Only a 4-year pro and his career may be over. Could this be an effect of the steroids he tested positive for a couple of years ago? How long and frequent was the guy actually using? It would be a HUGE LOSS for the Chargers no doubt. Here's the story from PFT:






WHISPERS BEGIN REGARDING MERRIMAN’S CONDITION
Posted by Mike Florio on August 21, 2008, 12:22 p.m.
In the wake of a report that Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman visited with renowned orthopedist James Andrews regarding Merriman’s knee, we’re hearing that there is quiet concern within the organization that Merriman could be done, after only four NFL seasons.

Merriman had arthroscopic knee surgery during the offseason. He made the trip to Alabama to see Dr. Andrews because of persistent pain in the knee. (Curiously, there’s a conflict between the two major San Diego papers regarding the identity of the doctor who performed the procedure. The North County Times says that it was Andrews. The Union-Tribune claims that it was team physician David Chao.)

Officially, coach Norv Turner says he isn’t worried. “My concern will be if it lingers,” Turner said Wednesday. “Hopefully, it won’t linger and hopefully in the next week to 10 days, he’s going to be all right and ready to get going.”

As we hear it, there’s already concern, behind the scenes. Nothing may come of it, and Merriman might end up being fine. But the team is definitely worried about the possibility that Merriman could be done.

“He’s had some soreness,” Turner said. “I think he wants to make sure he gets it checked out and make sure everything is all right with it. When he’s been able to practice and move around, he’s looked awfully good to me.”

There’s no denying that Merriman is awfully good. But, like most athletes, it’s hard to do much of anything with a bum knee.

It could also be because he put a bunch of extra pressure on his knees by jumping around playing air-pattycake after every sack.

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Kids, don't do steroids.*


*Unless you want to become a multi-millionaire professional athlete with national endorsements and only need to work for four years. Then by all means, do your stupid steroids.

Move that SD @ Buffalo game into the Bills win column.

I think I'd rather be able to run around with my kids and make $60,000 a year in construction.

Not being able to play the world's most violent sport at a professional level doesn't mean he will be confined to a wheelchair. If Willis McGahee is playing pro ball after that injury, I'm sure there's a surgery that will allow Merriman to coach the purple team in their girls under-8 soccer game.

I'm not disagreeing with you...You and me and probably most others wouldn't opt for the shortcut (i.e. cheating) option. But if simply making bank was his goal from the beginning, he certainly achieved that.

lol

I wonder if he'd do his "lights out" dance when they scored a goal. Friggin awesome LLR

He didn't intentionally do steroids. I know saying it was a "tainted supplement" isn't exactly the most plausable excuse, but if you do your research you'd learn that the substance he tested positive for was one that wouldn't afford him a beneficial result befitting the risk, and it has a long life in the body, therefore making it a stupid choice since it would show up in his system for a fairly long period of time.

I'm not defending him, simply stating the truth. I was there at the Chargers game, his first game back from suspension, and I too serenaded him with steroid taunts. But the truth is, it actually was a mistake.

Sounds like a WGR scoop.

I didn't know he played Rugby?

Dont do steroids, or you will end up like that famous rich, probowler. He only made millions of dollars in only a few short years... wow, those steroids really did screw up his life. What will he do now? maybe beg for change on the side of the road holding a cardboard sign that says "Please help, Steroids ruined my life, God Bless".

David Boston also rings a bell!

Strange. Steroids usually help reduce joint pain and swelling.

Good ol' PFT, rampant speculation, not much fact.

Yeah forget about Tomlinson, Gates and Chambers. Plus there defense only led the league in INT's last year. But by all means move it over.

They actually mask the pain while destroying ligament and muscle fiber.

If by Rugby you mean UFC, then you are correct...

But, he's not on steroids anymore...

Right?

wow.

this is just total garbage. complete and utter opposite of the truth.

if merriman's knee is done, it's his knee that ended him, not steroids.

What? So you mean to tell me that doing steroids doesnt wreck your ligaments and tendons?

You're saying it strenghtens the ligaments and tendons?

Ok genius how about the added pressure from lifting heavier weight that they normally would not be able to lift or rep due to the extra testosterone coursing through there body. Yeah that just strains the muscles right?

Right...

http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/steroids.html

Steroids are very powerful compounds. Be wary of doctors that prescribe them. Ask why. Arm yourself with knowledge beforehand.

Don't be a sap and buy the OTC stuff. You can end up with a phyrric victory...

Roid-head Merriman is probably still reeling from having his own lights put out by MJD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXeAG2VuBo0

lights out indeeeeeed! Center of gravity is a biiaacth

theres also another sport in Europe (I'm thinking spain or italy) thats more violent then rugby and basically it is played once a year and they actually look for guys that were ex-cons and known for being violent. I can't remember details of it, but there was an article about it a few weeks ago in Sports Illustrated. Some players were complaining cause they made new rules that disallowed ex-cons or something like that.

c'mon, admit it. you know nothing about steroids at all. you've never done any research yourself, some one you know (or the tv) speculated on steroids causing injuries so you just parrot that like a follower.

steroids (as in AAS the kind that are tested for and players get dinged for in the NFL) DO NOT cause ligament tears and muscle fiber breakdown, they do the opposite of that. if you had spent 3 minutes on wiki you would see that they are used for people with muscle and ligament wasting ailments, they actually reverse that.

do you think pot causes reefer madness and that porno causes rape too?

