With one more game to play in the NFL’s regular season and the end of the 2013 calendar year just four days away, the most dramatic story of the year, which broke all the way back in January, seems to
With one more game to play in the NFL’s regular season and the end of the 2013 calendar year just four days away, the most dramatic story of the year, which broke all the way back in January, seems to have faded into the ether.
At the time, nobody would talk of anything else. It felt like it would remain at the top of every news hour for the rest of our lives. As 2014 creeps upon us, it’s a story that may have been the biggest bombshell of 2013, but one that has ultimately not had the lasting impact I once imagined.
Somehow, Manti Te’o has become just another rookie linebacker.
It hasn’t even been a full year since the Heisman runner-up and Notre Dame superstar became a national punchline, since the name Lennay Kekua became a monologue writer’s go-to payoff, since the term “catfish” had a well-known face attached to its little-known concept.
When the Te’o story began its downward spiral, I never believed he could live it down. Whatever turned out to be truth, all who knew of him would consider the hoax before considering anything else. I thought NFL teams may shy away from the once media darling because of the negative attention he could bring to a locker room and I thought opposing NFL teams would have an endless supply of one-liners to talk trash in what can be a ruthless and mentally debilitating profession for a young man.
Those things may be true, but as far as the national consciousness is concerned, Manti Te’o is just a football player coming to the end of his first year as a pro. He hasn’t had a great statistical season after being drafted in the second round by the San Diego Chargers. He was forced to miss the team’s first three games with a sprained right foot, but has played in all 12 games since. His 51 tackles are tied for fifth on the team and his five tackles for loss are the most on a less than stellar Chargers defense. He has not recorded a sack, forced a fumble or secured an interception, but Te’o has become a more stable force and his coaches have seen improvements in his development.
San Diego is still fighting for its playoff life and has a shot at the AFC’s second Wild Card spot. It would first need a win over the Kansas City Chiefs this week, while then also needing the Baltimore Ravens to lose to the Cincinnati Bengals and the Miami Dolphins to lose to the New York Jets. In that unlikely scenario, the Chargers would make the playoffs in Te’o and head coach Mike McCoy’s first seasons in San Diego.
McCoy took the Chargers job on January 15 – just one day before the Te’o story broke on Deadspin.
When Te’o fell to the second round of the NFL Draft (38th overall), part of it was due to his performance in the BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama, part of it was a mediocre sprint time in the 40-yard dash at the rookie combine, part of it was a lack of trust some teams had in his ability to positively impact their organization.
Perhaps that was a good thing. Perhaps limiting expectations has made it a less stressful first season for Te’o. Perhaps missing his first three games allowed him to ease his way into his professional life without the cameras following his every movement. Perhaps having other rookie linebackers explode onto the scene – like the Carolina Panters’ Luke Kuechly and Buffalo Bills’ Kiko Alonso – has and will make it easier moving forward for Te’o to continue evolving as a player and person with less media scrutiny.
All in all, I expected it to be a hellish year for Te’o. I haven’t been inside his head or heard the taunts from fans or the likely ones from players, but he wasn’t a major story after entering the NFL. That, in itself, seems like a victory.
• ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Garden Island. Email David Simon your comments or questions to dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
