Jason Taylor wins DPOY

[JPM]

Good for Jason !

\\http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2721073

 

[the kid 05]

Good thing they didn't give it to Steriods boy....Good job Jason, well deserved

 

[superpunk]

Good thing they didn't give it to Steriods boy....Good job Jason, well deserved

I'm upset he got ANY votes, but it is what it is.

I love me some Jason Taylor, though, so way to go!

 

[sacowboysfan513]

Definately deserves it.

Anytime I would watch the highlights of the week, he would always have at least 1 play that made the highlights.

 

[the kid 05]

I'm upset he got ANY votes, but it is what it is.

I love me some Jason Taylor, though, so way to go!

wow just looked at the numbers of the votes, its pretty said how great football players (Brian and Ray) get one opposed to someone who does steriods...another b/s voting system

 

[AbeBeta]

good for him. Merriman doesn't get suspended, he gets this one hands down.

 

[aikemirv]

Good for Jason.

Congratulations on a great season.

Congrats on taking a stand and calling out the steroid users and cheaters.

Any one who voted for Merriman should be ashamed.

If he can prove it next year steroid free the fine, but this year he does not even deserve to be playing.

 

[superpunk]

good for him. Merriman doesn't get suspended, he gets this one hands down.

You could just as easily say that if Merriman doesn't do what it was got him suspended in the first place, he's not even in the running.

 

[aikemirv]

good for him. Merriman doesn't get suspended, he gets this one hands down.

If Merriman does not so steroids he may only get 7 sacks - you never know.

Ben Johnson went from being the fastest man alive to an also ran without them. His stats and performance mean nothing this year!

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Again, I agree with the selection. I agree with those who say that anybody who has been suspended for banned substances should not win post season awards. He may have served his suspention but I just think it sends the wrong message. Pro Sports are not more important, IMO, then doing the right thing IMO and that's what that kind of thing suggest so far as I am concerned. JMO of course.

 

[AbeBeta]

You could just as easily say that if Merriman doesn't do what it was got him suspended in the first place, he's not even in the running.

That's more speculative than my statement. The only thing we know for sure is that he has steroids in his system sometime mid-season. We don't know how often he'd been tested previously (if at all since it is a random process). We do know that he was clean at the combine. Of course, we also know he got big pretty quickly after the NCAA season.

Folks need to put away the jealousy a bit -- he's pretty damn fun to watch.

 

[superpunk]

That's more speculative than my statement.

Degrees of speculation? It's either speculation or it's not.You have no idea how much the steroids help him, how long they remain in his system, any of that.

I don't get off watching cheaters, sorry. I don't tune in to watch Barry Bonds chase records, and I don't think Merriman is fun to watch, Maryland guy or not.

 

[Concord]

If I was Jerry I'd remind Taylor what a awful franchise that he plays for with virtually no hope for improvement before he retires.

Then ask him if he'd like to take a tour of Valley Ranch someday.

 

[AbeBeta]

Degrees of speculation? It's either speculation or it's not.You have no idea how much the steroids help him, how long they remain in his system, any of that.

And you have no idea whether or not it was the first time he used and how it got in his system.

I sure BELIEVE that he's a cheater -- but there is no evidence that he used in his rookie year or early in the 2006 season because he was not caught.

Next year will tell us something -- as I understand it Merriman is now tested weekly. The benefits of past steroid use are reduced each week he doesn't take them. I'm not positive on how long you get a benefit -- but it would seem reasonable that next season he's going to have been off for long enough to be back to "natural"

 

[AbeBeta]

If I was Jerry I'd remind Taylor what a awful franchise that he plays for with virtually no hope for improvement before he retires.

Then ask him if he'd like to take a tour of Valley Ranch someday.

Yeah. Jerry should tamper with Taylor.

 

[superpunk]

And you have no idea whether or not it was the first time he used and how it got in his system.

I also have no idea what this has to do with your speculation that, had Merriman not been suspended for steroids, he would have won DPOY this year - or how that is any less speculative than what I threw out there.

But whatever.

 

[Derinyar]

And Barry Bonds is as clean as the driven snow because hes never tested positive.

Don't worry that hes highly connected to everyone that the government is looking at for the use of designer Roids.

IIRC Merriman tested positive for an injectable. Its pretty nieve to believe he just started taking an injectable and then randomly got caught right as he started. But more power to you.

 

[Concord]

Yeah. Jerry should tamper with Taylor.

Lighten up Francis.

 

[AbeBeta]

I also have no idea what this has to do with your speculation that, had Merriman not been suspended for steroids, he would have won DPOY this year - or how that is any less speculative than what I threw out there.

But whatever.

I said based entirely on his numbers at 12 games. You compare the players - if Merriman does nothing over those 4 other games (but played all 16) he would very likely have won.

Merriman had more sacks (17 to 13.5) -- he created fewer turnovers than Taylor. But the real kicker is this. Merriman led a defense on a team that had the best record in the NFL. Despite Taylor's work, his team went 6-10.

If you look historically, the DPOY usually comes from a successful team. If fact over the last 10 years, a player from a losing team only won the award once (Urlacher 11-5; Reed 9-7; Lewis 10-6; Brooks 12-4; Strahan 7-9; Lewis 12-4; Sapp 11-5; White 11-5; Stubblefield 13-3; Smith 10-6). That player, Mike Strahan, broke the NFL single season sack record that year.

So I'm prett comfortable saying that even if he didn't make a single play -- or hell, if he was injured and missed 4 games, that Merriman would have won the award.

 

[AbeBeta]

IIRC Merriman tested positive for an injectable. Its pretty nieve to believe he just started taking an injectable and then randomly got caught right as he started. But more power to you.

I didn't say that was the case. What I said was the we don't and won't know. There is no real evidence, only speculation. Now if you can definitively prove that he was never tested before that first positive test, then you've got some support.

Again, as I've said - I personally believe he used steroids coming out of college and likely used more than once during his NFL career. But I've got no evidence of that - and I finding highly prejudicial to punish folks for what we think they might have done -- rather than what we can prove they've done.