What happened to Filer?

Old Man Mike

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I apologize. I too was captured by all the talk about Manti. My view about Filer's situation is like Terry's: that there seems to be nothing physical that can keep him off the field, so logically it must be adapting to the complexities of the defensive scheme. I'd really like to hear someone talk on the subject who knows what the coaches are thinking though as that's where the answer lies.
 

Rocket89

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I too would like to hear the coaches speak to this.

My feeling is this...utilize Filer's speed and athleticism, no matter what.

Like I said, Smith and Neal are either out of position (most likely the mental knock on Filer too and probably what's keeping him off the field) or if they are in position their lack of speed prevents them from making a play.

At least with Filer we'd have a congruence of the two from time to time that seems to rarely happen with Neal and Smith.

It's just so frustrating to see a talent like Filer not playing. We've rarely seen players like him on our defense with that kind of size, speed and athleticism and here he is with 22 games or so left in his career and he hasn't even made a dent.
 

Sherm Sticky

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Who is going to play ILB if we hypothetically move Teo outside? B Smith, please no. If you move Filer to ILB, you wouldn't be using his best asset - speed. Teo is built like a tank, and he's made to clog holes and stuff the run. Anthony McDonald has been injured. Fact of the matter is these OLBs are not used to this system. They haven't had enough work to 'contain' the offense on stretch plays. They need to get better with their hands as Kelly pointed out several times this summer. This will come with time.
Bingo! Exactly who is going to take his spot on the inside? A freshman Spond? McDonald who can never stay healthy and has never started a game? I'll pass...
 

Riddickulous

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Filer needs to play. Blah blah blah, generic answers given in this thread.

Now on to Te'o. If he wrapped up, he'd have like 50 tackles, by now. He's a sophomore and he's in the right position to make a play 80% of the time. It's an enormous improvement over last year and certainly better than Brian Smith.

I want to see more McDonald. That stop on the QB sneak was sick.
 

irishtrain

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Manti is still an outstanding talent and will doubtless be one of those players whose upside is so good that he'll continue to grow every year until he is beyond belief. Right now he is victimized by the extreme fantasy hype that placed him on Mt Olympus prior to his time. I too have been worried about some of the non-shedding of offensive linemen that has occurred. I wonder who our D-linemen were at those times, and whether he was blitzing right into the teeth of the offensive scheme, so that such "defeats" were to be expected. Maybe someone here knows the answer to that. But MOVING Te'o? No way that we want to mess up his learning curve on this new scheme. As to his "negative grading" plays [in coaching film room parlance], sometimes a D-lineman or a safety are supposed to make the play a linebacker can't. I also would like to know how the coaching staff is grading those plays, as I'm pretty sure that most of us don't have a clue. Sometimes I feel we need to show a little more humility about our "insightful" analyses, which appear to me to be shallow [often] indeed. In complex situations, what appears to the untrained eye is rarely what is really going on. I will take Te'o rather than "trade" him to one of our opponents. Who do we have on this team who is perfect? Who does anybody have?
2 comments -first- man I'm pulling for Filer cause he was one I thought would be very very good in the middle. Now it seems he must play outside. Dont really know whats up but these coaches must know who is the best. Just keep working baby and get better. 2nd- I had to listen to the mich st game on the radio and Criqui said without a doubt the best linebacker on the field from both teams was Manti Teo. Criqui is of course a homer but he's been around enough to speak his mind which is always filled with truth-if he says that with all the comments on Greg Jones made by other people it says alot. Teo is a fine player and is only a soph. There is nothing wrong with hyping Manti Teo-liget stud.
 

The Polish Irishman

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Manti made few plays against MSU that reminded me of Singletary.

Filer, it must be a mental thing. Last year he got moved to DE because he was having trouble remember where to be.
 

tko

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i heard a swimming pool was installed in ND stadium this week between the 40's on either side. look for filer to rise up out of that pool for big tackles.
 
H

HereComeTheIrish

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They haven't run into the situation yet where they need a guy to jump out of a pool a water, landing on the side feet first. {sarcasm}

i heard a swimming pool was installed in ND stadium this week between the 40's on either side. look for filer to rise up out of that pool for big tackles.

Ohhhhh.... Just a day late. :p

I keed....good stuff. ;)
 
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