I have no idea what went on early Sunday morning between Shawne Merriman and Tila Nguyen (Tila Tequila), but I do know what's happened since, and little of the reaction has been fair to the Chargers linebacker.
First of all, there's the immediate reaction that he must be guilty because he was arrested. This comes because Merriman is a somewhat controversial persona and because so many of his teammates past and present did in fact commit crimes. I found myself debating a number of people Sunday who said it figured that he was arrested, or "'roid boy' is at it again." The fact of the matter is that Shawne Merriman had not been arrested or charged with a crime since becoming a Charger in 2005. His off-field conduct has been far to the other side, with numerous business and charity interests.
Secondly, there's been a lot of complaints about his those interests outside of football, pursuit of Hollywood celebrity status and active nightlife. People claim Merriman has put himself ahead of the Chargers. I don't understand this, either. I have my job, but then I write this blog, have a couple of outside projects in the works and try to be actively involved in what members of my family are doing. That doesn't mean I'm putting myself above my job. For Merriman, I see his off-the-field interests as being rather refreshing. He's a man of substance. You might not like that substance, but there's something to him. I have zero interest in the celebrity culture he so vigorously pursues. Yet I greatly admire his willingness and ability to start a construction firm after the 2007 wildfires and be the first one to rebuild a house in Rancho Bernardo. I also have a theory that your mind is not something you can switch on and off when you step on a football field. You keep your mind engaged through the day and you don't have to worry about when it should be activated.
I think we know how this is going to go. The deputies who went to Merriman's house in Poway said Nguyen told them she'd been drinking and she appeared to be intoxicated. Nguyen now claims to be allergic to alcohol and the "Tequila" name is a joke because she doesn't actually drink. There are reports that she twittered about being drunk over the weekend, but those tweets were pulled. She'll say she was sober, but Merriman has witnesses who will be on his side, no matter who is telling the truth.
My bet is that the Sheriff's Department by the end of the week will wrap up its investigation by saying it can't prove the allegations and won't pursue charges, so this won't be a distraction leading into Monday's season-opener in Oakland.
That will leave, however, the major distraction, which is the question of whether Merriman will be a Charger in 2010. General Manager AJ Smith has his image of a football player cast in stone, and Merriman ain't it. This distraction was going to exist whether Merriman made his first tackle of the year on a 4-foot-11 woman or not.
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If I'm Brady Hoke, I am ecstatic over the San Diego State season-opening 33-14 loss to UCLA. The big question coming into 2009 for the Aztecs was how much of the previous year's disaster had to do with coaching, and how much was a simple lack of talent. Now we know the answer, it was coaching by a long shot.
Most of the problems that led to the loss were either bad luck or correctable:
1. A UCLA receiver fumbles at the end of a long-pass play and not only do the officials whistle the play dead when SDSU had a chance to run it all way back, but then the replay review took mere seconds to confirm the ref's incorrect call. The ball was coming out before the Bruins player's knee hit the ground.
2. The Aztecs lined up for a field goal that would have made the score a manageable 26-17 but it was blocked. Terrible execution to allow the Bruins defenders to jump up that high so far in from the line of scrimmage, but to have the ball bounce right to a guy in sky blue was just a horrible break. Just a simple block, ok? 26-14 looks bad enough, 33-14 appears to be a rout that the game was not.
3. The defense allowed UCLA QB Kevin Prince too much time, and running backs too much room, in the first half. Defensive coordinator Rocky Long got his players back on track for the final thirty minutes, in which just three points were allowed, despite the offense going nowhere and the defense working with short fields. That was a correction right there.
4. QB Ryan Lindley had a very rough final three quarters while being constantly pressured. He and his receivers were clearly not on the same page when it came to making route adjustments. That can be corrected. Whether SDSU qualifies for a bowl or not will depend on how long that process takes. My bet is not too terribly long, since Lindley has been working with Vincent Brown and Roberto Wallace for several years now.
5. Special teams is always a work in progress. UCLA's are almost always superb, so the contrast was stark. Look for vast improvement by mid-season.
That doesn't mean SDSU's talent pool is where it needs to be. Neither line is up to Pac-10 standards, which means it isn't up to the standards of the upper half of the Mountain West. The running back corps appears neither deep nor talented. The receivers look good but not deep. The cornerbacks didn't stick with anyone wearing blue and gold, but they are so young we'll have to watch and see if they develop.
Again, this team has a shot at 6-6. We'll know a lot more by this time next week, after they've played a Southern Utah team from a lower division. It will be encouraging if the game is a rout, not encouraging if the contest is close.
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