RockyMountainSaint

Sean Weatherspoon could be harmed by the Ochocinco effect | ProFootballTalk.com

Sean Weatherspoon could be harmed by the Ochocinco effect
Posted by Mike Florio on April 18, 2010 1:49 PM ET
Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon is projected by many to be a first-round pick. The Saints, who are perched at the bottom of the round, are believed to be very interested in the guy who can play both on the inside and on the outside.

As Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald points out, there also are concerns. Nolan Nawrocki of Pro Football Weekly (the successor to the late Joel Buchsbaum, whose excellent posthumous profile is making the rounds on Twitter today) tells Rapoport that some teams fear that Weatherspoon's personality could be a problem.

"[H]e never shuts his mouth," Nawrocki says. "It's s big concern to a lot of teams that have stepped in and even removed him from their draft boards. That's how strongly they feel he could negatively impact the locker room. . . .

"The big concern is just how he's a little bit like [Chad] Ochocinco in Cincinnati," Nawrocki told Rapoport. "It's going to become a big distraction, and it's going to get in the way, it's going to be difficult to coach. He's never played a snap in the NFL and hasn't done a thing in the National Football League, and he's already worrying about the things that really shouldn't matter for a guy at that stage in his career. He's worrying about his image and his post-career aspirations. That's a concern. You see guys late in their career like Jason Taylor getting involved in Dancing With The Stars, and there were coaches that didn't like that. For some of the same reasons, I think it's an issue with Sean. He's worrying about things he shouldn't be worrying about. He's trying to be something that he may not be. From that respect, there are concerns."

Of course, Weatherspoon may quit talking once he's humbled by a group of veteran players. Then again, if he has any success and when becomes a veteran player, the talking could re-emerge. But if he's a good player, teams will find a way to tolerate that -- just as they have with the likes of Ochocinco, Joey Porter, and any other player who loves him some him.


I hope this causes him to slip to #32!

I'm no one.
Who are you?

Saintswrath

Well only problem i see is he hasn't played a down in the NFL yet and talking all that smack as if he's already the best.. But god.. Joe horn, Sharper etc talks themselves up as high and mighty..
No real biggie but my only concern is this gumpin his gums before he ever plays a professional down.

ScottF

I hope this causes him to slip to #32!

Yes, me too. I little mouth and swagger are not neccesarily bad. And what's he going to do, walk into the SB champ's training camp and pull a Hollywood Henderson?

Last time I checked Porter and Chad What-his-nuts were pretty good players

mikesaintfan

vilma will real him in

foreverfan

Is this why my wife was never drafted?

RockyMountainSaint

Uh-huh-huh-huh-huh. That's funny Beavis.

st thomas

if he's 3 quarter the cat ray lewis is talk all you want sean

MorningWood

1. Consider the source, Florio is the one who needs to shut his pie hole once in a while.

2. From the interviews I have seen, Spoon is respectful, courteous and articulate.

3. The first I heard of this was around the combine. Spoon said in an interview that some of the coaches working with the linebackers told them they wanted the LB's to demonstrate leadership by vocally encouraging each other. Maybe spoon went overboard following this direction. Maybe some scouts were not aware of these instructions.

4. I have not seen any video of Spoon that makes me think he is a Diva. I have seen some video that indicates he is outgoing and likes to have fun. All of the other people in the video I saw seemed to enjoy Spoon. He was not what I would consider overbearing -- just a guy who looks like he knows how to have fun even in a boring situation.

5. Florio sucks.

CantonLegend

i love fire from players

but i hate when they think they are above the team.....talk all you want....get in the other teams head......do whatever you want to the media, but if it hinders the team or gets us a penalty or hurts us in any way i do not want him

i dont care if you rip some guys eye out at the bottom of a pile, but if you cant control your anger with the refs watching you deserve punishment and dont deserve to be in the league

RockyMountainSaint

Except for the final paragraph which is Florio's take, the remainder of the article cites two other sources' thoughts on Weatherspoon.