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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) #8212;The lights have been turned off on Buffalo Billslinebacker Shawne Merriman #8217;s(notes) season.Merriman, who earned the nickname #8220;Lights Out #8221; when he was one of theNFL #8217;s most feared players, was placed on season-ending injured reserve onTuesday because of a right Achilles #8217; tendon injury. It #8217;s the same injury thatforced the Bills to pla fantasyfootball ce him on IR last November after they signed him as afree agent following his release from the San Diego Chargers. #8220;Shawne has worked extremely hard, but unfortunately his Achilles flaredback up and it doesn #8217;t appear that he will be able to return to the fieldanytime soon, #8221; Bills general manager Buddy Nix said in a statement released bythe team Tuesday. #8220;We felt it was in th fantasyfootball e best interest of our team and forShawne to put him on IR. #8221; After being bothered by a nagging shoulder injury for the past month,Merriman #8217;s Achilles suddenly became a problem on the Thursday before the Bills #8217;27-24 loss to the New York Giants. Merriman missed that game, but he expressedconfidence that he #8217;d be able to return and not miss any significant time whenthe Bil fantasyfootball ls came back from the bye. #8220;I #8217;m expecting it to hold up well and bounce back and do what I need todo, #8221; the 27-year-old told the Associated Press last week. #8220;I #8217;m feeling a lotbetter than I did a week ago as of right now. It #8217;s going to be a work inprogress. Personally for me, it #8217;s about peaking at the right time, and this byeweek has been perfect for me. #822 fantasyfootball 1;But the Achilles didn #8217;t make as much progress as the Bills had hoped, andit #8217;s left them with a severe dent in a pass rush that #8217;s generated only foursacks this season. Coach Chan Gailey and several players spoke last week aboutthe need to pressure the quarterback to take the heat off Buffalo #8217;s defensivebackfield, which has allowed 300-plus yards passing three times already fantasyfootball thisseason.Overall, Buffalo ranks 31st in total defense. #8220;I think we just need to keep finetuning the things that we #8217;re not doingwell, #8221; Gailey said. #8220;I think what we #8217;re doing is good, but I think we #8217;re notdoing it very well. We #8217;re playing hard, we #8217;re not playing better. #8221;Merriman #8217;s season was average at best, mostly due to his inability to fantasyfootball stayhealthy. After recording a pair of sacks in Buffalo #8217;s preseason opener againstChicago, he hurt his right knee in practice. That kept him out of two preseasongames.He then hurt his shoulder in Week 2 against Oakland, and the Bills began tomonitor both his playing and practice time. That basically made him a part-timeplayer.Nix has always been a big believer in Merriman after previously w fantasyfootball orking inthe Chargers front office when they made Merriman their first pick (12thoverall) in the 2005 draft. Hoping Merriman could rekindle some of his pastglory with a Bills defense that was in desperate need of a pass-rushingspecialist, Nix re-signed Merriman to a two-year deal just a day beforeBuffalo #8217;s 2010 season finale at the New York Jets.A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Merriman fini fantasyfootball shes the season with ninetackles, one sack and five games. Coming into the season, he had 43 1/2 sacks in60 career games #8212;but only four sacks from 2008-10 when his production wasslowed by injuries.He missed most of the 2008 season after undergoing reconstructive kneesurgery, and after sitting out most of the 2010 offseason workouts and part oftraining camp to protest his contract status, he w fantasyfootball as slowed by an Achilles #8217;tendon injury and then a calf injury before being released. Follow Yahoo! Sports' NFL coverage on Twitter. Updated 2 hours, 34 minutes ago fantasyfootball
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