i've always liked jason taylor, but he lost a ton of respect from me for his whining and dirty campaigning. even if he is right about what he said, he shouldn't have said it. for me, it only diminishes his award. had he won dpoy without bitching, i don't think i, or anyone else, would've been very critical of him getting it.

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 9:06 AM. Reason : ]

1/5/2007 9:03:59 AM

i agree

1/5/2007 9:05:07 AM

i also agree

1/5/2007 9:36:16 AM

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 10:07 AM. Reason : damn pic]

1/5/2007 9:59:50 AM

I disagree. And Champ Bailey said the same thing.

1/5/2007 10:05:22 AM

i disagree and am glad a couple of the players came out

i think using performance enhancers should remove you from the runninig of such awards, even if he did prove that he's a beast without them

1/5/2007 10:09:41 AM

I think Taylor and Bailey were right in their stance. It wouldn't be really fair if someone who was caught cheating the game be rewarded for an award. Merriman had a phenomenal season, and I posted the pic b/c I really think he's a cool player with that "Lights Out" dance; however, I personally think Bailey should have won the award instead of Taylor. Why? He shuts receivers down and makes QBs pay for throwing his way.

1/5/2007 10:17:21 AM

rivers punked bailey all season.

1/5/2007 10:41:46 AM

"I sent him a Lights Out t-shirt, a Lights Out hat, and a bag of popcorn so he can watch us in the playoffs."

1/5/2007 11:47:50 AM

1/5/2007 12:14:47 PM

Quote :

"rivers punked bailey all season."

When?

1/5/2007 1:02:13 PM

the two chargers/broncos game... you know, the only times rivers has thrown against bailey.

1/5/2007 1:08:05 PM

And when did rivers throw bailey's way?

1/5/2007 1:09:51 PM

I wonder if they ever think about making Baily a reciever? At least on some plays.

1/5/2007 1:13:48 PM

dude, jason, go back and watch the games (you can download torrents).

1/5/2007 1:18:34 PM

week 14, Champ Bailey had 2 tackles and Darrent Williams had 8. I wonder to whose side was Philip throwing to?

Week 11, Champ had 3 tackles and 4 pass deflections.

I remember those games. I don't need to rewatch the torrents

Philip rarely threw at Champ after Week 11 because Champ shut down his receiver in week 11.

1/5/2007 1:29:47 PM

I remember that one TD where Rivers threw it to Gates, Bailey was covering, and Gates snatched the ball out of the air from Bailey and another defender.

1/5/2007 1:34:21 PM

Rivers went at Bailey once successfully. That was about it in two whole games.

Which is not bad considering how Bailey has destroyed QBs and WRs this year. But Rivers has hardly punked Bailey.

1/5/2007 1:40:13 PM

week 11: parker (4 for 42 yards), jackson (3 for 39 yards and 1 td), and gates (5 for 48 yards)
week 14: parker (1 for 34 yards), jackson (3 for 95 yards), and gates (7 for 105 yards and 2 td's)

champ didn't shut down parker, who i recall him covering the most, in week 11. bailey played well, but he didn't "shut down" anyone. he wasn't dissuading rivers from throwing at him.

in week 14, of course they were throwing at darrent williams more. the mofo couldn't cover anybody. besides that, he was on vincent jackson (6'5" vs. 5"11" 2nd year player). and they also played antonio gates on the left side alot. gates' first jumpball touchdown was against darrent williams (and bailey who came over to try and help).

why would anyone attack a more difficult defender when there are plenty of easier places to throw at? that wouldn't make sense at all.

perhaps "punked" was too strong of a word, but rivers certainly played at bailey. he didn't do anything to shut down rivers in either game. many expected denver, and bailey specifically, to give rivers hell, and that just didn't happen. in that sense, rivers "won" both matchups.

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 1:49 PM. Reason : ]

1/5/2007 1:47:39 PM

would Hank Aaron be a "whiny bitch" if he called out Bonds? not a perfect analogy but still

1/5/2007 2:40:16 PM

Merriman is a punk. Nuff said..

