DA filed felony charges today against Merling

he gone

 

good..

 

I know bro, I can only imagine what this organization would look like if only half of our high round picks panned out over the past 5 10 years...Amazing that were about the youngest team in the NFL {I believe we are the youngest starting unit in the league} and some have us going to the dance. 3 years removed from Cleo Lemon handing off to Samkon gado with Marty doggin it Booker out wide...

 

I personally believe that the charges are going to get knocked down to misdemeanor simple battery, and that he may be suspended up to but not exceeding one game.

 

Even if the charges are reduced, I have no respect for the man after what he did. His performance on the field & in TC had better be SIGNIFICANTLY improved this year or he will be gone like the wind.

 

If he has no prior criminal record then this will probaly end up in probation and maybe a 1 game suspension. I think the fins will probaly wait to see what he does in camp. before cutting him.

 

I agree with this.

 

Exactly...... but getting in this trouble did nothing but make that hole he has to climb out of, even deeper. This a guy that really needs to get his act together.... and fast

 

Broward ALWAYS will press charges on counts of battery, often even if the victim themselves don't want to. This will likely drag on for awhile...

 

Dude beat a pregnant woman....what a piece of crap. I'd cut his *** today.

 

Dolphins team's looking turdier than ever.

 

If he did it he should be gone no matter what! Hit a woman let alone a pregnant woman!!

 

And this is probably the end of Philip Merling in Miami. Shame too, thought he was going to be a good one for us for quite some time. Guess not.

 

100% correct. The Dolphelons are back. But what do you expect from a Bill Parcells led franchise? The guy has had headaches and malcontents on all of his teams throughout his history.

Apparently being a "Parcells Guy," means you do a ton of drugs, beat up women and basically be a scumbag.

 

That is probably what will happen FY, however this has the smell of a case that will stretch out over time, as in I'd bet it won't come to trial/pleading until next Spring.

 

At least B-Marsh has his nose clean.

 

Which is funny. Everyone was expecting him to be in trouble with the law, and all he's done is form a relationship with a QB and marry his wife.

 

I doubt it. They'd have done it by now. Unless something really heinous comes out, public relations backlash isn't gonna be bad enough to force it, and while Merling is a bit of a disappointment for where he was picked, what are you going to replace him with?

Travis Kirschke? Jeff Zgonina? Marques Douglas?

 

Jared Odrick? Ryan Baker?

I'm not in favor of cutting him as this is his first episode of anything like this, however I think this combined with poor play in TC and the preseason and that combined would relegate him to the end of the bench.

 

It's not like we have never blown a second round pick

 

Keep coming with the names, because you've got a whole heck of alot of snaps to fill in there. Last season the 3-4 DEs saw 2029 snaps, and the individual leader had 730 of those, and is now a NT.

Ryan Baker had 14 snaps last year. He had half a sack, and the coaching staff likes him, but he's got a whole hell of alot to prove before he's likely getting 400+ snaps.

 

140 or so of those snaps were on the nickel rush line.

Merling rotated in as a Rook, Baker or Odrick could do the same, or Soliai could play some DE, if they decided to part ways with Merling that is to say.

 

I'm not in favor of cutting someone without knowing the facts. For me a great deal would depend on what he told me and if I believed his version, but I've seen enough DV cases to know that the DA pressing charges has very little correlation with whether or not he did anything. Either way though this is not good for him or Miami. This was the one off-season incident I was worried about. AFAIK there's no criminal history so I could see him taking a deal that would include no jail time. If this were being prosecuted in Reno, it would not be knocked down to a misdemeanor unless the prosecutor had no case. I don't know what the policy is in Broward though.

 

I don't know, I'm a believer in someone being innocent until proven guilty, if he really beat a pregnant woman I'd have no problem with us cutting him regardless of who he is or how good he is. Can't fault management if they don't want to employ someone like that. Now if its a one time thing, I believe in second chances but I can't blame them if they want to part ways. Just have to wait and see on this one.

 

Exactly. I hate the way people see charges and immediately want to dole out punishment. I have no problem with his removal if he actually did it, but all we have is charges. Maybe some people have no connection or experience with the system and have never seen how often b.s. charges are filed, but my experience is that charges like these are only proof that two people argued. What he did or didn't do is something that nobody on this board knows.

 

I think the evidence is definitely against Merling here but on the other hand someone on another board brought up a good point. He shared a story about how his like 70 pound 9 year old daughter was gesturing something in a store once and a friend was standing a little too close and pow, hand hits face, there's blood, swelling, etc.

Think about that, and then think about Merling's wife's story that this 6'4" and 300 lbs athlete with football strength hit her face five times.

Would there really just be some "redness" and a small cut on her lip?

It's easy to imagine the worst. But if it were as bad as we imagine, she'd be in the hospital.

 

Maybe he's like Tyson and "knows how to hit a woman because he's a professional"

 

true he is innocent until proven guilty of the criminal charge
as far as the football field the verdict is in and Merling is a bust

 

No, he isn't. He wasn't even that bad last season.

 

Well if I liked having players that are not that bad and who beat there pregnant girlfriends then I guess Merling is just okay but sorry I don't roll like that. The guy should be dominant and he is not.
Why do you always defend players who suck my man?

 

Yup, I'm not talking 3-4 DEs in a strict sense. It's a position in a specific formation, but in a general sense it's a DT/DE that there are generally two on the field at any given time.

Sure, but it's not a particularly good option, as so far as keeping Merling is. He isn't great, but he's at least solid, and you can't say that about any of those players yet.

 

True, and that is one reason why I'm not wild about Starks the NT, Wake and Starks were very effective on the nickel rush line, now one would think Starks won't be on that lines as often and man the starting NT position?

Well, sort of, I'm not enthralled by Phil Merling the DE, not in any sense as he doesn't do anything particularly well consistently, if Soliai were to man he DE slot, at least he could defend the run as the Size/speed matchup vs a Tackle is in Soliai's favor.

that said, no way should Merling be released, as you are correct, there are options however they are not as enticing options.

 

That has to be a cover for something...Henne and Marshall sex slave trade?