PABoltsnut

For Chargers fans:
I registered here tonight and I've seen more idiot Charger fans than I cared to thought were even out there. If you're here to simply talk the team up and say "Chargers rule, you suck" then save us all the trouble and just SHUT UP! Yeah, we've had some great moments in the last few years but there's no use in denying it - three recent championships means we have nothing on the Patriots.

Be respectful, talk football, but don't cross the line of just being insensitive. BELIEVE ME, I live in PA, which means i'm subjected to the typical "Philadelphia fan" on a daily basis. That's not the way we want to represent ourselves.


For Patriot fans:
Naturally, I'm sure us Charger fans are going to be hearing a lot more steroids-references than we'll care to over the next week, and the "Well, he's only good because of roids" comments are getting old already. There's more to the situation than most people know and this fact, I believe, is extremely important.

Merriman's failed test was during the SUMMER (sorry to use such broad terms, I'm not sure the exact date - but it was the off-season) and, since then, has passed each of the increased number of tests that the league has mandated he's taken. While I, like most Charger fans, are skeptical of the original positive test (hey, what can you expect from us? ), even if he WAS taking steroids, his play this season has been clean.

Also remember, Julius Peppers failed a substance test in his rookie year and hardly anyone ever remembers that. I'm not excusing Shawne for failing the test, no matter what the circumstances (I was as dissapointed the morning I woke up and found out as anybody), I'm just saying that crucifying him on this, without the proper information, is narrowminded as well.


That all being said, I truly hope the Charger fans that are undoubtably going to come onto this board in the next week can come in with respect and we can get some good, intelligent debates going on!

MrBigglesWorth

I don't care qbout the roids thing. He's still palying sunday and it's a lame excuse if he takes over the game. They need to scheme to limit his impact which they will.

Remix 6

reason we pick on Shawne is because recently hes been whining that he deserves D player of year and saying hes better than JT and Champ.

maybe next year he gets it..but the way hes behaved recently by sending something to Jason and all that..he shouldnt even worry about the D player of year..worry about playoffs.

TomBrady'sGoat

good post. btw the only reasons i've posted about Merriman were because he was whining and Bolts fans keep bringing him up.

shirtsleeve

Well said PaBoltsnut. I have been trying to tell the Bolts fans showing up tonight the same thing. There is no problem with trash talk...IN THE VISITOR LOCKER ROOM forum. Serious discussion and debate, backed by solid game analysis and breakdown, is always welcome on THIS board. There is a difference. This forum is OUR home. Respect is required. The visitors board is your home here during game week. Talk all the Sheeyte there you want.

It doesn't matter about the past positive test. He served his suspension and is clear to play. The team must prepare for him and the huge difference he makes for your defense. Roids or no, when he is in the game the play of your entire D is elevated. This is a problem. The moral implications of that test are a subject your team and fans must deal or not deal with. Just understand that here, no matter who he is, if someone were to come up positive like that, I seriously doubt he would EVER play on this team again. I might be wrong on that one, but I doubt it.

PABoltsnut

It's inevitable that Merriman's going to be brought up by Bolts fans, because I think our ability to get pressure against Brady without being forced to blitz (we all saw what happened to the Jets today) is going to be important. And who better to do that than who many think is the best pass rusher in the league?

Another thing to point out. Merriman's words about the defensive player of the year was a RESPONSE to Taylor's words. It was absolutely not initiated by Shawne.

Even being a Chargers fan, if I had a vote for defensive player of the year, my list would've been as follows.
1. Champ
2. Merriman
3. Taylor

Champ's impact this year has been even more than Merriman's, IMO, and he deserved the award. How many times did he bail the Broncos out with important picks in the redzone?

PABoltsnut

Agree completely with everything you said. Very nice post.

As far as the Patriots not carrying a player like that, the stakes are a little higher when the player in question won the defensive rookie of the year and made the probowl in his first year in the league. I firmly believe that we took a Patriots-esque route to building this team, as far as building through the draft and with quality people (cutting ties with David Boston, immidiately releasing former center Ball, who was holding out, picking up veteran Keenan McCardell), but yes, we do have a few flashy players such as Merriman on our defense. There's no getting around that.

To his credit, it's widely reported around San Diego the many charitable things that he's done since he's been here, but failing the test is certainly something that's going to stay with him and hurt his reputiation for a long time.

It all matters how he responds to the failed test (which, since October has obviously already been in progress), and that'll determine how he's viewed in the long run.

njpatsfan

Welcome to the board.

I don't understand the "he failed it in August" excuse. Steroids are designed to aid in building muscle mass and work over extensive periods of time. When you stop, the muscle doesn't instantly disappear. We all saw in the baseball cases that it took at least a year off the 'roids before they looked noticeably smaller.

I also don't understand anyone accepting the 'supplement' excuse. If it was a supplement, tell us what it was, and provide a sample for testing. Three years ago, swimmer Kicker Vencil, who also tested positive for nandrolone, did exactly that - and won a half million dollar judgement against the manufacturer. And manufacturers have tightened up since then with independent testing. Tell us what the supplement was Shawne.

It's too bad that you are sick of it now. Just think, that if you enjoy any success from this point forward, or God forbid win a SB, that is all you will hear next year. And the year after that. Much worse than the asterisk that in the minds of most football fans is next to the winners name in last years SB.

R

PABoltsnut

I agree that him coming out publicly and saying what the supplement was would do a lot, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon. I also can't say I'm too knowledgeable about the steroids topic, as far as the short and long term effects of them, so thats another thing that I can't (and probably shouldn't have) really discuss.

One player does not make a team, however, and we were able to go 4-0 while Shawne was serving his suspension. I've said it and I'll say it again : all that matters from this point forward is how he handles the issue and deals with it. For one, I'd like to put it to rest (much like Peppers' case, which I hope will eventually be the way Merriman's turned out), but also know that's not going to happen.

5 Rings for Brady!!

Sauerbrun and about 9 other Panthers were known to be taking 'roids during their superbowl run, which explains some of their really bizarre behavior on the sidelines before the big game. Sauerbrun is of course employeed by the Pats, and so would Merriman in a heart beat if we could get him. Larry Izzo was implied in the same 'roids scandal. For a 'accidental' mix-up just like Merriman.

I think the 'roid jokes are mostly a reation to the assclown Bolts fans who have been flooding this site merely to be jerks.

Yeah, the Chargers are a great team and have owned us for a couple years now. Before that we owned you guys for two decades, PERIOD.

This will be a tough game, and I can't say who will win just yet. But I will certainly not go to a Bolts site just to be a jerk.

Anybody that wants to discuss issues in more depth than to claim that the Chargers are a better team because they had certain players voted into the Pro Bowl, is welcome here. But assclowns that think pro bowl berths somehow equates into superbowl victories are better off bragging at a different forum.

How many superbowls have the Dolphins won recently? That team sends loads of players to the Pro Bowl.

Yeah, it is too bad we are all basically sick of Bolts fans by now because at least one of you seems to be sensible, and we certainly all like Rodney and Seau.