Nolan Nawrocki's Manti Te'o Comments

[raiseherGOLSONblue]

"Asked if Te’o projected as a first-round pick, as some speculated during the 2011 season, Nawrocki said: “Not in my opinion, no. I thought he was a big guy that played small and didn’t have a lot of knock-back or explosive body power. He missed way too many tackles in space, over-running, over-pursuing, not coming to balance and breaking down. I’d like to see more consistency in that position. That’s what teams are looking for."


Is this guy on Ketamine or something????? I coulda sworn I saw Manti knockin people all over the field all of the last 3 seasons....

 

[irishfanjho15]

Yes, he's on the special K. Got to be.

 

[irishpat183]

"Asked if Te’o projected as a first-round pick, as some speculated during the 2011 season, Nawrocki said: “Not in my opinion, no. I thought he was a big guy that played small and didn’t have a lot of knock-back or explosive body power. He missed way too many tackles in space, over-running, over-pursuing, not coming to balance and breaking down. I’d like to see more consistency in that position. That’s what teams are looking for."


Is this guy on Ketamine or something????? I coulda sworn I saw Manti knockin people all over the field all of the last 3 seasons....

I love Manti...no doubt...but he has ABSOLUTELY underacheived at his time at ND. This guy has a point about some stuff, but he's off the mark about the "knock back" power...Manti has it(we saw it at times), just didn't have a great year last year.

He needs to get lighter (tighter) and quicker. And Nawrocki is right, gotta be more consistant.

 

[Irish Fam]

Who is Nolan Nawrocki?

 

[irishpat183]

But Manti can blow fools up at the drop of a dime....

Didn't I hear he was playing with an injury last year anyway?? Maybe that's the reason for the decline.

Because he was a damn beast the year before(his Soph year). A lot better than he was last year.

 

[irishfanjho15]

Being injured for part of the season and hurt for the rest has to be taken into consideration. If you're going to critique, that is something that has to be mentioned. Nawrocki decided to not even hint at that during his interpretation.

 

[IrishLax]

Manti was playing with an ankle sprain for nearly the entire season... he's right that he still misses too many tackles and he's right that he might not have been a 1st round pick because ILBs aren't drafted very highly. He's an absolute idiot with the rest of his analysis.

He's also the guy that said the following about Cam Newton:

will be contained by NFL defensive coordinators, struggle to sustain success and will not prove worthy of an early investment.

 

[clashmore_mike]

smh

 

[NDdomer2]

Right in his judgement about where he would probably have went in the draft but a lil unfair on the reasons of why. I expect a lot from Manti this season tho.

 

[kmoose]

Perhaps the lack of "knock-back power" that he refers to was not in reference to tackling a tailback, but in reference to Manti getting pushed around by most offensive linemen. That's been my one frustration with him, for his whole career at ND. He's a big guy, but he hasn't shown the ability to get off of the block of an offensive lineman and make the play. Neither does he blow up such blocks, and clog up the running lane. He can certainly hit. But the eyeball test sometimes can be deceiving. He doesn't make many "decleaters", which is what most "analysts" drool over. But you don't have to decleat a guy, to hit him hard enough that he doesn't want to come through that same hole again.

 

[UmphreakDomer]

from what i saw this past year, even with the flat tire, manti whiffed less this season than the two previous. i think freshman year was all about the hit stick but i think he has calmed and played great this year.
he was flying all over the bowl game. seeing him coming thru the line untouched is a beautiful thing.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Manti was playing with an ankle sprain for nearly the entire season... he's right that he still misses too many tackles and he's right that he might not have been a 1st round pick because ILBs aren't drafted very highly. He's an absolute idiot with the rest of his analysis.

He's also the guy that said the following about Cam Newton:

Lol

 

[Emcee77]

Perhaps the lack of "knock-back power" that he refers to was not in reference to tackling a tailback, but in reference to Manti getting pushed around by most offensive linemen. That's been my one frustration with him, for his whole career at ND. He's a big guy, but he hasn't shown the ability to get off of the block of an offensive lineman and make the play. Neither does he blow up such blocks, and clog up the running lane. He can certainly hit. But the eyeball test sometimes can be deceiving. He doesn't make many "decleaters", which is what most "analysts" drool over. But you don't have to decleat a guy, to hit him hard enough that he doesn't want to come through that same hole again.

