Nolan Nawrocki's Manti Te'o Comments

[NDinFL]

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.

Bingo.

He doesn't play a flashy/sexy position like defensive end, so he doesn't end up with the stats or highlite reel plays like some of you want.

Instead, he just brings it on every play and keeps his nose to the grindstone.

 

[IrishLax]

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

Yes but this guy was BEYOND wrong and has been widely criticized for his unabashed (and totally 100% incorrect) statements. He called him a "fraud" "bust" "delusional" etc. etc. I'm sure you can find the rest with a quick Google search.

The point is this guy is a nobody.

 

[ND_HAS_RISEN]

I think KMOOSE hit the nail on the head with his comments. I watch Manti like a hawk when I am watching the game.

Some of the things he does great:

1- His instincts are second to none. He has such an natural instinct that you only ever find in great players. Ray Lewis, Urlacher, Willis, etc. How many times has he blown up screens or check downs (don't get confused with pass coverage...)

2- He is a LEADER flat out. The fact that this defense stepped up the way they did this year isn't just because of the young DLINE talent, it’s because Manti took the reins and LED them (IMO of course...)

3- He tackles relentlessly. You do not compile the amount of tackles he has even with 1/2 tackles unless you can tackle.


Now the things that he has struggled with and why some people think he has under achieved. I won’t say he's under achieved because I thinks he been a pretty damn good LB, but I can certainly understand why somebody who had higher expectations could.


1- Credit to KMOOSE.. Getting off of blocks!!! If there is one thing that has stood out to me more than anything else with Teo is his inability to shed the blocks. When he makes an instinctive flow directly to where he needs to be and a tackle/guard step off the double team to pick him up, he struggles. When he flows fast enough and doesn’t get picked up by the shed, then he is unstoppable, but if they get a hat on him he struggles. I saw that way more this past year that I ever saw in the previous 2 so the ankle could have really had an effect on him here.

2- Pass Coverage. He gets lost in the zone way too much. He is always chasing rather than containing. He does better than all of the other LB's but that isn’t saying much. The coverage from the LB core for the past 4 years has been atrocious as far as I am concerned. He has the speed, he just needs a better sense of recognition of the zone. When he plays man to man in some spread sets he seems to do much better.


Point here is that I can see both sides of the fence here. Manti is a monster in my book and I think he is primed for a spectacular season next year!

I don't have a problem with people pointing out the flaws, I have a problem with failing to recognize the stuff that he does as good as any LB out there and only focusing on the stuff he does bad.

 

[Irish Man3]

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.

So you expected a Ray Lewis like impact from a highly touted highschool LB from Hawaii? That tells me a lot right there.

 

[military_irish]

I guess I don't understand what expectations he needs to live up to.

Mel Kiper ranks Vontaze Burflict as the #15 player in this years draft. (Last I have seen)

Vontaze Burflict stats.

Total tackles: 69
Tackles for Loss: 7
Fumbles Recovered: 1
INT: 1

Manti Te'o Stats.
Total Tackles: 128
Tackles for loss: 13.5
Forced Fumbles: 1

The only difference is that Burflict had 1 interception and a fumble recovery anyone can recover one, Manti forced one. Which in my eyes is more significant.

Burflict may have more highlight reals on ESPN but he is also a hot head. Te'o is well mannered and far more productive.

 

[kmoose]

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.

This guy made quite a few:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VxjsK9HN0Co" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Old Man Mike]

A). Manti Te'o is an absolutely great run-stuffing middle-linebacker, even though a lineman WILL occasionally get to him and "stick". People who rag on someone who does that much "work" for us, must believe that other great opponent players are never allowed to make a great block themselves. I wonder if anyone believes that the O-Coordinators have no plan whatsoever to try to deal with our number one tackler? This sort of holding to near perfection is as insulting as it is irritating.

B). Manti needs to improve on pass coverage. EVERYBODY with any sense has remarked on that, including Manti himself. Had the idiot who wrote the article talked about that as an NFL concern, he would have appeared to be intelligent. Manti's problem in part is that he is not at all like Troy Palomalo. Manti has real hip-turning flexibility limitations. Coach Kelly rather quietly mentioned this when reporters were forcing him to compare Manti to Luke Kuechly. He also said that Manti hit harder/ was stronger.

C). Manti also doesn't intercept many passes but if one has noticed nobody does on ND. Only Harrison Smith, when the particular day's scheme allows him to deep-rove and the opposing QB is stupid enough to underestimate his speed, gets an INT --- teams were smart enough not to do that this past year. Manti's, and everyone else's, not getting interceptions is related to Diaco's theories about not giving up big plays. As he gets all the pieces working properly and with necessary speed, he'll probably release the hounds more, but right now we don't gamble on disguised sudden-jump types of coverage, and players are trying to keep things in front of them.

