Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72;468451]Tiger isn't on a team though. His decision impacts him only. Merriman could possibly wreck his career and that would have a pretty big impact on his team.[/QUOTE]

Again, the idea that he is being selfish here is crazy to me. It boggles my mind. But I guess I just disagree with everybody.

Anyway, from what I can gather in this article it seems like the team is cool with him playing, for obvious reasons.

[url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3556123]ESPN - Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury - NFL[/url]

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

[quote=djnemo65;468455]Again, the idea that he is being selfish here is crazy to me. It boggles my mind. But I guess I just disagree with everybody.

Anyway, from what I can gather in this article it seems like the team is cool with him playing, for obvious reasons.

[URL="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3556123"]ESPN - Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury - NFL[/URL][/quote]

In the long run his decision to play could have a pretty big impact on the team if he injures himself to the point where his career is in jeopardy, so in that right yeah I think he's being selfish. You really can't see that?

Do you think the risk vs. reward is worth it?

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

i don't understand why he thinks he should do this? he obviously will not be at his best. and could further damage his knee, to the point of his career being over

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

I respect his committment to the team...apparently they think its a do it this year or we rebuild a bit. But it is a dumbfounding decision. LAVAR talk some sense into your boy!!!!
Also...ummmi dont really get the tiger parallel. Hes bad ass at swinging clubs...but the day tiger gets on the field in a helmet and pads...ill respect him as an "athlete" or merrimans standing

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

I really don't think we have enough medical information on this case to really know if Merriman is a dead man walking out there.

The doctors are recommending him to shut it down, or at least that's what's been reported. But maybe they aren't recommending him to do so because they think his career is in danger. Maybe they just think that he might compromise his effectiveness for this season if he does play. That's possible I think.

If that's the reason, why not give it a try? If the alternative to having surgery is to play, and possibly risk a midseason injury and then...he has to have surgery, the only thing that changes is the timetable for his return...which is essentially offset by the time he's putting in now.

I think Merriman is doing the right thing. If the team feels his effectiveness is compromised, the ball is in their court to get him on IR so that they can get a more effective, healthier player in there.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

He's had 4 independent doctors that have recommended surgery.

[url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/chargers/20080828-9999-1s28chargers.html]SignOnSanDiego.com > San Diego Chargers -- Merriman opts to play[/url]

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

[quote=Mattyk72;468526]He's had 4 independent doctors that have recommended surgery.

[URL="http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/chargers/20080828-9999-1s28chargers.html"]SignOnSanDiego.com > San Diego Chargers -- Merriman opts to play[/URL][/quote]Aren't the doctors always going to error on the side of caution? You never want to be the guy who told Merriman to go for it, only to have him suffer a season ending injury.

The team doctors still have to clear him to play. I'm assuming they have already...you know when the injury was first discovered. So obviously the team doctors feel it's playable.

I think the big point here is that "erroring on the side of caution" means recommending the surgery, and the worst possible scenario if he plays is only a more complicated surgery. I don't think that it's quite as risky as it seems on the outside to us.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

When you have two ligaments tears you don't need a doctor to tell you it's not a good thing. It's given you should take care of them.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

[quote=GTripp0012;468529]Aren't the doctors always going to error on the side of caution?

The team doctors still have to clear him to play. I'm assuming they have already...you know when the injury was first discovered. So obviously the team doctors feel it's playable.

I think the big point here is that "erroring on the side of caution" means recommending the surgery, and the worst possible scenario if he plays is only a more complicated surgery. I don't think that it's quite as risky as it seems on the outside.[/quote]

Of course the team doctors are going to lean more towards letting him play. I'd value an independent opinion much more than someone with a vested interest.

Did you read this article? Not only could he complicate things by injuring it further, but there is a chance of it potentially being career threatening.

