MDS's Counterpoint: Keep Shawne Merriman Home

A response to MJD's Point: Shawne Merriman Belongs in the Pro Bowl

When he's on the field, Shawne Merriman has probably been the league's best defensive player this year. He's a rare combination of speed, strength and size. Athletes who weigh 270 pounds just shouldn't be able to do the things he does.

And that's the point. Now that he's tested positive for steroids, we have no way of knowing whether Merriman is a Pro Bowl-quality player when abiding by the rules. He might be or he might not be. Until Merriman can show that he's a Pro Bowl player without steroids, there's no reason he should be honored as one of the best in the game.

There's also the little matter of the lack of productivity thanks to his suspension. Merriman missed four games, and Pro Bowl voting concluded after the 13th game of the season. Anyone who voted for Merriman was voting not just for a cheater but also for a player who missed more than 30 percent of his team's games.

I don't want to see every good player in the NFL under a cloud of suspicion, the way so many Major League Baseball players are. And I don't think his steroid suspension needs to be a black mark on the rest of Merriman's career. If he has a long and honorable career and never runs afoul of the league's performance-enhancing substance rules again, I could see voting for him for the Pro Football Hall of Fame some day. But the Pro Bowl is an honor for one season, and this season Merriman wasn't playing cleanly. He shouldn't be rewarded for it.