Shawne Merriman joined Outkick The Coverage With Clay Travis To Discuss Gym Shut Downs And Wk #14 In The NFL

when they have to. And you know, you're talking about four or five games this year that if they would have had that type of finish, this is a completely different season for the Charges. And you know, being a player on the team, you're gonna look after the season. You want to look and see all the games you dropped and you lost by seven points of lessons, and you look at the fockers games they got. We could get this done. Well, we're just we're not executing. So

that that comes from the top. We're talking to Shawn Merriman, I want to get into a bunch of NFL stuff. I wanted to start with the Chargers there, so I didn't forget it, but I saw a video you put out and obviously there are so many different impacts in the world of sports and uh and and certainly uh with with all the shutdowns and the walkdowns and everything else. But you put out something that I thought was an

important message. And you were talking about all the small business owners out there who own gems, maybe our trainers that are being shut down, and how they need help because they're not being able to run their business. Uh and And I thought it was well said, and I want to give you an opportunity to kind of get that message out there to a lot of our listeners

this morning as they start off their Mondays. Yeah. So you know, the video that basically put out was a lot of the gems that are not getting funded right now because of the pandemic. And I want to make this clear. I know it's serious, and you know it. It's something that you can't take lightly and people are dying and get sick and things like that. So that's that's the number one. But number two, Uh, gems are five times more likely to go on to him the

next few months than restaurants. I mean, it's that bad. So uh trying to get people to go out and find the Gym Coalition. Uh So, Congress and get them the money because that's they needed more importantly, And it's gonna be over, you know, to three thousand gyms. Uh local gym's closing here and the next you know, next sixty days. And it's wild because there are so many people out there that aren't being able to run their business and they may have worked for years to have

that gym open. And I know this is something for you as a as an athlete. I mean, you guys are working out you know, typically not in your big large gems, which are obviously struggling too, but you have a lot of different guys that you work out with that rely on that ability to bring in individual clients to be able to work with them. And people are struggling all over the country in that line of work.

And another thing that I always try to tell people is the reason why a lot of people go to the gym, especially myself, is it's a you know, it's a mechanism to cope what everything's going on. I mean a bunch of mental health issues is that's going on in a lot of depression, anxiety and all these things that the gym helps and it's it's it's the scientistics back, it's proven, and you know they're closing this thing down.

They wonder why the mental health rate and suicide up with the last nine months, where you can't close down gyms and tell people that they can't go and be healthy, that that just doesn't make any sense. It's well said and uh. And mental health is often very much connected to physical health. And like you said, if you can't get out there and be able to work out, it becomes a substantial issue. So I want to give you

an opportunity to make that. If people want to know more about that, they can go follow you on Twitter, right. I saw your videos up there. They can track down any of that information. Uh. Much less significant in the grand scheme of things, but something that we all love the NFL, which is what you come on uh primarily to talk about. Let's dive into a lot of what

we saw the chiefs. If I told you right now, and I've asked this question several weeks in a row of a lot of different guests, but if I told you right now the chiefs or the rest of the teams in the NFL combined, who would you take the chiefs or the rest of the NFL, because I just see them as such a better team right now than anybody else. It seems like they can play to whatever level they need to in order to win. How good are they and what do you anticipate? Well, for one,

they're the most explosive team in football. Um, you know, they didn't start the game off you know, red hot against Miami, but they can score it in a given point. You got you know, Sammy Watkins who hasn't made a whole lot of noise lately but comes out and plays extremely well, Tyreek Gill, Travis Kelsey. I mean, just go around the board. They're the most explosive team in football. It is not one person in their offense who wouldn't be considered one, at one or two top best in

their position in the National Football League. So you know, yes, Pitsburg is one of the most balanced teams, and you know, uh, you have other teams out here. Seattle's balance and looks good, but as far as explosiveness, and you know, the scariest team to the face and play right now is the

Kansas Chiefs. How do you stop them? What if you if you were a defensive coordinator, let's take you back to when you were playing, but now you're a defensive coordinator and you have to scheme for them in the playoffs. How do you beat Patrick Mahomes and this offense? What do you do to them? How do you challenge them the best in your mind? Well, you know I've said this, and you know, anytime you have a great quarterback like

