Jan 7, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Manti Te

According to U-T San Diego, Butler doesn´t share the public enthusiasm about the Chargers´ second round pick at this point. He doesn´t know to much about the young linebacker as he hasn´t met him yet and didn´t follow his games in college.

“I think a lot of people are jumping to conclusions,” Butler said this week. “He has to come in and prove himself as a starter. Obviously, it would be nice — that’s why you draft someone in the second round. We don’t know how he’s going to be in the NFL. I hope he comes in and he’s a superstar. Hopefully we can create something that will carry us for the next four, five, six years.

“I’m looking forward to him coming in and being excited to work. From what I’ve heard, that is what he likes to do: humble guy who wants to come in and just work and really hone his craft.”

I think that´s an accurate way to look at this situation.

Sure, Te’o had a great college career. He led Notre Dame in tackles the past three seasons and is one of the most decorated college football players in history. He won seven national awards and was second in the Heisman Trophy race last year. Te’o is only the third defensive player to receive the Walter Camp Award and he became the first defensive player to win the Maxwell Award since 1980, ending a string of nine straight quarterbacks. But we all know in what kind of bizarre, weird and also very embarrassing story he was involved with; and in January this year, this story became public. It surely was a tough time for him and now he will have to face again some comments and questions by the media about this drama and of course also by his teammates.

“I’m sure he’ll get some jabs,” Butler said. “But that comes with being a rookie. He might get a little more because of his situation, but I’m sure he’s man enough to handle it and really grow from it. I don’t think it’s going to be anything over-the-top. It’ll be your normal rookie jokes.”

General Manager Tom Telesco and the Chargers weren´t bothered too much by the scrutiny Te’o has been under, when they pulled the trigger in on the top linebacker prospect out of the University of Notre Dame.

“Obviously not. We took him,” Telesco said. “We did our due diligence. All that stuff is not a concern to us. So we’re just really, really excited to get him here. He took that Notre Dame program and kind of raised the talent level of the whole program. He was the undisputed leader there. We saw that.

“As a player, as a playmaker, he’s instinctive. We can’t wait to get him on the field.”

I hope Telesco is right, because he moved up seven spots in the second round to grab the college star linebacker at No. 38. The Bolts received the 38^th overall pick from the Arizona Cardinals, in exchange for their second- (No. 45) and fourth-round (No. 110) picks.
I have to admit, the loss of that fourth round selection still hurts a bit, as we would´ve been able to use this 110^th overall pick to bring in a solid starting caliber at nose tackle or outside linebacker.

But whatever, I´m fine with Manti Te´o but I also have to agree with Donald Butler: Get him in and let him prove himself first. He has to earn his respect in the NFL.

But I´m pretty confident that we´re going to experience a tough beast tandem behind the defensive line in the next few years.

Bolt Family, feel free to share your thoughts about Manti Te´o in the comments section below.

Thank you for reading!

BoltnRoll!

Oct 2, 2011; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens tackle Bryant McKinnie (78) prior to the game against the New York Jets at M

Well, the NFL draft 2013 is in the books. The Chargers upgraded the right tackle position by selecting D.J. Fluker from Alabama in the first round of the draft; with their second round pick they grabbed Notre Dame´s star linebacker Manti Te´o. With the next two picks they brought in wide receiver Kennan Allen and defensive back Steve Williams. Furthermore, they added depth at outside linebacker (Tourek Williams) and quarterback (Brad Sorenson). But they did not address the position the Chargers are in biggest need of an upgrade: the left tackle spot.

The top three offensive tackle prospects already were off the board after the Philadelphia Eagles snagged away Lane Johnson at No. 4. And with only six draft picks and countless holes in the roster, General Manager Tom Telesco wasn´t able to bring in a guy for the left side of the offensive line. So the question now is, how can we make sure, Philip Rivers´ blind side will be better protected than it was last year?

That´s when the name Bryant McKinnie comes in.

McKinnie, 33 (turns 34 in September), gets linked to the Chargers since weeks and yesterday he had a meeting with the new Chargers´ brass here in San Diego. The former seventh overall pick in the 2002 NFL draft is a member of this year´s Super Bowl winning squad from the Baltimore Ravens. He backed up starting left tackle Michael Oher in all 16 regular games last year, but was inserted into the starting lineup for the postseason after the line struggled down the stretch. He had a stellar postseason and protected Joe Flacco´s blind side very well in all four playoff games.

But I guess it´s fair to question if Bryant McKinnie is the right fit for San Diego.

Being a starter for most of his career, McKinnie got benched in 2012 after showing up to training camp out of shape due to some excess weight. He had some injury issues over the last years and his teammates already began to question his motivation. Ugh! This sounds awfully familiar, doesn´t it? We just got rid of Big Lazy Jared Gaither weeks ago, and now we´re trying to replace him with a guy who obviously has a hard time to stay disciplined and in shape?