Yeah, I read about that, that looks crazy...Four teams compete in a yearly event (I think it is Florence, Italy) and the players are from their "hometown" section of the city, which is divided into quarters....I think they said it is like 18-on-18 and there is a goal at each end of a field in the city square, and basically EVERYTHING is legal. Intentionally injuring opponents in not only accepted, but cheered by the crowds. Lots of criminals and general bad asses make up the majority of the rosters.

"The ... doth protest too much, methinks."... Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 2.

I wouldn't.

based on that quote, you are accusing me of being a steroid.

at best, that's a half truth.

If it's half truth, I hope those compounds are no longer being ingested, colin. I'm an old man. I'm not trying to win a silly argument on a web site.

I am a retired chemist. I do have knowledge of pharmaceuticals and OTC and herbal products.

If you are using pill steroids without valid reasons, prescribed by an ethical doctor, please stop.

no one uses orals, they're liver toxic!! needles only bro, i'm safe!!

Goodbye and good luck!

haha, a little humor here, COME ON!

Yeah, thats what I was refering to. I think I would be a spectator for that event, thats the closest I would get to it

"If my dad knew what I had done, he'd crucify me!" - Jesus, Hamlet 2







Sorry, the movie itself looks pretty bad, i just loved that line from the commercial, and am a little pissed off cause I had wanted to write a play like that

Being reported now that Merriman has 2 ligament tears...both PCL and LCL...

Saying that he will be out for the year at minimum and the Chargers are preparing for the worst case scenario that they are going to find it is bone on bone contact on the knee, which would require microfracture surgery to try and create scar tissue, and could very possibly spell the beginning of the end for his NFL days...At the very least it would mean that he would probably return as a shell of his former self and would no longer be the force he was, but merely another guy in the league...kinda like what happened with Spikes here...

Is it possible steroids were solely responsible for this? Very unlikely...an NFL source said that there are "lots and lots and lots" of players who are playing without a PCL these days...Did steroids contribute to this? Noone knows, but it definitely did not help him...steroids wreak havoc on your body...they create thousands of times the amount of testosterone that normally is found in the body...obviously its not good...we already see what happens with natural conditions when too much of a substance is found in the body...too much sugar means diabetes...too much sodium leads to high blood pressure...too much thyroxin from your thyroid means you rarely sleep, have endless energy and act like you are amped up on the equivalent of a thousand cups of coffee...it just logically follows that a huge overdose of testosterone in your body is going to do serious damage over time...

you've never done any research on the subject have you?

No but my mom has been in medical research working on steroids at a world-renowned medical institute that has a nobel prize winner as their president for the past 30 years....would you like me to get her personal opinion? Is that enough "research" for you...likely you wouldn't even know the substances and compounds she was working on so it would be pretty pointless for her to give you a dissertation on the subject anyways...

Lets save the smart comments...

dude

you ripped off thousands of times one's natural levels, that is stands to reason that it wreaks havoc, and enough other bullchit talking points to fill a nancy reagan speach.

i'm not a world renowned expert, but i'm friggen dr zielger compared the inane junk that has been spouted off in this thread.

anyhow, pure garbage.

Actuallly pro players take HGH for quicker recovery, although you are right about steroid use to treat injuries. The problem is, if they are used for body building, the muscles get too large and strong for the surrounding ligaments, and when they tear during use, it is major, major.

When young George was growing up in England, his father said don't go down on boys, they didn't listen and now look at the two guys.

Insert your Barry Bonds analogy here

UPDATE: Despite the opinion from at least 4 different doctors that Merriman should have surgery, Merriman will play out the season.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8495712...13162&ATT=5

Have fun on crutches Shawne.

I was just about to post this as well.

What a dumbass.

Anybody want to take bets that he doesn't last the season........

Shoot....my son came down with a groin pull the first week of training camp and I held him out a week......

If this happened he would be done for the season.....health first.

This guy is a total idiot. He sounds like a fricken caveman "It's simple. I just want to play football...." It's either he stinks it up during the first couple of games and realizes he can't do it and goes throught with the surgery. Or, they jack him up on meds before each game and he ends up doing permanent damage, ending his career.

My only wonder is how can the Chargers let him play. Usually coaches follow the team doctor's advice as gospel and will not let players on the field until they are medically cleared. Now, there are 3 other specialists saying the exact same thing - not to play football. Will Norv Turner be at fault for actually letting him on the field?

Or he's a warrior and a great teammate. Never been a big Merriman fan and I agree it's not the smart thing to do, but I love his mentality and would welcome this attitude on the Bills.

what mentality? stupidity? That's all this is, he is putting him collecting his paycheck and any bonus money while jeopardizing his career and lets not forget the damage he is doing to the team by having a guy on the field who needs to rely on speed and agility when there is someone who could step in and do the job (not as good as him of course) but be able to play at 100% and not half azz it all year