In last week's loss to Cincinnati, Buffalo Bills outside linebacker Shawne Merriman recorded his first sack since tallying two in a Week 9 win with San Diego. During the 2009 season. He'd appeared in 12 games since then, and hadn't recorded a sack in any of them. His sack of Andy Dalton came when he chased a scrambling Dalton out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage.

Obviously, the Merriman experiment in Buffalo has not gotten off to the type of start many hoped it would. The Bills continue to proceed cautiously in getting him back into a full-time rotation, and though he's flashed some of the pass-rushing ability that made him a three-time All-Pro selection, he's largely been invisible this season.

Tomorrow, he'll be spending a large part of his day working against Philadelphia Eagles backup tackle King Dunlap, who will be filling in for the injured Jason Peters. Merriman has been stymied this season by pretty good offensive tackles; Branden Albert, Jared Veldheer, Matt Light and Andrew Whitworth have all played him well. Dunlap isn't anywhere near the level of those players. If ever there was a week for Merriman to break out, this is it - even if he'll need to chase down Michael Vick.