Shawne Merriman (1 Viewer)

[-OZ-]

In some leagues, where sacks are more heavily weighted than others, Merrimen was the #1 or at worst a top 5 LB in points per game last year.

This year, he loses the benefit of having one of the better LBs in the game playing next to him, as Edwards left for Kansas City.

Does this mean Merrimen will get more tackles, or does it mean he'll be less able to terrorize the QB?

(FWIW, I acquired him in a league where I needed LB help, and this is one of those leagues where he was #1 in PPG)

 

[Jene Bramel]

There shouldn't be any major ripple effect on Shawne Merriman. He won't be asked to play the run more if the ILB replacements struggle. The Chargers would more likely bring a safety into the box.

It's possible that Merriman won't have as much opportunity to rush the passer if the run defense is so bad that the Bolts face a big run-pass discrepancy. The SD offense alone makes that unlikely and Edwards wasn't considered a huge factor against the run anyway. It is possible that Merriman could see a very small bump in tackle numbers in pursuit if the Chargers struggle to tackle up the middle, but I think that effect would be slight as well.

I think it's much more likely that any big drop in Merriman's stats would be from a lack of performance enhancers than decline in surrounding cast. Although a 20 sack/season pace is ridiculous, I think Merriman's year end statline will be around his previous two seasons.

 

[RavensUNFL]

Anyone have a guess who will be the starting lb'ers for the chargers other than phillips and merriman?

 

[KellysHeroes]

People are going to overpay for him alot this yr....

They will be

 

[Jene Bramel]

Anyone have a guess who will be the starting lb'ers for the chargers other than phillips and merriman?

Unless the Chargers take a rookie with the potential to start immediately or Tim Dobbins forces himself into the discussion in camp, it'll be Stephen Cooper and Matt Wilhelm. Those two have been discussed a lot in the Forum for the past 10 months if you're interested in doing a search a bunch of other thoughts.