Will Manny Lawson break out in a Contract Year?

I think he sucks big rhinoceros locks.

Manny has always played well for us, he just hasn't been the sack specialist we hoped for. His play against the pass and run goes unnoticed by many it seems and he also comes up with big special teams plays time and time again. I hope he stays in red and gold for a long time to come!

Manny does it all well except for securing sacks ------ I expect to see more of the same from him this season.

manyy is a good football player great in coverage and against the run and although he doesnt get the sacks hes a solid football player that is an important part of our defense

Originally posted by 49ersalldaway126:
manyy is a good football player great in coverage and against the run and although he doesnt get the sacks hes a solid football player that is an important part of our defense

He also gets a ton of pressure. He always seems to be just inches away from getting the sack. QBs feel that. Obviously, a sack would be better.

I see Manny continuing to be good against the run and also good in coverage and so-so still in the sacks , just bring a lots and lots of pressure Manny ........please.

When last season ended, Lawson weighed 230 pounds, he said. Through his determined program, Lawson got up to 256 pounds before reporting to camp. That's right, he put on 26 good pounds.

How?

"Constantly eating, eating right . . . getting in all my meals with a lot of protein," Lawson said. "And weight-lifting. That's how I keep most of my weight, lifting weights continuously."

Currently, Lawson's weight is between 245 and 250 pounds, he said. Already known as solid against the run and exceptional in pass coverage, Lawson also led the 49ers with 6 1/2 sacks last season. He figures the increased strength will serve him well in every aspect of his game.

http://www.csnbayarea.com/08/26/10/Maiocco-Lawson-Makes-All-Around-Gains/landing_maiocco_v3.html?blockID=298060&feedID=5936

Originally posted by jreff22:
When last season ended, Lawson weighed 230 pounds, he said. Through his determined program, Lawson got up to 256 pounds before reporting to camp. That's right, he put on 26 good pounds.

How?

"Constantly eating, eating right . . . getting in all my meals with a lot of protein," Lawson said. "And weight-lifting. That's how I keep most of my weight, lifting weights continuously."


I've been hearing the same s**t about him putting on weight for past four seasons.

Currently, Lawson's weight is between 245 and 250 pounds, he said. Already known as solid against the run and exceptional in pass coverage, Lawson also led the 49ers with 6 1/2 sacks last season. He figures the increased strength will serve him well in every aspect of his game.

http://www.csnbayarea.com/08/26/10/Maiocco-Lawson-Makes-All-Around-Gains/landing_maiocco_v3.html?blockID=298060&feedID=5936

Objectively, let's look at his strengths:

1. Company man - says all the right things; "I want to be a 49er for the rest of my career;" comments re: Brooks competition, etc.
2. Excellent play recognition player which helps him excel at setting the edge and making TFL in the backfield
3. Is always around the action
4. Excellent side-line to side-line runner
5. Has the ability to cover TE's and WR's

Now let's look at reality:
1. OLB's should maintain 50%+ of the team's overall sack totals (we are forced to generate sacks by design and committee and part of that issue is b/c of Manny)
2. Manny is FAR from a play-maker. Of his career sacks, can you name one sack that made a difference in a game? We can probably name as many "almost sacks" as we can actual sacks (see Bret Favre play). Most sacks/pressures are as a result of another player rushing the QB "in to" him and/or coverage sacks and most are meaningless and generally come in one game. Then he will disappear for several before his name is even mentioned let alone in relations to a sack/pressure
3. B/c of his experience, he's generally in the neighborhood of the play but rarely makes it (save for TFL's of course)
4. Last year he and others were heavily susceptible to the screen pass and most were run on his side
5. Last year he was used almost exclusively in pass rush situations on the way to recognizing run plays, he was fully healthy but then pulled for a play making pass rusher on passing downs and was rarely used in coverage and made no plays there and hasn't since his rookie season of being moved from the WILL to the SAM
6. He's 6'6" and when was the last time he knocked down a pass at the LOS or used his long arms to snag a QB or nock out a ball andf force a fumble; low-man (see nutcracker) wins in football. Manny has had to gain an enormouns amount of weight to even play par as an OLB in the 3-4 and has already sustained one blown ligament; can his natural frame hold this continued weight gain like a natural build such as a Brooks, et. al?

Intangible:
1. Manny had never been challenged for a starting spot from day one until Brooks emerged last year
2. He's known from day 1 that he was brought in to be a pass rushing OLB yet has never improved on this facet of his game despite specialized coaches brought in for this sole reason
3. I personally question his motivation and passion for the game; the only time I really saw passion from him was when he was benched for Brooks last year and the tirade he threw on the sidelines and the subsequent three games after the benching to which he tailored off again the rest of the year and of course, his holdout this off-season

All in all, he's clearly not the play-maker we need coming up big in big games, doesn't seem to play with passion or high motivation and other players don't "feed off him." He plays with passion if called out so clearly, he has his ego too.

I think we'll see him play harder this year in a contract year though but still, his skill set doesn't match what is ideal for a 3-4 OLB; what he was originally brought in for.

The bottom line is, we know what we have in Manny. There is no questioning his "ability" but his ability seems to be far from his "production." Could he suddenly blow up this year? He could but then again, we've been saying that every year since he was drafted.

