I'm going to assume that none of my friends are reading this entry, and since the readership will consist primarily of Houston Texans fans, I'll just go ahead & introduce him: Brandon Meriweather, strong safety for the Washington Redskins. Without becoming a total nerd & getting into all his credentials, Meriweather has, in the past, also played for the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears. Meriweather, before he came to Washington, always existed sort of in the periphery of my NFL fanhood. I knew who he was. I was well-aware of his style and his ability. I was surprised when New England cut him. I was surprised the Redskins didn't sign him right away, because the guy we had at the time, Laron Landry, is composed of 98% paper mache (THAT MEANS HE'S FRAGILE AND INJURY-PRONE, YOU SEE). Well, no matter. He eventually made it to Washington and, since he was a guaranteed starter wherever he went, I was both happy and confused. Happy because the Redskins' secondary was (is?) hot-buttered garbage, and confused because, what the hell? Why is a guy of this caliber bouncing across the league like he was Tim Tebow or some shit?
Let's call the man what he is: an enforcer. As a strong safety, his job is to fuck shit up. He's not gonna be an interception machine. His coverage skills may even be described as sub-par. That's fine. We have free safeties and cornerbacks to cause interceptions, and one of our former QB's, Rex Grossman, was good for at least seven a game. The strong safety just goes to the ball and hits whoever has it. Kill the running back. Don't let a receiver get 20 yards after the catch. That's his life's mission. He hits people and makes them fall down. Not too brainy, right?
Well.. someone, somewhere along the way, forgot to tell Brandon Meriweather not to aim for the head. They also failed to mention that using his own head as the primary method of attack is every bit as bad for him as it is his victim. There's plenty of bitching on both sides regarding the NFL's player safety rules, but they're here, and they're here to stay. You're not being clever or original by saying "DURR, THEY JUST PLAYING FLAG FOOTBALLS NOW." A professional is required to operate within certain guidelines. Concussions are a big deal. They're a grave health concern. This isn't a new thing; it's just that no one really cared much until recently.
So dirty hits get big penalties. Fine, be that way. No matter. Brandon Meriweather is a dirty hitter. He's such a dirty hitter that the Redskins brought in a much higher-quality dirty hitter, Ryan Clark, to coach up BM and show him more efficient and subtle ways to end someone's career without getting in trouble himself. And it was long overdue: Meriweather injured himself during the murder of Eddie Lacy. That little hate crime cost him 42 grand. Listen, people, I don't give a rat's patootie how much money a person earns in any given year; $42,000 is too much money to spend hurting yourself or someone else. I don't make that much in a year, and even if someone offered me the chance to punch Juan in the balls for even HALF that, I'd tell them to pound sand. Sadly, it took two more incidents in a later game for the hammer to fall: Meriweather laid two separate illegal hits on Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey. The league had enough of these shenanigans; Meriweather was suspended for two games (later reduced to one on appeal).
I hate this guy. His bad hitting techniques cost the Redskins thousands of penalty yards per game, and in some cases, desperately-needed wins.
I love this guy. He's one of maybe two or three players on a routinely poor defense that commands any sort of respect from opposing offense.
He's suspended again. He nailed Torrey Smith and made him cry. He got suspended for two regular-season games for roughing someone up in a meaningless preseason game.
Such is the life of a Redskins fan.
Until next time....
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