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Chargers' All-Pro linebacker frustrated by lack of sacks
By Kevin Acee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 2, 2007
JIM BAIRD / Union-Tribune
The Chargers' Shawne Merriman hasn't had many opportunities to celebrate sacking the quarterback this season, going sackless in four of the team's seven games.
Shawne Merriman was enraged. He was yelling before and after plays. “I'm gonna hit the next (bleeper) in the mouth that I see,” he screamed more than a few times.
He could hardly believe the Houston Texans were running the ball, down by 32 points this past Sunday.
“They just didn't want the game to get ugly,” Merriman said. “I was (ticked) off. I want to hit the quarterback. . . . Hell, yeah, I was frustrated. I was ready to start a fight at any point in that game.”
The temptation would be to believe Merriman is just as frustrated by the season as a whole. And he definitely is frustrated. But he has come to accept his contributions must be varied this season as teams are scheming more than ever to keep him from their passer.
“I get so (angry) because I can't go out there and affect the game with a sack,” Merriman said. “But you go to the film and see they can't run this, they can't run that, they've got to put two people on me, they have to fan, have to chip, they have to do all this stuff. That makes me a little satisfied.”
Merriman went without a sack Sunday, the fourth time in seven games he has done so this season. He has just 5½ sacks all year. Moreover, he has not been around the quarterback as much as he was in 2006, totaling just 7½ quarterback knockdowns and five hurries.
A man who had a league-leading 17 sacks in just 12 games last season faces questions when tangible production drops that drastically.
“People want to see sacks,” Merriman said. “That's what they got me here for. But you don't get to be the best player in the game by just sacking people. That means you're one-dimensional.”
That's a man who has been through some bouts of fury this season. He was upset with how he was being used this season. Dropping into coverage more than ever, he wanted to be going after quarterbacks more.
Chargers' All-Pro linebacker frustrated by lack of sacks
By Kevin Acee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 2, 2007
JIM BAIRD / Union-Tribune
The Chargers' Shawne Merriman hasn't had many opportunities to celebrate sacking the quarterback this season, going sackless in four of the team's seven games.
Shawne Merriman was enraged. He was yelling before and after plays. “I'm gonna hit the next (bleeper) in the mouth that I see,” he screamed more than a few times.
He could hardly believe the Houston Texans were running the ball, down by 32 points this past Sunday.
“They just didn't want the game to get ugly,” Merriman said. “I was (ticked) off. I want to hit the quarterback. . . . Hell, yeah, I was frustrated. I was ready to start a fight at any point in that game.”
The temptation would be to believe Merriman is just as frustrated by the season as a whole. And he definitely is frustrated. But he has come to accept his contributions must be varied this season as teams are scheming more than ever to keep him from their passer.
“I get so (angry) because I can't go out there and affect the game with a sack,” Merriman said. “But you go to the film and see they can't run this, they can't run that, they've got to put two people on me, they have to fan, have to chip, they have to do all this stuff. That makes me a little satisfied.”
Merriman went without a sack Sunday, the fourth time in seven games he has done so this season. He has just 5½ sacks all year. Moreover, he has not been around the quarterback as much as he was in 2006, totaling just 7½ quarterback knockdowns and five hurries.
A man who had a league-leading 17 sacks in just 12 games last season faces questions when tangible production drops that drastically.
“People want to see sacks,” Merriman said. “That's what they got me here for. But you don't get to be the best player in the game by just sacking people. That means you're one-dimensional.”
That's a man who has been through some bouts of fury this season. He was upset with how he was being used this season. Dropping into coverage more than ever, he wanted to be going after quarterbacks more.
