Merriman deal is getting ugly...

[DBoys]

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

CHARGERS DIDN'T GET MEMO ON MERRIMAN?

Prior to the 2005 NFL draft, we heard that Maryland defensive end/linebacker Shawne Merriman was dropping on many draft boards.

On April 17, we reported that some thought Merriman would fall completely out of the first round.

On April 23, he didn't.

When the Cowboys passed on Merriman with the eleventh overall pick, we thought to ourselves, "It's happening." And Merriman likely thought the same, since as he claimed after the draft that the Cowboys had promised to take him with the first of their two first-round picks.

Then came the Chargers, who pounced on Merriman with the No. 12 selection.

After the draft, we began to pick up more information regarding the basis for teams' concerns. Without getting into many of the details (for now), the background information gathered by at least one franchise raised significant questions regarding Merriman's character.

We need to be clear here. We're not reporting that Merriman actually has any character issues. We're reporting that multiple league insiders who screen college talent for a living believed that there were sufficient questions to justify avoiding Merriman, based on the significant money and time invested into the pre-draft screening process.

In fact, we've heard that some teams in the lower reaches of round one were concerned that they might face a tough decision on what would have appeared to be a significant potential value pick.

Armed with the information that we received from multiple league insiders, we embarked on a "real" journalism exercise. We placed a call to University of Maryland Associate Media Relations Director Greg Creese, and we aksed him some pointed questions about Merriman.

We were interested in talking to someone/anyone from Maryland because the information we'd obtained from league sources suggested that the Maryland football program had covered up some of the issues about which NFL teams were concerned. Creese denied our request to interview coach Ralph Friedgen, and Creese told us that he is aware of no discipline that ever was imposed on Merriman for any rules violations, etc.

Basically, the impression we got from Creese was that it was all a non-issue.

Then, within three hours after talking to Creese, we received an e-mail from K.J. Hughes, Merriman's "business manager," and Hughes asked that we give him a call. So we contacted Hughes on Friday afternoon, and he told us that he's the person to talk to if we have questions regarding Shawne.

But how did Hughes know that we had questions about Merriman? Hughes didn't admit that he'd been given a head's up by Creese or anyone else at Maryland -- and Hughes didn't deny it, either. The reasonable inference, from our perspective, is that our call to Creese struck a nerve, prompting him to call Hughes quickly.

So we aksed Hughes point blank about a rumored altercation at Maryland between Merriman and running back Sammy Maldonado. Hughes admitted that there had been a fight between the two players. Hughes denied rumors that Merriman had attacked Maldonado while Maldonado was sleeping.

Hughes also denied that there had been other altercations involving Merriman at Maryland, challenging us to produce police reports or other documents reflecting that such things had transpired. But that's part of the issue, we 'splained to Hughes. The information we've obtained suggested that all of this was swept under the rug by the Terrapin program.

Hughes further denied that Merriman had been booted off of campus due to his proclivity for fisticuffs.

During the conversation, Hughes repeated challenged our motives for investigating this matter. Hughes didn't seem to understand that, given Merriman's draft position, his termination of agent Gary Wichard in favor of the notorious Poston brothers, and the controversial decision not to attend the team's offseason workouts because of concerns regarding the injury protection language, Merriman is a high-profile guy whose background is of interest to many around the league.

The end result, in our opinion, was that Hughes came off as being way too defensive of the Terp whom many believe is a turd. And we're convinced based on our communications with league sources that if the Chargers had known what other teams knew, they wouldn't have written Merriman's name on the card at No. 12.

And he very well might have stayed on the board deep into the afternoon of the first day of the draft.

[Smith22]

Interesting stuff. Can't wait to see how it plays out.

[dbair1967]

It's from the Daily Turd...nothing more needs to be said

David

[Smith22]

It's from the Daily Turd...nothing more needs to be said

David

Yeah, not a very good source but this isn't the first time this has been mentioned.

[Alexander]

It's from the Daily Turd...nothing more needs to be said

David

It may be the National Enquirer of the football world, but just like that rag, it usually has a small shread of truth that is the basis for the rumour.

