Merriman or Kelsay this week

[ghz in pittsburgh]

I'm not talking about one or the other for playing. Last Thursday we have a 3 DE rotation due to injury and I think they got tired towards the end. So I still want Kelsay to get on the field.

The question is who plays more. Maybe the injury to Kelsay will decide for us but I admit Merriman surprised me. He seemed to recognize plays well and was able to win some battles against Long (Mind you I don't think Long is that GREAT these days). Maybe they should play Merriman more even when Kelsay is available.

[The King]

Merriman is a desperate man. Hopefully he keeps playing as such.

[DBrown77]

I only noticed 2 good plays by Merriman which were where he blew up Jake Long on the sweep and the sack.

Were there others i missed?

I would rather see Kelsey more if he healthy as he is a more impact player. Merriman does set the edge better though.

[Meathead]

kelsay is the better player so if hes ready he gets the bulk of the plays. but merriman was finally noticeable so im glad hes here too and should get his share of time

[better days]

I only noticed 2 good plays by Merriman which were where he blew up Jake Long on the sweep and the sack.

Were there others i missed?

I would rather see Kelsey more if he healthy as he is a more impact player. Merriman does set the edge better though.

Those were GREAT plays by Merriman, not good plays. he had a number of good plays as well, setting the edge as you said.

[Ed]

Both players should get a decent amount of snaps. I would just say keep them fresh and try to take advantage of their strengths based on the situation. I don't know if you really need to decide who plays more. The game will probably dictate that.

[MTBillsFan]

Merriman was a real pain in the butt to the fish. It was nice to see him show up. Was Mario getting double teamed on the other side during these plays? I drank a lot of beer and vodka Thursday night.

[Oaf]

Can you imagine having MARIO WILLIAMS on one side and "LIGHTS OUT" SHAWNE MERRIMAN on the other would be so pedestrian? :chuckle:

[Mahdi]

Merriman should play. Younger, faster, stronger and more motivated. Not to mention more talented.

Getting Merriman into a groove can have a big impact on our defense the rest of the way.

[coastal]

Who sets the edge better?

pick him.

[trapezeus]

part of the problem in our run game was kelsay going so wide. Chris Johnson's 80 yard gallop was with him out of place.

Merriman should be in there. even if he doesn't have a big play, he holds his spot much better. other peeople know kelsay's MO (for the last 8 yearS) and just let him walk out of the play and then run where he should have been.

[DBrown77]

Kelsey gets burned on misdirection too. Tennessee ran that same naked bootleg 3-4 times and he bit every time.

[IAG]

Kelsay. Merriman will be better if Wanny can measure his snaps.

[TigerJ]

Well, here's my two cents worth. First, we are getting to the point where Anderson has a chance to be healthy enough to play. Thus, he may be in the mix. Between Merriman and Kelsay, it might be fair to suggest that Merriman is still shaking off the rust. After all, before his current stint with the Bills, (I mean after getting cut and then re-signed) it was how many years since he's been on the field for more than a play or two? To me, that suggests he's on something akin to a learning curve. He may have all the head knowledge, but that's different from actually playing the game. That may mean he's going to keep getting better for a while. In any case, a healthy, back in the groove Shawn Merriman is a pretty decent run defender as well as capable of getting some sacks. I know Chris Kelsay has the reputation of being strong against the run, but I remember several plays earlier in the season where he made a strong inside move, only to lose contain and have a running back scoot outside for some huge gains. I haven't analyzed every play the two guys have had this season, but right now, I'm liking Merriman more both as a run defender and a pass rusher. Thus, I would give him more plays, and not just as a third and long pass rusher.

It's not out of the question, if Mark Anderson is ready to go and is activated that between Merriman and Kelsay, one will be a healthy inactive.

[IAG]

Keep Merriman on a "pitch count". Fewer the plays, the more explosive.

[Mahdi]

Keep Merriman on a "pitch count". Fewer the plays, the more explosive.

I don't agree, I think Merriman needs to be on the field a lot in order to get back to what he was or close to it. This is a guy looking for confidence and rythem. He's not going to get that playing 15-20 plays a game.

[IAG]

I don't agree, I think Merriman needs to be on the field a lot in order to get back to what he was or close to it. This is a guy looking for confidence and rythem. He's not going to get that playing 15-20 plays a game.

He will be on IR before you know it if you go with your route.

[Mahdi]

He will be on IR before you know it if you go with your route.

Why would playing 10-15 more plays land him on IR? We're in mid-season, either he is fit or not.

[zone]

Even a shell of the former Merriman is 1000X better than Kelsay could dream of being.

How is this even a debate? Kelsay has been beaten badly in the run all year long. The way Merriman set the edge and the few "impact" plays he had obviously contributed to how well the D played on Sunday. Also Merriman was all over the sideline pumping up the D and his play was backing up the talk.

[justasportsfan]

I don't agree, I think Merriman needs to be on the field a lot in order to get back to what he was or close to it. This is a guy looking for confidence and rythem. He's not going to get that playing 15-20 plays a game.


he can do that at practice and if the coaches see that he is, he will be in there. Otherwise, younger faster on PAPER means nothing. Our D is already full of paper probowlers.

[justasportsfan]

Even a shell of the former Merriman is 1000X better than Kelsay could dream of being.


