Get yer popcorn ready! The strange tale of Manti Te'o...

[vike daddy]

One of the lingering questions regarding the question-plentiful Manti Te’o imbroglio arises from the decision to delay disclosing the fake dead girlfriend story long enough to be scooped by Deadspin. A league source tells PFT that the reason, as these reasons often do, arises from dollars and cents.

Te’o's camp, per the source, was attempting aggressively to nail down marketing deals before the story broke, with among other things major shoe and apparel companies. There was reluctance to proceed, given Te’o's struggles in the BCS national title game and the uncertainty as to whether he’ll be playing for a high-profile team or a franchise that is an NFL afterthought.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/29/teo-tried-to-do-marketing-deals-before-fake-dead-girlfriend-story-came-out/related/


can't say i gain any additional respect for Teo if this story angle is true. he's spending too much time not thinking about football, and instead trying to become a rich celebrity. ya gotta earn that, son.
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[vike daddy]

The Vikings will meet with Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o at the NFL scouting combine next week, and general manager Rick Spielman said they have been doing their own digging on the now-famous revelation that Te'o's dead girlfriend was not a real person. But the story, which dominated the airwaves in January, will only be part of the Vikings' evaluation of Te'o.

Spielman: "In the end, you'll sit there and discuss all that. Every team will make their own determination. How do you compare what happened, because he's an extremely talented football player, against a guy who may have a drug issue or may have an arrest record or may have some other off-field issue? Everybody's going to have, just like on any player, their difference of opinion. We'll go through that process as well. I did watch Dr. Phil for the first time in my life."

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_22600007/minnesota-vikings-will-consider-whole-big-picture-evaluating
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[vike daddy]

Te'o has dropped to #38 on the CBSSports.com draft tracker.
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[Uncle Buck]

[vike daddy]

Former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o says he’s planning to put on a show with a great workout at the Scouting Combine. And he says what he’s able to do between the white lines should be all people care about.

Te’o: “I have to just go out there and perform and all that other stuff is behind me. What I did on the field is what I did on the field. I don’t think what I did with this whole situation, I don’t understand how it takes away from what I did on the field. As far as my stock dropping or rising, that’s not up to me. The only thing I have to do is just do well, run fast, just be myself, be quick. I just want them to know, whoever picks me just let them know that you’re choosing someone who loves the game. I want to be the best at it.”

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/19/manti-teo-i-dont-see-how-all-this-detracts-from-what-i-did-on-the-field/related/
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[vike daddy]

On the poor performance in the National Championship game, Spielman had this to say about Te'o:

"I'm sure that's something that will get addressed at the combine. Was it [the girlfriend issue]? Was it because he's such a talented player and on the banquet circuit? I don't know, but I think you evaluate the whole body of work. You don't just evaluate off one game. There are other guys you look at who had a poor game in Week three, Te'o just happened to have it in the biggest college game of the year, but I don't think that's a reflection of what he is as a total overall football player."

"These kids get really polished up for the interview process. We try to interview where we can get that guard down and focus on ways to really get to know the kid and take some of that polish off. There's ways, I think, that we've come up with that we can do that."

http://www.kfan.com/pages/vikingsblog.html?article=10837594
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[Lil Uno]

[vike daddy]

[vike daddy]

Spielman: "One thing we've done this year, we've done a lot of digging on social media and have a pretty in-depth picture of these players that are involved and not involved in social media. How many times they tweet or twit, I don't know, I'm not a technical guy. But it's interesting to see the patterns on some of these social media players. [Monitoring social media] is a lot more in-depth this year because of the highlight of what happened with Te'o."

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1697293/manti-teo
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[KeithVikings28]

I have a feeling Te'o is going to run really really slow and be undersized.

[SteelKing728]

[usdvikes]

He's doing the combine press conference right now. I like what I see from him so far, this is definitely a bizarre story but I's rather have a guy like Teo than a guy who can't stay out of legal trouble.

His demeanor seems pretty ideal IMO

[rpmwr19]

Oddly enough I'm eating popcorn while watching this.
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Adopt a Viking - Erin Henderson
Stats:

[joru1000]

Even before the whole hoax I liked Ogletree and Minter more as an ILB. Te'o's performance in the National Campionship against an elite line was just bad. Looked too confused by the speed and power of Bama. I would be PISSED if we drafted him any earlier than 53.
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[KeithVikings28]