Ugh, I'm done with Meriweather

[Hardboiled]

What if he just got beat for a TD? Would he have saluted then too ?

Good question. I think the reaction would be different. Or the same hit on a 13 yard gain in a loss would cause a different reaction. The salute make me thing of Terrell Davis and the Mile High Salute. Davis' father was in the military and the salute was supposed be a tribute to him. Did Terrell Davis salute after a 3 or 13 yard loss even if he laid out a defender? Does he salute after powering over a lineman for a no-gain?

Maybe BM wanted to get it out and this was the way. I would doubt he'll do it on big gains in the future.

 

[cardiak]

Harrison was one of the surest tacklers I've ever seen.

WW

Well then you weren't watching close enough. Harrison missed more then his fair share of tackles and took out his own guy just as often as he did the receiver when going for big hits. He was especially bad at this with San Diego but he got better over time as he aged and gained experience.

He was also the king at just jumping into the pile late to make his hits which make it seem like he is always on target when he is constantly hitting stationary players after the play is practically over. If Merriweather played like Harrison he would have 20 unsportsmanlike like penalties a game into todays NFL

Harrison was solid in the run but don't kid yourself on thinking he didn't miss when going big. Meriweathers still young and is going through what most SS do when learning you can't go for the big hit every time. It takes experience to learn when to go for the big hit and when to just hit. The more experienced and disciplined the SS, the less you see big misses because they learn situational play.. When you can and when you can't. Once this defense gets a taste of playing aggressive like this he won't feel like it's all on him to set the tone every play because his teammates will be adding their share of heavy hits. You can already see this happening, heavy hitting and attitude become contagious in this game they need more not less..

 

[MustaphaM0nd]

I think the Meriweather vs. Maroney comparisons are unfair. Maroney never showed a sign of improvement over the 4-5 years he was in Foxboro. Meriweather has improved multiple facets of his game since he got here.

He hasn't been missing nearly as many tackles this year as people make it sound, AND he's blowing people up more than he ever did before. His coverage skills have improved as well... remember when he was a corner?

 

[celticboy04]

Greetings,
What next? People complaining about the Patriots don't have All-Pros at every single position, I can honestly see that happening.
Peace,
Celticboy04

 

[Deus Irae]

Again, what's up with all the name calling. Why am I a moron for having an opinion...I'm sorry you don't agree with it, but seriously...same team, same team. I want the Pats to put their best product on the field every week. Right now, I concede that Meriweather is part of that mixture. He's one of the top 2 safeties right now.

Your argument was that you'd be fine without Meriweather because he saluted after a hard hit, and you don't understand why people would be bashing you for that? Interesting that you called Meriweather clueless....

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

Rational criticism is one thing. I'm fine with criticizing certain players, Meriweather included, when it's warranted (Koppen comes immediately to mind here).
Great. He talks like a moron. Perhaps he missed his elocution class in college. You know who else talks like a moron? Chris Johnson. This is the NFL, not MENSA, so who the hell cares what he talks like.

Certain players on this board tend to elicit these types of visceral reactions from people. Now that Ben Watson and Maroney are gone, and bashing Sanders has sort of lost its luster, we can clearly see that Meriweather has taken their place as the Official Forum Whipping Post.

:ditto:

Im not sure why, but Meriweather has suddenly become the new whipping boy around here. I do agree that players celebrating after a tackle looks stupid, but alot of players do that in todays NFL. We simply cant get rid of every player that looks, or says something stupid. We wouldnt have a team if we did that.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Meriweather has done an excellent job stepping into the #1 whippin' boy position after previous incumbents L-Maroney and Moss were traded away.

Nope...the new hated guy is our long snapper ...to this all I have to say is who is next,the Waterboy sucks?

 

[jsull87]

Personally in the last 2 games i think merriweather has been playing great (without knowing his assignments) he has come up and been physical when he can and i haven't seen him beaten very badly. I honestly don't think he is the leader of the secondary... i think we will have pat chung doing that and i think merriweather is much better just concentrating on his game and making plays.

 

[TX_Patriot]

Your argument was that you'd be fine without Meriweather because he saluted after a hard hit, and you don't understand why people would be bashing you for that? Interesting that you called Meriweather clueless....

Dude, I love the way you cherry pick your quotes. I also wrote, albeit not in the original message, that that play was the icing on the cake...that my opinion is based on a collection of plays he's made.

You're right about one thing. I was clueless to think I could have a differing opinion to you and express it here. Obviously I was wrong. Thanks for not trying to sway my opinion of Meriweather either way and just attacking me personally...nicely done sir.

I sit breathlessly awaiting your next witty retort. Good day to you.

 

[Triumph]

TX Patriot, I salute you.

 

[MassPats38]

You're right about one thing. I was clueless to think I could have a differing opinion to you and express it here. Obviously I was wrong. Thanks for not trying to sway my opinion of Meriweather either way and just attacking me personally...nicely done sir.

You may want to point out exactly what you take issue with as far as Meriweather goes. He led the secondary for two consecutive seasons in tackles, was selected as an alternate to the Pro Bowl
last year, and is a hard hitter. I have never heard him mentioned as a locker room problem, but it is not clear he is a leader. Lack of leadership does not make a player a problem, just not Rodney Harrison (I don't believe Mayo is a leader yet, but I wouldn't trade the guy).