[VoR]

Yeah, not a very good source but this isn't the first time this has been mentioned.

Jay Glazer was reporting almost the same thing and he's pretty credible.

[ghettogandhi]

Jay Glazer was reporting almost the same thing and he's pretty credible.

let me call my friends at the U of md- and see what I can find out- his proclivity for fisticuffs is new to me- he has been in 1 fight that I was aware of - how many football players dont get into fights with their teammates at some point-

I ll look into it and get back to you guys

[jordan20]

I read in Sporting News that hours after the draft he dropped his agent and signed the Polston Brothers. They said he is in for a ugly holdout. ?????????????

[Muhast]

Ghandi, the question isnt that he is willing to fight a teammate, it was that he attacked the teammate while he slept.

[HardHittin'Witten]

I am glad we took Ware, whether or not that has any truth to it.

[johnnybluestar]

I'm glad the Chargers didn't know then what they know now. If they did, they probably would have drafted Marcus Spears instead. Maybe that would have meant that Merriman would have been available at #20, but from everything I have read and heard, we got the better person in Spears. After hearing him speak, how can you not pull for Spears (a good guy). And who would want Merriman now, a guy who seems to bring drama everywhere he goes (trouble-maker). Sounds like Merriman is this year's Winslow or Sean Taylor. No thanks!
Nope! The first round could not have gone any better for the Cowboys! They addressed need and got productive college players with solid character. Whether or not they translate into productive NFL players remains to be seen. But it remains to be seen from all players drafted, thugs included.

[Alexander]

It is all relative.

We are all on this high character kick right now because we all buy into the rhetoric.

But a short while ago, many Cowboy fans were upset that we took the character fellow (Greg Ellis) over the supertalented character risk (Moss).

I wonder how long it will take people to flip flop their opinion if Merriman wins rookie of the year and Ware has a tough time seeing the field every down.

[Seven]

As Mr. Billy Bullocks put it....We got Ware. EOS.

[BlindSeer]

It is all relative.

We are all on this high character kick right now because we all buy into the rhetoric.

But a short while ago, many Cowboy fans were upset that we took the character fellow (Greg Ellis) over the supertalented character risk (Moss).

I wonder how long it will take people to flip flop their opinion if Merriman wins rookie of the year and Ware has a tough time seeing the field every down.
I was never upset we didn't take Moss and rather glad we didn't. I think Ware will have plenty of playing time this year so what your saying is moot IMO.

:blind:

[Alexander]

I was never upset we didn't take Moss and rather glad we didn't. I think Ware will have plenty of playing time this year so what your saying is moot IMO.

:blind:

How is it moot?

Say Ware gets "plenty of playing time" and yet Merriman records twice as many sacks and gets Rookie of the Year.

You can bet your last dollar that the whining will begin again.

It is just revisionist thinking. It just makes us feel better to imply that we got the better player when in fact all that we really have a nicer player at this point.

[Dough Boy]

I was never upset we didn't take Moss and rather glad we didn't. I think Ware will have plenty of playing time this year so what your saying is moot IMO.

:blind:
It is definitely not a moot point. I'm not picking on you, but if you would have participated on both message boards over the past two years, you would understand how people felt about us taking Ellis over Moss.

Alexandar, I agree with your point. I like Ellis over Moss and I was also a big Merriman fan, and have no problem admitting that I trust the front office over my own uneducated opinion as it relates to the drafting of players.

[AsthmaField]

It is all relative.

We are all on this high character kick right now because we all buy into the rhetoric.

But a short while ago, many Cowboy fans were upset that we took the character fellow (Greg Ellis) over the supertalented character risk (Moss).

I wonder how long it will take people to flip flop their opinion if Merriman wins rookie of the year and Ware has a tough time seeing the field every down.


Good point. I know many of the fans would be saying we should've taken Merriman.

I myself was very high on Merriman, but after comparing him and Ware, I thought Ware would be the right pick for us, personality aside. He's the better pass rusher and that's what we need.

