More hype for the Shawne Merriman bandwagon (1 Viewer)

[tommyGunZ]

Hard rocker

The Chargers' Shawne Merriman is thinking creatively, adding punch and power to his new offseason workouts

Drops of sweat, like rain, splatter on the canvas as a large man bobs and weaves and jabs. The man and his myriad tattoos glisten in the afternoon light that shines through the window, while a much smaller man moves about calmly directing a session of torture that might at any moment produce more moisture in the form of tears.

“I have not got to push him to his limits yet,” Mel Menor, the smaller man, will say later. “I haven't made him cry, because I don't want to be picked up and slammed to the ground.”

Shawne Merriman, a freakish combination of muscles and ability by any measure, was 10 minutes into a workout at The Boxing Club, and it was both comical and agonizing to watch.

Merriman did not have to be there, could have been so many other places, had so many other things to do. The NFL's 2005 Defensive Rookie of the Year has taken up boxing on his way to stardom. The Chargers linebacker is not interested in actually fighting, just in becoming a better football player.

“I can guarantee you 110 percent nobody in the league is doing this kind of workout,” Merriman said. “It gets tough. You think you don't have it in you; you have to find a way to finish it.”

That particular day's Menor-inflicted hell began with Merriman jumping rope for three minutes. Menor then called Merriman out of the ring and had him punching at air while striding up and down the floor holding small weights. Immediately after that, Merriman dropped to do push-ups. Then it was back in the ring, pausing only to put on boxing gloves. He spent the next several minutes moving in circles while punching mitts worn by Menor, a two-time Muay Thai kickboxing world champion. By the time that first round was finished, Merriman's shirt resembled a wet rag.

Before the workout was complete, he would repeat that exercise with Menor three times. Between each round he did dozens of pushups and sit-ups, at one point reeling off 25 crunches while Menor stood on his stomach.

“He's got that drive, got that passion,” Menor said later. “He knows what he's got to do. He gets pushed, and he wants to push more.”

While the on-field outcome of this new regimen will have to wait, Merriman feels the results already.

“I'm faster than I've ever been because I've cut so much body fat,” he said. “I feel so much better. It's scary. I scare myself sometimes how I am.”

One look at Merriman reveals stunning progress. He has added 10 pounds of muscle while trimming body fat. The other day coach Marty Schottenheimer was shocked to find out Merriman was up to 270 pounds and promptly told his young star he did not look it.

“It's a different 270 this year than the 270 I was last year,” Merriman said.

When he arrived – belatedly – to last summer's training camp, Merriman was a bit flabby and certainly not in shape as he suffered through a series of minor injuries that postponed the start of his season. He firmed up and trimmed down by midseason, and his 10 sacks and seven tackles for loss left no question as to his fitness.

But it is already clear Merriman is never satisfied and never shy about saying so.

“I don't think I played that well (last season) compared to what I can do,” Merriman said. “I'm going to be a lot better this year. It's not even going to be close.”

When Merriman speaks this way, there no longer is an urge to raise an eyebrow or need to suppress a chuckle. To date, pretty much everything he has said about how good he wanted to be has come true.

Even as he held out of workouts last spring and summer, he said he would quickly earn his teammates' respect. He was speaking up in team meetings by midseason and was respected as a veteran by December.

He said he was tough. During the season he played the final few downs of a game in November with a dislocated wrist and finished the season playing with a cast on his arm and bursitis in his knee.

He said he would prove to be the best player taken in last year's draft and then went out and won the league's Defensive Rookie of the Year award and made the Pro Bowl.

Even speaking specifically, he turned out to be prophetic. Mired in a three-game stretch without a sack, Merriman said before last season's game at Indianapolis that he had been watching extra film and working at more efficiently getting off blocks.

“You'll see a big difference Sunday,” he said.

That Sunday he sacked Peyton Manning twice, running over linemen a couple of times as if they were not there. He also forced Manning to intentionally ground the ball at a crucial point in the fourth quarter and ran the quarterback out of bounds on a fourth-and-goal.

