Manti Te'o has impressed early in Chargers camp. (Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)
Chargers safety Eric Weddle is speaking highly of rookie linebacker Manti Te’o. Seems most everyone has put behind them the headline story in which Te’o had a fake girlfriend.
Asked how Te’o was doing early in training camp, Weddle said, “He is doing great. He doesn’t seem like the typical rookie. He is eager to learn, extremely talented, his instincts are off the charts, obviously that’s why we brought him in. He reminds me of myself in a lot of ways; the way he recognizes plays in the right spots, so biggest thing for him is consistency, continuing to learn, take what the coaches tell him along with us as players, giving him little tidbits and just take it and embrace it, have fun with it. Everyone is going to make mistakes, I’m going to make mistakes. Don’t get so down on yourself and we’ll just correct him and get better.”
Weddle also talked about what he explained to Te’o about being a pro.
He said, “The emphasis of a job, the importance of it, the seriousness, getting in here early, staying late, there’s really no excuse to be or have someone like myself staying longer than you. You really have nothing else to do. You know, for myself, I have a wife, I have a kid so I need to get home, but for younger guys they need to understand that this is all your life should be about. There is nothing else. You don’t need to be going out. You don’t need touring the town. What you need to do is know your team inside and out, know your teammates, get your body right and keep yourself healthy.
“Whether that’s coming in early, ice tub, working out extra. Those are things you learn over the years, but I’m trying to portray it early to them that this is serious. All of us rely on you playing well. I can’t do it myself. I need my 10 teammates playing at a high level for me to be successful and our team to be successful. That will be the biggest thing and he has a good head on his shoulders. I’m not too worried about that. It’s just a long season; 20 games plus hopefully the playoffs in the long run. That’s a big adjustment but with guys coming here with a serious attitude, wanting to play, wanting to contribute it really hasn’t been an issue over the years.”
Pro Bowl Changes
Bears kick returner Devin Hester isn’t happy that the Pro Bowl will no longer have a kick returner on the roster.
Said Hester, “They can’t do that. If you are taking the returner out of the Pro Bowl, you’re taking two positions out. That will suck for me. They are trying to change up the whole game of football and they’re messing with people’s jobs and lives.”
As one of several changes to the game, kickoffs will be eliminated and teams will just get the ball at the 25-yard line.
However, the league didn’t go far enough. There will still be punts, but coaches will have to find someone on the roster to return them. That doesn’t make sense.
The solution is simple enough, and it will only make the game more exciting. Get rid of punts, which would force teams to always go for it on fourth down, unless it is a field-goal situation. One of the most exciting plays in the game is when coaches opt to try for a first down on fourth down, especially when it’s not in a come-from-behind end-of-game situation.
In addition, knowing that a first down is most often necessary, play-calling would likely be adjusted on earlier downs.
Hard Hits
San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh is not very forthcoming in press conferences, and he also has a penchant for being sarcastic.
So it was that Harbaugh was recently asked what was the hardest he’d ever been hit during his playing career and if remembered.
Said Harbaugh, “No, I don’t remember what I did 20 years ago, what I did 15 years ago. Almost 30 years ago we’re talking. I’m trying to remember what I did today.”
When pushed to try to recall one or two hits, he said, “I got some scars. Sometime I’ll have you over for a barbeque and I’ll strip my sleeves and show my scars. I usually do it about once a year for my neighbors. Feast my neighbors and talk about days gone by. But today’s not the day. You will be included for the yearly barbeque.”
The Quotebook
Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson on discussing with safety Ed Reed what it takes to get to the Super Bowl: “I talk to that guy all the time. It’s not something that’s going to be easy. I was saying yesterday when you just look back at the teams that he was on in Baltimore; I just think there came a point when it was their time. They knocked on the door for so long and a few years back they were a play away from going. You just have to play your full 60 minutes. You can’t get too high, you can’t get too low. You have to stay steady, so that’s the thing I think we have to learn as a team. Just be consistent and everything else will take care of itself.”
Redskins running back Alfred Morris on what Mazda will be doing to refurbish his 1991 car: “It’s not like ‘Pimp My Ride’ or anything like that. I’m not into that type of stuff anyways. I just had a crack on my dash, so fixing things like that. They made sure the engine was in tip-top condition. Maybe if the transmission is not so good, rebuilding the transmission. Just making sure that it can run 20 more years so that I don’t have to worry about it, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I want to put it on the road. It might break down and I’ll be stranded.’ Just to get that worry out of the way, they’re going to refurb, and they might update it a bit, maybe put a navigation system or something in it. But nothing like big rims and fish tanks in the back.”
