San Diego Chargers coach Norv Turner spoke at the NFL owners meeting Tuesday and was asked what he expects from linebacker Shawne Merriman. “Everyone talks about it takes another year to come back from a surgery. The biggest thing and I had this conversation about two weeks ago with Philip Rivers, he says that it’s not so much that the knee takes a year," Turner said. "But while you’re rehabbing your knee, it doesn’t allow you to do all the other things that you need to do to get ready for the season. So Shawne went through the year and missed time with the groin, missed time with the foot. The knee wasn’t the issue. So I think having a great offseason so he doesn’t have those nagging injuries, and then the knee being a year better. Shawne had a really good year last year. He just didn’t have those game-changing-type plays that we’ve all seen him have. But I think those will come. He’s such a competitor, such a physical player, that when he gets that step back he’ll return as an outstanding pass-rusher." Turner was also asked if Merriman lost explosion. “I think you could see that coming back all the way through the year," Turner said. "The problem was when he had the foot injury, he had the plantar fascia and the problem with the foot, it was a six-week injury and he wasn’t able to practice a lot. You could see him where he was favoring it a little bit. I think those things were more of a factor than him losing the explosion.†Source: ESPN
