Manno Plays Special Teams in NFL Debut

Chris Manno made his NFL debut Friday night with the Kansas City Chiefs.

As expected, he didn’t see swarms of playing time, but was on the field a handful of times as the Chiefs took on Tampa Bay in a 25-0 loss at Arrowhead Stadium in their first pre-season game of the 2011 season.

“I don’t think you ever see that coming; you don’t want to do that, especially on your home turf,” Chiefs coach Todd Haley told KCChiefs.com. “That being said, that’s the first one, not the last one so what’s important is that our guys recognize that they’ve got a lot of work ahead of them and a short time to do it because our goal is to be ready to go on September 11th.”

Manno was signed by the Chiefs in early August after a workout with team brass. A receiver by trade, his only previous professional playing experience came in a 12-game stint with the New Jersey Revolution of AFL2.

He became the first Sachem alum to play in an NFL game since Doug Shanahan was in training camp with the New York Jets in 2001. Like Manno and Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris, Shanahan also attended Hofstra University.

The bulk of Manno's debut Friday came on special teams where he was involved with at least five plays. The Chiefs have not released official statistics on playing time at the time this story was posted.

His most vivid on-field action was catching a kick return in the end zone and taking a knee for a touchback at 11:44 of the fourth quarter.

Manno followed that with his lone offensive play when he ran a passing route with 1:57 remaining in the contest, but the play turned out to be a run.

His first action came at 6:16 of the  second quarter, also on a punt. He appeared for a few seconds on the top left of the television screen, but did not affect the outcome of the play.

In the third quarter he was on a punt return at 12:54. He was visible on television in the fourth quarter at 14:12, 11:44, and 4:58, all punt returns where he rushed down field.

If you recorded the game on your DVR and want to see glimpses of him on the sideline, check out the 5:50 mark of the third quarter, and 14:54 and 6:53 of the fourth.

During the game broadcast, analyst and former NFL coach Brian Billick mentioned multiple times how rookies and inexperienced players will have limited opportunity to show what they are capable of. If you were to grade Manno on his performance against Tampa Bay, you’d have to grade high. He was in the screen on every play he was a part of, meaning he was fast enough to get to the action every time he was on the field. He caught the kickoff he was tasked with returning and he ran the route with ease in the fourth quarter.

According to the organization, 15 players on the team roster did not see any action during the contest.

Since the Chiefs were smacked all around the field, you can expect changes and adjustments for game two, meaning possibly more playing time for Manno.

The Chiefs play next Friday, August 19 on the road in Baltimore. The game will be broadcasted live in their local markets, but not in New York, unless you have a satellite dish.

Stay tuned for screen shots from the game, as well as more analysis of Manno and his quest to make the Chiefs out of training camp within the next week.