Good stuff brother. I’d really like to see a home start for him for a variety of reasons. Main one being communication is so much easier at home than on the road.
Personally I’d start him vs KC on the road and at home vs the Bucs. If there is no improvement well that might be it this year cause Decker could be back after the bye. But if he is trending in the right direction maybe they are more cautious with Decker. Shoulder problems after offseason shoulder surgery is a concern.
I’d start him over Skipper personally, but I’d also give him a little more help than we did against Cincy. KC and TB don’t have edges as talented as Hendrickson, but Spags and Bowles can make things hell on young linemen with stunts and blitzes.
Like I said earlier, you need to scheme up some help for Manu or Skipper.. so why not just start Manu and see if he can continue to progress maybe even becoming a serviceable backup this year. I 100% agree with your stance if Decker is going to sit i start Manu and put wright/laporta on his hip and shade the rb protection towards his side.
Its better than doing the exact same thing for a known commodity in Skipper.
I mostly agree but communication concerns me. It’s going to be loud as hell on Sunday night. Totally different environment than last week.
Yeah that’s a good point. I just don’t know that Skipper would be that much better. I suppose he better be at that experienced vet stuff, but he’s generally a pretty big liability on the road. Hopefully Decker’s good to go and this is all moot
I disagree.
Coaches love known commodities. Players we can trust and know what to expect.
Fans really like the potential of players they don’t see in practice.
I really hope Manu develops and turns into Jordan Mailata.
But right now Manu is a player with a 17 PFF score at LT. He played because there was no better option.
This “Let him get some live reps to get better” thing is not how the Lions operate and could be very dangerous at that position.
If he can’t block in practice why would they put him out there in a live game against unfriendly competition and expect him to do better.
Mahogany was forced to start because of injury last year and excelled. He was promptly returned to the bench when a player they trusted more was ready to return.
Skipper hasn’t played since August when he was clearly ahead of Manu. Manu’s performance didn’t earn himself another start (as evidenced by Dan quickly bringing up potential replacements immediately after the game).
To get another start Decker will require another week off AND Manu will have to be better than Skipper and Cochran.
I mean you could at least specify that it was pass blocking grade regardless of your feelings on Manu or PFF. Doesnt really make it better but at least it’d be fair.
I feel like you are making a nuanced discussion too black and white. We DO actually let guys get live reps to get better. This is an old article from when we had nothing but youth and they had to play, but philosophically we still believe the same imo. We just have the luxury of not having to do it as often.
This part is particularly revealing:
Les Snead used to say, ‘You’ve got to let them cross the street by themselves.’ Dan and I were aligned in that, and said that however this shapes out, we have these young guys, you can’t just be on the driving range just chipping away and practicing," Holmes said.
Nope, that was his pass blocking grade. His total overall was 40 something. So for it to be that bad in pass pro, means he did some good stuff in the run game
As I said in an earlier post. The Lions aren’t a bad developing team like they were in 2021. Of course Dan and Brad are going to let the players they just drafted play, there was no trust or experience with the old players.
Dan has demonstrated over and over that it is about consistency and trust.
He has stated that he trusts Glasgow and put him back in when Mahogany had proven more impactful last year.
Manu may start this weekend but it won’t be to “get some live reps”. That’s what the pre-season is for.
This team is well beyond that.
Yes. You are correct. It was his pass blocking grade.
That is what we are discussing. No one is making a big deal if the grades were reversed.
I’m not here to sh!t on Manu.
I just don’t think he has earned any special treatment.
He should be a part of the culture of Meritocracy just like everyone else.
The best player should start.
Jack Campbell didn’t start right away and he was a 1st rd pick.
TesLaa has been the hit of the summer and Raymond would still be starting if not for the injury.
Dan & Brad have established a culture and if Manu starts he is the best option, not to get live reps.
I thought Devin Cochran might get a shot before Manu. I’m not sure where he is as far as the playbook but he did graduate from Vandy and then played a year at Ga Tech so I would assume he must be a pretty smart guy. He started 23 games at LT and the rest at RT. He was a roadgrader in the run game and played with the right attitude. At Ga Tech he was the LT when Gibbs was there and ran for over 1200 yards. If I remember right in that draft I had him as a late round RT only type prospect. Do you remember anything about him?
Very vaguely. I tend to be hyper-focused on our need positions, so back in 2022 OT was pretty far down the list. I gave him a cursory watch as I do everyone mostly to see if he could move inside, but came away believing he was a T all the way.
What I remember most is pretty average athleticism for a guy with what you would guess would be an athletic tackle build. 6’7, 305 are the numbers of an athletic tackle, but in fact he’s pretty plodding. He held up better against the power edges and struggled against the real athletes. But like you said, very good run blocker.
What alarms me most since is he couldn’t break into the Cincy rotation, despite how much they struggled at OT. I’m pretty sure he rarely made the game day roster. I know he missed all his second year which undoubtedly set him back, but in 2+ full years otherwise he only played in 1 game.
Well, we disagree then. I don’t think they look at it like you think they look at it. So be it.
I agree …. It’s the mental mistakes and pad level that are his biggest issues.
He is quick for a guy his size but he plays too high and out of position too often.
Bottom line is he has a bunch to clean up. I just don’t see that happening in one season. Two … sure.
With a more mobile QB you could take a risk developing him and just start him… but if the Lions want to be a serious contender they will need Decker back next year or to find a more stable option at LT.
I feel good about him as a backup heading into next year and as a potential starter in 2027.
I just hope we’re not forced into it sooner. I do not want to see the growing pains for two more seasons.
Yea, but live reps against the 2nd or 3rd string is nothing like live reps vs starters, it can help but it pales in comparison to playing first string.
You are correct. Live game regular season reps are much better than pre-season reps.
But what makes Manu deserve live regular season reps more than anybody else?
He has to earn his reps.
The reps are earned in practice. Some players have earned the right to get game reps without being the best in practice based on their body of work and the trust that the coaching staff has in that player. Decker may not practice more than twice in a week the rest of his career.
Manu needs to be the best OT available for that week to get those critical live game reps protecting the blind side of the Franchise QB.
Which tells us that Manu has been the best available OT in practice to take those reps.
Yes, he was for the Cincy game.
Immediately after the game Dan noted that Skipper has been hurt and is now able to practice. He mentioned the recently acquired Cochran would be in play as well.
I have no problem with Manu playing if he is the best available.
I don’t see the Lions throwing him out there to get live reps to start meaningful games.
He can come in to get reps in garbage time but not to start a game.
Dan Campbell and Hank Fraley, I would think that is obvious. You believe they are wrong from your posts.
The new guy probably wasn’t ready and Skipper may not have been healthy enough, so, could be he was last man standing. Or, they decided Manu was the best option due to what he had shown to this point over the others. Skipper isn’t a great option when healthy.