGH to heal faster.
T Bell
Footballguy
Hypocrite!
sholditch
Footballguy
When you see that doing so needlessly puts their longterm health in danger. I have no feelings towards the guy either way but I don't want to see someone needlessly ruin their life.
Mr. PadresLakers
Footballguy
The hypocrisy is in criticizing a player for being a selfless teammate. The safest route to ensure his financial well being would have been to sit the season out and be back for his contract year. By the tone of anger and contempt in this thread it sounds like you guys are the ones potentially missing out on the big pay day. As if you guys actually care if the millionaire Merriman might miss out on more money.
If this same exact scenario played out with a more well liked player in the league (read Jason Taylor) this thread would read completely differently.
massraider
Footballguy
I get what you are saying, and I applaud Merriman's desire.But if the report of multiple doctors telling him to have surgery are true, then the wisdom of this move is rightly questioned.
Personally, I never fault a player for exercising caution. Fans love players playing through injuries, but the reality is, this is Merriman's career, and those are the only knees he has.
Mr. PadresLakers
Footballguy
Ruin their life?
zadok
Footballguy
The hypocrisy is in criticizing a player for being a selfless teammate. The safest route to ensure his financial well being would have been to sit the season out and be back for his contract year. By the tone of anger and contempt in this thread it sounds like you guys are the ones potentially missing out on the big pay day. As if you guys actually care if the millionaire Merriman might miss out on more money.
Don't think so, sparky.
at a minimum, seems like he should start out on PUP. it's probably unlikely that he'll last through a full season and then be able to contribute in the playoffs. this way, they can avoid putting him on IR and still hope to have him able to contribute something in the postseason.
I don't think you can 100% call his move a selfless one.The hypocrisy is in criticizing a player for being a selfless teammate. The safest route to ensure his financial well being would have been to sit the season out and be back for his contract year. By the tone of anger and contempt in this thread it sounds like you guys are the ones potentially missing out on the big pay day. As if you guys actually care if the millionaire Merriman might miss out on more money.
sholditch
Footballguy
Yeah, HA HA HA, as in never having the same mobility that you used to have because you ignored a doctors advice. Having a very promising career cut off because of a bad decision. Pretty funny, huh? If anyone comes off as not caring about a player's well-being in this thread, it's you.Ruin their life?
blackjack23
Footballguy
ruin his quality of lifeRuin their life?
Todem
Footballguy
He is taking a risk...but we truly do not know what the severity of the injury is. Getting 5 opinions though was just plain dumb. It seemed he would have gotten 10 until he heard what he wanted which was "playing is a vialble option".
If he indeed has a torn ligiment in his knee he is flat out stupid to try and play 16 games, plus a post season as well.
He will ruin his career.
If he indeed has a torn ligiment in his knee he is flat out stupid to try and play 16 games, plus a post season as well.
He will ruin his career.
Chicago Hooligan
Footballguy
Can we spin 'roid use as selfless if it's "for the good of the team"? Let's see how far we can take this.
I mean... Shawne Merriman using poor judgment -- shocking!
I mean... Shawne Merriman using poor judgment -- shocking!
Gr00vus
Footballguy
I'd be fascinated to listen to the decision making process for him.
Logically I figure it'd be something like considering:
The average probability of worst case scenario (career ending injury) of the four opinions.
The average percentage of peak performance he could achieve if he plays through the injury of the four opinions.
The amount of money he leaves on the table in 2009 offseason if he misses all of 2008 and is coming back from surgery/rehab in 2009 and still can't play 100%.
The probability of the Chargers winning it all this year with and without him and how either one would affect his image/wallet.
I don't know how he'd string all that into a formula, and I'd be curious to hear some of the actual numbers.
Logically I figure it'd be something like considering:
The average probability of worst case scenario (career ending injury) of the four opinions.
The average percentage of peak performance he could achieve if he plays through the injury of the four opinions.
The amount of money he leaves on the table in 2009 offseason if he misses all of 2008 and is coming back from surgery/rehab in 2009 and still can't play 100%.