My contention is that he'll have a slightly better year this year but will continue to lose snaps to Brooks/LaBoy/Briggs and will go to a 4-3 team next year and play very well in that system.

IMHO, for Manny, it just comes down to where his motivation "truly" lies...

I really hope we re-sign Lawson.

Sacks is the sexy stats so when Lawson didn't get the # of sacks we thought he would, many people soured against him, but he is great against the run and in coverage. He is more of an all-around player than Brooks or Haralson.

I am hoping that next year it will be Lawson and Brooks. I feel Haralson is a liability against runs to the outside and in coverage. And he hasn't quite gotten the sacks either since his extension.

Lawson is rock solid.

Originally posted by 49ersRednGold:
I really hope we re-sign Lawson.

Sacks is the sexy stats so when Lawson didn't get the # of sacks we thought he would, many people soured against him, but he is great against the run and in coverage. He is more of an all-around player than Brooks or Haralson.

I am hoping that next year it will be Lawson and Brooks. I feel Haralson is a liability against runs to the outside and in coverage. And he hasn't quite gotten the sacks either since his extension.

Lawson is rock solid.

Sexy? Not really when the OLB's that play on the best 3-4 defenses generally produce over 50% of the total team sacks. That's not sexy. That's production! As an OLB in the 3-4 and evidenced last year, the PRIMARY responsibility of the OLB is to generate sacks, pressures and turnovers en route to stopping the run and then infrequently dropping into "zone" coverage for short periods of time. Is it "sexy" for a QB to throw TD's? A place kicker to kick field goals? A NT to clog the middle and tie up two blockers? A WR to catch the ball? No...these are their PRIMARY responsibilities no matter how you want to justify it.

He is a solid player for us I just expected him to be a superstud with all his skills! I think he will have a good year and hopefully he will be loyal to the niners and resign for a fair value.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 49ersRednGold:
I really hope we re-sign Lawson.

Sacks is the sexy stats so when Lawson didn't get the # of sacks we thought he would, many people soured against him, but he is great against the run and in coverage. He is more of an all-around player than Brooks or Haralson.

I am hoping that next year it will be Lawson and Brooks. I feel Haralson is a liability against runs to the outside and in coverage. And he hasn't quite gotten the sacks either since his extension.

Lawson is rock solid.

Sexy? Not really when the OLB's that play on the best 3-4 defenses generally produce over 50% of the total team sacks. That's not sexy. That's production! As an OLB in the 3-4 and evidenced last year, the PRIMARY responsibility of the OLB is to generate sacks, pressures and turnovers en route to stopping the run and then infrequently dropping into "zone" coverage for short periods of time. Is it "sexy" for a QB to throw TD's? A place kicker to kick field goals? A NT to clog the middle and tie up two blockers? A WR to catch the ball? No...these are their PRIMARY responsibilities no matter how you want to justify it.

Exactly the other myth is that he's great in coverage. He's decent in coverage but folks talk about him as if he's running with wide outs. And as much as running back dump offs, screen plays, and tight ends killed the Niners last year none of the linebackers should be called great in coverage.

Manny will probably get maybe 6-7 sacks this season ...... break out ...... no way. Manny seals the edge well but watch out for the screens.

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by 49ersRednGold:
I really hope we re-sign Lawson.

Sacks is the sexy stats so when Lawson didn't get the # of sacks we thought he would, many people soured against him, but he is great against the run and in coverage. He is more of an all-around player than Brooks or Haralson.

I am hoping that next year it will be Lawson and Brooks. I feel Haralson is a liability against runs to the outside and in coverage. And he hasn't quite gotten the sacks either since his extension.

Lawson is rock solid.

Sexy? Not really when the OLB's that play on the best 3-4 defenses generally produce over 50% of the total team sacks. That's not sexy. That's production! As an OLB in the 3-4 and evidenced last year, the PRIMARY responsibility of the OLB is to generate sacks, pressures and turnovers en route to stopping the run and then infrequently dropping into "zone" coverage for short periods of time. Is it "sexy" for a QB to throw TD's? A place kicker to kick field goals? A NT to clog the middle and tie up two blockers? A WR to catch the ball? No...these are their PRIMARY responsibilities no matter how you want to justify it.

Exactly the other myth is that he's great in coverage. He's decent in coverage but folks talk about him as if he's running with wide outs. And as much as running back dump offs, screen plays, and tight ends killed the Niners last year none of the linebackers should be called great in coverage.

I could not agree more with this statement. The focus last year was on creating more turnovers, more team sacks and keeping teams out of the end zone. We did that so to build off it, we need to generate more pressure from the OLB's and contain much better on the aforementioned plays that killed us last year.

To those watching preseason so far, b/c we've been able to get a ton of pressure from Briggs and LaBoy, did that affect our run game? Not at all...remember, all of our OLB's are conveted DE's and/or ILB's...they can ALL play the run very well if given a chance. We need that special player (or two) who is gifted at getting to the QB first and foremost. We have plenty of run support with the d-line, both Spencer and Clements are great at coming up, speed with Willis, Goldson and perhaps Mays, etc. We should be very solid against the run no matter who is playing the OLB positions. We NEED this added piece if we ever want to be a top 5 defense, IMO.