He finished the season leading the team in sacks and making it to the Pro Bowl – the fourth-youngest ever to do so – despite missing the season opener with a knee injury, barely playing in the second game and not making the starting lineup until the seventh game.

He continues to stay busy with business ventures, television appearances and even a possible foray into acting. But just as his many off-the-field demands during the season had no adverse effect on his play, his offseason schedule does not seem to have impeded his development.

The Chargers brass has acknowledged there was concern, or at least an unknown and uneasy feeling, about Merriman's diverse interests last year. No more. It is clear he loves football and is dedicated to making himself the best.

“That's what I love to do,” he said. “You have to remember what got you here. You can't lose sight of your passion, your love. No matter how much money I make, how many cars I have, how many houses I buy or whatever else I do, football is No. 1. I can't wait to turn it up this year.”

Link

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

Scary to think what Merriman w/ a full camp and playing the whole year can do

Hoping its 15+ sacks and a bolts division title

 

[cr8f]

There's a bandwagon. I drafted him but kind of wish I hadn't. Perhaps I'll hold on.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

I'm sure that's just what Aaron Brooks wanted to hear.

 

[Slinger]

It moved.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

And some more:

Merriman charging up San Diego's defense

By Jim Corbett, USA TODAY

The linebacker nicknamed "Lights Out" doesn't appear to have an off switch.

It's the reason why former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason finds an easy choice when asked to name the best outside linebacker and best up-and-comer at the position today.

"Shawne Merriman is the best of both," the CBS analyst says. "Cato June had a good year last season for the Colts, and (the Steelers') Joey Porter is a good player. But Merriman is an animal. And after his rookie season, you know he's going to get better."

The Chargers are eager to see what kind of disruption the 2005 Defensive Rookie of the Year can cause after compiling 10 sacks in 10 starts last season.

Coach Marty Schottenheimer draws comparisons to a certain Giants Hall of Famer.

"I see physical skills in Shawne like a Lawrence Taylor," Schottenheimer says. "Shawne's got the size, and he can run like the wind and has great impact when he hits.

"I'm not saying he's Lawrence Taylor. But the physical skills are there."

ESPN analyst Joe Theismann agrees.

"Shawne Merriman is an absolute beast," Theismann says. "Strength, power, speed.

"There will never be another Lawrence Taylor, but the way Merriman flows to the ball reminds me of the innate ability Lawrence had."

NFL Network analyst Ron Woodson even believes Merriman could set a new standard for outside linebackers: "Shawne Merriman has the potential to revolutionize the game from the linebacker position."

Merriman's double-digit sack total jumps out, but he is still so young with so much more to refine even after proving pretty stout as a run stopper for the league's top-ranked run defense.

"Shawne Merriman made the Pro Bowl based on sacks, but he has room to improve as an every-down player," Sports Xchange NFL expert Derek Harper says. "He has the drive and motivation to get better."

Best ever. It's a title Merriman chases with the same abandon he does with the football.

"There's a lot of good linebackers in this league, and I'm out to prove I'm the best," Merriman says. "You have #### Butkus, Mike Singletary and Jack Lambert. They are throwbacks who played with a nasty, relentless attitude. That's how I look to play, just nasty and with great passion. I'm really good at getting to the ball and always being relentless.

"Big hits are what I'm known for. But the plays I'm proudest of are the plays I made with just my effort."

He's talking about running Bills quarterback J.P. Losman down 20 yards past the line of scrimmage or coming from the other side of the field to sack Peyton Manning in San Diego's Dec. 18 win at Indianapolis that ended the Colts' unbeaten start after 13 wins.

"Shawne Merriman signals the coming of a new age," NFL Network analyst Solomon Wilcots says. "He's 6-4, 274, but has the cat-like quickness of a smaller man. He's explosive off the edge as a pass rusher and still has the strength and power to overwhelm bigger offensive tackles.