The probability of the Chargers winning it all this year with and without him and how either one would affect his image/wallet.
I don't know how he'd string all that into a formula, and I'd be curious to hear some of the actual numbers.
I would question this. Newspaper reporting in general is often very sloppy, and on this issue it's been sloppier than usual. (Headlines proclaiming that Merriman's injury could be career-threatening, etc.)The doctors likely told Merriman several thousand words worth of stuff. We have reports that summarize it as "Don't play. Have surgery immediately." But the doctors didn't talk to reporters as far as we know. (I've seen no quotes from them.) I wouldn't trust newspaper reports to accurately summarize thousands of words into five words even if the reporters were with Merriman for his consultations. But they weren't. The issues of what kind of risks Merriman would be taking by delaying surgery, how effective he might be, how many games he might be able to play, the likelihood of re-injury, etc. etc. -- these are all probably a lot more nuanced than the info-by-headlines we're getting here.
One thing is for certain: Merriman is not stupid. That doesn't mean he's not making a stupid decision here. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. I don't think any of us has enough info to know that right now. But Merriman himself is not stupid.
Mr. PadresLakers
Footballguy
Doctors recommended that Phillip Rivers get his knee surgically repaired before he led the Chargers to their first playoff win in nearly 15 years.They also recommended that Kobe Bryant miss a large portion of the season to fix his pinky ligaments before he led the Lakers to the NBA Finals and a gold medal.
Both were incredibly stupid decisions according to the internet doctors of this message board. Both players had been and continue to be praised for being selfless when they made that decision. What's the difference?
DanFouts
Footballguy
The hypocrisy is in criticizing a player for being a selfless teammate. The safest route to ensure his financial well being would have been to sit the season out and be back for his contract year. By the tone of anger and contempt in this thread it sounds like you guys are the ones potentially missing out on the big pay day. As if you guys actually care if the millionaire Merriman might miss out on more money.If this same exact scenario played out with a more well liked player in the league (read Jason Taylor) this thread would read completely differently.
sholditch
Footballguy
What's the difference between a sprained pinky and a knee with only one cruciate ligament holding it together? Are you serious?
Mr. PadresLakers
Footballguy
His life is going to be ruined because he lost elite athletic mobility? Terrell Davis ended his career prematurely due to a blown knee. He seems to doing just fine getting paid to talk about football every week. This isn't a head or neck injury that we are talking about.Yeah, HA HA HA, as in never having the same mobility that you used to have because you ignored a doctors advice. Having a very promising career cut off because of a bad decision. Pretty funny, huh? If anyone comes off as not caring about a player's well-being in this thread, it's you.Ruin their life?
From the reports I've seen, Merriman has all three ligaments. Two of them are loose.
Mr. PadresLakers
Footballguy
Dr. Shloditch you might want to double check their medical files.
T Bell
Footballguy
So at what point do you care more about the long-term well-being of one of the slaves on your athletic plantation over your interests in having a (hopefully?) better team in the coming season?His life is going to be ruined because he lost elite athletic mobility? Terrell Davis ended his career prematurely due to a blown knee. He seems to doing just fine getting paid to talk about football every week. This isn't a head or neck injury that we are talking about.Yeah, HA HA HA, as in never having the same mobility that you used to have because you ignored a doctors advice. Having a very promising career cut off because of a bad decision. Pretty funny, huh? If anyone comes off as not caring about a player's well-being in this thread, it's you.Ruin their life?
Jene Bramel
Footballguy
gllll peas.
Pretty big risk of a major complication here. This area of the knee has a bad reputation. If he's got significant laxity of the posterior and lateral ligaments, he's risking a lot more than just reconstructive surgery of those areas. Joints with that much laxity are at risk of dislocation and all that goes with it. See Napoleon McCallum and Robert Edwards. ACL tear, nerve and vessel injury, muscle tendon tears including a nasty little problem called posterolateral corner syndrome/injury. Some of those will indeed threaten his career or at least make it highly unlikely that he'll return to his previous level of explosiveness. Many of those injuries will require multiple procedures and rehabs.