I can't speak for others, but as for myself, I won't second guess passing a player because of character issues. I'll always think Ware was the right pick based on the information we had at draft time. Even if Merriman turns out better... we made the right decision on that Saturday in April.

I'm glad we took Ellis over Moss. Those types always revert to form, eventually.

He's probably the best WR in the game now, and Minny traded him away. Plus, nobody in the NFL blamed them for cutting ties with him. You just got the feeling that Tice couldn't get rid of him fast enough.

If Moss isn't the best, T. Owens might be. And his team has to be seriously considering dumping him... the second team to do so.

The two best WR's in the game... and their teams got rid of them. TO's working on getting traded from his second team.

I'll take a good, solid leader like Ellis anyday over guys like that.

The true damage they've done to the team chemistry can't be calculated, but IMO is significant. They take away from the team as much as they give, if you ask me.

[blindzebra]

Gotta love that "real" journalism.

Funny how he says, "We won't go into details," then goes into the details.

[Alexander]

Gotta love that "real" journalism.


What is "real" journalism anymore?

I don't have a problem with the site if there is some basis for what they imply.

I always thought it was a joke site to begin with.

It is not like it is Newsweek or something. OOpps.

[blindzebra]

What is "real" journalism anymore?

I don't have a problem with the site if there is some basis for what they imply.

I always thought it was a joke site to begin with.

It is not like it is Newsweek or something. OOpps.

Or Fox news.

Actually I was making fun of him actually saying that including the " " around real in the...cough...article...cough.

[Chocolate Lab]

How is it moot?

Say Ware gets "plenty of playing time" and yet Merriman records twice as many sacks and gets Rookie of the Year.

You can bet your last dollar that the whining will begin again.

It is just revisionist thinking. It just makes us feel better to imply that we got the better player when in fact all that we really have a nicer player at this point.It's not revisionist when you say from the very start that you want solid character guys instead of thugs, immatures, and prima donnas... And a lot of us have been saying that for a long time.

Even if a questionable character has a good year, he's more than likely going to cause his team problems somewhere down the line. Take, for instance, a certain Whizzinating Viking running back that some people couldn't believe we didn't take a chance on in the fourth.

BTW, who's to say that Ware isn't a "nicer" person AND a better player?

[SilverStarCowboy]

Never heard it 'splained exactly that way before.

[Alexander]

It's not revisionist when you say from the very start that you want solid character guys instead of thugs, immatures, and prima donnas... And a lot of us have been saying that for a long time.

I understand your point, but where was this conviction several years ago? The prevailing thought then was we blew it with Ellis because Moss killed us practically every year.

I am positive that if the same scenario replicated itself in this case, you will have many bemoaning the fact that we should have taken the more talented major college thug over the small school flash in the pan.

I am not predicting either will be better, but I am sure if it came down to it that Merriman is a better pro, you will have many of the same people now who are singing the praises of the "Character First" program now turn on a dime and criticize the decision Coach Parcells made.

It just seems to me that many people are chalking up our decision to select Ware moreso on the character issue than anything else because it makes them uncomfortable to acknowledge how shocking the selection was. I trust the decision that Coach Parcells made and just like I do not fault Jerry Jones for not taking Moss, the team was doing what it needed to do.

Even if a questionable character has a good year, he's more than likely going to cause his team problems somewhere down the line. Take, for instance, a certain Whizzinating Viking running back that some people couldn't believe we didn't take a chance on in the fourth.

BTW, who's to say that Ware isn't a "nicer" person AND a better player?

Conventional thought is often cyclical. This is just a phase. Just because Randy Moss got shipped out and Terrell Owens is creating discord, people are forgetting how important talent on the field is. If you are dealing with players equipped to handle it and a coach who can relate, the distractions can be overcome.

Our teams in the early 1990s were as full of as many character issues as any teams ever have been. Yet we won because we had the best talent.

[ravidubey]

How is it moot?

Say Ware gets "plenty of playing time" and yet Merriman records twice as many sacks and gets Rookie of the Year.

You can bet your last dollar that the whining will begin again.

