Keep Texans Talk Google Ad Free!
Venmo Tip Jar | Paypal Tip Jar
Thanks for your support! 🍺😎👍

Shawn Merriman's Career May Be Over

How I really feel: Karma's a *****, he shouldn't have cheat those first couple of years, now he has anger the football gods.

Alittle more on the classy side: Hope you got your degree in college, or else, good luck flipping burgers at what-a-burger.
 
For those who may not remember or even be aware of, this is the exact same combination of injuries for which AJ was operated on last year.
 
I heard a few days ago that Merriman visited the dreaded Dr. Andrews, when a player admits that his career might be over it's very bad news.

CND, AJ didn't tear his LCL last year did he?
 
rmartin65 said:
He is a great pass rusher. But with the steroids... Dont steroids but a bad stress on your ligaments?
Click to expand...

It's not that the steroids put stress on the ligaments but that the muscle bellies can get stronger than their attachments (tendons) and that you can create strength imbalances that can put unnatural stress on the ligaments. That's why anabolic steroids get a good synergy from hGH. But some types of steroids, Deca iirc, help with ligaments and tendons and make your joints feel much better.

At least, that's what I've heard.
 
dc_txtech said:
I heard a few days ago that Merriman visited the dreaded Dr. Andrews, when a player admits that his career might be over it's very bad news.

CND, AJ didn't tear his LCL last year did he?
Click to expand...

No, you're actually correct, he tore his MCL........leads to the same horizontal motion instability.........just from the other side.
 
dc_txtech said:
So in your opinion is AJ's injury possibly on the same level as Merriman's?
Click to expand...

Yes, and that is why I have been remained guarded about AJ's ability to return and/or time of being ready to return, level of performance if/when he returns...........and his ability to stay of the field.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
For those who may not remember or even be aware of, this is the exact same combination of injuries for which AJ was operated on last year.
Click to expand...

Are they the same injuries?

Here's the description of Merriman's injury:

Sometime early this coming week, Merriman will fly to Miami to get one more opinion on how he should proceed. As was revealed earlier this week, he has a torn posterior cruciate ligament.
"Many guys play with that," Merriman said. "No big deal."
Perhaps the bigger issue is that Merriman has a tear in his lateral collateral ligament (LCL) as well, a fact that he revealed Saturday.
"The combination makes it kind of difficult," Merriman said. "It makes your knee feel very unstable. It's something that I've been trying to deal with, hoping it would get better by now."
Click to expand...

As I understood, the description of Andre Johnson's injuries was a "PCL/MCL sprain" That he did not get operated on last year because the best way to rehab that would be rest and strengthening the muscles around the sprain. And that the operation Johnson had this spring was a scope to remove particles from the knee that were causing irritation. (And I've been told he hasn't had previous operations to that knee).

With Merriman, the public pronouncements are tears to both the PCL and LCL.

Is that not different?
 
Texans_Chick said:
Are they the same injuries?

Here's the description of Merriman's injury:



As I understood, the description of Andre Johnson's injuries was a "PCL/MCL sprain" That he did not get operated on last year because the best way to rehab that would be rest and strengthening the muscles around the sprain. And that the operation Johnson had this spring was a scope to remove particles from the knee that were causing irritation. (And I've been told he hasn't had previous operations to that knee).

With Merriman, the public pronouncements are tears to both the PCL and LCL.

Is that not different?
Click to expand...

Again, not having "direct access to all the facts," I'l try to answer your questions. First of all, the term sprain and tear are interprettable. Sprain can refer to stretching out of the ligament as well as a "partial tearing." Keep in mind that in stretching of the ligament, there is tearing of the structure. When the injury is referred to as a "complete tear," that is pretty well the only definitive description. When you have an isolated PCL injury (sometimes even severe), it is many times hardly noticeable, the other ligaments (ACL, MCL, LCL) can, so to speak, "compensate." However, as the PCL is further stressed/stretched/torn by continued play, the overcompensating ligaments, especially the MCL and LCL are stressed beyond their limits and eventually "give" to the added stress with injury to its own structure. As this continues, the knee becomes more and more unstable, with the joint grinding in abnormal motions with overload surface friction, and with resulting knee cartilage damage. The "clean out" that AJ necessitated is most likely due to this cartilaginous damage to his knee. Even when the ligament injury is supposedly "healed," the later effects of chronic progressive arthritis are not unexpected. The actual assessment of the success of the healing process will be known only when AJ gets on the field and applies the "true test."


TC, I would challenge you to find a media source that reported specific MRI findings.........they either report that a "sprain was revealed" of "revealed that surgery would not be necessary."
 