1/5/2007 2:46:17 PM

^^^Look at the tackles and pass deflection statistics. If Rivers really went after Bailey as you claim, then Bailey would have had more tackles and more pass deflections. But he didn't and Rivers didn't throw at him much at all. 7 times in week 11 and 2x in week 14.


^^already did.

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 3:05 PM. Reason : .]

1/5/2007 3:05:07 PM

the fact that Merriman put up those numbers in less than 16 games is amazing

But he also failed a drug test for roids...not speculation like baseball...but he failed a test

I'm kinda up in the air on this one

1/5/2007 3:07:50 PM

dude dont you hate barry bonds?

how can you honestly be up in the air?

the dude took performance enhancing drugs to get the numbers he got

there's no discussion here at all

1/5/2007 3:08:56 PM

The guy failed one test out of the dozens of tests he's taken. He has no history of violating or failing any other type drug tests, said it wasn't intentional (I know, take it for what it is), served his punishment by missing 4 games and still had the best numbers. He had to pass another test before he could be cleared to play. He shouldn't continue to be punished, plus it was his first offense in that respect.

1/5/2007 4:13:38 PM

yeah he actually served a punishment unlike bonds

i wouldve given the award to lawson

1/5/2007 4:30:24 PM

I only failed one test too. I deserve a HOF induction.

1/5/2007 4:32:04 PM

He failed a test after he said he doesn't do it. Merriman's situation is a little different.

1/5/2007 4:51:00 PM

the NFL steroid testing procedures are a joke anyway; they are designed so that you can juice as long as you keep your doses low enough. If they did testing similar to IOC procedures, offensive linemen would cease to exist.

1/5/2007 4:59:20 PM

Quote :

"I remember that one TD where Rivers threw it to Gates, Bailey was covering, and Gates snatched the ball out of the air from Bailey and another defender. "

You fully believe and sleep at night thinking bailey lines up on the line to cover tight ends?

Are you serious?

I realize you attend NC State and that may or may not make you a fanboy idiot but blind? I think not...

[Edited on January 6, 2007 at 1:58 AM. Reason : .]

1/6/2007 1:58:01 AM

how the fuck is that whining?

Was Mike Greenwell whining when he said he should be given Jose Canseco's MVP award since Canseco admitted to using steroids??

I dont think so.


Someone throws a mic in your face and you speak waht you feel. Personally i think he's right.

Besides, Taylor had the best year of any defensive player in the league.

He dominated from the DE position. Thats much more valuable than being a blitzing linebacker (albeit a ferocious one).

Its a lot easier to record sacks when you're shooting gaps the whole game than when you're rushing upfield with a 330 lb man on your ass and getting chipped by the tight end.

Taylor had 2 INT returns for TDs from the DE position for gods sake.

Defenses have to account for Merriman, he's a great linebacker. But he's not Jason Taylor.

If you made everyone in the league a free agent, Taylor would be a first round pick.

Merriman would not.

Its that simple.




P.S. if Philip Rivers lost his pro bowl selection to a guy who missed four games for a steroid suspension you guys would be fisting yourselves in anger.

[Edited on January 6, 2007 at 2:43 AM. Reason : a]

1/6/2007 2:39:15 AM

Quote :

"If you made everyone in the league a free agent, Taylor would be a first round pick. Merriman would not. Its that simple."

ahahahahahahahahahahah! i don't even like the asshole terp, especially after seeing him stomp on rivers' chest during his senior day game. how could you not think merriman would be a 1st rounder in such a draft. he's already considered one of the best linebackers in the league after just two seasons. some are already comparing him to lawrence "crackhead" taylor for the football gods' sake. if there are 3-4 linebackers taken in the first round, merriman would probably be #1 or #2. i doubt taylor would be a 1st round defensive end pick. there would probably be 2 de's taken in the 1st round, and they would be peppers and strahan.

also, it's apparent that you haven't watched very many chargers games. if you did, you'd know that merriman lines up as a defensive end almost as much as a linebacker.

Quote :

"Besides, Taylor had the best year of any defensive player in the league."

that's a matter of opinion, but enough voters agreed with you. however, i think most of the votes that merriman lost was due to the scandal. had merriman missed 4 games with an injury instead of suspension, he would've had a landslide victory.