I think that's a great point. When Manti is healthy he is all over the field. At his best he looks like a bigger Troy Polamalu (without the curls). If you're looking for that big hit that stands out on a highlight reel he may not seem as impressive as some other guys, but you gotta look at how he got into position to make the tackle in the first place. He has Urlacher range. True, he has had a tendency to miss tackles; hopefully he will be lights out this year and quiet the doubters.

 

[irishpat183]

Manti was playing with an ankle sprain for nearly the entire season... he's right that he still misses too many tackles and he's right that he might not have been a 1st round pick because ILBs aren't drafted very highly. He's an absolute idiot with the rest of his analysis.

He's also the guy that said the following about Cam Newton:

Alot of people were wrong about Cam.....

It's also only been one season. Mike Vick, for as dynamic as he was...never won squat because he never got a handle on being careless with the football and couldn't stay healthy due to his running.

I'm interested to see how Cam shapes up. Tremendous talent....but we'll see.

 

[Irish Man3]

I love Manti...no doubt...but he has ABSOLUTELY underacheived at his time at ND. This guy has a point about some stuff, but he's off the mark about the "knock back" power...Manti has it(we saw it at times), just didn't have a great year last year.

He needs to get lighter (tighter) and quicker. And Nawrocki is right, gotta be more consistant.

I'd like you to please explain to me how Manti has "ABSOLUTELY underachieved" during his time at ND. Just curious.

 

[NDinFL]

I'd like you to please explain to me how Manti has "ABSOLUTELY underachieved" during his time at ND. Just curious.

I 2nd this.

 

[irishpat183]

I 2nd this.

Coming in as highly ranked as he was?? Come on. You can't tell me that you expected the lackluster amount of playmaking that he's contributed.

I was thinking more Ray Lewis, than London Fletcher when he arrived.

Fact is fact. He's a tackling machine...and that's about it. Slow in coverage. inconsistant. And doesn't create any turnovers or make any real great plays.

Love him to death. But he's just a good linebacker. Not the next Urlacher like most of us thought when he came to ND.

 

[irishpat183]

Again, I'm a Manti fan...but I just expected more from him.

And he's still got one more year to prove me wrong.

 

[NDinFL]

Coming in as highly ranked as he was?? Come on. You can't tell me that you expected the lackluster amount of playmaking that he's contributed.

I was thinking more Ray Lewis, than London Fletcher when he arrived.

Fact is fact. He's a tackling machine...and that's about it. Slow in coverage. inconsistant. And doesn't create any turnovers or make any real great plays.

Love him to death. But he's just a good linebacker. Not the next Urlacher like most of us thought when he came to ND.

You're grasping at straws...

 

[irishpat183]

You're grasping at straws...

How so?

 

[NDinFL]

How so?

Pleading with someone to agree with you.

I agree that Manti isn't the best in coverage, but to say that he's a tackling machine and nothing more is just flat out wrong.

 

[irishpat183]

Pleading with someone to agree with you.

I agree that Manti isn't the best in coverage, but to say that he's a tackling machine and nothing more is just flat out wrong.

How am I pleading? I'm simply stating that I expected a whole lot more from him. You're entitled to your own opinion.

Again, he's London Fletcher (not a bad thing) not Ray Lewis (what I was expecting)

 

[NDinFL]

How am I pleading? I'm simply stating that I expected a whole lot more from him. You're entitled to your own opinion.

Again, he's London Fletcher (not a bad thing) not Ray Lewis (what I was expecting)

And that's YOUR opinion. Not fact.

He's a leader and the coach of the defense out on the field, on top of hitting like a ton of bricks and consistently tackling every single thing within arms reach.

Even if he had a handful of picks, there would still be dumbasses on here that would say,

"if he was only faster, he would be taking those to the house"

So yeah, London Fletcher and Manti-****ing-Te'o do NOT belong in the same sentence

 

[Emcee77]

How am I pleading? I'm simply stating that I expected a whole lot more from him. You're entitled to your own opinion.