Last edited:
CloakNNNdagger said:
Again, not having "direct access to all the facts," I'l try to answer your questions. First of all, the term sprain and tear are interprettable. Sprain can refer to stretching out of the ligament as well as a "partial tearing." Keep in mind that in stretching of the ligament, there is tearing of the structure. When the injury is referred to as a "complete tear," that is pretty well the only definitive description. When you have an isolated PCL injury (sometimes even severe), it is many times hardly noticeable, the other ligaments (ACL, MCL, LCL) can, so to speak, "compensate." However, as the PCL is further stressed/stretched/torn by continued play, the overcompensating ligaments, especially the MCL and LCL are stressed beyond their limits and eventually "give" to the added stress with injury to its own structure. As this continues, the knee becomes more and more unstable, with the joint grinding in abnormal motions with overload surface friction, and with resulting knee cartilage damage. The "clean out" that AJ necessitated is most likely due to this cartilaginous damage to his knee. We don't know that this is not a repeat cycle or continuum of what he went through in college. Even when the ligament injury is supposedly "healed," the later effects of chronic progressive arthritis are not unexpected. The actual assessment of the success of the healing process will be known only when AJ gets on the field and applies the "true test."


TC, I would challenge you to find a media source that reported specific MRI findings.........they either report that a "sprain was revealed" of "revealed that surgery would not be necessary."
Click to expand...

The media reports will never be specific enough.

I haven't heard of any reports of him having this issue in college.

The reason why I thought Merriman's situation might be a little different as far as severity is the repeated reports in his case that a number of people are suggesting surgery is the best option for Merriman. Which suggests to me that his situation is more severe than AJ's. Though the Texans are pretty good at keeping things quiet.

I do know through my own sources that I'm very confident in that the scope AJ received this spring is the only surgery that he has had on his knee.
 
Texans_Chick said:
The media reports will never be specific enough.

I haven't heard of any reports of him having this issue in college.

The reason why I thought Merriman's situation might be a little different as far as severity is the repeated reports in his case that a number of people are suggesting surgery is the best option for Merriman. Which suggests to me that his situation is more severe than AJ's. Though the Texans are pretty good at keeping things quiet.
I do know through my own sources that I'm very confident in that the scope AJ received this spring is the only surgery that he has had on his knee.
Click to expand...

That's the problem I have trying to interpret the state of things. The difficulty remains, to try to compare when you don't know if you have apples or oranges in your basket.:thinking:
 
Texans_Chick said:
The media reports will never be specific enough.

I haven't heard of any reports of him having this issue in college.The reason why I thought Merriman's situation might be a little different as far as severity is the repeated reports in his case that a number of people are suggesting surgery is the best option for Merriman. Which suggests to me that his situation is more severe than AJ's. Though the Texans are pretty good at keeping things quiet.

I do know through my own sources that I'm very confident in that the scope AJ received this spring is the only surgery that he has had on his knee.[/QUOTE]

TC, that was my bad......if you noticed, I caught myself and edited that statement out 3 minutes prior to your response. Sorry 'bout that.:tiphat:
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
CloakNNNdagger said:
Texans_Chick said:
The media reports will never be specific enough.

I haven't heard of any reports of him having this issue in college.The reason why I thought Merriman's situation might be a little different as far as severity is the repeated reports in his case that a number of people are suggesting surgery is the best option for Merriman. Which suggests to me that his situation is more severe than AJ's. Though the Texans are pretty good at keeping things quiet.

I do know through my own sources that I'm very confident in that the scope AJ received this spring is the only surgery that he has had on his knee.[/QUOTE]

TC, that was my bad......if you noticed, I caught myself and edited that statement out 3 minutes prior to your response. Sorry 'bout that.:tiphat:
Click to expand...


Nah, I didn't see that. I just appreciate all the good work your do around here trying to keep the teams even semi-honest. :smiliedance:
Click to expand...
 
This thread title is inaccurate.

Merriman's 2008 season in in jeopardy, but the claim that his career may be over is media hyperbole.
 
Mailman said:
This thread title is inaccurate.

Merriman's 2008 season in in jeopardy, but the claim that his career may be over is media hyperbole.
Click to expand...
agreed, but his career "as we know it now" may be over if he loses some burst. Suddeness and ability to deliver a blow separates the great players from the good players. He may go on to have a long career but there is a chance he will never be as sudden as he is now.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
It's not that the steroids put stress on the ligaments but that the muscle bellies can get stronger than their attachments (tendons) and that you can create strength imbalances that can put unnatural stress on the ligaments. That's why anabolic steroids get a good synergy from hGH. But some types of steroids, Deca iirc, help with ligaments and tendons and make your joints feel much better.

At least, that's what I've heard.
Click to expand...

Right. Thanks for that.
 
nunusguy said:
WOW ! I did not know his injuries were that serious !
Click to expand...

We don't know that they are. I haven't read any reports of doctors telling AJ his career is threatened if he continues to play without reconstructive surgery.

There's no question that the stability of AJ's knee has been compromised and he is susceptible to re-injury, but equating his situation to Merriman's without the benefit of more information is speculative at best.
 
Rotoworld is passing along inaccurate information. He was asked about the consequences of playing on his knee without reconstructive surgery.

"It could be career-threatening if I did [play]," Merriman said. "It's a possibility. That possibility is still open."

“With the injury I have, nobody would prefer that somebody really play,” Merriman said. “But right now I can play. It's a high risk I (could) injure it further. But it's hard. I want to be on the field.”
 