It is just revisionist thinking. It just makes us feel better to imply that we got the better player when in fact all that we really have a nicer player at this point.

Wise words, but there's always someone taking an Eric Moore before Michael Irvin. You have to go with what you feel is right, and for Dallas that was drafting Ware. This draft was riddled with questionable prospects which is why so many wanted out of the first round. I don't think Ware will be the next Danny Noonan, but who can possibly predict either way?

[Billy Bullocks]

D'Qwell Jackson is going to be a better pro....Sammy Maldonado is a savage.

[Alexander]

Sammy Maldonado is a savage.

So is that why Merriman waited until he was asleep to attack him?;)

[CIWhitefish]

A decision can only be made with the information a person has at that moment. To look ahead or back is folly and sure to drive you mad. The boys made their draft choices and now must put them in the best postion to succeed.

[T-New41]

I wanted us to take Derrick Johnson. Thats because I have seen him play and am not a nfl coach. I have never seen a game that Merriman or Ware played in. In fact to be honest, when I saw we selected DeMarcus Ware, I had no clue who the guy was.

If Bill had Ware and Merriman closely rated, then go for the guy without the character issues.

The people who are always defending Merriman are saying "before the draft everyone wanted Merriman and was singing his praises, now that we didn't draft him all you want to do is bash him" Well guess what, the people "bashing" him didn't write all these articles. These articles dont just materialize b/c a group of journalists decided to assasinate Merriman's character. The decisions he has made are what have caused these articles to appear.

As far as Ellis over Moss, yeah, Moss is an all-world talent while Ellsi has been unspectacularly solid. But who's still playing for and contributing to the team that drafted him? Sometimes character IS important.

I never saw any games Ware played until I saw his highlight clips. I trust the judgement of Parcells and co. and believe that Ware will be better than Merriman. Is it because I claim to be an expert? Nope, it's cause I am a Cowboys Homer.

[Mash]

How soon people forget Charles Haley.....and his locker room issues.....what about the almighty "white house" scandle.....married men cheating on their wives.....and all that drug use.

But then again....once you are winning....nothing matters....outside the football field.

Would any of us traded Irvin and his off the field problems for a high character WR?....Newton, Step, and Tunie (sp?) and their love for drugs...should of we shipped them off too? The all broke the laws of the NFL and society as we know now....but amazingly that was all swept under the rug when winning multiple SB's or as fans we didn't care because we were winners.

Moss is a great talent...a difference maker....Ellis is not.....and the only thing I heard wrong about Moss was his statement that " I don't play 100% on every down"

Give me a team full of thugs....who have character issues....that know how to perform on Sunday then a team full of choir boys and a 8-8 record....

IMHO my kids and I don't look up to these athletes as role models......none of us should. I pay and cheer for the product on the field....not what they do outside of that.

[AsthmaField]

Just because Randy Moss got shipped out and Terrell Owens is creating discord, people are forgetting how important talent on the field is.


I enjoy reading your stuff Alexander, you always make good points.

Speaking for myself, I'm not forgetting how important talent on the field is... nor am I downplaying how important chemistry is in today's NFL.

Moss and Owens have talent, that's for sure. Like I said earlier, probably the most of any wideouts in football.

Hines Ward and Marvin Harrison are very good players too though, and they're an asset in the lockerroom as well.

Ask some GM's around the league who they'd rather have on their team, Ward or Moss. I'd bet the majority would say Ward. I know I would. That isn't to say Ward is only a hard working, high character overachiever. No, he's a very talented athlete... he just happens to have his head screwed on right. Good for the scoreboard and good for the locker room.

Filling your team with Wayne Crebet's isn't what I'm saying. I'm saying find some Hines Ward's.

Likewise, Ware is overflowing with athletic ability... maybe moreso than Merriman. Who knows? The point is, Merriman jumps higher, but Ware runs faster... they're both terrific athletes. We just took the one who happened to be a real good guy too and the one who excelled as a pass rusher. Like I said before... character aside, I think we go for Ware athletically because of his pass rush skills.

