No it won't be intentional. They will just suck this year which IMO will lead to Rex getting canned and them possibly drafting another QB.
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Debatable on Mualuga, I remember a bunch of people wanting to draft him, and thought he was great at USC. He just wasn't a hyped up as Te'o was, and I said at times he looks like him, not overall.
Did you see what Torrey Smith tweeted? That's what I'm on about, plus several other players around the league have publicly let their opinions known on this matter. Harbaugh can bring him in and have a soft spot for him, but that isn't going to change the players opinion on him.
Minter or Ogletree didn't have nearly as bad as a game that Te'o had. Go watch the games on both again.. Yes there were times when Minter looked out of place, but he didn't get blown out of the way like Te'o did. Ogletree had an overall decent game against bama, and he made a few plays, like the goal line stand.
Arthur Brown actually played decently vs Oregon, and collected 9 tackles, wasn't really non existent at all. He was spending most the night covering up for his other players mistakes from what I could see.
I still would be pretty happy with Te'o as a pick at 32, but I think I'd rather have Greene, Minter, and Ogletree over Te'o. If we keep Ellerbe, I think the athletic LB becomes more of a need than another north-south LB like Te'o.
Te'o had 10 tackles against Alabama. What's your point? I watched the Oregon game because there were a slew of players I was really interested in (Arthur Brown being one of them). The guy, much like Te'o against Alabama, was targeted by Oregon's OL almost every single play and the Ducks did a nice job game planning around him. Brown still made some plays here and there, but he wasn't nearly the force that everyone saw all year long.
Ogletree had problems against Alabama's OL. So did Minter.
At some point, you have to take into consideration that (much like a QB) an inside linebacker is dependent upon the DL for occupying blockers and making the RB/QB re-think their current course. Alabama's OL was DOMINANT in almost every single game. They made AJ McCarron look like a 1st round pick. Eddie Lacy went from being a possible 3rd round pick to a 1st rounder running behind that line. Notre Dame's DL was overwhelmed and as a result Te'o and the other ND linebackers were getting swallowed up every other play. I'd also like to point out that Alabama stayed away from throwing to the middle of the field a lot of that game. A lot of the passes McCarron made were come back routes, deep patterns, and throws towards the sideline. There weren't too many thrown to the middle of the field.
Look man, I get that you want to see the Ravens draft an athletic LB and there are more athletic LB's in this draft than Te'o. I don't think anyone here - certainly not me - would argue against that.
What I do know is that Te'o had 3 straight seasons of over 100 tackles and has been a starter at ILB since his freshman year without any major injuries and by all accounts he improved areas of his play (coverage, closing speed, reaction, strength, etc) each season. And outside of the BCS National Championship game, Te'o came up big in big games (USC, Michigan, Michigan State, etc). The kid is a good player and if the Ravens take him in the draft, I'd be stoked because we would be getting a good player at an area of need who could step in and be a day-1 starter.
The catfish thing is a big blow and will definitely impact him wherever he goes. Any locker room he goes to is going to give him his licks and you know what? The kid is going to have to develop some thick skin. However, I think he is the type of kid who will overcome this and earn the respect of his teammates from his play on the field.
Because their both Samoan? That is like every other analyst out there comparing RGIII to Michael Vick because they're black QB's. In reality, RGIII is more Aaron Rodgers than Michael Vick.Quote:
Originally Posted by leachisabeast
Te'o is a better person, player, and leader than Maualuga ever was. Maualuga was a thumper at USC who benefited from having 4 other 1st round defensive players around him (Sedrick Ellis, Keith Rivers, Brian Cushing, and Clay Matthews). The only other player on ND's squad right now that could be a legitimate 1st rounder is Louis Nix. Stephen Tuitt might be a 1st rounder, but Nix definitely will be. The point is, Te'o did more than Maualuga with less talent around him.
Again, Te'o is going to face this adversity wherever he goes. In the Ravens' locker room I guarantee you that Suggs is going to have a FIELD DAY with trying to get under Te'o's skin. I think that someone like Te'o (who is probably ridiculously embarrassed by this whole thing) could take this whole situation, give everyone a big F-U, and bust his ass on the field. He'll earn the respect of his teammates.Quote:
Originally Posted by leachisabeast
Look how long it took for Flacco to really earn the respect of his teammates.
When does the combine start up? Today?