NT Ta'amu Waived By The Steelers

[krunk]

Big Joe was saying today that Nevis was IR'd by Indy just to bring Chapman up... I wonder if he is on the IR that one can return from? Was Nevis PS eligible? Was he IR's so Indy would not be forced to outright release him?

Oh well Lets hope Chap stays healthy.

Take it for what it's worth because it's coming from Brad Wells, but if you scroll all the way to the bottom of this article Wells says that neither Nevis nor Powers will be back this season.

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2012/11/12/3636760/colts-place-jerraud-powers-and-drake-nevis-on-injured-reserve

[Truckin Sanders]

I wanted him in the draft. Won't hurt to sign him. Don't need a team full of choir boys.

[Gavin]

I don't know what anybody has seen in Mookie at NT. He is not terrible but Teveseu has outplayed him in my opinion and if Chapman becomes the beast so many are expecting him to be, then I could easily see Teveseu taking the backup spot.

definitly possible, Tevasue did tend to draw more double teams, But Johnson has been around the ball more and made more plays on the ball carrier, His stats do rival those of Kemoeatu and are actually better who is the Ravens starter at NT, if you ask me Mookie nor Tevasue have been the issue with our running stopping inconsistencies, None of our ILB's would be considered heavy hitters going up the middle

[Jason_]

Rrrright. It's the only thing he did in college but ok. ;/

Sure except thats not what he did in college...at all. Hes more of a gap penetrator (see gavins post) than he is a space eater. I watched most of washingtons games last year and consistently saw the same things. Against the run, he was consistently thrown around by opposing linemen. However he was much better at penetrating the gap to get into the backfield. Imo, and that of a couple of draft scouting reports i read on him, he would be much better off losing some weight and playing a 3-tech role. He is not an anchoring 2-gap nt as his body would suggest. Now its possible a good coaching staff could teach him leverage and technique to get better in that role, but the skill set he showed while at wash demonstrated he is not a space eater but rather a gap penetrator.

[Jason_]

I don't know what anybody has seen in Mookie at NT. He is not terrible but Teveseu has outplayed him in my opinion and if Chapman becomes the beast so many are expecting him to be, then I could easily see Teveseu taking the backup spot.

Well here is where you and andy agree but i disagree. I dont think tevaseu has outplayed mookie in any aspect. Ive never said that mookie is the long term solution at nt for us though if he continues to show improvement (this is his first year playing this position) then perhaps he could be. I do think chapman will prove to be better and will eventually earn the starter role, but id much rather have mookie or mckinney as the backup than tevaseu.

[Superman]

Grigson should at least take a look at him. If he doesn't work out then just cut him.

Yeah, it's different than Jenkins. You're not spending a high draft pick. I still wouldn't pick Ta'amu up, not right now. If he was available this offseason, I'd invite him to camp, if he's taken some positive steps to show some maturity.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

LOL!!! The man was projected by EVERYBODY as a 3/4 NT. But he is now magically a 4/3 penetrator. ;/ smh

[1959Colts]

He was great in college.

If hes there for the Colts? Pick the man up.

[Superman]

LOL!!! The man was projected by EVERYBODY as a 3/4 NT. But he is now magically a 4/3 penetrator. ;/ smh

http://www.fftoolbox.com/nfl_draft/profile_display.cfm?prospect_id=2923

Yup, I don't know where that change suddenly came from. He's a nose tackle, no doubt. He's also a headache.

[Jason_]

LOL!!! The man was projected by EVERYBODY as a 3/4 NT. But he is now magically a 4/3 penetrator. ;/ smh

No, not everybody. Most? Yes. I firmly believe though that he was projected more as a 3-4 NT due to his body type and size and not because of his play style. We'll see how his career plays out, but unless he gets a lot of solid coaching to refine his technique, footwork, etc and he learns how to use his size more to his advantage, then he's not, imo, going to be the 3-4 run stopping NT that a lot of people think.

I also did not say he was "magically" a 4-3 penetrator. I said that, based on his style of play while I watched him at Washington, if he lost some weight then he could be a 3-tech if he can't be properly coached to use his size and strength better.

Believe what "everyone" says all you want. I believe what I see with my own eyes. I'm not saying I'm right or that I'm a better talent evaluator than the NFL scouts and draft gurus and I know those are the condescending, sarcastic type of comments that will come, especially from people like you. I like to watch for myself and form my own opinion. This is the opinion I've formed of Ta'amu. It will be interesting to see how his career plays out.

