DefenseRules
Pro Bowl Player
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070106/news_1s6chargers.html
I totally agree with the selection of Jason Taylor as the Defensive Player of the Year. I would love to see him in a Patriot uni someday.
But Merriman is in denial, IMO. The fact that he was suspended for testing positive for steroids in the middle of the season was a factor in the votes, IMHO. I'm still a little surprised and annoyed that he was selected for the probowl. He cheated, but I don't think that Merriman sees it that way.
Believe him when he says he does not play to get accolades. But know also that Shawne Merriman thinks he was the rightful Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Yesterday, Miami defensive end Jason Taylor won the award by six votes. Denver cornerback Champ Bailey finished second and Merriman was a distant third.
“If anybody can honestly say they've performed as well as I have while I've been on the field . . . ” Merriman said. “You even take the four games away and I still outperformed a lot of guys.”
Merriman's statistics compared favorably, and that he was the defensive MVP on a team that finished 14-2 is an impressive credential. Playing in just 12 games, he finished 3½ sacks shy of the record for sacks by a linebacker in a season.
But the fact that he served a four-game suspension for a positive steroids test obviously worked against him. Merriman said he believed it was the four missing games rather than the positive test specifically that kept him from winning the award.
“I don't think it was my suspension that cost me the votes,” he said. “I think it's that I didn't play the full 16 games is what the people have something over me.”
I totally agree with the selection of Jason Taylor as the Defensive Player of the Year. I would love to see him in a Patriot uni someday.
But Merriman is in denial, IMO. The fact that he was suspended for testing positive for steroids in the middle of the season was a factor in the votes, IMHO. I'm still a little surprised and annoyed that he was selected for the probowl. He cheated, but I don't think that Merriman sees it that way.