LandShark13 Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 It almost can't be a money issue. More likely an issue that the Bills, for the first time in a LONG time, have enough talent where they had to make some tough choices on who goes and who stays. Well if thats the case thats good news for you guys =) Just seemed a bit curious although releasing him early does give him time to hook up with another team.
Ronin Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 (edited) This makes me scratch my head. Why not see how he plays this year and then decide? They'd obviously seen enough. Did you really think he'd make 53-man cuts? I don't understand why everyone's so surprised. They had hiim marked for DE where he's a tweener at best. With Bradham and Carder in the mix they no longer need a veteran project like him at LB where they have Barnett, Sheppard, Moats, and Morrison otherwise, and for who as not good as a few of them are they're no worse than Merriman was. This is one of those links between what the team was saying and reality. Again, talk is cheap, don't listen to the team, they have no credibility. Think and decide independently. And by the way, we'll see how "good" he really is based on the number of teams that rush to grab him off waivers tomorrow. Edited August 20, 2012 by TaskersGhost
NoSaint Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 I sure didnt see it coming. They have to eat a lot of salary. And most all of the reports said that he has looked pretty good and pretty healthy. That was an experiment and attempt by Buddy that just didn't end up working. You can't be right on them all. plus, he was brought in while running a different scheme. im still surprised that he didnt get the nod in a back up role, but not shocked.
BillsGuyInMalta Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 Man...did not see that one coming. Who are our backup DEs now? Kelsay and...?
eball Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 So Merriman is officially ground up and in the freezer I guess. F5
Best Player Available Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 Wow! This is not a good PR move. Merriman had recruited the heck out of players based on all reports. I guess he wasn't as good as he advertised.... Yea, based on "all reports" he was awesome and back to form too. Maybe there is BS coming from 1Bills dr.
DDD Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 I agree with this move. Red flags were raised for me when Merriman got hurt his first practice with the team 2 season ago after being claimed off waivers. The Chargers are not dumb by the way- the writing was on the wall when they released Merriman. He could not stay healthy nor be counted on. He was worth the gamble but got a ridiculous amount of money for basically watching on the sideline. Cutting him was the right thing to do. Sadly this is another case of steroids gone bad- his body has broken down
CherryCoke Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 Damn, poor Ben Button... would have liked to see him contribute this year. But if he wasn't cutting it, they had to let him go...cant make decisions based on sunk costs
Buftex Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 Could this be to keep someone else at DE who has looked as good, but younger (higher ceiling)? Who else is surging at DE? Carrington is at DT, kid from USC looking okay? Any ideas? At work now so don't have roster in front of me to make educated guess (so why am I even posting?? Hah) Truth is, there is still a small chance the Merriman could surface somewhere else, and make some sort of impact. But, i think, as you say, this is more a move for the future. The Bills can't really depend on Merriman, and they seem to really like the younger guys they have. I wish it had worked out, and we had "lights out" Merriman, but it just doesn't look like that was going to happen. As high as we are on the Bills (or some of us still are!), baby steps...this team is being built to compete for four or five years, hopefully longer...younger guys need the playing time to get better. I don't think removing Merriman from the roster really weakens the defense any, and may make it better in the long run.
Pneumonic Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 He hasn't been good since he stopped taking steroids.
PromoTheRobot Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 First Jasper, now Merriman. I'm so done with this team. PTR
bschmoove Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 He hasn't been good since he stopped taking steroids. Sad but true.
Cash Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 Doesn't surprise me after watching most of the 2nd half of the Vikings game. Merriman was up against 2nd & 3rd stringers, and did absolutely nothing in pass rush. (I actually thought he was pretty good against the run.) I was focusing on him a lot, because like everyone else, I had heard all the stuff about how he was feeling so great (just like last year)... but I just didn't see anything. No burst, no power moves, nothing but just getting stood up 1-on-1 by a backup.
abbottroadwarrior Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 (edited) I know he was going to be the blitzing/situational DE this year, but considering our suspect LB corps...would having Merriman as insurance be unacceptable? Considering they've waited for him to get healthy, now that he finally is...they cut him? Confused. If that's the case, maybe Brad Smith should start packing his bags... Smith to be bigger Wildcat for Bills Now that would be one 'surprising' vet cut that I'd agree with at this point, especially with Young on the roster. Edited August 20, 2012 by Double-J
bluenews Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 Merriman will be signed by the Jets or Patriots by Wednesday!
DrDawkinstein Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 I know he was going to be the blitzing/situational DE this year, but considering our suspect LB corps...would having Merriman as insurance be unacceptable? Considering they've waited for him to get healthy, now that he finally is...they cut him? Confused. He's NOT a 43OLB. He is less of a 43OLB than he is a 43DE. Dont think we would have ever used him at OLB, even in a pinch.
Kelly the Dog Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 I would imagine that it really had a lot to do with Kyle Moore and the fact that there is a huge numbers game with the linebackers, the WRs, Dorin Dickerson and the KO specialist. If the Bills decided that Moore really had some talent they wanted to develop, there really wasnt room for him with Merriman on the team, and they couldn't afford to keep an extra pass rushing specialist because of the aforementioned roster issues. Moore wouldnt dress. So by releasing Merriman, they could now keep Moore and develop him. Especially if what they say is true, that he is better suited to a 3-4 LB. I'm not sure that is true, and probably just being diplomatic.
FleaMoulds80 Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 lol. I'm not surprised at all. I never bought into the hype that he was back.
Kelly the Dog Posted August 20, 2012 Posted August 20, 2012 He hasn't been good since he stopped taking steroids. That is just not true. He had his best season after he was caught. And he had another full year with 10+ sacks after that. And he only failed one test.
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