After reading a few articles on ESPN and some other sites about the ongoing saga with Shawne Merriman and the Chargers (apparently in an attempt to overshadow the fact that Vincent Jackson still has not budged on his holdout, nor have the Chargers asked for any sort of reasonable package to unload him), it appears that he will no longer be playing in America's Finest City (also known as a whales' vagina) once he gets healthy again. There had been some grumblings from Merriman early in the year about how he felt the Chargers didn't want him anymore. Well Nostradamus, you were right.
Now, I've been pondering this for a few days now...and to me, my next statement makes a ton of sense. The Jets very well may put Lights Out on Broadway. While I don't necessarily agree with it, from the organization's history and trends, it makes sense for them to do it. Let's break this down:
1) The Jets love taking on "project players": The past few acquisitions for the Jets have shown that they believe they can be the Guiding Light for those who have/had issues on and off the field:
Braylon Edwards - Bar fight against Lebron's friend plus his recent DUI;
Antonio Cromartie - countless paternity suits (and struggling to remember his kids names), plus numerous "moving violation" infractions;
Trevor Pryce - booted out of Baltimore for being lazy, overpaid and ineffective;
Jason Taylor - run out of Miami the first time for having numerous disputes with Parcells about skipping offseason workouts, recent member of Dancing with the Stars and poster-boy for SI for Women (these don't fit in with the theme, but they warrant mentioning);
Bart Scott - penalized for taunting/unsportsmanlike conduct at least once every couple of weeks with Ravens, and associating with Ray and Jamal Lewis at times will immediately get you put on any watch list;
LaDainian Tomlinson - labeled "over the hill" and washed up by the Chargers, had numerous confrontations involving the organizations sentiments towards him;
Santonio Holmes - This guy takes the cake. He sold drugs on street corners as a kid, domestic violence and disorderly conduct charges in 2006, possession of weed in 2008, threw a bottle at a chick in a club in March of this year (someone else "confessed" to doing it so he got off), told a follower on Twitter to "kill urself" and posted that he had to "wake 'n bake" one morning, but claimed someone hacked his Twitter account to avoid suspension. Wait wait, he also was thrown off a plane this year for not turning off his Ipod before the plane took off, but those charges were dropped as well.
Add to the mix: Shawne Merriman - Violated league's steroid policy following his Defensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl season. The man had a RULE named after him:
"Merriman Rule" - to ban any player who tests positive for performance-enhancing drugs from playing in the Pro Bowl that same season.
Nothing like the Commish showing you some love.
Let's not forget Merriman's more famous run-in with the law after supposedly choking out Tila Tequila while the two were dating (what, couldn't throw pee-melons at her instead?). However, he did have the last laugh when he filed a lawsuit against her for illegally using his "Lights Out" trademarked logo on T-shirts to sell at Wal-Mart to the tune of $2 million.
I gotta tell you, all of these guys together at a party would be one hell of a night.
2) The Jets love players who have a lack of concentration: Again, looking at some of the names on the roster (Scott, Edwards, Cromartie, Holmes) there's no denying that their roster is composed of players who have unbelievable talent and unbelievably horrible mental focus. 3 have been Pro-Bowlers, Holmes was only a Super Bowl MVP, 2 All-Pro's, 1 Second-team All Pro, and one holds the record for the longest TD in NFL history (109 yds, that can never broken). If you add Jason Taylor to this list too, since he hasn't performed well in a few years, the credentials get even more insane. There's no denying how good these guys COULD be if they kept their head in it.
Add to the mix: Merriman, who won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2005, received the 3rd most votes for Defensive Player of the Year in 2006 (even after testing positive for steroids), had the most sacks from 2005-2007 with 39.5, 3x All-Pro and 3x Pro Bowler. Again, there is no arguing this guy has the talent. He would fit quite nicely into Rex Ryan's blitz-happy defense next to Bart Scott and David Harris at LB. Even sliding him in at DE a couple of plays or blitzing him NEXT to Jason Taylor (the guy who happened to have won the D Player of the year over Merriman) will get either, if not both of them, substantial opportunities to make tackles-for-loss and sacks. However, he hasn't been healthy for some time now, a clear sign that he's probably off steroids and his body is deteriorating. Then again, LT wasn't really healthy before this year either. And imagine how much damage Shawne could do off the field in the Big Apple. If only Plax was still in town...well, allowed out in town I guess I should say.
Would the Jets take the gamble? I think Ryan is chomping at the bit to get his hands on him.
3) Merriman celebrates with the best of them: ...when he's actually on the field. Take into account Cromartie, Edwards, Scott's taunting, LT's resurgence will get him plenty more chances for end-zone celebrations, Merriman can certainly hold his own with trash-talking and his celebration. Hell, he's even doing his dance at PR events in bowling alleys AND he had someone try and mimic it at a bar with some hilarious results:
Classic. And way to wear a Tomlinson jersey to do it.
4) Already has the nickname taken care of: Revis Island, Bermuda Triangle (Cromartie), Sanchise, LT, Terminator...meet Lights Out. Merriman's had his nickname copyrighted and sold t-shirts with "Lights Out" on it. He was given it in high school after he knocked out 4 kids in the first half of his game. Check and mate.
Looking at all of these things, while I'm not 100% sold on it myself, it seems like Merriman could very well make his way to the city and suit up for Gang Green and Sexy Rexy. God help the Flight Girl that he tries to hit on when he shows up though (no pun intended...or is there?)
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