Apparently Merriman is going against the advice of the 4 doctors who told him to have surgery, and is going to play this year. That's a pretty big risk he's taking.

link
 
I'd be surprised the teams doctor would give him the green light to play, and then add would the team coaches and management allow him to...
No way in hell I would allow it, even if it means not having the season I wanted, his health is more important if I can have him for 3-4 years down the road instead of 3 games this year and have him done for good...

Don't issue him a helmet ....
 
hobie said:
I'd be surprised the teams doctor would give him the green light to play, and then add would the team coaches and management allow him to...
No way in hell I would allow it, even if it means not having the season I wanted, his health is more important if I can have him for 3-4 years down the road instead of 3 games this year and have him done for good...

Don't issue him a helmet ....
Click to expand...

What do they care, he is signed thru 2009, after that he is a FA and they are off the hook. Besides they just gave a nice big extension to his backup. So I do not think they had plans to re-sign him after this year. It is like they already knew about the damage before word leaked out.
 
hobie said:
I'd be surprised the teams doctor would give him the green light to play, and then add would the team coaches and management allow him to...
No way in hell I would allow it, even if it means not having the season I wanted, his health is more important if I can have him for 3-4 years down the road instead of 3 games this year and have him done for good...

Don't issue him a helmet ....
Click to expand...

Agreed.

I can see it now, though. The Chargers make it to the Super Bowl, Merriman makes a late 4th quarter interception and they kneel it out for the win. His book "I gave the doctors the finger and got my ring" would sell 1,000,000,000 copies. The doctors are fired and ridiculed. ESPN's ratings soar.

:tease:
 
There is a difference between being a warrior and an *****. I wish him luck but have a bad feeling about him playing in the condition he is in.
 
I certainly would not know what is going through his mind, but here's a possiblity. There are no really great studies citing exact numbers for surgical outcome with the type of surgery he would be undergoing for his combination of injuries. The limited information generalizes that approximately 1/2 may be expected to return to play competitively, 1/3 to play at their previous level, and 1/6 to never play again. (These numbers refer to a pot pouri of all degrees of PCL injuries, including the lesser serious injuries.........not only multi-combination injuries)
 
Last edited:
CloakNNNdagger said:
I certainly would not know what is going through his mind, but here's a possiblity. There are no really great studies citing exact numbers for surgical outcome with the type of surgery he would be undergoing for his combination of injuries. The limited information generalizes that approximately 1/2 may be expected to return to play competitively, 1/3 to play at their previous level, and 1/6 to never play again. (These numbers refer to a pot pouri of all degrees of PCL injuries, including the lesser serious injuries.........not only multi-combination injuries)
Click to expand...

screw all that.. this is about money plain & simple. he's under contract through 2009 which means that if he shuts it down this year he'll have 1 year to come back off of serious knee surgery & be a complete beast like he was before. Since we all know that guys usually take at least a season to come back & be the player that were prior to the injury, (if they ever come back as the guy they were before) the above mentioned is likely not to happen.


Not to mention they're very high on his back up & just gave him a nice little grip to stick around. If merriman chooses to be laid up somewhere with a cast on his leg or comes back & doesn't show that explosiveness immediately while Tyler performs well, that makes merriman expendable & he misses out on a big pay day that SD assuredly would've given him had he been healthy.... plus if he looks really bad, he could also be released or traded.

And even before all this, we don't know how his current contract is set up, i.e. incentive laden. He might be missing out on millions if he doesn't get his stats.
 
Last edited:
Mr teX said:
screw all that.. this is about money plain & simple. he's under contract through 2009 which means that if he shuts it down this year he'll have 1 year to come back off of serious knee surgery & be a complete beast like he was before. Since we all know that guys usually take at least a season to come back & be the player that were prior to the injury, (if they ever come back as the guy they were before) the above mentioned is likely not to happen.


Not to mention they're very high on his back up & just gave him a nice little grip to stick around. If merriman chooses to be laid up somewhere with a cast on his leg or comes back & doesn't show that explosiveness immediately while Tyler performs well, that makes merriman expendable & he misses out on a big pay day that SD assuredly would've given him had he been healthy.... plus if he looks really bad, he could also be released or traded.




And even before all this, we don't know how his current contract is set up, i.e. incentive laden. He might be missing out on millions if he doesn't get his stats.
Click to expand...


I certainly understand your points.....and they have some validity. But if it's a money thing, in the big picture, he's potentially getting some real bad advice. With his type of injuries, the longer he "runs" on this bum knee, the more chance for further definitive damage to the joint and the less the chance that a good outcome occurs as far as return to play. If money is the main concerned, he may be kissing much more money goodbye than what he would if he were to address the problem now.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Merriman has decided to play the lottery on the NFL field.
Click to expand...

Merriman is not as smart as people give him credit. If it is about money, coming back 100% will allow him another big contract. Coming back at 70-80% with a bum knee allows him to get injured seriously and ending any chance at another big contract.

You have to wonder about athletes at times.
 
if they didn't have the kind of mentality that makes them come back despite injuries like this, they wouldn't be in the NFL in the first place
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top