[Jason_]

http://www.fftoolbox...rospect_id=2923

Yup, I don't know where that change suddenly came from. He's a nose tackle, no doubt. He's also a headache.

From the link you posted:

Alameda Ta'amu looks to be the second nose tackle prospect to be drafted in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Ta'amu has an incredible frame, elite strength, and a real toughness to do the dirty work in the trenches. For a man his size, he moves well in tight spaces and can redirect the pile in either direction. The most important thing is that Ta'amu does very well against the run

Again, I can only go by what I saw with my own eyes and in my opinion, the bolded and underlined portions are way off base. Just my humble opinion though.

[MTC]

I don't know if anyone said this yet.. but to no surprise he went unclaimed in waivers. He's free to sign anywhere.

[BrentMc11]

I am sticking to my guns. This guy is a thug.....after injuring a woman and (348 lbs) running from police? (NASA probably picked him up from satellite)

Chapman is who we have all been waiting for. He is a NT to a tee.....he played with one knee last year at Alabama and played well. Lets go with what we have. We do not need any problems screwing up this impressive run by our Colts.

[Superman]

From the link you posted:

Again, I can only go by what I saw with my own eyes and in my opinion, the bolded and underlined portions are way off base. Just my humble opinion though.

That's the consensus from draft scouts. I could post a half dozen more scouting reports on Ta'amu that say basically the same thing. You're the outlier. Not saying you're wrong; you've watched him more than I have. But he's generally regarded as a nose tackle prospect, not just due to his size, but also because of how he plays.

[Jason_]

That's the consensus from draft scouts. I could post a half dozen more scouting reports on Ta'amu that say basically the same thing. You're the outlier. Not saying you're wrong; you've watched him more than I have. But he's generally regarded as a nose tackle prospect, not just due to his size, but also because of how he plays.

Oh believe me, I know you could. I still disagree. I think what primarily lead to him being projected as a NT is his size and bulk and not because of the way he plays.

I remember early in the season last year, I started watching as many college games as I could. I wanted to scout for a few key positions; QB, NT, CB primarily. I watched as much as I could of Washington, Memphis and Alabama (among many other teams) primarily to watch Ta'amu, Poe and Chapman. I wanted to like Ta'amu from the get go but the more I watched of him, the more "meh" I felt about him. After the first game I watched of Washington and then Memphis, I was highly impressed with Poe (who at the time was being considered a 3rd-4th round prospect) and was not really impressed with Ta'amu (who at the time was being called a sure fire 1st rounder).

Like I said before, if he can be coached up, a lot, then he could be a potent NT. He does have the size and frame for it and I'm sure he's much stronger than he showed when he played. I'm also sure that had a lot to do with using improper technique and not knowing how to use leverage to his advantage. If he can be coached on these things then he might be able to be very good. However on the flip side, I also still believe that if he were to get down to the 300-310 range then he could also play the 5-tech or 3-tech positions.

Read everything in all those draft reports on him. Many of them also speak of him having a great burst off the snap but low top end speed and poor endurance, which is understandable for a guy his size. I just read a few different draft profiles on him that spoke of his burst allowing him to penetrate a gap, but his lack of speed prevents him from really being able to use that burst to his advantage. So if he were to lose some of that weight, then that should help to improve his top end speed as well as his endurance. If that were to be the case then, as I said, I think he could be a very good 3-tech.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

I wouldn't be shocked if Belichick* picked him up.

[Poster X]

Every time a player gets cut I find out about it on here because someone asks if we should sign them. I'm not a fan of picking up anyone like this no matter how good they are. There could be an upside, but he has a lot of growing up to do and I'd pass.

[Jason_]

Not the permanant starter, for the short term that seems to be the case.

He is not the answer longterm, but for now he may be.

So I just rewatched the entire Jags game, and though I didn't make an effort to count exactly how many snaps Tevaseu was on the field for (though I wish I had), I didn't really see him on any more than maybe half a dozen plays. You know how many snaps AJ was on the field for, but do you know how many Tevaseu was on the field for? Also, did you happen to see AJ getting some pressure up the middle on several plays? In fact, the sack that Bethea got was due to Gabbert having to escape the pocket because AJ would have otherwise sacked him.