D). Manti is a great college player --- a great one. All the evaluators who put him on watch lists for post-season awards must be pin-heads compared to gripers on IE. Manti is also not Ray Lewis, and who-the-he!l are any of us to demand that? It reminds me of the near crazed thread dumping on Mike Brey the other day saying he's not Coach K ... well, NO ONE IS.

These threads seem the product often of minds with too little to amuse them so they make stuff up.

 

[TDHeysus]

2- He is a LEADER flat out. The fact that this defense stepped up the way they did this year isn't just because of the young DLINE talent, it’s because Manti took the reins and LED them (IMO of course...)

Manti's Leadership skills are being seriously overlooked by some ppl. Manti came to ND and was a leader on defense his freshman year, by his sophomore year, he was thee leader of the defense. It had been a very long time since ND had a true leader in the mold of Manti. its been so long that some fans forgot about that leadership-element to a team; forgot how integral and how important it is to a team to have a true leader. leadership begats leadership. it inspires others on the team in ways that arent always apparent.

if you go by stats alone, then your missing the point. ND was broke for a long time, alot of the pieces that an established program needs were missing from ND for a number years. Manti Te'o is one of those 'pieces' that every successfull program needs. Now as Manti is starting his last year, the next leader is already starting to emerge; Knowledge and lessons learned being passed down from one generation to the next is the definition of a program and in terms of leadership it started with Manti Teo.

In my opinion, there was an erosion between the leadership that was a part of the Holtz' teams, and the subsequent 10 years until Manti arrived. Manti re-established that leadeship role.

as far as that next leader who is starting to emerge, I dont want to say who I think that person is, but if you watch ND football you know who it is.

One criticism I have heard repeatedly about Manti is his over-pursuing...My response is always this, "He may have not made the tackle but, Manti forced the play back into the teeth of the defense, you call it over-pursuing, I call it containment."

Containment is a fundamental concept of defensive football. If you cant make the tackle, then force the play back into the defense, under no circumstances do you let that offensive runner get outside of the defense.

I got nothing but love for Manti

 

[stlnd01]

Big fan of Manti. He's an excellent tackler. Leader of the defense and of the locker room. Will be a significant player on Sundays for a lot of years if he stays healthy.
But I'm also in the "bit of an underachiever" camp. I keep going back to the second half of the USC game, when we desperately needed someone - anyone - on our defense to make a play (I know it's not fair, but we did). I don't even mean a pick, I mean penetrating their O Line and stuffing someone for a loss. Just to take away their momentum.
That's when a truly great front seven player makes his mark, not with 15 tackles against Maryland, but by single-handedly stopping the best offense you play all season and getting the ball back in crunch time. It's a lot to expect of one guy, I know. But there's been a lot of hype.
That said, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving Saturday, 2012, in the Coliseum.

 

[kmoose]

One criticism I have heard repeatedly about Manti is his over-pursuing...My response is always this, "He may have not made the tackle but, Manti forced the play back into the teeth of the defense, you call it over-pursuing, I call it containment."

Containment is a fundamental concept of defensive football. If you cant make the tackle, then force the play back into the defense, under no circumstances do you let that offensive runner get outside of the defense.

I got nothing but love for Manti

Nothing against Manti, because it says more about the rest of the defense than him, but...

Manti is the player that everyone else is supposed to be funneling the ball carrier to. I'm not anti-Manti, and I think he had an outstanding year. But he does have limitations, and there's nothing wrong with discussing those respectfully.

 

[dshans]

Mute point.

Your assessment of Manti aside, that would be (a) Moot point, not a Mute point.

Were the point "mute" we would not be "hearing" or reading it.

As the saying goes, "Just Sayin'."

PersnicketyShans.

 

[TDHeysus]

Nothing against Manti, because it says more about the rest of the defense than him, but....

your exactly right, but I didnt want to say that in my post(i just wanted to imply that). But the rest of the defense around him is getting better and better....another indicator that ND is building a program.

 

[NDinFL]

Nothing against Manti, because it says more about the rest of the defense than him, but...

Manti is the player that everyone else is supposed to be funneling the ball carrier to. I'm not anti-Manti, and I think he had an outstanding year. But he does have limitations, and there's nothing wrong with discussing those respectfully.

Completely agree.

No player is perfect, and we've seen Manti's limitations in pass coverage, but to think that he has "underachieved" as stated before, well that is just incorrect.

 

[scUM Hater]

Surprised Rees' name hasn't come up. After Manti graduates and is off to the NFL someone will start a "how much we miss Manti and how awesome he was in tne ND blue and gold" thread. He is a awesome player and will be greatly missed when gone. Do you all think Clausen was an underachiever? He was highly....HIGHLY....rated. Great stats but couldnt win tne big game.

 

[TDHeysus]

.

 

[irishtrain]

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.

