• Te-Ouch

    by
    Rich Gapinski
    Published on 02-25-2013 06:41 PM
    9 Comments Comments


    Manti Te'o stood in front of a room full of reporters waiting for his words about his past at the NFL Combine that began over the weekend. The short answer to what he wanted teams to do with him was to judge him based on his work on the field and not about the naivete it took for him to fall for a fake girlfriend. They say that perception is reality. The reality for Te'o now is that perception may be changing about him again after his slow 40 times that were in the 4.8 range at the combine today.

    There already was two distinct sides to the Te'o argument. One side took their questions about him as a player and probably wrote him off as a prospect when the story came out. Questions about him as a player were magnified when he was physically dominated and often out of position in the National Championship Game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Perhaps there are teams who just did not want to deal with the drama. After all, it was revealed during the press conference that 12 teams were not going to interview the former Notre Dame Mike backer. Another side saw the player who routinely made impact plays over his final two seasons playing as under the vast microscope that is always turned to the South Bend football program. That side saw that Manti Te'o was simply a nice kid to trusts too easily and has been too sheltered throughout his life. Now he has to be compared to the other young middle linebackers in the league.

    The side who still likes Te'o must be thinking about Brandon Spikes from the New England Patriots and his famous 40 time of 5.06 seconds. The side that is still questioning him or has written him off needs to look no further Luke Kuechly's time in the 4.5 range.

    Te'o probably helped himself the way he came off during the presser over the weekend, but he certainly did not help himself with his 40 times today. For him the 40 time is a bit more important than some other players in the draft because the emphasis on spread offenses and speed will necessitate each team to have a middle linebacker that can go from sideline to sideline. Te'o still has plenty of work to do before he really becomes a NFL player. Knowing that, maybe it is a good thing that he doesn't have a girlfriend.

    Comments 9 Comments
    1. Bengals1181's Avatar
      he looked far better in the drills. I don't think the 40 time will hurt him too much. Maybe a handful of picks at most. Still gonna be a late 1 early 2 guy and a very productive player.

      A better 40 could have helped his stock, but I don't think his 40 surprised anyone. Still a great linebacker in just about every other category.
      Reply
    1. tubbs1518's Avatar
      He reminds me a lot of James Lauranitis. Same 40 times, both good hands and played well in zone.
      Reply
    1. hobbes27's Avatar
      Its not one thing that is working against Te'o, but a lot of small things that seem to add up against him. I think he also goes near the bottom of the 1st or top of the 2nd, because all it takes is for one team to fall in love with him. But I wouldn't take him that way. I have doubts about him being an every down LB, both from a leadership standpoint and a skill standpoint. So I wouldn't use a high draft pick on a guy that can't play every down for me.
      Reply
    1. tubbs1518's Avatar
      Why question his leadership now? It was his strength not 2 months ago. I don't think this fake gf thing affects anything as far as leadership goes.
      Reply
    1. hobbes27's Avatar
      Sure it does. It changes people's perception of him.
      Reply
    1. Bengals1181's Avatar
      Quote Originally Posted by hobbes27 View Post
      Sure it does. It changes people's perception of him.
      perception isn't reality. Some of his teammates have come out and said they knew that she wasn't real during the season. It didn't keep them from going undefeated and following Te'o's lead.
      Reply
    1. wxwax's Avatar
      Quote Originally Posted by hobbes27 View Post
      Sure it does. It changes people's perception of him.
      That whole deal only has the potential to effect his draft position. His future teammates will decide for themselves, and what they decide won't be because of Deadspin.
      Reply
    1. wxwax's Avatar
      Interestingly, some of the insular jackholes who run NFL teams believe that they're above federal laws. Figures. I wonder if Jeff Ireland was one of them?
      Reply
    1. edave's Avatar
      Quote Originally Posted by wxwax View Post
      Interestingly, some of the insular jackholes who run NFL teams believe that they're above federal laws. Figures. I wonder if Jeff Ireland was one of them?
      You don't think Cortland Finnegan (as an example) would be asking the same question in middle of the game? At this point I'm certain that Dez has heard a lot more hurtful things said about his mother from those he plays against.
      Reply