Again, he's London Fletcher (not a bad thing) not Ray Lewis (what I was expecting)

He's better than that, though. Maybe not Ray Lewis, but he led our team in tackles by like 30% while playing hurt, he's the heart and soul of the defense and he and Harrison Smith were the only guys who played every meaningful snap they were healthy enough to play. If all you're saying is that he isn't the best linebacker ever, I suppose that's fair, but it would be unfair to expect that of any player; you can only hope for that. Plus I thought I caught the word "underachieve" back there somewhere ... that's way too strong a term to use about our leading tackler.

 

[irishpat183]

[/B]

And that's YOUR opinion. Not fact.

He's a leader and the coach of the defense out on the field, on top of hitting like a ton of bricks and consistently tackling every single thing within arms reach.

Even if he had a handful of picks, there would still be dumbasses on here that would say,

"if he was only faster, he would be taking those to the house"

So yeah, London Fletcher and Manti-****ing-Te'o do NOT belong in the same sentence

Sorry to insult your man-crush....And he doesn't even have the picks for some "dumbasses" to say that about. Mute point.

What huge plays has Manti made? Can you remember a couple? Forced a big turnover? Got a huge sack late in the game?

I can't.

There is absolutely something to be said for being a great tackler. I just expected more.

 

[BurningRiver]

I love Manti and think he's a great linebacker, but he's still a little overrated IMO. I mean, what has he done to deserve it? If he weren't as highly rated as he was coming into college, he would just be viewed as an above-average linebacker. He hasn't really done anything too spectacular except rack up tackles and have a couple bone crushing hits over his 3 years

 

[irishpat183]

He's better than that, though. Maybe not Ray Lewis, but he led our team in tackles by like 30% while playing hurt, he's the heart and soul of the defense and he and Harrison Smith were the only guys who played every meaningful snap they were healthy enough to play. If all you're saying is that he isn't the best linebacker ever, I suppose that's fair, but it would be unfair to expect that of any player; you can only hope for that. Plus I thought I caught the word "underachieve" back there somewhere ... that's way too strong a term to use about our leading tackler.

I get that....I'm not talking about locker room. I'm talking about on field/skill set. I would never call him anything BUT a leader on our team. I never said he wasn't valuable to the team, just that I think he has underacheived on the field.

He's got this season to work out all the kinks. Hopefully he suprises me and destroys everythign this year.

 

[NDinFL]

Sorry to insult your man-crush....And he doesn't even have the picks for some "dumbasses" to say that about. Mute point.

What huge plays has Manti made? Can you remember a couple? Forced a big turnover? Got a huge sack late in the game?

I can't.

There is absolutely something to be said for being a great tackler. I just expected more.

Well then YOUR expectations are too high.

My point was that even if he made some amazing play, there would be dumbasses on here that would say that he didn't do it amazingly enough. It isn't a mute point.

On another note, if your big gripe is memorable plays, then name me a defensive player who made a memorable/game clinching play this past season.

Not every football game ends with a sack or int, as a matter of fact, very few do

 

[koonja]

Manti needs to get better in coverage. And I waited all season for him to make a play. Didn't happen until the bowl game. He's very big and athletic. Absolute monster and best LB next season, IMO. But Irishpat183 isn't the only one that expected more. I'm sure Manti would say the same thing about himself. He has all of the tools and will be great next year and in the pros. Gotta learn to cover though. NFL TEs are getting more and more athletic.

 

[JughedJones]

Sorry to insult your man-crush....And he doesn't even have the picks for some "dumbasses" to say that about. Mute point.

What huge plays has Manti made? Can you remember a couple? Forced a big turnover? Got a huge sack late in the game?

I can't.

There is absolutely something to be said for being a great tackler. I just expected more.

The term is moot point. Moot.

And there have been plenty of drives this year, especially his sophomore year, where he was instrumental in the D making a huge stop. That's what he needs to be doing. Sorry he didn't get the fumble recovery enough for you.