Turn the “Lights Out” on this season

You know who really grinds my gears?

Shawne Merriman

The San Diego Chargers All-Pro linebacker FINALLY decided yesterday to follow the doctor’s orders and undergo season-ending surgery to repair the two torn ligaments in his left knee. The decision was an easy one after Merriman was merely a shell of himself in a the Chargers stunning 26-24 defeat to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in which he tallied only two tackles and recorded no sacks.

Following San Diego’s loss to the New England Patriots in last season’s AFC Championship game, doctors advised Merriman to have surgery on the knee that he says has caused him pain since late in the 2006 season. If that were the case, it would have given him six to eight months of recovery time in order to get ready for this season, meaning he may have only missed the first few games of this year. Seems like a pretty small price to pay now in hindsight, doesn’t it? Even after five separate consultations during the off-season in which doctors said that surgery was necessary, Merriman refused. The only doctors that gave him “the okay” were the Chargers team doctors. Well of course they’re going to say that you can play, they don’t work for you. They work for the organization and don’t necessarily have your best interests in mind.

There’s a fine line between courageous and just plain stupid and in this case Merriman did his little dance right over that line. A season tagged by many as “the Chargers year to win it all,” now seems to be out of reach in just the second week of the season due to a selfish act by one of, if not the most dominating defensive player in the league.