[Edited on January 6, 2007 at 3:04 AM. Reason : ]

1/6/2007 2:57:24 AM

regarding the "Merriman would not be a first round pick" bullshit:

let me break it down for you so you might be able to understand:

MERRIMAN HAD 17 SACKS.

17. THAT LEADS THE LEAGUE.

IN 12 GAMES.

2ND PLACE HAD 15.5

IN 16 GAMES.

I DON'T GIVE A SHIT HOW YOU WANT TO TRY TO SPIN IT WITH YOUR BULLSHIT. 17 SACKS IN 12 GAMES IS FUCKING IMPRESSIVE NO MATTER HOW YOU SLICE IT.

I wish i could see how many sacks the other top guys had in 12 games.

I'm sorry that you're an arrogant idiot, but Merriman would definitely be taken in the 1st round.

"Its that simple."

[Edited on January 6, 2007 at 3:34 AM. Reason : BCGFDAF]

1/6/2007 3:32:30 AM

anybody who likes taylor literally eats semen

probably fucking gurgles the shit

1/6/2007 3:53:13 AM

taylor played great...for half the season...like peppers...at least merriman played well the whole season...or at least 12 games since he was suspended for cheating...thats why i say champ bailey...probably the most consistently good defensive player this year imo

1/6/2007 4:58:01 AM

merriman has been more consistent than bailey. there's been games where bailey's impact was unnoticed. merriman, i think, had a sack in every game he's played. i don't know the exact number, but merriman also has several forced fumbles and a bunch of pass deflections.

but, i agree with you that taylor hasn't been consistently good all season. he got thrown into the dpoy talks late.

[Edited on January 6, 2007 at 6:11 AM. Reason : ]

1/6/2007 6:09:48 AM

Merriman would not be a first round pick.

You're crazy.


If you think anyone is going to take a linebacker in the top 30 when there are stud DE's, QB's, WR's, etc out there you are crazy.


He's a linebacker. Linebackers have been one of the least important positions in the NFL for a decade now.

Merriman might be the best linebacker in the league, but his overall value pales in comparison to Peppers, Strahan, etc

You can pick up adequate LB's off the street. DE's are premeire position players.




People love to overrate "sacks". Its a fluky statistic and its not a great measurement of performance.

Plenty of guys have used "sacks" to overrate their true value and Merriman is just the latest.

Think of all the one dimensional pass rushers like Jevon Kearse and Kevin Greene. For gods sake Kevin Greene won the Defensive MVP in 1996 despite being the 2nd best LB on his own team.

Find a complete DE like Jason Taylor, Strahan... a complete LB like Ray Lewis, Junior Seau... or a stud DB like Champ Bailey or Ed Reed.

You cant just look at sacks and INT's and decide someone is the MVP of the league.... Taylor is a dominant player and Merriman is just a playmaker...

[Edited on January 6, 2007 at 11:15 AM. Reason : a]

1/6/2007 10:55:36 AM

you've gotta be trollin'...

1/6/2007 11:45:41 AM

Quote :

"there's been games where bailey's impact was unnoticed."

Tell that to the quarterbacks who had half the field taken away from them because Champ Bailey was over there.

1/6/2007 12:23:52 PM

1/6/2007 1:14:25 PM

Quote :

"You fully believe and sleep at night thinking bailey lines up on the line to cover tight ends? Are you serious? "

It's well-known that the Broncos usually shut down Tony Gonzalez by using Champ to cover him on passing downs. They do the same thing against Antonio Gates, especially when he lines up off the line (which is pretty often).

Idiot.

1/6/2007 6:10:57 PM

I mean you could say Merriman and Bailey got unfair advantages by playing against the Oakland offense twice each year

1/6/2007 10:13:13 PM

1/6/2007 10:25:07 PM

I'm in that pic wearing the Rivers jersey and the goofy sunglasses.

1/7/2007 1:15:40 AM

GG on not getting the fag blue jersey

1/7/2007 1:18:43 AM

he's still got dookie blue though (just fuckin' with ya ). that's why i got a white (road) jersey.

1/7/2007 9:07:21 AM