Harsh Reality

Sorry Manti but it matters.

That's all I kept thinking as a number of NFL coaches, general managers, and television analysts proclaimed time and again over the weekend at the Combine that his unfortunate catfishing incident would not have an impact on his draft status and how teams feel about him.  "It's all about what he does on the field" they all said.

Yes and no.

The reality is that it should affect how teams feel about him because it is darn sure going to affect how the guys in the locker room, their players, feel about him.  But don't just take my word for it.

"I don't want him," one veteran scout from a linebacker-needy team told me, "Leadership is one of his big positives but he won't have that now because guys in the locker room are going to really be hard on him ... he'll be a target ...he's going to have to play lights out for a while to gain that back."

Bingo.

I played for five different teams and can say without equivocation that Te'o is going to be tested.  Many players will think he is soft. They'll think he is a punk because, well, he got punk'd.  We are talking about an environment in which promiscuity is respected if not encouraged.  Long relationships on the phone and internet with a girl you never even met?  Not so much.

NFL locker rooms aren't like the rest of society.  They're not politically correct and they're not any place for someone with a weakness, which is exactly what Te'o's incident is to many of them, a sign of that weakness.

I haven't decided whether he should just laugh it off or punch the first guy that busts his chops in the face and nip it in the bud right then and there but those are the only two choices as far as I see it.  Everyone remember the Prince Amukamara video?

If that sounds harsh, don't get mad at me.  I didn't invent the rules of the locker room, I'm just explaining them.

If you need any further proof, just consider the fact that Te'o's transgression, if you can even call it that, will be considered a far greater offense and of much more concern in their eyes than the DUI fellow projected first round linebacker Alec Ogletree recently was arrested for.  The general managers who may consider Ogletree a character risk given the fact that he also was suspended for a positive drug test during his days with the Georgia Bulldogs will likely feel differently but neither one of those incidents will bother the players all that much.  Neither one of those represents a potential toughness flaw for Ogletree on the field and many players will realize that either one of those incidents very easily could've happened to them in college.  That is simply not the case with Te'o's unusual situation.

To his credit, Te'o handled his media obligation at the Combine on Saturday extremely well.  I was proud of him.  He seems like a fine young man that was incredibly naive and then made some mistakes, which he freely admits, after realizing that he had been duped.  As much as anything, I feel bad for him.

The only way I see him being able to overcome this is with a superior performance on the field.  Any chink in his football armor will allow his teammates to think he is flawed in more ways than one.  If he dominates the catfish thing will be a distant memory.  If he is just ok it will linger and could become a big problem.  But is he good enough to ever dominate?

"I want my defensive leader to be a flat out bad ass, a leader of men that no one would mess (he didn't say mess, use your imagination) with," that same veteran scout told me, "I just can't picture him being that guy."

There's some truth to that. The middle linebacker is the signal caller on almost every team.  With that role comes some built-in leadership responsibilities and Te'o is going to have to earn that by playing extremely well right away because the combination of the girlfriend incident and his performance in the BCS National Championship game against Alabama, which most of his future teammates watched, will be hard to overcome.

I hope he does.  It will make this whole ordeal he has gone through a much better story if it can have a happy ending.

Just don't tell me what happened to him off the field doesn't matter because it absolutely does to the other testosterone laden young men in that locker room Te'o will be entering in May.

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What if the NFL incorporated a flagrant scoring system with
unnecessary roughness penalties, shots to the head, similar to
basketball. A flagrant 1 is an unintentional head to head contact that
is a 15 yd penalty. Flagrant 2 is reserved for head seekers, which
would result in 15 yards AND automatic ejection. Both hits would
result in varying Goodell bonus check amounts like they do now.
Also the head penalties were created to protect not only the victim
but the hitter as well. That being said shouldn't the offensive player
also be subject to penalties for lowering his head with intent to make
contact with the crown of the helmet? Battering Ram, Offensive
Spearing. 

From Jeremy via Email

It's not a bad thought but they effectively already have your flagrant one/two system in place.  The officials have the right to eject a player should he deliver a blow that is especially egregious although that is extremely rare.  The fine amounts vary based upon the nature of the blow and the history of the player delivering that blow.  As for the offensive player, I understand your point but I just can't imagine them being able to legislate anything in that regard.

Cowboys drafted a 4th round OG 2 years ago and he has yet to play a snap. Is he a bust? How long does it take an OG to get stronger?

From @xcfrancisco via Twitter

You are referencing David Arkin out of Missouri State and it is too early to call him a bust but the fact that they signed two free agent guards last offseason even though Arkin had a year under his belt is not a good sign.  Even when those guys were banged up they put in other veterans like Derrick Dockery into the game ahead of him.  It is not a matter of strength at this point, it is a matter of whether or not they trust him to go in the game.  If they don't trust him this upcoming year they likely never will.

How about some suggestions on how to call an illegal hit?

From @NCRaven10 via Twitter

I've been over this a million times and in fact you can check my archive and read about it in greater detail if you like but the short version is that they shouldn't throw the flag unless they are sure it is an illegal hit.  The current standard is essentially "when in doubt, throw the flag" which I abhor.  The idea is to discourage these types of hits and I believe you can do this by simply fining the players greater and greater amounts if the hit is in fact illegal and warrants it.  I know that would deter my behavior, that's for sure.