Pastor Mahomes, do you keep the pressure on them? And one of the players that happened what this earlier today was the fifteen twenty yards sack. I think he had. The One thing about Pack Mahomes is he's a great quarterback. He always has to be great. So there's some things you can do to take away from him, you know, start making him make those bad decisions. You don't ever

see him doing that. But if you can get two or three dose a game and make him throw, you know, a few more interceptions and turn over and get the ball back out of their hands, because you know they're gonna score at some point, and every time they touched the ball, you have an opportunity to score. So if you know that's the case and keep the ball out of their hands, and that would that would be my strategy going in to play those guys. When you look at at the NFC, you had this the Saints go

on the road and lose against the Eagles. How much of that do you think was the Saints maybe looking ahead and how significant do you think that loss could end up being? Well, it could be very Signistican, But you know, I don't think they were looking ahead. I

think that they wasn't completely ready for Jalen Hurts. Um. You know, he hasn't played a ton early on, and whenever you don't have a lot of film on guys and you don't know what their strengths are or what their weaknesses at certain points, you know, then you don't really know to go and inspect from him. Now today he was throwing a lot of quick stuff and out routes and check downs and things like that. But that

can win football games for the Eagles. So I don't I don't necessarily think that they started looking looking past the Eagles, but I definitely think that Jalen Hurts was a matchup nightmare because they haven't got a lot of film just yet. We're talking to Sean Merriman Lights Out Podcast. Encourage you to go listening to it part of the I Heart Podcast network. Uh, when you look at right now the Washington football team and Chase Young in particular, how good can he be? And who does he remind

you of? Or is he like a unicorn where there's not even Like I watched him picking the ball up and rolled down the left sideline Sean, and I thought to myself, I'm not sure I've ever seen a defensive end. Who is that athletic? Mean, he was holding the ball like it was a loaf of bread, but he looked like a tight end, you know, like running down the field. Who would you compare him to? And how good can this dude be? Yeah, he's on the he's on the

island by himself right now. When it comes to just freakish ability, um, and we've seen a bunch of freaks in the league. And funny story, my high school football coach was his teacher in high school, and uh, so you've done about this guy for a while, es since

he was since he was in high school. And he would always tell me my my high school coaches, who basically taught me most of what I know early on growing up playing football, it would tell me if this guy Chase young, like, you know, look out for him, and I kept hearing about him year after year after year after, and sure enough, you know, in higher state of his freshman after, this guy's not gonna be around longer than three years period. He's he's gonna be he's

gonna be gone. He's he's one of these guys that you see every you know, ten or fifteen years um. You know, you look at like Lebron James in the world, or like just any any type of freakings athletes, they come around and they just don't they just don't exist.

Like I always like to say, like, uh, you know, like there aren't very many people who are built like Lebron James or Shaquille O'Neal right, like I used to love to talk about Shack, Like how many people in the history of the world have ever been as big

and as athletic as Shock. It's possible, never right, right, Like I mean, if you go back and you think about the nutrition and the ability to be in perfect shape like we are now compared to you know, uh, fifty years ago, even like there's no comparison to how much more athletic you can be thanks to all the training abilities and the knowledge that we have. But even just his physical body doesn't exist, right, There just aren't

very many of him ever. No, No, he's you know, like I said, when I came in and people looked at me and they thought that was a big linebacker and fast and all this stuff, and you know, to me, you know, fast for attemptive. Ten years later you got changed, young and now I'm looking, you know, like averacise linebacker, averacise player. But you know, he's one of the He's one of these guys. He came in the league early.

He changed the game, you know, not just numbers wise, but how his his teammates perceive him in a respect that he had. I mean, you can see when he walked in the sideline he looked like a five a team event. He has that type of respect. So it's gonna be fun to watch him. Then over the next several years, how much better can he get? Right, because he's already freakish and dominant and obviously I think we talked about this with you a couple of weeks ago.

You never know how driven a guy is gonna be. Right, He's gonna be one of the best defensive players ever. But to what extent, is he obsessed with trying to become the greatest version of himself as opposed to just being great, Because, as you know, sometimes the guys who are the most physic called freakiest, aren't the hardest workers because they don't have to worry about all of the details. In the same way, a guy who's trying to hang onto the league by his fingertips can right. Uh so,

we don't know. But if he really goes full bore and and and and goes after it, I mean, the Washington football team has got a dude who's gonna be for the next six or seven years, maybe the best defensive weapon in the whole league. Yeah. Absolutely, And you know, I'll go as far as saying this, the only thing that's going to prevent him from being great, all time great is injury. And you know, if he if he

