It’s not that frequently I need information from San Diego Charger players… but when I do, I reach out to my buddy Padres Jagoff. You might be wondering why I’d reach out to a Padres blogger, but rest assured, this guy is as big of Chargers fan as there is (was?). Padres Jagoff was a college fraternity brother and I’m pretty sure I inspired him to start a blog about a decade ago when I did. Instead of being semi serious like me, though, he decided to focus on how he could incorporate as many dick jokes as possible into his favorite baseball team’s coverage. Now you guys know where my level of maturity comes from. Many thanks to him for taking the time, I wish I had more opportunities to bring him in.
Here’s his thoughts on Manti Te’o below. I don’t think you’re going to love what he has to say.
Andrew Juge from Saints Nation: Let’s live in a world where Te’o never gets injured. When he’s on the field and he’s healthy, how good is he? Is he starter quality?
Padres Jagoff: He’s not going to have flashy numbers or tons of sacks. He seemed to be one of those linebackers that is in the right place at the right time. At the same time, he is a terrible tackler which negates being in the right place a lot of times. A TERRIBLE TACKLER. He will not be an impact player, but could be a useful complementary player. He’s a starter on a bad defense, so yes, he should be starter quality on the Saints.
Are Chargers fans bummed to see him go at all or is it totally whatever?
What Chargers fans? You should probably read this, though.
Let’s now live in reality. Is there any chance he sees meaningful healthy playing time on the Saints in 2016?
His injuries weren’t recurring injuries so maybe. He just has a slight body for the position and seemingly brittle bones where he can’t take the pounding and will inevitably get some kind of injury that will take longer than you expect to get better. I’d work on your LB depth though.
I don’t remember anyone having particularly good memories of Nolan here, he was kind of just there. When there was talk of firing defensive coordinator John Pagano, no one was like “let’s just promote Nolan” and then he was gone and out of football for a year until you guys picked him up off the scrap heap. I guess it’s possible Nolan made Te’o better, but the 2015 defense was in the bottom 1/3 of NFL rankings. Also, Pro Football Focus ranked Manti Te’o 4th worst out of 94 NFL linebackers in 2015, Nolan’s year here, so either he really sucks at coaching Te’o, or Te’o just really sucks, or both. He’s just not a difference maker, and very best case, he’s a complementary piece that you’d hope makes players better around him.
It didn’t come up very much, if at all, especially after the first month of him being in town. The biggest loss I’ve heard related to his departure is his locker room presence and leadership. I get the impression he was well liked overall by players and coaches, which makes me think people think of him more as the Heisman candidate than the catfished guy. I don’t know if he has a girlfriend now but he was spotted around town with a girlfriend last year.
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