If this is true then why couldn't he find a job before we brought him back?

[superbills]

If I see one more post that mentions the words "Chris Kelsay" and "Impact player" in the same sentence, I'm seriously going to kick my dog. On what planet does Chris Kelsay measure up to such a description?

[RedEyE]

Who sets the edge better?

pick him.

IMO, Kelsay has always had problems on the edge. I think Merriman brings a little extra to the team.

[realdealryan]

Colts fans hate current/former Chargers. It will rile them up if he makes a play. Upside.

[kishoph]

part of the problem in our run game was kelsay going so wide. Chris Johnson's 80 yard gallop was with him out of place.

Merriman should be in there. even if he doesn't have a big play, he holds his spot much better. other peeople know kelsay's MO (for the last 8 yearS) and just let him walk out of the play and then run where he should have been.


Kelsay was in the perfect position on that Johnson run, he forced it back inside, which is what he's suppose to do, the play worked because a hold on Barnett and Sheppard (also being grabbed) could not get over, not because. Also Kelsay's M.O. has been a strong player against the run, including being able to set the edge. Look at the photo, Johnson was taking it outside and Kelsay made him cut it back in, I just watched it over a few times, no way was Kelsay to blame for that run.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v153/kishoph/Image3.jpg

[Mouldsie]

idk if you're supposed to get turned outside like that on an inside run... hard to know what his responsibility was without seeing the rest of the play and hearing the playcall too

[coastal]

One of the cooler threads in some time...

Last two games our run D is averaging under 100 yds/gm.

Merriman has something to do with that.

[kishoph]

idk if you're supposed to get turned outside like that on an inside run... hard to know what his responsibility was without seeing the rest of the play and hearing the playcall too


You may be right, but Kelsay was lined up on the outside shoulder of the tackle to begin with and once Johnson made his cut is when Kelsay totally committed to the outside, with Johnson's style if Kelsay would of went inside Johnson would of just bounced it out, then people would of been getting on him about failing to hold the edge, it was a no win situation. The biggest failure on the play is from the Refs, who failed to call the bear hug being put on Barnett, who probably would of filled the gap. There's holes in Kelsay's game, but he takes a lot of undeserved heat. I think the best thing to do is keep rotating Merriman and Kelsay and when Anderson gets back (if he does), then make a decision.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v153/kishoph/Image1.jpg

This is just after Johnson first got the ball, it continued till Johnson was well through the hole.

[kingJofNYC]

Herpes or Gonorrhea?

[Mahdi]

Kelsay was in the perfect position on that Johnson run, he forced it back inside, which is what he's suppose to do, the play worked because a hold on Barnett and Sheppard (also being grabbed) could not get over, not because. Also Kelsay's M.O. has been a strong player against the run, including being able to set the edge. Look at the photo, Johnson was taking it outside and Kelsay made him cut it back in, I just watched it over a few times, no way was Kelsay to blame for that run.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v153/kishoph/Image3.jpg

Kelsay comes up with a couple of plays here and there but most of the time he is being bullied. Its been that way since he was drafted.

[justasportsfan]

You may be right, but Kelsay was lined up on the outside shoulder of the tackle to begin with and once Johnson made his cut is when Kelsay totally committed to the outside, with Johnson's style if Kelsay would of went inside Johnson would of just bounced it out, then people would of been getting on him about failing to hold the edge, it was a no win situation. The biggest failure on the play is from the Refs, who failed to call the bear hug being put on Barnett, who probably would of filled the gap. There's holes in Kelsay's game, but he takes a lot of undeserved heat. I think the best thing to do is keep rotating Merriman and Kelsay and when Anderson gets back (if he does), then make a decision.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v153/kishoph/Image1.jpg

This is just after Johnson first got the ball, it continued till Johnson was well through the hole.

I agree. While Kelsay has never been an impact player, he's been a great role player.

[justasportsfan]

Kelsay comes up with a couple of plays here and there but most of the time he is being bullied. Its been that way since he was drafted.

Mahdi. You wanted to keep Whitner and yet you're blasting Kelsay. :rolleyes: Kelsay has been a way better player for us than Whitner was. Whitner was not only bullied, he was everyone beeyotch.

[Mahdi]

Mahdi. You wanted to keep Whitner and yet you're blasting Kelsay. :rolleyes: Kelsay has been a way better player for us than Whitner was. Whitner was not only bullied, he was everyone beeyotch.

Whitner kept our defensive backfield clean. He wasn't spectacular but we were very good at preventing deep plays and long TDs when he was around. Now we allow them regularly as George doesn't have the same range and football instinct to be in the right places.

Kelsay comes up with one play every 3 games that reminds you he is still on the roster.

[justasportsfan]

Whitner kept our defensive backfield clean. He wasn't spectacular but we were very good at preventing deep plays and long TDs when he was around. Now we allow them regularly as George doesn't have the same range and football instinct to be in the right places.

Kelsay comes up with one play every 3 games that reminds you he is still on the roster.


lol. What were you watching. Whitner got torched several times . TE's miss him a lot.

[Mahdi]

lol. What were you watching. Whitner got torched several times . TE's miss him a lot.

TEs torch everyone. Its a TE league. That doesn't mean he wasn't a good safety. Great, no, but good.