Inquiring minds wanna know---where's Merriman?

[AdamJT13]

Something else I want to know .. what exactly are these exotic blitzing schemes that San Diego supposedly uses that everyone keeps talking about? I've watched them upwards of 5-7 times this year, and they just use standand rushing packages. They just win their matchups.

They blitz a lot more than we do, and they blitz different players. According to STATS, the Chargers blitzed 354 times this season to our 187 times. And they blitz all four linebackers, plus their defensive backs -- and often more than one blitzer at a time. If you compare our "most aggressive" game of the season, I doubt we blitzed anywhere close to as much -- or as many people -- as the Chargers did today. Or in their last game. Or the game before that. They might have some players who are better than some of ours, but their scheme also is a LOT more aggressive.

And the Chargers certainly weren't winning too many matchups today when it counted. They blitzed, got burned and lost the game. (Of course, they're stuck with Quentin Jammer at left cornerback, which doesn't help matters.)

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Merriman was a NO show today, that little dance after a "qb pressure" was absolutely ridiculous. I don't see Richard Seymore or D-Ware doing that crap after a QB pressure.....

 

[smarta5150]

Merriman was a NO show today, that little dance after a "qb pressure" was absolutely ridiculous. I don't see Richard Seymore or D-Ware doing that crap after a QB pressure.....

Did Bruce Smith or Reggie White have some signature dance?

I dont even think the original LT did.

These were the great pass rushers and they showed there was no need for some cheesy dance.

 

[DipChit]

Your still citing pre-Salary Cap examples which are pretty impossible to achieve in today's NFL. You simply can't just load up with so much talent that you can blow the other team off the field with sheer ability of your players.

The pre-salary cap stuff has nothing to do with it... it's just an example of a team that wasnt talented enough and became talented enough.

You cant rely on scheme or good coaching either or you wouldnt have all these teams on roller coaster rides every year as far as W/L records go, would you? You'd get the system in place and be competitive every year. The staff is doing nothing different from one year to the other.. whats changing is the players coming and going and thats why you get to the SB or close to it one year and cant hardly get to .500 the next. Theres been a couple exceptions but it's mostly the rule.

Shanahans a mastermind offensively. The scheme doesnt get much better.. then how come his teams have won 1 playoff game in 8 years? Maybe cause he's had a hell of a time finding a QB since Elway retired? Now maybe if *he'd* have signed Brees in the off season they're still playing and Payton is playing golf on Sunday if he'd have gone with a rookie or more journeyman type..

Championships have been won with every type of scheme imaginable (well ok scratch Run-n-Shoot).. so theres nothing inherently more virtuous about using one or the other. From a fans perspective we might enjoy simply watching one kind more than another but that doesnt mean it's better.

The reason even good coaches need not only good players, but players that are suited to, and buy into, their scheme is cause they wont change schemes. Like Norv as an HC would ever bring in a WCO guy to run his offense cause it so happened it turned out his players werent suited to run his own?

I understand it's easy to look at Paytons deal and say.. I want that! But rest assured that while what he's done is nice so far theres a laundry list of guys who did basically the same thing the first or second year and then flatlined shortly thereafter (hey BP included when he first got here cept the cupboard was bearer than most so the ceiling was limited although if he woulda signed Delhomme and Stephen Davis himself that first year instead of going with QC/T-ham, who knows). Fox, Mora Jr, Gruden, Billick etc so even if you get the next in line type of guy like that theres no guarantee you're set for the next 10 years.

You might likely be callin for his head in about 3 cause you're stuck around .500 again.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Do you believe that playing Roy Williams in a Cover 2 scheme that puts him in deep coverage responsibilities almost every single play enables him to be as successful and the best player that he can be?

that's by necessity, not design, we need a FS, whether it be Pat maturing, or Deon Grant, my choice

Do you believe that a scheme that ends up having Demarcus Ware in coverage more than rushing the passer enables him to be the best player that he can be?

he was still put in position to record 11.5 sacks this year, and what we're doing w/ him has turned him into one of the best all-around LBs in the game, but in truth, he needs someone else to step up as a pass-rusher at LB, and for his ends to collapse the pocket and take 2 blockers w/ them in the pass-rush

That's my point. I've seen so many football teams that use a scheme that maximizes their player's potential and the player's execute that scheme well enough to where they can beat another team with a great deal more talent.

I agree w/ this that Bill needs to round out the gameplan to maximize his player's strengths, but the players need to hold up their end too, and we need another pass-rusher and FS, hopefully they are already on the roster

the O needs a RG, and hopefully continuity will increase production there, speaking of which, I think BIll did a pretty nice job fitting the O to fit the player's strengths, esp. when he inserted Romo into the lineup

 

[cowboyed]

man, the board is argumentative lately!

I don't think much of Merriman one way or the other

But I do find it interesting that the same people that are judging Merriman on 3 quarters of football are the pretty much the same ones who threw a hissyfit when other people were idolizing Ed Reed off of yesterdays game alone

That is because we are on our post-season periods.