He has not underacheived/he has been a great college linebacker and of course could and can be better. The expectations are very high to meet for most people on this board. Dont start this type of thread as the guy has been great and certainly wonderfull for Notre Dame. Once again the stars are just a rating sysytem for 17/18 yr olds. I'll take 10 more Manti Teos any day. Too many people wanted Butkus reincarnated-the guy has been great. By the way who is Nolan Nowacki-never heard of the guy-not putting him down but opinions are like well-you get the picture.

 

[cLaRk_JoNeS]

everything said is spot on.

Manti best game at ND was in this past bowl game. Thinking hes been just amazing is blind homerism

 

[Irishnuke]

Surprised Rees' name hasn't come up. After Manti graduates and is off to the NFL someone will start a "how much we miss Manti and how awesome he was in tne ND blue and gold" thread. He is a awesome player and will be greatly missed when gone. Do you all think Clausen was an underachiever? He was highly....HIGHLY....rated. Great stats but couldnt win tne big game.

Why are you bringing Tommy and Jimmy into a discussion about Manti? What we think/thought about them is irrelevant to this topic. It was also hard for Jimmy to "win the big game" when he was constantly on his back.

 

[johnnykillz]

Nuetered asked I add this video to the thread: watch it and see where he stands with the conversation taking place.

(can somebody embed this for me? I'm on my iPad.)

Manti "The Terminator" Te'o - YouTube

 

[military_irish]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IK20TaJ7Ixs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[johnnykillz]

Thank you brotha.

 

[dshans]

At the request of a one time avid, insightful, intelligent and entertaining poster (whose name shall not be mentioned till he/it stops pooping on my lawn) I submit this:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IK20TaJ7Ixs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

As is my usual modus operandi, I defer to those schooled in the nuts and bolts of football.

However, I'll put my neck on the chopping block this one time to say that I think Nawrocki's an attention seeking putz with a shillelagh stuck up his arse.

 

[BGIF]

He has not underacheived/he has been a great college linebacker and of course could and can be better. The expectations are very high to meet for most people on this board. Dont start this type of thread as the guy has been great and certainly wonderfull for Notre Dame. Once again the stars are just a rating sysytem for 17/18 yr olds. I'll take 10 more Manti Teos any day. Too many people wanted Butkus reincarnated-the guy has been great. By the way who is Nolan Nowacki-never heard of the guy-not putting him down but opinions are like well-you get the picture.

Butkus? He played for Illinois.

Manti is a BIG hitter but he hasn't generated turnovers. His pass coverage is better than the other ND LBs but that's not saying much. He has gotten more consistent but still has a ways to go to be with the great ones.

I'm not talking Illini backers either. ND has a history of great backers, Buoniconti, Carroll, Heimkeiter, Golic, Crable, Bolcar, Stonebreaker, Dubose. And others who made All-American. He's the best since Dubose but he wouldn't start over Crable, Bolcar, and Stonebreaker.

 

[kmoose]

Butkus? He played for Illinois.

Manti is a BIG hitter but he hasn't generated turnovers. His pass coverage is better than the other ND LBs but that's not saying much. He has gotten more consistent but still has a ways to go to be with the great ones.

I'm not talking Illini backers either. ND has a history of great backers, Buoniconti, Carroll, Heimkeiter, Golic, Crable, Bolcar, Stonebreaker, Dubose. And others who made All-American. He's the best since Dubose but he wouldn't start over Crable, Bolcar, and Stonebreaker.

Wasn't Courtney Watson after Dubose?

 

[raiseherGOLSONblue]

That is probably the coolest video I've ever seen in my life....lol I've watched it like 4 times already.

 

[BGIF]

Wasn't Courtney Watson after Dubose?

He was, do you think he was better than Manti?

 

[raiseherGOLSONblue]

I think it's hard to live up to the hype that Manti had coming out of high school. Especially considering we were thought to have an "awful" defense by most until the last half of 2010. The stats can lie as well with him though. In Diaco's 3-4 the ILB's SHOULD be racking up crazy tackle numbers. Weather or not the "experts" think he has the stuff for the NFL, I beleive that his heart and character will be great for any team that is lucky enough to have him. He really is a great kid and I think we can all agree, (personal opinions, and stats aside). Manti Te'o is one hell of a football player....and we are all glad to have him in blue n gold. I mean...would you rather play against him? I think not.

 

[raiseherGOLSONblue]

I must say though...my FAVORITE thing about Manti...he gets soooo fired up while playing and celebrates and gets super juiced w/ his teammates w/out making it seem cocky, or inapropriate or over the top etc. He is no doubt the heart and soul of the D as far as setting the tempo.

 

[sharksamardzija8345]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IK20TaJ7Ixs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

dude's soft

 

[NDhoosier]

manti te'o and underachieving is like an oxymoron... he needs to work on his pass coverage a little bit, but Manti Te'o is lights out even with an injury.