Alexander
What's it going to be then, eh?
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Merriman in role of victim is a tough sell
By Tim Sullivan, UNION-TRIBUNE COLUMNIST
Friday, May 14, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.
K.C. Alfred / Union-Tribune
There is a strain of self-pity in Shawne Merriman’s Twitter posts, a tale of woe told in 140-character installments.
“Watching Notorious,” the Chargers linebacker and media socialite said via text message Wednesday night. “(It’s) funny how people don’t show love until someone is gone.”
This plaintive tweet followed the firing of agent Tom Condon, last week’s texting cry for help in which Merriman compared his place in the 2010 season to “a wild animal trapped in a corner,” and the March  1 missive in which he responded to his team’s $3.269 million tender offer as if he’d just been demoted to the garbage detail: “Speechless today. Business is business but some things just aren’t right.”
You might conclude that it must be pure hell to be him, except that Merriman was jetting off to Zurich on Thursday, en route to Sunday’s Grand Prix of Monaco, and posting pictures of himself aboard an aircraft hoisting a glass of champagne.
Perhaps his mood will improve along the Riviera. His bargaining position, however, sure seems stagnant.
If Merriman is selling victimhood, I’m not buying. If he fails to understand why the Chargers have been unwilling to commit to a long-term contract, he should consider his declining statistics, his recurring scandals, his perceived priorities and the contractual alternatives available under the National Football League’s collective bargaining agreement.
Under the circumstances, Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith is perfectly justified and possibly inspired in keeping “Lights Out” on a short leash.
Better to provoke an at-risk player toward better performance than to provide him with extra incentive to party. Better to motivate Shawne Merriman than to mollycoddle him. Encourage him to play with a (bargaining) chip on his shoulder pads. See how he performs when he must produce to get paid. Deal with him as circumstances require rather than as the player requests.
Smith has made no secret of his concerns about Merriman’s lifestyle, about the linebacker’s love of the limelight and some of its seamy residue, yet it might be rash to read those misgivings as indicative of an imminent divorce. Though Merriman has clearly been shopped, the Chargers do not appear inclined to give him away.
“He’s been tendered and we know what that means,” Smith said Thursday afternoon. “Once we get that out of the way, I have no idea what tomorrow brings. Our intentions are for him to return.”
Plainly, there’s a price at which the Chargers would gladly part with Merriman. The same could be said, though, of every other player on the roster. But if a player is superior to his prospective replacements, and might be spurred to greater production by a salary drive, it seldom hurts to keep him hungry.
Moreover, if you’re looking for core players to lock up for the long-term, you don’t usually start with a guy whose history includes a drug suspension, reconstructive knee surgery and a made-for-TMZ melodrama with Tila Tequila.
Not yet 26 years old, Shawne Merriman has become a faint shadow of the dynamic force he was at 22. He has compiled 43 1/2 career quarterback sacks, but had none in his last six regular-season starts (or the playoff game against the New York Jets). He has forced only one fumble in his past 28 regular season starts. Though Chargers coaches credited Merriman with 46 tackles last season (34 solo, 12 assists), NFL.com shows him with 26 solos and 10 assists — exactly identical to the numbers posted by his presumed heir, Larry English.
While some of Merriman’s statistical decline surely relates to rehabilitation — and some, perhaps, to shifting responsibilities — there is little basis to believe that a setback-free offseason will restore the burst that once made him so special. Accordingly, there is no reason to believe the Chargers should negotiate with him now based on what he was then.
That Merriman seems to be having difficulty comprehending this dynamic is puzzling. He’s certainly smart enough to know that he bears a burden of proof if he expects to be paid as an elite player.
Switching agents from Condon to David Dunn might help facilitate a trade, but it’s hard to imagine any team paying Merriman as an impact player at this point. (Dunn did not respond to telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment Thursday.)
Though a deal might still be doable, Shawne Merriman might be better served by reporting to camp with that chip on his shoulder pads and the narrow objective of “a wild animal trapped in a corner.” He should set out to prove A.J. Smith wrong and drive up the price of setting things right. He should resolve to bring the Chargers back to the bargaining table on his terms and/or to leave them speechless.
Maybe that’s been management’s idea all along: inspiration by infuriation. Maybe when Shawne Merriman stops feeling sorry for himself, he will elicit some sympathy for quarterbacks.