stays healthy, you know, because his mindset is there. The physical ability is already there, but his mindset is there. You can tell he you know, watch him trace the football. He chases his football through sideline, the sideline, he gets down the field, he's picking the ball off, he's you know, picking up fumbles these things. So the mindset to be great, is there? So the only thing can stop a guy like that is is injury. Sean, I don't know if

you saw the floor to play or who threw the shoe. Uh, And I know we're talking about in the NFL, but I'm curious. You don't have to tell me the guy's name. But what is the dumbest thing that one of your teammates ever did to cost you and your teammates a game? And what was the reception like in the locker room after that happened. Well, you know, I never want to throw guys under the bus, but you know, it's one

of these things. It was out in the open, and it's you know, it was a two thousand six playoff game. At the end we picked up the Patriots off and uh, you know our safety he doesn't go down. But that was that was you know, like I said, he got caught in a moment, but you know you're taking knee, you go down and you know the game's over, you know, then s championship game in the next round or whatever. So um, yeah, that was the only thing I've never seen.

We we unfortunately, we never had guys to do that. Maybe you know, if the guy's how dropped out of his pants or or something like, they'll pick it up and throw it. But a shoe, you just know that's an automatic flag. How difficult would that do you think

to be? I know it's college, so it's a little bit different than the pros, But how difficult of a locker room environment is that you think walking back in for the Florida Gators after the way that game ended, well, you know, you you always get stuck in the middle of those situations because you understand he's your teammate and you want to lift them up and not kick them way down. But at the same time you're thinking, like what in the hell were you were you're doing? Like

what why would you why? You know, why would you do that? And cost us the appelling me that way? So, um, I can promise you list some words said back in that locker room guaranteed. I mean, you know, and guys are probably you know, knuckled up back there. The fighting hadn't been broken up with short. Uh. Last question for you, as we come down the stretch run of the NFL, I'm gonna ask you this, because we only got three weeks left. Who do you expect to see in the

Super Bowl. So before the season started, I said Saints and I said Chiefs, and I'm gonna stick with that prediction. But now there's you know, basically three games left for everybody. I think you probably are going to say the Chiefs in the a f C. Who do you like coming out of the NFC or do you like the Chiefs or do you think somebody's gonna catch them? Yeah? I

like the Chiefs for sure. I think they're you know, your nothing to guarantee, but they're as much of a luck as there is an NFL on in the NFC side. I like the Saints. I mean the Saints or the seat Hawks. I'm sorry, uh, the Sea Hawks. You know, I think that they have option I don't know what they are right now, one or two that division now or yeah, well they tell they too well, they're they're yeah, they're second in the division right now. So as we

come down the stretch, run here they're the five. But they get the they get the Rams. I think the next to last week of the season in Seattle with the potential to try and make a statement there and obviously they lost a tough one that they should have won against the Giants, but bounced back and just absolutely destroyed the Jets yesterday. So you just like what you're seeing from Russell Wilson, DK metcalf that group of playmakers.

I do. I do, And you know DK mattcalf is one of my you know, we just want to talking about this young and freak athletes. You know, DK metcalf Is is another favorite player of mine. So I just like what they are, what they're doing up there, and you know, you can always count on Russell, you know when it comes to time to make big plays and down the road and stretch, and he has so much

experience under pressure. Like I just see them somehow, some way, you know, beating a couple of teams to get damn being n. That's the championship game and they're going to Super Bowl. I think I said last question more than once. But this is the real last question. Tonight actually a really good Monday night football game. Ravens going on the road against the Browns. Browns are sitting at nine and three,

feeling good about themselves. Ravens with the Cowboys, pretty good Division game in in in Cleveland, as big of a game as they have had in Cleveland in a very long time. How do you see it coming out? I like Cleveland, Um, you know, I think that right now the Ravens defense isn't enough to stop that backfield they have going on. Um, that one too punch they have back there is something that we've you know whenever, whenever they executing the running game like that, and they also

playing great defense. They're scary. And how they stumped over her uh Tennessee, who was also eight and three at the time. You're like, oh, these are two total different eight and three teens. These not even the same teams we're talking about here, because they're not that much better. So I'm taking Cleveland that one for sure. Outstanding stuff, my man. We will talk to you next week. Listen

to the Lights Out podcast. Appreciate what you said about the Gems and all the people out there who need help. Hope you can go check out Sean and find out how to help there as well. Appreciate my man, I thank you all. I appreciate it.