Allen Park — Several hours before Sunday’s kickoff between the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals, we received word that Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker was being downgraded to doubtful.
We learned after the game that the nagging shoulder injury Decker had been playing through all season was recovering less and less each week, and the Lions found it prudent to give him extra rest to get it right.
The typically durable Decker has missed time before, including five games the previous two seasons. However, the team had a veteran backup to temporarily step in. This time was different. As soon as the downgraded status was announced, everyone recognized it meant the Lions would be turning to Giovanni Manu, the developmental project out of Canada that the team drafted in the fourth round a year earlier.
Manu didn’t see playing time as a rookie, and even while serving as the top backup since the season opener, he had been limited to a dozen special teams reps and a handful of offensive snaps in the closing stages of blowouts.
The only thing most people knew about his abilities came from the preseason, where he was notably up and down working against other backups. Against the Bengals, he was drawing Trey Hendrickson, the first-team All-Pro who led the NFL in sacks a year ago. It wouldn’t take long to recognize whether Manu was a competent option in a pinch.
Immediate impressions were things transpired as expected. The Lions provided extra help for the young linemen most of the afternoon and focused on getting the ball out quickly. When they did trust Manu to handle Hendrickson on his own, it was a mixed bag, including two disastrous reps that weren’t surprising, given the gulf in experience.
Still, the nuance of an offensive lineman’s play is often lost snap to snap because our eyes are focused on the ball. We typically only notice them in their worst moments. So in an effort to better understand Manu’s performance and how ready he might be to fill in for Decker again, if necessary, we’re going to put a spotlight on the second-year player in this week’s film review.
Manu was on the field for all 62 of Detroit’s offensive snaps, with 34 run blocking opportunities, compared to 28 snaps in pass protection. We’ll divide the review into those two categories.