It seemed like you were unaware of the stated reason for his gesture, but stated this act was just "the icing on the cake." You may want to describe the cake then. If you don't like the guy for his college history, that's your prerogative, but since you started an "I hate Meriweather" thread, you may want to develop a list of actual reasons why you hate the guy tied to actual games or events rather than "for lots of reasons" if you are really looking for an intelligent discussion on the subject.

 

[mcsully]

Dude, I love the way you cherry pick your quotes. I also wrote, albeit not in the original message, that that play was the icing on the cake...that my opinion is based on a collection of plays he's made.

You're right about one thing. I was clueless to think I could have a differing opinion to you and express it here. Obviously I was wrong. Thanks for not trying to sway my opinion of Meriweather either way and just attacking me personally...nicely done sir.

I sit breathlessly awaiting your next witty retort. Good day to you.

While I'll differ on your opinion, its good to see users post their POV..

hahhahah.. Classic dude.. Love it! ..You'll find that a lot these guys that post about 20-30 times a day.. They pick one sentence out of a post and attack it all day.. Wait until the draft comes and they become experts..

I remember one of these guys telling me Ngata is a NT and doesn't play DE..

 

[TX_Patriot]

First, let me say that I'm and fan and only a fan. I don't breakdown each play, I don't rewatch games over and over again to try and pull out the finer details of our game plans, but I do understand football and played it myself into college.

What I see is a guy who has an iffy first step. BM appears to come in late on a lot of plays and I sometimes wonder if he tries to make a big hit to make up for the fact that he is late. I thought BM is supposed to be our best cover safety, but he take bad angles to the ball, which of course, makes him late. When was the last time BM made a good play on the ball? When was the last time you saw him lock up with a TE and shut him down? Maybe some of that is scheme, yes, but maybe our scheme is such that BB and MP don't trust BM one on one with a TE? In fact, this season, I'm pretty sure I've seen Chung line up on a receiver more times than BM...maybe I'm wrong though. He scares me in the open field because he's not a great tackler. I think this has become more evident since Chung came on, and we're starting to remember what a good tackling safety looks like.

The whole salute thing irked me for one reason, and it wasn't the celebration itself (good for him supporting the troops and his buddy). It was that he whacked Crayton, got up and did his salute thing...all the while, right behind him, Crayton was getting up with the ball in hand, did the little first down gesture and the crowd went nuts. How does momentum swing on a play like that? It felt like BM had no idea where he was on the field or what the result of the play was. The game was far from being won at that point too.

BM, to his credit, is a remarkable athlete and that makes up for some of his deficiencies and of course, like it was pointed out, BB continues to play him, so he must be our best option right now.

I can't point you to specific plays in each game, I'm sorry if that is want you really wanted.

I don't know that I can satisfy everyone on this board and I'm open to having my opinion of BM change. In fact, I hope it does, because it would be nice to know we have a dependable safety tandem for the next few years.

 

[upstater1]

i agree that celebrating after giving up a 12 yard play is a bit clueless but don't agree that bm should be dumped.

It does make me wonder what is going on in that head. I don't really go for on-field celebrations in general though and certainly not selfish ones after what is quite obviously not a play one should be celebrating on any level that i can think of.

I am a vet myself but wait for a good play before you do your salute next time young brandon.

+1111111111111

 

[MassPats38]

First, let me say that I'm and fan and only a fan. I don't breakdown each play, I don't rewatch games over and over again to try and pull out the finer details of our game plans, but I do understand football and played it myself into college.

What I see is a guy who has an iffy first step. BM appears to come in late on a lot of plays and I sometimes wonder if he tries to make a big hit to make up for the fact that he is late. I thought BM is supposed to be our best cover safety, but he take bad angles to the ball, which of course, makes him late. When was the last time BM made a good play on the ball? When was the last time you saw him lock up with a TE and shut him down? Maybe some of that is scheme, yes, but maybe our scheme is such that BB and MP don't trust BM one on one with a TE? In fact, this season, I'm pretty sure I've seen Chung line up on a receiver more times than BM...maybe I'm wrong though. He scares me in the open field because he's not a great tackler. I think this has become more evident since Chung came on, and we're starting to remember what a good tackling safety looks like.

The whole salute thing irked me for one reason, and it wasn't the celebration itself (good for him supporting the troops and his buddy). It was that he whacked Crayton, got up and did his salute thing...all the while, right behind him, Crayton was getting up with the ball in hand, did the little first down gesture and the crowd went nuts. How does momentum swing on a play like that? It felt like BM had no idea where he was on the field or what the result of the play was. The game was far from being won at that point too.

BM, to his credit, is a remarkable athlete and that makes up for some of his deficiencies and of course, like it was pointed out, BB continues to play him, so he must be our best option right now.

I can't point you to specific plays in each game, I'm sorry if that is want you really wanted.

I don't know that I can satisfy everyone on this board and I'm open to having my opinion of BM change. In fact, I hope it does, because it would be nice to know we have a dependable safety tandem for the next few years.