"He's too good at the point of attack when you run at him and too fast with the way he's able to run down plays going away to the other side. When he fully learns what he's doing, look out. It will not be a fair fight."

That is, as long as he stays motivated.

"I don't even have anybody I can compare him to," says Merril Hoge, an ESPN NFL analyst. "He's bigger than Lawrence Taylor. The only worry is that he might start to think the game is too easy, and people start scheming for him. If he can overcome that, he'll be ready to take his game to the next level."

 

[cr8f]

SCOUTING REPORT: SLB Shawne Merriman has gone from being a freak to a monster. He has added 10 pounds while trimming down and appears as fast as ever. He has worked this offseason with a boxing instructor to improve both his hands and his endurance. He has spent many hours in the film room (at the team's complex and at his home) watching for ways he can improve in coverage. With a healthy Steve Foley on the opposite side drawing the offense's attention as well, Merriman appears poised to improve on his stellar rookie season.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

He is at 272 with 4% body fat? (Link)

 

[Chaos Commish]

Fwiw, I think Norton has him undervalued. I'm adding 15 tackles to his projections making the estimate 68 for the season. It's reasonable and makes him LB17 in those projections.

Also fwiw, this time of year I join a lot of mocks and survivors. I was taking Merriman "early" a couple weeks ago (about LB18 - 20) in what felt like reaching, but that's hard to judge with IDPs. In that last two drafts I barely got him once @LB17 (gnashing of teeth from two other owners) and missed him in another where he went LB14.

I understand the 3-4 OLB spot isn't the hottest IDP commodity, but talent is talent and Merriman is an IDP monster in the making. Make your move for him this offseason in dynasties and keepers or forget about owning him after this season.

An influx of 3-4 OLB freaks in the NFL will have us reevaluating that position for IDPs the same way corners should be getting their due. Points is points afterall.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Fwiw, I think Norton has him undervalued. I'm adding 15 tackles to his projections making the estimate 68 for the season. It's reasonable and makes him LB17 in those projections.

Also fwiw, this time of year I join a lot of mocks and survivors. I was taking Merriman "early" a couple weeks ago (about LB18 - 20) in what felt like reaching, but that's hard to judge with IDPs. In that last two drafts I barely got him once @LB17 (gnashing of teeth from two other owners) and missed him in another where he went LB14.

I understand the 3-4 OLB spot isn't the hottest IDP commodity, but talent is talent and Merriman is an IDP monster in the making. Make your move for him this offseason in dynasties and keepers or forget about owning him after this season.

An influx of 3-4 OLB freaks in the NFL will have us reevaluating that position for IDPs the same way corners should be getting their due. Points is points afterall.

Evaluation of the talent is key. Merriman is proving to be a decent run stopper and clearly has elite pass rushing skills. The more I read about his run defense, the higher I'm bumping him in the rankings.

He has value. Now the Lawsons, Wimbleys, Thomases, McGinests of the IDP world - not so much depending on scoring system.

BTW, the Chargers could have two very valuable non-traditional IDPs this season. Castillo could have well above average value as a 3-4 DE.

 

[Bob_Magaw]

i wrote this recently in the consensus LB rankings (1-45 thread)...

one reason i like merriman & expect him to build on his success... many a young pass rusher's career founders on fact that they fail to develope inside counters... not only does he have the speed to get outside as an edge rusher, he may already have one of the best bull rushes in the NFL... that combination bodes well for his future, though i have a lot of respect for historical precedents...

if merriman stays healthy, i won't be surprised by 12-15 sacks with upside with year to year consistency... i concede that this would ordinarily be highly improbable for a LB (even for all but a few elite DEs for that matter), but that reflects the fact that i think he is a special talent & usual rules may not apply.

* i seem to be highest on him in staff redraft rankings at #17 (like CC)... next lowest is 30... but as noted, i think he will be a sack monster... if i'm wrong, he probably won't get as many tackles as second tier MLB or stud WLB that would get him in that range...

