What was Merriman's worst decision?

A.  Tequila Tubesteak (or whatever her our-civilization-must-be-coming-to-an-end name is)

B.  Not hiding his steroid use better

C.  Pissing off AJ Smith

D.  Not having knee surgery when he was told to

E.  Adolescent blue mohawk 

From the Chargers' perspective it's gotta be D.  Nobody fears the guy now.  Heck they hardly respect him.  When he's in, count the running plays to designed to go his way, even outside the tackles.  Where are the double teams he commanded on third down?  That decision to delay surgery cost him 6+ months of recovery time.  If he doesn't return to '06-'07 form soon this defense will be bottom-dwellers in rush defense AND pass defense, we'll be lucky to eek out an 8-8 record, and people will start viewing the Chargers like the Bengals: frequently talented, always sure to disappoint.  It's also gonna cost Merriman millions in free agent value.  How mad do you suppose AJ was when "Lights Out" waited until after game 1 to opt for surgery?  

If the answer is B maybe Merriman knew his ruse was up and chose to delay surgery so he could bask in his "Lights Out" mystique as long as he could before he shriveled back down to earth?  If the beast that was Merriman was but a steroid-crazed mirage at least we find out now, before we franchised him or saddled up to a long term contract.  

There's something positively Freudian about a 250lb guy sporting an as-if-I-don't-get-enough-attention fuzzy blue mohawk having sex (or maybe not) with a waif-ish drunk girl named Tina Tequila (whatever) who's "allergic" to alcohol.  You can't hold a guy accountable for his Oedipus complex so A and E are out.  

As for pissing off AJ, that guy was born pissed off.