Merriman made the right decision

By Robert Rousseau  |   Wednesday, November 01, 2006  |  Comments( 4 )

San Diego Chargers
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There are at least two reasons why Shawne Merriman's decision to forego his appeal of a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's drug policy (steroids) was the right move.

And here they are.

First, Merriman may be telling the truth; he may have actually taken the steroids that showed up in his system unknowingly. He and his attorney have publicly blamed a tainted supplement for the positive result.

Who knows?

What we do know for certain is that when a player tests positive, there is a penalty. Merriman tested positive. Even if he had all the right intentions, which some don't believe is the case, he still has to pay the piper. To fight such a clear violation of the rules would only serve to minimize the NFL's efforts to keep performance-enhancing drugs out of the league. No drugs equals player safety.

So on moral grounds his decision was the correct one, even if his initial decision to take banned substances may not have been moral.

Beyond this, the San Diego Chargers' defense has played well this season, giving up a little over 15 points per contest. However, in their two most recent games against the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams, the Bolts have surrendered an average of 27 points per game.

How did it happen, you ask? Pretty simple. The Chargers were missing two very important people on their defense, both due to injury.

Igor Olshansky and Shaun Phillips, both slated for return in late November (hopefully).

Now they're about to lose Merriman, which is going to drop the unit's talent and consistency even further.

If Merriman had continued with the appeals process, he would've played this weekend against Cleveland, but missed four games, including one against the Bills on Nov. 26. Since he dropped the appeal, he will not play against the Browns, but will suit up for the Bills. The Browns or Bills? Who really cares. Here's what might matter, though.

Team chemistry is often underrated. Though a defense isn't an offensive line, it does perform better when consistently together. With Merriman's four-game suspension happening sooner rather than later, there will be more time for him to play with the defense before a possible playoff run later this season (by dropping the appeal, he'll be coming back earlier in the season rather than later).

Not to mention, Olshansky and Phillips will likely be returning at around the same time, further impacting the Chargers' defensive chemistry, and making the amount of time they have to get used to one another seem even more important.

In sum, somewhere along the line Shawne Merriman made a very poor decision and took a banned substance. At least it doesn't appear that he's going to complicate things further with more bad decisions afterwards.

Dropping the appeal was the right thing to do.

Follow the San Diego Chargers all season long at 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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CommentsComments: 4  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Once again		11:56 AM
11/02/2006
Same old story, I didn't know the supplements had that in them. RIIIIGHT ! They should put a asterk next too his sack stats. That ...
No.2
tele1		03:42 PM
11/02/2006
Remember that Superbowl Carolina Panthers team and the steroid "thing" that occurred following their Superbowl loss to New ...
No.3
Jimmy		04:36 PM
11/02/2006
He took steroids knowingly. That being said, this article is correct in that it was best he dropped the appeal. Appeals are a ...
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