Interesting choice, I do feel Merriman would upgrade the passrush, but I also think he has an excellent chance to pass through Waivers unlike Moss.
Hmm, who would you prefer, Merriman or Moss? Probably Moss, Merriman would have to learn Nolan's system, Moss could play week #1, but Merriman is more likely to be available.
If anything, Moss would have a greater learning curve than Merriman would. Moss would be on his third offensive tree in a month. Merriman would probably just be subbing in part time as a DE which isn't going to take a tremendous amount.
I don't know if either would have a great learning curve. Moss could just study the weekly gameplans, instead of going through the entire playbook.
Hm, wouldn't think so, we need Moss for a specific role, we do not need a complete Wr who knows every page of the offense. Granted you could just wind up Merriman and put him on the nickel rush line, but I suspect he would be lucky to see 10 snaps a game if he landed in Miami.
He doesn't need to know the entire playbook, but I think he needs to know more "stuff" than Merriman would, and I think he's pretty likely to cause problems if he thinks he's being brought along too slow. I think Merriman would allow them to stop lining Kendall Langford up as an edge rusher in Nickel packages. He's not Matt Roth vs. the run, but he's not Koa Misi either.
This team is busy getting young and now everyone wants to go and fukk it all up. Didn't we learn our lesson with Porter and Taylor?
That's for the doctors to theoretically evaluate? He might be injury prone, he might have had bad luck, he might be ruined, or have declined but he's still a useful role player.
Our defense has a lot of cohesion and unity, so I'm not a fan of tinkering with that right now. If Merriman is on the wire, he can hang there for all I care. (and Moses has given 110% with his time on the field & deserves to stay active IMO if it's his roster spot in question)
Develop your own players and stay away from another teams trash. We have been doing this **** for years and it never work. Patching holes with spent players is a concept that doesn't sit well with me. Do we need to fill a roster spot for a guy who stays hurt. I hate the Merriman idea. He isn't that good when he was completely healthy anyways. Let your own players play and learn. That is how a team is built.
Hopefully Long never has "bad luck" or else he might give up 20 sacks in a season and be replaced by Murtha. Can he play special teams?...... or better question: Is he willing to give ST 100%?
Possible, I do know Irish has some experts on knee and leg injuries on staff, they told Reshad Jeanty that he would need ankle as well as broken leg surgery, the Bungals staff told him just broken leg surgery. Turned out to be both, and the Bungals waived Jeanty. I suspect Merriman's problem is he has had the injury bug, similar to LT's problems in SD, and it appears no one wants to play for AJ Smith/Norv Turner.
2008 he was hurt, legitimately IR'd and had serious problems with his knee. 2009 he played a fair amount and ended up with only 4 sacks, but I don't know it's hugely damning. There have been plenty of elite pass rushers who have **** the bed. Jason Taylor had 2.5 sacks in 15 starts one year. John Abraham had 5.5 in 15 last year. Dwight Freeney has dropped 5.5 in 16 before. Joey Porter had 5 in 14 in 2003, and 5.5 in 15 the year before rattling off 17.5, etc. This year, I don't think the Chargers even wanted him. They wanted to trade him, were unable to, and put him on IR for a minor or non-existent injury.
What you are describing as using other teams trash is essentially a fundamental aspect of personnel management that everyone in the league does? How many good players on our roster count as other teams trash right now?
And this year he has had calf problems it sounds to me like Merriman did not rehab his knee properly in 08, and that has lingered until now. That one year time frame for a ACL was not followed for Merriman, and he is being waived which causes me to suspect he played with the injuries hoping for a contract and he received no offer from SD. Which sounds very Smithian.
tough call on both players .... Moss: it would be nice to have another tall WR with some speed IF he elects to use it .... would definitely be an asset in the Red Zone Merriman: i called for us signing him last year ... as i saw him as the speed rusher we were missing .... he surely isn't what he was -- but i think he could play part time for us and bring something that we don't currently have at OLB. they could both be value added -- especially if we really do have designs on making a playoff run. neither would cost much in 'development' time being taken away from a younger player, albeit - you could argue Moss would take away any chance of Wallace getting PT. of the 2, it's Moss i don't trust ... it wouldn't surprise me if he actually gave insider information to the PATSIES for their game, not to mention the fart he laid on the field. Say we do get on a roll, and it all comes down to the last game in Foxboro for the DIV .... do you trust him .... the easy answer would be -- gage his level of play leading up to it .... but the thought would still be there.
I wouldn't care if we signed Moss really. I could go either way with him. I just don't want the patsies to get him and the 3rd round pick if no one selects him. If he ends up a free agent, he will go back there for near free. The Viks are paying his salary.
