Just how good is Shawne Merriman?

By Robert Rousseau  |   Tuesday, August 29, 2006  |  Comments( 11 )

San Diego Chargers
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There will never, ever be another Lawrence Taylor.

Despite this fact, every time another athletic pass-rushing outside linebacker comes into the NFL, people start trying to compare them to him. Derrick Thomas was supposed to be the next Lawrence Taylor; Junior Seau was supposed to be the next Lawrence Taylor; low and behold, even Taylor's former coach, Bill Parcells, seems to want to jump on the bandwagon, likening Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware to him. Thus far, it's all been rubbish. After all, anyone that got to watch Taylor play with any level of consistency knows the truth.

Lawrence Taylor has not been matched by anyone, ever, in the history of the game at the outside linebacker position. He was simply too athletic, too confident and too vicious; LT was the total package, and he did it for a long time. Perhaps the reason for all the comparisons is that people tend to remember him for the way he revolutionized the position in terms of the pass rush. Still, to define him simply by the pass rush is to miss the point.

Taylor ran down ball carriers like no other; he hit like a crazed dog, and he invented the overhand strip from behind (how many quarterbacks woke up on the sideline after losing the ball to that move?).

Derrick Thomas was an excellent pass rusher that couldn't even compare to Taylor's tenacity and hitting ability. Seau couldn't touch Taylor's pass-rushing skills. Ware has shown promise, but come on. . .

So there will never be another Lawrence Taylor. End of story.

Still, perhaps, for the first time, a player has broken onto the scene that deserves a tad less laughter when the comparison is made. Still some giggling because it's so early in the game, but not one of those full-fledged belly laughs. No, this player will never be another Lawrence Taylor, but just maybe there is something to the comparison this time.

His name is Shawne Merriman.

First, Merriman has the same brash confidence.

According to an Aug. 25 article by Kevin Acee in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Merriman said the following: "I have respect for Lawrence Taylor, Derrick Thomas, all the guys who did it for so long, and especially Junior Seau. I enjoyed watching him as I was growing up. But I'm bigger and I'm stronger and I'm faster, and I can make more things happen. I play the game to be the best. When I'm all said and done, whatever year it is, I want to be looked at as the best linebacker that ever played and as a linebacker who changed the game."

Sounds a little like Taylor. Of course, plenty of players these days have confidence. Too many. Doesn't mean much unless you can back it up.

So far so good on that front, though. During a rookie season where Merriman won the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and played in the Pro Bowl, he accumulated 57 total tackles with 10 sacks (not to mention four pass deflections and two forced fumbles). Keep in mind that Merriman did this after missing training camp. Heck, he didn't even start until Week 7. Amazing.

Further, like Taylor, Merriman has the physical attributes to change the game. While Taylor was a more athletic linebacker than any before him, Merriman is a bigger athlete than those that have come before him. At 6-foot-4 and 272 pounds, he's a load that NFL offenses just aren't ready to deal with. Like Taylor, he's able to do things because of his physical attributes and athleticism that give offensive coordinators big trouble.

Here's the final reason to think that there's something to the comparison. Taylor used to play his best when it counted. It just so happens that thus far, Merriman has played very well in big games. For example, on Week 15 against the then undefeated Indianapolis Colts, he accumulated two sacks and two tackles for loss. Further, if you saw him in this game, he looked like a runaway freight train, nearly unstoppable (something the stats can't possibly do justice to). Nasty, athletic and a very hard hitter. A defensive player so talented that viewers find themselves watching him more than the offense.

So is Merriman the next Lawrence Taylor? No, like Michael Jordan, there will never be another Lawrence Taylor. But can he be a player that special? Can he be the kind of linebacker that deserves a spot on the same platform? Only if he can keep this type of thing up for a heckuva lot longer. No definite, for sure.

He's off to a good start, though.

For more on Shawne Merriman and the San Diego Chargers, visit Realfootball365.com
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About Robert Rousseau

Robert Rousseau is a sports writer that has been published in a variety of print and online venues. He’s been writing for RealFootball365.com for almost three years now. When Rousseau isn’t writing about college football he tends to be penning mixed martial arts pieces for MMAFighting.com or ...
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