I wouldn't advocate filling a team with hard working over acheivers (although there is a place for those types). You need athletes. Good people who are great athletes can be found though and by the look of things, Parcells and JJ have found many of them.

Ware - Great athlete
Spears - Great athlete
Burnett - Great athlete
Barber - Great athlete
Aaron Glenn - Great athlete
Anthony Henry - great athlete
Marco Rivera - great athlete

Best case scenario, IMO, is when you can do what we've done. Get great athletes who are good citizens.

In no way do I think we've been passing up ability to acquire character.

[lspain1]

How soon people forget Charles Haley.....and his locker room issues.....what about the almighty "white house" scandle.....married men cheating on their wives.....and all that drug use.

But then again....once you are winning....nothing matters....outside the football field.

Would any of us traded Irvin and his off the field problems for a high character WR?....Newton, Step, and Tunie (sp?) and their love for drugs...should of we shipped them off too? The all broke the laws of the NFL and society as we know now....but amazingly that was all swept under the rug when winning multiple SB's or as fans we didn't care because we were winners.

Moss is a great talent...a difference maker....Ellis is not.....and the only thing I heard wrong about Moss was his statement that " I don't play 100% on every down"

Give me a team full of thugs....who have character issues....that know how to perform on Sunday then a team full of choir boys and a 8-8 record....

IMHO my kids and I don't look up to these athletes as role models......none of us should. I pay and cheer for the product on the field....not what they do outside of that.

I gotta disagree with this Mash. The "thugs" you mentioned DID NOT TRANSLATE their problems to the field and they were NOT locker room cancers. Irvin is a good example of someone who made some spectacularly public mistakes, but he worked hard and passionately wanted to win. He was someone who backed up his mouth with performance AND on-field leadership.
Did anyone in the clubhouse want to get rid of him? The issue of "character" is not quite the same. The rest of the guys you mentioned had their issues but the same thing applies. Their problems did not translate to the field.

Moss and T.O. represent two guys who are all about themselves regardless of their on-field performance. It is impossible to know whether or not the things they do have hurt enough to offset their game winning talent. T.O. help the Eagles to the SB last year. No doubt. But what is going to happen this year?

[Alexander]

Best case scenario, IMO, is when you can do what we've done. Get great athletes who are good citizens.

In no way do I think we've been passing up ability to acquire character.

Behavior ON the field is what counts to me. I do not particularly care how much "personality" they have off it, how much time they spend with charity work, how many autographs they sign or how many babies they kiss.

How much "character" do they show on the field? Do they come to play or do they take plays off? Would they sell themselves out for a teammate or are they after their own personal glory?

Moss takes plays off.

Owens does not.

That is the difference. People for some reason are taking this character ball and running without but they don't understand that it is not as simplistic as "are they not a thug and keep their mouth shut".

[Hoov]

Behavior ON the field is what counts to me. I do not particularly care how much "personality" they have off it, how much time they spend with charity work, how many autographs they sign or how many babies they kiss.

How much "character" do they show on the field? Do they come to play or do they take plays off? Would they sell themselves out for a teammate or are they after their own personal glory?

Moss takes plays off.

Owens does not.

That is the difference. People for some reason are taking this character ball and running without but they don't understand that it is not as simplistic as "are they not a thug and keep their mouth shut".

I agree here, maybe the word character is vague. how about work ethic, i think that is what we are talking about. players that practice and play hard. players that prepare mentally and physically so that they are able to give it 100% on the field. players that love football, respect their coach and teamates and do what is necessary to help the team win games. i do not expect nfl players to be saints.

[Alexander]

I agree here, maybe the word character is vague. how about work ethic, i think that is what we are talking about. players that practice and play hard. players that prepare mentally and physically so that they are able to give it 100% on the field. players that love football, respect their coach and teamates and do what is necessary to help the team win games.

I think you nailed the point. Work ethic has as much to do with it as anything else. Lawrence Taylor was no choir boy, but he had a work ethic.

[Hoov]

I think you nailed the point. Work ethic has as much to do with it as anything else. Lawrence Taylor was no choir boy, but he had a work ethic.