[quote]Merriman has been told he is better off having the surgery now than waiting. He has been advised he can make the injury worse by playing, that he can eventually wear out the cartilage in his knee by playing in this state. That would, without a doubt, threaten his career. [/quote]

I work closely with nurses at my job and they've all told me the same thing. Two damaged ligaments severely compromises the overall stability of the knee. And in a sport that requires drastic stopping and starting, his chance of injuring the knee further is greatly increased.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

[quote=saden1;468530]When you have two ligaments tears you don't need a doctor to tell you it's not a good thing. It's given you should take care of them.[/quote]

That's what amazes me about the people who don't seem to think this is a big deal. When do we ever hear about someone attempting to play an entire season with 2 damaged ligaments? It's simple... 2 torn ligaments = need for surgery. Can you play on it? Sure. Is it a wise thing to do? Probably not.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

[quote=saden1;468530]When you have two ligaments tears you don't need a doctor to tell you it's not a good thing. It's given you should take care of them.[/quote]Well, yeah, of course.

I'm sure the team is going to monitor the situation very closely, and that he will receive daily treatment -- maybe even to the point where the knee improves as the season goes on. I don't think this is going to be a "lets push it until it breaks" kind of deal.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

[quote=Mattyk72;468536]That's what amazes me about the people who don't seem to think this is a big deal. When do we ever hear about someone attempting to play an entire season with 2 damaged ligaments? It's simple... 2 torn ligaments = need for surgery. Can you play on it? Sure. Is it a wise thing to do? Probably not.[/quote]I think it's a BIG deal. Almost as big as Umeniorya's story. I remember saying that I think there is a legitimate chance his effectiveness will be compromised.

But Merriman is doing the RIGHT thing by putting the ball in the team's court. Yes, he could easily have said "I'm done" and sat out all year earning his paycheck, but he's willing to help the Chargers with a championship if it's worth it.

If AJ Smith thinks there is a reasonable risk that Merriman's career could end because of this injury, he WILL shut him down. I want to make that clear. I'm not saying the Chargers shouldn't consider ending Merriman's season anyway. I'm saying they definitely have considered it, and apparently, they don't see the same risk in the situation that the rest of us do.

If it was me, I would shut him down (based on the third hand information I have). But I would also expect my athlete to continue to prepare for the season until we tell him that he's getting the surgery. That last part is where Merriman is clearly in the right.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

He wears Lavar's number and must have his mentality because it is absolutely crazy to risk his career so that he can get his money up. I understand that there is big money and people behind you that can replace you at a whim, but if takes his time, some team will take a chance on him, say like the Redskins and he would still get paid. It is insane to risk his career just to play this season. He would still get his money next year and he would certainly be better off. He should talk to the other 56 about coming back when you aren't ready to play from a knee injury.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

Let me go on record as saying, if Merriman plays this year, he WILL injure his knee. Hopefully it's not catastrophic.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

hopefully he is and then he will be cut and we can get hm like erasamus. (wishful thinking)

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

[IMG]http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080828/images/knee.gif[/IMG]

Nuff said.

Edit: Image is from the Link posted by Matty.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

Thanks for the graphic Saden. No doubt about it. This guy is making a mistake. Jim Rome had a good quote earlier today - "There is a fine line between courage and stupidity, and Merriman is on the latter side of that line with this decision."

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

This guys is a steriod freak. Do you think he can make a smart decision about his health? Not a smart person.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

ehhh..let him get hurt..hes not on our roster

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

dumb move. hes going to risk career ending injury if he plays.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

[quote=DallasFan;469463]dumb move. hes going to risk career ending injury if he plays.[/quote]

Absolutely retarded move. He was told by 4 doctors not to play. That is the problem with most professional athletes, they think they are some sort of god's and that they can get away with anything with no consequences. If this doesn't end Merriman's career it is going to drastically decrease it.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

Do we even know if the ligaments are all the way torn through, or if they are just torn (into)?

I would think that would be a critical difference in the overall stability of the knee.

Re: Chargers' Merriman will forgo surgery, play with knee injury
 

[quote=GTripp0012;469513]Do we even know if the ligaments are all the way torn through, or if they are just torn (into)?

I would think that would be a critical difference in the overall stability of the knee.[/quote]


Does it really matter? It's not like it's going to heal itself by playing on it.