Rookie linebacker Manti Te'o has slow start to season, great finish

SAN DIEGO -- Manti Te'o is ready for his first NFL playoff appearance. He talks about not freezing, and it has nothing to do with the weather the San Diego Chargers could face in Cincinnati today.

He says he's becoming the player he knows he can be.

The rookie linebacker had a season-high 11 tackles against Kansas City in the victory that ended the Chargers' three-year playoff drought and propelled them into today's wild-card game against the Bengals.

It was a strong finish to a year that started slowly because of a foot injury that sidelined the former Notre Dame star for the final three exhibition games and the first three regular-season games.

"It's starting to get better," Te'o said. "I'm starting to play my brand of football. I've still got a long way to go. I'm still not there. As you can see, I'm growing. I'm not as hesitant. I'm reacting more the way I want to. I'm more decisive. It all has to do with me understanding where I've got to be."

Te'o had a lot to deal with when he came into the NFL. An All-American linebacker at Notre Dame, his draft stock fell after his poor showing in the BCS championship game loss to Alabama, followed by the revelation that he'd gotten fooled by a hoax involving a fake girlfriend.

The Chargers drafted him in the second round, but then he spent several weeks with his right foot in a walking boot after injuring it in the first exhibition game.

"It always sets a player back anytime you have an injury like that," defensive coordinator John Pagano said. "It hurts his development to where you can't go run and react. Anybody can read stuff, anybody can look at film, but until you're out reacting, going and doing those things, it's going to slow any player's development."

"I was frustrated and the coaches said, 'Just be patient with it. It will come,' " Te'o said. "I've always been one to want results now. I need to perform the way I perform and I wasn't performing the way I wanted to, so it was hard."

He said repetition, help from veteran teammates such as fellow inside linebacker Donald Butler and safety Eric Weddle, and coaches correcting him helped along.

"I think I've learned more from my mistakes than I've learned from all the plays I've made," Te'o said.

He finished the regular season with 93 tackles, third on the team. Weddle had 114 and Butler, who also missed three games to injury, had 99.

"He's a young guy who every week progressively has gotten better," Butler said. "He's always asking questions, always trying to get better, and that's huge in any young guy. He's doing great."