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

This one is pretty far-fetched, but as long as it's a thread about hype . . .

Merriman possible candidate for NFL MVP?

The AP Defensive Player of the Year has been awarded to a linebacker four times since 2000. Brian Urlacher was the most recent recipient of this prestigious distinction - leading the NFC’s best defense to a division title and racking up 120+ tackles and 6 sacks in the process. Usually it the defense that makes the adjustments, but in the case of Brian Urlacher and the Chicago Bears, offenses frequently made adjustments against #54 in an attempt to remove him from the play. Obviously that didn’t work too much against Urlacher and the Bears - a defense that allowed the fewest points in the NFL.

Rare is the player who can force teams to scheme against him and still have great success. Even rarer is a player who has won both the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and the AP Defensive Player of the Year in a career. Lawrence Taylor did both in the same year in 1981.

"Best player on the best defense. He should be the defensive MVP," Pro Bowl safety Mike Brown said. "He makes a lot of impact plays, but just him being on the field, teams have to scheme against us. They have to do different things to stay away from him. He's the leader of our team."

The Chargers too have an impact linebacker who was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. His name is Shawne Merriman. A different-type of linebacker than a Brian Urlacher, Merriman nonetheless shares his relentlessness and desire to be the best. He too is a playmaker on defense that teams will be forced to scheme against; if Shawne Merriman is having success on the football field its likely that opposing offenses are not.

In less than a full-season’s worth of starts, Merriman racked up 10 sacks, 57 tackles, and 2 forced fumbles en-route to earning a Pro Bowl berth as the AFC’s best Outside Linebacker. With his rookie season under his belt, a full offseason’s worth of conditioning as well as a firmer grasp of the Chargers 3-4 scheme, there is really no ceiling for what Shawne Merriman can accomplish in 2006. With the way Merriman flies to the ball, he could reach 75+ tackles and close to 15 sacks. His forced fumbles could also increase, resulting in turnovers for a defense that sorely needs help in that area.

Clearly Merriman has a legit shot at the AP Defensive Player of the Year award. But I want to take it one step further and put him in the class of Lawrence Taylor. Not since Taylor won the award in 1986 has the NFL MVP been anything other than a Quarterback or Running back. But looking back at the type of player Taylor was, it is easy to see the similarities that Merriman shares with him.

In 1981, Taylor was drafted by the NFL's New York Giants as the # 2 pick overall. He was named 1981's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press with 9.5 sacks. He produced double-digit sacks seasons consecutively from 1986 through 1990, with his career high of 20 1/2 sacks coming in 1986.

During that 1986 season, Lawrence Taylor lead the #1 ranked rushing defense to the SuperBowl and won it. He played with TE Mark Bavaro who had 1000+ yards receiving, and RB Joe Morris who has 1500+ yards rushing. None of the Wide Receivers on the 86 Giants had over 1000+ yards receiving. The Giants ran the ball well, played well against the run, had a top 10 offense, gave up a ton of passing yard, but didn’t allow touchdowns. They had two players with double digit sack totals. And to top it all off, they drafted 19th overall that year.

The similarities between the Lawernce Taylor’s 1986 Giants and Shawne Merriman’s 2006 Chargers are striking.

 

[Pick]

Wasn't sure which thread to bump but this guy was telling me that Merriman is fast becoming the most overrated player in the NFL.

 

[The Gator]

Wasn't sure which thread to bump but this guy was telling me that Merriman is fast becoming the most overrated player in the NFL.

Is your friend Robert Gallery? He could be trying to down play week one.

 

[Pick]

Wasn't sure which thread to bump but this guy was telling me that Merriman is fast becoming the most overrated player in the NFL.

Is your friend Robert Gallery? He could be trying to down play week one.

Interestingly enough, one of his arguments was that Merriman got all his stats off Gallery.