Big Joe was saying today that Nevis was IR'd by Indy just to bring Chapman up... I wonder if he is on the IR that one can return from? Was Nevis PS eligible? Was he IR's so Indy would not be forced to outright release him?

Oh well Lets hope Chap stays healthy.

Unfortunately no, Nevis will not be able to return. Each team can only designate one player to return from IR and for the Colts that was Seth Olsen:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/08/colts-place-seth-olsen-on-injured-reserve/

Also, no Nevis would not have been PS eligible. Had to google it because I didn't know what the specifics were of PS eligibility but here we go. http://www.thephinsider.com/2012/9/1/3284421/nfl-practice-squad-salary-rules-player-eligibility

A player is eligible for the practice squad if they have not accrued a season of free agent eligibility according to the NFL's rules. In essence, a player has to have not been on a team's 46-man active game-day roster for more than eight games in any accrued seasons, and cannot have been on a practice squad for more than two years. A player may be placed on a team's practice squad a third time, but only so long as that team maintains 53-players on their active/inactive roster. If the team should drop below 53-players, the third year practice squad player will automatically be elevated to the main roster.

Besides that, we would have had to cut Nevis and could have only signed him to the practice squad if he cleared waivers and no one else made him a better offer after clearing waivers. Plus, putting him on the PS would allow any other team to sign him to their active roster at any time. Too big a risk imo for a guy like Nevis. Personally I don't see any reason why he wouldn't be brought back next year. He has played pretty well at 5-tech and has played very well at 3-tech. He's been one of the better players, behind Redding, at getting pressure up the middle on the QB.

[Andy]

So I just rewatched the entire Jags game, and though I didn't make an effort to count exactly how many snaps Tevaseu was on the field for (though I wish I had), I didn't really see him on any more than maybe half a dozen plays. You know how many snaps AJ was on the field for, but do you know how many Tevaseu was on the field for? Also, did you happen to see AJ getting some pressure up the middle on several plays? In fact, the sack that Bethea got was due to Gabbert having to escape the pocket because AJ would have otherwise sacked him.

AJ was on the field for a season low 18 snaps. Tevaseu was on for I believe around 60%. AJ wasn't injured either.

[ColtsLegacy]

So I just rewatched the entire Jags game, and though I didn't make an effort to count exactly how many snaps Tevaseu was on the field for (though I wish I had), I didn't really see him on any more than maybe half a dozen plays. You know how many snaps AJ was on the field for, but do you know how many Tevaseu was on the field for? Also, did you happen to see AJ getting some pressure up the middle on several plays? In fact, the sack that Bethea got was due to Gabbert having to escape the pocket because AJ would have otherwise sacked him.

AJ was on the field for a season low 18 snaps. Tevaseu was on for I believe around 60%. AJ wasn't injured either.

According to PFF, Tevaseu played a whopping 2 snaps vs. Jax. I think that's slightly less than 60%.

[Jason_]

AJ was on the field for a season low 18 snaps. Tevaseu was on for I believe around 60%. AJ wasn't injured either.

LOL. Tevaseu wasnt on the field for anywhere even CLOSE to 60% of the snaps. I gotta say your attempts to smear mookie are getting more and more outlandish by the day.

[Jason_]

According to PFF, Tevaseu played a whopping 2 snaps vs. Jax. I think that's slightly less than 60%.

Funny thing is i only remembered actually seeing tevaseu on 2 plays. I only said maybe half a dozen because i figured he may have been out there a few times and i just didnt notice. Lol

Maybe andy thinks we only played 3 snaps on defense. That would make tevaseu's 2 snaps close to 60%

[Jason_]

Just to update, steelers signed ta'amu to their practice squad

[NewEra]

Just to update, steelers signed ta'amu to their practice squad

good info, so if anyone still wanted him they can just sign him to their roster

[Jason_]

good info, so if anyone still wanted him they can just sign him to their roster

Correct, any team could sign him but they would have to sign him to their active roster and, I believe, keep him there for a minimum of 3 weeks.

[NewEra]

he would have been nice, but with chapman coming along Id rather see him get the reps.

btw, am I the only one who wants to call him chappy? like chappy sinclair from iron eagle, heh.

[PrincetonTiger]

Just to update, steelers signed ta'amu to their practice squad

interesting news