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| AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi | |
| San Diego’s Shawne Merriman had two sacks in the Chargers’ 24-16 win over Oakland Sunday, his first of the year. |
Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson
SAN DIEGO — Shawne Merriman admits it. He loves sacks as much as the next guy.
But he has tried not to get consumed by the almighty quarterback takedown, especially this year, when the goal is about becoming a forceful star linebacker again.
Still, Merriman expressed relief that he is now among those NFL players who have registered a sack in 2009. Merriman got on the board with two sacks Sunday in San Diego’s not-as-close-as-the-score-indicates 24-16 victory over Oakland.
Merriman didn’t have a sack in San Diego’s first six games as he continued his recovery from major knee surgery last September that sidelined him for all but one game last season. Merriman’s sack-less start was startling because in his first three NFL seasons he was the premier sack artist in the league. He had 40.5 sacks in his first 39 games.
“I love sacks, but they come in bunches and you can’t worry about that. Bruce Smith told me that a long time ago,” Merriman said of the all-time sack leader. “But it’s nice to get the sacks out of the way.”
But Merriman made it clear that just because he had two sacks doesn’t signify he’s back to form. He thinks he already was there. For the past two weeks, San Diego coaches were quietly saying that Merriman was getting close to full strength.
“I’m there [at full strength],” Merriman said. “The sacks don’t prove it. My play the past couple of weeks proves it. I’ve been hitting the quarterback and moving around and making a lot of plays …. I play my damn heart out every play. I’m giving it everything I have and I feel like I’m showing the results.”
Merriman is proud that he has played very well against the run as he has fought to regain his form. Merriman was very active Sunday and had seven tackles. But of course the highlights were the two sacks.
“Everyone questions his knee and his ability,” San Diego cornerback Quentin Jammer said of Merriman. “It just shows that he is out there playing tenacious defense like he always does, getting after he quarterback and making plays. That’s what [No.] 56 does.”
Merriman’s emergence in the pass rush has coincided with the improvement of the entire San Diego pass rush. The Chargers had five sacks Sunday and now have 10 in the past two games. Linebacker Shaun Phillips has four sacks in the past two games.
San Diego harassed Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell all game and produced a huge rush against Russell as the Raiders scrambled to try to tie the score in the final two minutes of the game. Oakland’s last-ditch attempt died on its 46-yard line with exactly a minute to go.
“We’re really coming together,” Phillips said. “We’re creating pressure and that results in sacks and that’s a great thing for the team.”
And it’s a great thing for the Chargers to see Merriman providing the fireworks, even though he’s trying to downplay it.
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