 

[Blue&Silver]

I knew this was coming. Other Merriman thread.

It was fun watching him yesterday. It was unfortunate he got injured. I'm just glad he's not in the NFC East playing against us.

 

[TEK2000]

The pre-salary cap stuff has nothing to do with it... it's just an example of a team that wasnt talented enough and became talented enough.

You cant rely on scheme or good coaching either or you wouldnt have all these teams on roller coaster rides every year as far as W/L records go, would you? You'd get the system in place and be competitive every year. The staff is doing nothing different from one year to the other.. whats changing is the players coming and going and thats why you get to the SB or close to it one year and cant hardly get to .500 the next. Theres been a couple exceptions but it's mostly the rule.

Shanahans a mastermind offensively. The scheme doesnt get much better.. then how come his teams have won 1 playoff game in 8 years? Maybe cause he's had a hell of a time finding a QB since Elway retired? Now maybe if *he'd* have signed Brees in the off season they're still playing and Payton is playing golf on Sunday if he'd have gone with a rookie or more journeyman type..

Championships have been won with every type of scheme imaginable (well ok scratch Run-n-Shoot).. so theres nothing inherently more virtuous about using one or the other. From a fans perspective we might enjoy simply watching one kind more than another but that doesnt mean it's better.

The reason even good coaches need not only good players, but players that are suited to, and buy into, their scheme is cause they wont change schemes. Like Norv as an HC would ever bring in a WCO guy to run his offense cause it so happened it turned out his players werent suited to run his own?

I understand it's easy to look at Paytons deal and say.. I want that! But rest assured that while what he's done is nice so far theres a laundry list of guys who did basically the same thing the first or second year and then flatlined shortly thereafter (hey BP included when he first got here cept the cupboard was bearer than most so the ceiling was limited although if he woulda signed Delhomme and Stephen Davis himself that first year instead of going with QC/T-ham, who knows). Fox, Mora Jr, Gruden, Billick etc so even if you get the next in line type of guy like that theres no guarantee you're set for the next 10 years.

You might likely be callin for his head in about 3 cause you're stuck around .500 again.

You still didn't address the point of my post.

Are the Patriots more talented than the rest of the teams in the AFC, or are they just better coached and their players execute better?

 

[joseephuss]

You still didn't address the point of my post.

Are the Patriots more talented than the rest of the teams in the AFC, or are they just better coached and their players execute better?

The ability to execute is a talent. A very big talent and the Pats manage to find guys that can execute.

The Pats have talent at every position. They may not have the best talent at every position, but more importantly they just aren't weak at any position. They are solid at every position.

The Chargers probably had better talent at a lot of positions, but they were weak in a few positions. The Chargers are weak in their secondary and weak at wide receiver. It is difficult for their strengths to overcome their weaknesses in the playoffs. The talent separation between the Chargers and Pats isn't as great as it looks on paper.

One thing about schemes. The Pats have been running the same schemes for years. Familiarity can do wonders for your talent. On defense, Dallas has only run the 3-4 for two seasons and that with a bunch of young guys. The more they run it and the more players mature, the better it can be run.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Where is Merriman?

I just saw him at the pharmacy... weird though... he was at the back door picking up his prescriptions? hmmmm.....

 

[DipChit]

You still didn't address the point of my post.

Are the Patriots more talented than the rest of the teams in the AFC, or are they just better coached and their players execute better?

I already said there was some exceptions. N.E. obviously being one of them. Course when you have the best clutch QB of an era it tends to help your chances. Especially when you give him a stout o-line and good RB's.

Where was the wizardry of BB with the Browns though by the way? Under .500 in 4 of his 5 years there. Did he not know how to coach yet or did that have to do with among other things, having ordinary QB's?

You think if he moved on to another team these days they'd be guaranteed to have success.. or might he just as likely pull a Jimmy Johnson from the Miami days and once again hover around .500 for a few years?

And for every N.E. theres 5 teams that have been to the SB recently, lost, and then couldnt even get back to .500 ball the next year. If those teams were better coached and got their players to execute better to even get to that game in the first place how come they all tanked the following year?

Every one of them decimated by injuries so bad that nevermind falling short of the SB, they couldnt even manage 8-8?

Who is a better coach.. Dungy, more old school guy, or Gruden, young gun? Dungy's teams are always competitive but have never gotten over the hump. Gruden takes Dungy's old team, immediately gets a ring, but has struggled ever since.

Is Dungy a really good HC or did it just so happen that he was surrounded with really good defensive players in their prime in TB and now really good offensive players in their prime at Indy?

Is Gruden not that great of an HC afterall.. or is it because once those defenders he inherited got old coupled with trouble finding a quality QB it's just too hard to win?

If you had to pick 1 of those 2 guys to be your next HC which one would you choose? Or would it not even really matter because as long as either of them had enough players they'd likely win.

 

[Bleu Star]

I just saw him at the pharmacy... weird though... he was at the back door picking up his prescriptions? hmmmm.....