If i was a coach id take a whole team of LT's

[AsthmaField]

Behavior ON the field is what counts to me. I do not particularly care how much "personality" they have off it, how much time they spend with charity work, how many autographs they sign or how many babies they kiss.

How much "character" do they show on the field? Do they come to play or do they take plays off? Would they sell themselves out for a teammate or are they after their own personal glory?

Moss takes plays off.

Owens does not.

That is the difference. People for some reason are taking this character ball and running without but they don't understand that it is not as simplistic as "are they not a thug and keep their mouth shut".

Agreed. Selling out for the team and playing hard every down are exactly the type of things I'm talking about. Not charities, etc. Hard worker in practice, follows directions well, is liked by teammates... those are the attributes that are important character wise. A superstar who doesn't work hard isn't a good thing for the rest of the team.

Deion Sanders set a standard of sluggishness and and being lazy in practice. That carried over for years in Dallas and only recently did Parcells put a stop to that. That sort of thing can kill a team, IMO. If the average players see the stars just getting by... that's what they're going to do.

If they see the superstars working their butts off like Irvin and Aikman did... they'll follow suit.

Your rignt, Moss takes plays off and Owens doesn't. Still, because of poor judgement, TO is at odds with at least McNabb and the front office... probably more. Just because he enjoys playing the games doesn't give him a free pass for all of the other junk he's done in his career.

As for fans just now starting to harp on high character... I've thought it was important ever since Jimmy Johnson was coach.

Jimmy put a lot of stock in character. I remember reading a story about when he was coaching at Oklahoma State. He had a bunch of recruits come over to his house for barbecued ribs. There was one highly sought after running back who came. Every major university wanted him. Apparently, he felt like all the college football teams should be fighting for his services... he thought he was hot ****.

While they were eating, Jimmy noticed this guy drop a rib on the floor and he just left it there. He didn't bend over and pick it up, or say he was sorry. He just looked at it and kept eating. Jimmy later said the guy didn't even show the decency to take the time to pick it up and wipe the floor off.

Jimmy took him off of his recruiting list. He said he didn't want that type of player on his team. I respect Jimmy's player evaluation probably more than anyone else's... so I made sure to start paying attention to character when trying to figure out who Jimmy would draft.

BTW... Jimmy said that RB never amounted to anything in football.

Jimmy didn't want choir boys though... it was certain aspects that he looked for. Just like even though Irvin got in his share of problems, there wasn't a harder worker on the team. He hated to lose, and drove teammates to work harder. Jimmy was okay with that.

He just couldn't stand lazieness or someone who football wasn't important to.

Anyway... boy did I get off on a tangent! :D

I'll shut-up now.

[Alexander]

I'll shut-up now.

I liked that rib story. I never heard that one before.

[AsthmaField]

I liked that rib story. I never heard that one before.


Yeah, I think it was in Jimmy Johnson's book. I read it several years ago. I can't remember the name of it but it was a very interesting read. I'd recommend it.


One more story:

Johnson coached with fear. All the players feared him.

This is a story from his second super bowl season. All the players got a number of tickets to the super bowl. Someone had stolen the tickets out of another player's locker.

Johnson got up in front of the whole team and gave this speech (I'm paraphrasing because I can't remember verbatim):

"One of you stole the super bowl tickets out of so-and-so's locker. I don't know who it is, but I'll find out. When I do, I'll make sure you never play in the NFL again. I'll cut you from the team, then I'll call every other NFL head coach and make sure they don't give you a chance. You know me and I'm not just up here talking... I'll do it."

"Of course, if those tickets are put in my office, they'll be no questions asked and I'll act like it never happened."

Later that evening, as Johnson was sitting in his office with his door shut, he heard a noise and he saw the tickets come sliding under the door, and then he heard footsteps running away down the hall. :D

I always thought that was a great story.

[ghettogandhi]

agreed

Ghandi, the question isnt that he is willing to fight a teammate, it was that he attacked the teammate while he slept.

[big dog cowboy]

Johnson coached with fear. All the players feared him.

I doubt anybody ever questioned that. Great story!!!