I'm aware of plenty of players who have played with mid grade strains of one of the four major ligaments or played while missing one altogether. There may be instances where a player has played with a knee joint that is unstable in two spatial directions, but I don't know of any offhand. I don't think this is something that can be braced adequately. I'm really just a Holiday Inn Express orthopedist here, but it seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
Pretty big risk of a major complication here. This area of the knee has a bad reputation. If he's got significant laxity of the posterior and lateral ligaments, he's risking a lot more than just reconstructive surgery of those areas. Joints with that much laxity are at risk of dislocation and all that goes with it. See Napoleon McCallum and Robert Edwards. ACL tear, nerve and vessel injury, muscle tendon tears including a nasty little problem called posterolateral corner syndrome/injury. Some of those will indeed threaten his career or at least make it highly unlikely that he'll return to his previous level of explosiveness. Many of those injuries will require multiple procedures and rehabs.
I'm aware of plenty of players who have played with mid grade strains of one of the four major ligaments or played while missing one altogether. There may be instances where a player has played with a knee joint that is unstable in two spatial directions, but I don't know of any offhand. I don't think this is something that can be braced adequately. I'm really just a Holiday Inn Express orthopedist here, but it seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
DanFouts
Footballguy
So at what point do you care more about the long-term well-being of one of the slaves on your athletic plantation over your interests in having a (hopefully?) better team in the coming season?His life is going to be ruined because he lost elite athletic mobility? Terrell Davis ended his career prematurely due to a blown knee. He seems to doing just fine getting paid to talk about football every week. This isn't a head or neck injury that we are talking about.Yeah, HA HA HA, as in never having the same mobility that you used to have because you ignored a doctors advice. Having a very promising career cut off because of a bad decision. Pretty funny, huh? If anyone comes off as not caring about a player's well-being in this thread, it's you.Ruin their life?
Have a nice break....
T Bell
Footballguy
Not really. I'm just pointing out the way that our friend, Mr. PadresLakersgunz is talking about this. My statement is direct at his statements, and not at what I think about Merriman.DanFouts said:Tatum Bell said:So at what point do you care more about the long-term well-being of one of the slaves on your athletic plantation over your interests in having a (hopefully?) better team in the coming season?Mr. PadresLakers said:His life is going to be ruined because he lost elite athletic mobility? Terrell Davis ended his career prematurely due to a blown knee. He seems to doing just fine getting paid to talk about football every week. This isn't a head or neck injury that we are talking about.sholditch said:Yeah, HA HA HA, as in never having the same mobility that you used to have because you ignored a doctors advice. Having a very promising career cut off because of a bad decision. Pretty funny, huh? If anyone comes off as not caring about a player's well-being in this thread, it's you.Mr. PadresLakers said:Ruin their life?sholditch said:
Mr. PadresLakers
Footballguy
I'm not sure what this has to do with the original point that a blown knee somehow equals a ruined life but as a fan, I wouldn't have faulted him in the least if he opted to have the surgery.Tatum Bell said:So at what point do you care more about the long-term well-being of one of the slaves on your athletic plantation over your interests in having a (hopefully?) better team in the coming season?Mr. PadresLakers said:His life is going to be ruined because he lost elite athletic mobility? Terrell Davis ended his career prematurely due to a blown knee. He seems to doing just fine getting paid to talk about football every week. This isn't a head or neck injury that we are talking about.sholditch said:Yeah, HA HA HA, as in never having the same mobility that you used to have because you ignored a doctors advice. Having a very promising career cut off because of a bad decision. Pretty funny, huh? If anyone comes off as not caring about a player's well-being in this thread, it's you.Mr. PadresLakers said:Ruin their life?sholditch said:
Neil Beaufort Zod
Footballguy
I don't klnow about being a selfless teammate, but if I was on his team I'd tell him to have the surgery. I don't want a guy to risk his career to play, and I don't want a hesitant guy on the field. If I want him around in the future, I tell him to sit this year out.