Alright, maybe I´m overdoing this. The 33-year old veteran surely isn´t committed to the same level of slothfulness as the former Chargers´ bench warmer who wore the #78 jersey. But players don´t start questioning a teammates´ motivation for no reason. In his two seasons in Baltimore he has been trapped in Harbaugh’s doghouse a couple of times for a poor work ethic and an inability to keep his weight down. Unfortunately, he was cut by the Minnesota Vikings in 2011 for the same reasons. But McKinnie made it clear that he wants to play at least another year, but only if he is guaranteed the opportunity to compete for a starting spot:

“I definitely want a starting job,” the 6´8” giant said. “I want it to be fair for somebody to beat me out of my position instead of saying you want to try something new. Give me the opportunity to actually be fair and let somebody beat me out for the position.”

Well, there´s not much competition in San Diego at left tackle (King Dunlap, Mike Harris), he definitely could be in pole position right from the start.

Another issue is that he´s coming off a Championship season. So he already had problems finding his commitment to this ball game before he won the coveted trophy; now that he is a world champion, will it be easier for him to find his motivation? And I´m afraid money will be an issue too. He was a $4.2 million cap hit for the Ravens last year. With a Super Bowl ring on his finger, I´m not too sure he´ll come in cheap. But if he does, then he would be a nice solution for the left tackle spot on the offensive line for the 2013 season. We surely would have to try to fix that spot in 2014 by using a high draft pick on a great left tackle prospect.

So, I have my doubts about this big man. But if the price is right, then get him in! We´re pretty desperate for an upgrade at that position on the left side of the offensive line.

What are your thoughts Bolt Family?

Thank you for reading.

BoltnRoll!

Apr 27, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers first round draft pick D.J. Fluker is introduced the media during a press conference at Chargers Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Because the worst scenario for the San Diego Chargers became reality: the top five offensive linemen had been selected within the top ten. With all that talk by Telesco about “picking the best player available” and “anything is possible” (trading up, trading down), I was convinced that he´d either pick the No. 1 rated nose tackle, Star Lotulelei, or maybe safety Kenny Vaccaro or he´d decide to trade down. Well, at least thats what I´ve been hoping for. But after the Tennessee Titans picked stud guard Chance Warmack, I remembered all that D.J. Fluker praise by Mike Mayock in the days before the draft. And without wasting ANY time, the Chargers did it; they sealed the deal and made that mountain of a man out of Alabama, D.J. Fluker, the first round selection of the San Diego Chargers in 2013. Guys, I can tell you, I wasn´t amused by that move. So, you get the idea behind my headline? With that unprecedented run on offensive lineman, it looked like our General Manager got the jitters and desperately pulled the trigger on the fourth best rated tackle of this year´s draft class.

Now that the dust has settled and I had some days to think about it, I´ve to admit I changed my mind about the “nasty” right tackle. Although I´m still convinced that D.J. Fluker wasn´t the best player available, it probably made sense to go for that reach and pick at No. 11.

Fluker is a very powerful and physical run blocker and will do fine in a man-blocking scheme. But he has his problems in pass protection and may struggle with speed-rushers and he doesn´t seem to be a good fit for a zone-blocking scheme – something the Chargers´ new offensive line coach and “zone blocking specialist” Joe D’Alessandris may consider to establish here in San Diego. But the new Chargers´ brass obviously had him on the list of considerable first round selections right away, as they didn´t waste a minute to get that pick in. I was “a little bit” upset (to say least – if you follow me on twitter, you know what I´m talking about) that they didn´t even wait for a possible call from a potential trade partner. And of course I still think that guy named Star Lotulelei would´ve been the better value pick. He has great size (6´4”, 320 pounds), great functional strength, is very quick and can play essentially anywhere along the D-Line. He would have been a terrific run stopper and an immovable object in the Chargers´ 3-4 defensive scheme. So instead of picking the best defensive lineman available, the Chargers reached for the sixth best offensive lineman at 11…*head scratch*.

But whatever, I settled down a bit after I watched the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears going after OG/OT Justin Pugh at No. 19 and OT/OG Kyle Long at No. 20 respectively. Another big reach was made by the Dallas Cowboys; they drafted center Frederick Travis at position 31. These relatively high picks on (in my opinion) second round talents made me feel a little better about our selection at No. 11. It was an extraordinary run on offensive linemen to say the least – nine O-Liners went in the first round, with three of them in the top four…ugh!

So, to look at it positive: With the selection of D.J. Fluker we upgraded the right tackle position and added depth at guard (fan favorite Jeromey Clary). To say it again – I´m sure Star Lotulelei would´ve looked good in a Chargers uniform, but after all I´m fine with the addition of the “Ray Lewis of the offensive line” (at least that´s what he wants to be). And you gotta give him that: he has a leadership mentality and is motivated as hell! This hopefully covers up his inability to speak to the media…or speak english at all! Those who listened to some or at least one interview of him, know what I´m talking about.

So, this is it – my first piece here on boltbeat.com; quick and dirty. I hope I´ll be able to entertain you guys, because that´s what we´re here for I guess (correct me if I´m wrong Ernie…lol).

Thank you for reading!

BoltnRoll!