He had a ski mask on too but his roid swollen forehead was an easy giveaway.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Something else I want to know .. what exactly are these exotic blitzing schemes that San Diego supposedly uses that everyone keeps talking about? I've watched them upwards of 5-7 times this year, and they just use standand rushing packages. They just win their matchups. And Merriman sure does play coverage a lot for someone who "only rushes the passer". I question how many times people have actually objectively watched San Diego, or if they just regurgitate messageboard mantras.

They used alot of stunting yesterday and usually four or five men (Merriman/Phillips), but rarely more than that.

 

[TEK2000]

I already said there was some exceptions. N.E. obviously being one of them. Course when you have the best clutch QB of an era it tends to help your chances. Especially when you give him a stout o-line and good RB's.

Where was the wizardry of BB with the Browns though by the way? Under .500 in 4 of his 5 years there. Did he not know how to coach yet or did that have to do with among other things, having ordinary QB's?

You think if he moved on to another team these days they'd be guaranteed to have success.. or might he just as likely pull a Jimmy Johnson from the Miami days and once again hover around .500 for a few years?

And for every N.E. theres 5 teams that have been to the SB recently, lost, and then couldnt even get back to .500 ball the next year. If those teams were better coached and got their players to execute better to even get to that game in the first place how come they all tanked the following year?

Every one of them decimated by injuries so bad that nevermind falling short of the SB, they couldnt even manage 8-8?

Who is a better coach.. Dungy, more old school guy, or Gruden, young gun? Dungy's teams are always competitive but have never gotten over the hump. Gruden takes Dungy's old team, immediately gets a ring, but has struggled ever since.

Is Dungy a really good HC or did it just so happen that he was surrounded with really good defensive players in their prime in TB and now really good offensive players in their prime at Indy?

Is Gruden not that great of an HC afterall.. or is it because once those defenders he inherited got old coupled with trouble finding a quality QB it's just too hard to win?

If you had to pick 1 of those 2 guys to be your next HC which one would you choose? Or would it not even really matter because as long as either of them had enough players they'd likely win.

So coaching and scheme are pretty much meaningless and the success of a team depends entirely on the talent of the players. Gotcha.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

My "inside sources" have told me that Merriman was seen buying a whizzenator shortly after the playoff game.


On a serious note, does this remind anyone of the kid in the movie "The Program" (yes I know that movie was not very good) that took the roids but had to quit and his play suffered?

 

[TEK2000]

The ability to execute is a talent. A very big talent and the Pats manage to find guys that can execute.

The Pats have talent at every position. They may not have the best talent at every position, but more importantly they just aren't weak at any position. They are solid at every position.

The Chargers probably had better talent at a lot of positions, but they were weak in a few positions. The Chargers are weak in their secondary and weak at wide receiver. It is difficult for their strengths to overcome their weaknesses in the playoffs. The talent separation between the Chargers and Pats isn't as great as it looks on paper.

One thing about schemes. The Pats have been running the same schemes for years. Familiarity can do wonders for your talent. On defense, Dallas has only run the 3-4 for two seasons and that with a bunch of young guys. The more they run it and the more players mature, the better it can be run.

You aren't really saying anything that disagrees with what I think. If the coaches choose their players well, teach their players well, scheme to fit their players, and the players are mentally as well as physically talented... they can beat a team that is more physically talented and not as well coached.

 

[DipChit]

So coaching and scheme are pretty much meaningless and the success of a team depends entirely on the talent of the players. Gotcha.

Do you have comprehension issues?

What part of me saying earlier:

"No it (coaching and scheme) can be to blame alot. But theres no getting around that if you dont have enough players you aint gonna get where you wanna be."

Choosing to use the Run-and-Shoot would've been pretty stoopid for us in the mid 90's. Our players werent suited to go that way.

But by the same token not just anyone could swipe the scheme and coach we had to run it that we *did* use.. and be assured any kind of success.

What do I have to say for us to get on even remotely the same page? That many HC are stiffs that have no idea how to get the most out of their talent.. regardless of the amount of talent that may be? Of course I would agree with that.

All I'm saying is it's possible to take an all world staff and still go .500 on the year.

Ask the Commanders.

 

[JPM]

My "inside sources" have told me that Merriman was seen buying a whizzenator shortly after the playoff game.


On a serious note, does this remind anyone of the kid in the movie "The Program" (yes I know that movie was not very good) that took the roids but had to quit and his play suffered?

Are you kidding, I love that movie !!
Lattimer was the juice head.

 

[baj1dallas]

is he even on the field?

classic Nantz quote today..."Matt Light owns Shawn Merriman"

damn...maybe had the Chargers drafted Demarcus Ware instead

could probably say the same thing about Luis Castilo eh? has he made a play yet?



David

castillo did make a play, i heard his name at least once around the fourth quarter...can't remember if he got the sack or just a hurry.

i had to listen to the game on the radio or i would have been watching merriman to see why he wasn't getting anything done.

 

[Haley94]

Merriman = Ware

Castilo > Spears