How Can the Miami Dolphins' Defense Slow Down EJ Manuel?

Familiarity is a common theme when division rivals face off, but the Miami Dolphins are heading into uncharted territory as they travel to Buffalo to take on the Buffalo Bills in Week 2.

This will be their first time squaring off against Bills quarterback EJ Manuel, drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 2013 draft. Manuel missed six games last year with knee injuries and was out of the lineup for both of Buffalo's games against Miami (Weeks 7 and 16). 

Fortunately for the Dolphins, there's a formula to slowing down Manuel. If the Dolphins can take away the short throws and crossing patterns, contain Manuel in the pocket, follow Manuel's eyes and stop the run, they should be able to keep things under control.

Manuel has been fairly one-dimensional as an NFL passer in this early stage of his NFL career.

Yards downfield	Comp	Att	Comp %	Yds	YPA	TD	INT	Drop	Rate
Behind LOS	27	34	79.4	125	3.7	1	1	2	79.5
0-9	112	167	67.1	961	5.8	4	4	14	80
10-19	30	57	52.6	550	9.6	3	2	2	89.1
20+	10	37	27	323	8.7	3	2	1	68

Manuel gets less effective the further downfield he throws the ball. Much of this is due to his propensity to check down to running backs in the flats or tight ends over the middle. He has a tendency to lock in on his first read, and when that player's not open, he either checks down to the running back or tight end, or he tucks and runs. 

Manuel said this offseason, according to Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com:

"

Obviously being a young guy sometimes you would look past somebody in a progression when you could've just held on a half second longer and he may have come open. ... It's so hard because the game happens so fast, but as a quarterback you don't want to rush. You want to be quick, but you don't want to be too fast where you’re just overlooking guys. It's simply going through the reads.

"

He showed some flashes of improvement in that area this preseason, but he didn't sustain it. He was able to get away with some of those tendencies against the Chicago Bears last week, but the Dolphins could make him pay.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Even on his drive-saving throw on 2nd-and-16 with 5:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, Manuel gave the Bears an opportunity to make a play. Three Bills receivers and one tight end ran vertical routes downfield, and Manuel was looking to hit second-year wide receiver Robert Woods on the right side.

That was his first read. And it turned out to be his only read.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Manuel keyed in on the seam route, staring his receiver down all the way downfield before finally releasing the pass. There was a full second between when he hit the top of his drop and when he released the ball. 

All that time, all that room in the pocket, and Manuel still didn't deliver an accurate throw. Woods had to climb the ladder, and because Manuel had stared down his receiver, Bears safety Chris Conte was waiting to hit Woods as he came down with the ball. 

The book is out on Manuel at this point. He is still honing in on his first read. 

What's more, much of the Bills' offense is predicated on crossing patterns that allow a receiver to get into the open field with a head of steam, catch the ball and turn upfield. 

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

One way that they do this is by getting Manuel to throw on the move, with designed rollouts and bootlegs. On this play with 11:29 remaining in the first quarter, Manuel faked the handoff to running back C.J. Spiller, before rolling to his right. With Woods building up a head of steam running from left to right across the formation before the snap, he was headed in the same direction as Manuel.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

As a result, Manuel simply had to float this pass over the linebacker's head and into Woods' hands; the second-year wideout then turned upfield and gained 12 yards.

The Dolphins are going to have to tackle well if they want to contain the Bills' offense; 94 of Manuel's 173 passing yards were gained after the receiver had caught the ball (yards after catch). According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Manuel gained 45.7 percent of his passing yards through the air, the 10th-lowest percentage in the NFL in Week 1.

Plays like the one above highlight Manuel's ability to run and throw on the move, which are surely near the top of the Dolphins' scouting report on Manuel.

“It's difficult whenever you play a quarterback that has the ability to run and throw," Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin said of Manuel at a press conference on Thursday. "We've just got to see if we can get a beat on him, get pressure on him.

"(We'll) do the best we can to get him off rhythm and most importantly we have to stop the run to try to keep them one dimensional. So if we do all those things, it will be a better day for us. I'll say that."

The Dolphins' defensive line will have to bring its A-game against the Bills. Not only is Manuel a threat to run or throw on the run, but Buffalo's rushing attack is also among the league's best—and is central to its passing attack. According to PFF, Manuel's passer rating in 2013 was 10 points higher when using play action than on standard dropbacks. 

The Bills had the most rushing attempts in the NFL last season and appear headed for another run-heavy season on offense after 33 rushing attempts against the Bears. That will put a lot of pressure on the Dolphins' backups-turned-starters at linebacker to make smart plays against the run, take good angles and wrap up ball-carriers.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.

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