Lions Film Study: Let’s see if Giovanni Manu is ready if Taylor Decker can’t go

The biggest story coming out of the Meijer Performance Center for the Detroit Lions this week is that starting left tackle Taylor Decker has not practiced all week. That includes Friday. Game designations are not quite out yet, and both Dan Campbell and John Morton have said that they expect Decker to play and that […]

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
Add as preferred source on Google
David Reginek-Imagn Images

The biggest story coming out of the Meijer Performance Center for the Detroit Lions this week is that starting left tackle Taylor Decker has not practiced all week. That includes Friday. Game designations are not quite out yet, and both Dan Campbell and John Morton have said that they expect Decker to play and that he wants to play, but a definitive answer could not be given. So that means Giovanni Manu could potentially get his first NFL start on Sunday.

“He’s (Manu) gonna have to be ready. And he knows that he’s been getting reps all week,” Campbell said Friday. “I did think he practiced better these last two days, which is good, and you know it, he’s part of a whole unit. He’s part of the whole five of those guys up there. So he’ll be ready.”

If Manu does indeed play, it’s going to be the first time he’s really had to go against starters. With that in mind, we wanted to take a closer look at how he played in his last game against the Houston Texans. We combed through his 37 snaps and found five clips that show some of the good and the bad and really give a preview as to where he’s at right now. Let’s just start with the bad.

Clip 1: Trouble against the bend

Manu allowed two pressures in this game, and this is one of them. They were both from the same player, Solomon Byrd. You can see that Byrd gets off the edge and bends around Manu, and Manu just struggles to stop him. Byrd doesn’t get the sack, but he hurries Hendon Hooker into throwing an incomplete pass. Byrd isn’t the worst player, but he’s not Montez Sweat. If that’s Sweat out there, he probably gets home.

Clip 2: No trouble with the spin move

This was tried on Manu multiple times in this game, and it didn’t work at any point. Manu stands his ground and doesn’t get fooled here. It’s stuff like this that shows why he has yet to allow a sack in the two preseasons he’s played in. You’re just not going to fool him. I love how he just doesn’t bite on it either way, and the throw gets out.

Clip 3: Got away with a hold

It’s not the worst holding call you’ve ever seen, but this stuff is much more likely to get called in the regular season. This is the kind of thing you have to worry about with the less experienced player. It’s just not a necessary hold. Not that any are, but in this case, it’s not like it would have sprung Saylors for a big gain.

Clip 4: Run blocking could use some work

Not the worst thing you’ve ever seen. He engages his man and tries to block him, but the guy disengages and is able to get off of Manu and assist with the tackle. I think the more concerning, or at least interesting, piece of all this is that of the 37 snaps that Manu was out there, the Lions only ran left two times. Everything else was to the right and up the middle. Is that a directive or just how the game flowed?

Clip 5: He helped make the TeSlaa touchdown happen

Manu is able to engage and redirect to the outside and then engage again and redirect to the ground. He made the edge run behind Allen instead of at him, and it allowed Allen to find the open Isaac TeSlaa for the big touchdown. If there were a play that made you feel better about his growth. It’s this one.

Ultimately, we’re going to have to wait and see if he plays this week, but if he does, it might be a rough first go, but it might not be anywhere near as bad as it might seem. He’s improved, and it’s easy to see it.

Related Articles