Not at all in terms of a response. I was just interested in hearing why you don't like the guy as members of the media seem to share your opinion. As with most players, fans have different views.

As far as the particular play, Wilfork stated the hit on Heap (also a first down) fired the defense up. Again, Meriweather did not do the gesture at that time and stated why he did it now. He simply may have intended to do that the first time he was on camera, which was that play, but that is just a theory. If it was important to him to do so, I expect he would take care of that immediately rather than risking not having a second chance (which has happened in games with 1 tackle as there are no guarantees). My point earlier was he and the team likely knew what that was about, so I don't see it as a big deal one way or another.

Personally, I like some of what he does and don't like the undisciplined play on other occasions (I contrast him to a guy like Sanders with decent discipline but significantly less natural ability). I do view him as a guy I want on the field on defense given the alternatives. Unfortunately, Meriweather seemed to be branded the heir apparent to Rodney's role, which is a lot to ask of a rookie (there is only one Rodney) as it is impossible to measure up to that standard in the eyes of fans.

 

[ivanvamp]

Wow, I'm quite amazed at how many times I've been called stupid in this thread. All for stating an opinion...my opinion. Be it an unpopular stance, it's mine and I stand by it.

Not that I need to substantiate my fandom to anyone, but I've been a Pats fan for close to 30 years. I have family that lives 15 mins from the stadium and have been to many games. I was also at the Houston Super Bowl, but I apparently am not allowed to express my disappointment about a player on my favorite football team.

Regardless of how long this thread lingers, I stand by what I said. Meriweather lacks in-game awareness.

Flame-on...I'll keep reading.

For what it's worth, I don't at all agree with you on this issue, but I think the amount of crap you're taking is way over the top. Hang in there, TX.

 

[West Philly Patriot]

First, let me say that I'm and fan and only a fan. I don't breakdown each play, I don't rewatch games over and over again to try and pull out the finer details of our game plans, but I do understand football and played it myself into college.

What I see is a guy who has an iffy first step. BM appears to come in late on a lot of plays and I sometimes wonder if he tries to make a big hit to make up for the fact that he is late. I thought BM is supposed to be our best cover safety, but he take bad angles to the ball, which of course, makes him late. When was the last time BM made a good play on the ball? When was the last time you saw him lock up with a TE and shut him down? Maybe some of that is scheme, yes, but maybe our scheme is such that BB and MP don't trust BM one on one with a TE? In fact, this season, I'm pretty sure I've seen Chung line up on a receiver more times than BM...maybe I'm wrong though. He scares me in the open field because he's not a great tackler. I think this has become more evident since Chung came on, and we're starting to remember what a good tackling safety looks like.

The whole salute thing irked me for one reason, and it wasn't the celebration itself (good for him supporting the troops and his buddy). It was that he whacked Crayton, got up and did his salute thing...all the while, right behind him, Crayton was getting up with the ball in hand, did the little first down gesture and the crowd went nuts. How does momentum swing on a play like that? It felt like BM had no idea where he was on the field or what the result of the play was. The game was far from being won at that point too.

BM, to his credit, is a remarkable athlete and that makes up for some of his deficiencies and of course, like it was pointed out, BB continues to play him, so he must be our best option right now.

I can't point you to specific plays in each game, I'm sorry if that is want you really wanted.

I don't know that I can satisfy everyone on this board and I'm open to having my opinion of BM change. In fact, I hope it does, because it would be nice to know we have a dependable safety tandem for the next few years.

Maybe you should've led with this post. C'mon you made a I Hate meriweather thread on a patriot fans site. Without even stating a real reason besides him saluting his friend over seas. Do u see half of the wrestling celebrations players do in the league the salute is pretty mild by comparison.

 

[TX_Patriot]

Maybe you should've led with this post. C'mon you made a I Hate meriweather thread on a patriot fans site. Without even stating a real reason besides him saluting his friend over seas. Do u see half of the wrestling celebrations players do in the league the salute is pretty mild by comparison.

I agree, I came out a little strong. I apologize for that and again, I'm not a "No Fun League" guy. I like most of the celebrations I see. T.O. and Ocho at least do theirs after a touchdown. Again, I hate celebrating for the sake of celebrating and BM isn't the only one out there that does it.

 

[Simkin]

Not sure if this has been discussed, but Meriweather is finally on the "I'm ok with BB tossing his butt on the street" list.

The play that did it for me was yesterday against SD, Meriweather laid a nice hit on Crayton and then got up, all pumped, and did that stupid salute thing.

Problem, Crayton held on to the ball for like a 12 yard gain and a first down, and that play did nothing to stall the momentum of the SD drive.

It was like finger nails on a chalk board for me and just one more clueless act by Meriweather.

Good luck to you bud, have fun on your next team.

Agreed. This guy havent swagger or whatelse, its just ABSURD see that guy doing this things after being torched every week with his 20 yards-away coverages

 

[Batman]

Does anyone know if this was his first tackle of the game? If so then doing then makes sense what if it had been Chung that was doing thus and waited to make an appropriate play but goes off injured before he can be he would be pretty pissed at himself. Just my theory.