==
His steroid history and Cushing's recent issues are certainly not making it any better.
By Tim Sullivan, UNION-TRIBUNE COLUMNIST
Friday, May 14, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.
K.C. Alfred / Union-Tribune
There is a strain of self-pity in Shawne Merriman’s Twitter posts, a tale of woe told in 140-character installments.
“Watching Notorious,” the Chargers linebacker and media socialite said via text message Wednesday night. “(It’s) funny how people don’t show love until someone is gone.”
This plaintive tweet followed the firing of agent Tom Condon, last week’s texting cry for help in which Merriman compared his place in the 2010 season to “a wild animal trapped in a corner,” and the March  1 missive in which he responded to his team’s $3.269 million tender offer as if he’d just been demoted to the garbage detail: “Speechless today. Business is business but some things just aren’t right.”
You might conclude that it must be pure hell to be him, except that Merriman was jetting off to Zurich on Thursday, en route to Sunday’s Grand Prix of Monaco, and posting pictures of himself aboard an aircraft hoisting a glass of champagne.
Perhaps his mood will improve along the Riviera. His bargaining position, however, sure seems stagnant.
If Merriman is selling victimhood, I’m not buying. If he fails to understand why the Chargers have been unwilling to commit to a long-term contract, he should consider his declining statistics, his recurring scandals, his perceived priorities and the contractual alternatives available under the National Football League’s collective bargaining agreement.
Under the circumstances, Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith is perfectly justified and possibly inspired in keeping “Lights Out” on a short leash.
Better to provoke an at-risk player toward better performance than to provide him with extra incentive to party. Better to motivate Shawne Merriman than to mollycoddle him. Encourage him to play with a (bargaining) chip on his shoulder pads. See how he performs when he must produce to get paid. Deal with him as circumstances require rather than as the player requests.
Smith has made no secret of his concerns about Merriman’s lifestyle, about the linebacker’s love of the limelight and some of its seamy residue, yet it might be rash to read those misgivings as indicative of an imminent divorce. Though Merriman has clearly been shopped, the Chargers do not appear inclined to give him away.
“He’s been tendered and we know what that means,” Smith said Thursday afternoon. “Once we get that out of the way, I have no idea what tomorrow brings. Our intentions are for him to return.”
Plainly, there’s a price at which the Chargers would gladly part with Merriman. The same could be said, though, of every other player on the roster. But if a player is superior to his prospective replacements, and might be spurred to greater production by a salary drive, it seldom hurts to keep him hungry.
Moreover, if you’re looking for core players to lock up for the long-term, you don’t usually start with a guy whose history includes a drug suspension, reconstructive knee surgery and a made-for-TMZ melodrama with Tila Tequila.
Not yet 26 years old, Shawne Merriman has become a faint shadow of the dynamic force he was at 22. He has compiled 43 1/2 career quarterback sacks, but had none in his last six regular-season starts (or the playoff game against the New York Jets). He has forced only one fumble in his past 28 regular season starts. Though Chargers coaches credited Merriman with 46 tackles last season (34 solo, 12 assists), NFL.com shows him with 26 solos and 10 assists — exactly identical to the numbers posted by his presumed heir, Larry English.
While some of Merriman’s statistical decline surely relates to rehabilitation — and some, perhaps, to shifting responsibilities — there is little basis to believe that a setback-free offseason will restore the burst that once made him so special. Accordingly, there is no reason to believe the Chargers should negotiate with him now based on what he was then.
That Merriman seems to be having difficulty comprehending this dynamic is puzzling. He’s certainly smart enough to know that he bears a burden of proof if he expects to be paid as an elite player.
Switching agents from Condon to David Dunn might help facilitate a trade, but it’s hard to imagine any team paying Merriman as an impact player at this point. (Dunn did not respond to telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment Thursday.)
Though a deal might still be doable, Shawne Merriman might be better served by reporting to camp with that chip on his shoulder pads and the narrow objective of “a wild animal trapped in a corner.” He should set out to prove A.J. Smith wrong and drive up the price of setting things right. He should resolve to bring the Chargers back to the bargaining table on his terms and/or to leave them speechless.
Maybe that’s been management’s idea all along: inspiration by infuriation. Maybe when Shawne Merriman stops feeling sorry for himself, he will elicit some sympathy for quarterbacks.
==
His steroid history and Cushing's recent issues are certainly not making it any better.
