Rookie Report: Week Five

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In my weekly column, we take a long look at two more rookies.  I compare their performance to date against my original expectations of them.  Let’s continue the 2013 series by looking back at two Buffalo Bills: receiver Robert Woods and quarterback E.J. Manuel playing against the highly ranked Cleveland Browns defense. Of course, keep in mind that Manuel got injured during this game, but should return sometime this season.

nfl: baltimore ravens at buffalo billsRobert Woods, WR BUF

Here is what I saw in college from Woods:  Woods is a very talented receiver, but lacks the physicality that many WR1’s have. He has the tendency to fall down at the first sign of contact instead of running through arm tackles. The receiver does a great job of catching the ball away from his body and seeing the entire field.  Once the ball is between those big hands of his, it is difficult to shake it loose.  His speed is deceptive as he fools defenses to thinking he was just a possession receiver.  Then Woods would break out a huge play on a wheel route after running short to intermediate patterns for the majority of the game.

His production suffered when the receiver had a less seasoned quarterback at the helm during his final few games at USC.  All three of Woods’ receptions of his last bowl game were quite difficult to bring in as he had to climb the ladder to get to the ball at its highest point. The receiver extended his body and contorted it to somehow make the poor passes look catchable, all while shielding the defenders away from the ball. Woods appeared visibly frustrated by the ball location, but kept his head in the game. The wide receiver seemed disinterested when it came to run blocking and did his best to get in front of defenders without really engaging them.

This is what I saw from Woods against the Browns (including all-pro corner Joe Haden):  The rookie wide receiver lined up on the outside in both two and three receiver sets.  The skill level between him and Stevie Johnson is getting closer with each NFL game played.  In fact when Johnson went out due to injury, Woods drew all-pro cornerback Joe Haden as his primary coverage on almost every play.  The rookie skied to snag the ball out of the air while Manuel was slinging the ball.  The receiver has the speed and quickness to get behind the defensive backs with great technique.  It is impressive how he runs quick, crisp precise routes, and always knows where he needs to get to make the first down.

The Browns defense did a good job establishing pressure, so it limited Wood’s route running to the shorter variety (within five to ten yards deep).  Woods does the little things that make good receivers great.  He sells a shoulder fake on a route to get the defender to make a false step, or uses his body in the air to shield the defense from the ball. Even when Woods loses position, he knocks the ball out-of-the-way or when he senses pressure on the quarterback and will sit down in the zone waiting for the ball.  It is also quite evident that Woods is working on his blocking as he was engaging the defender instead of merely stepping in front of them.

While Woods caught only five of his thirteen targets for 64 yards, take solace in the fact that six of those missed targets came from backup rookie free agent quarterback Jeff Tuel.  Some of the throws missed because of Haden’s coverage, but most of them were the result of the inconsistent arm of Tuel.  While in the short-term, I would be concerned with Tuel’s playing time or Thad Lewis’; however, it is easy to see that Woods and Manuel have good chemistry.  Woods is already a WR3 for this season, but could evolve into a top 20 dynasty option at wide receiver.

EJ Manuel QB BUF

This is what I saw Manuel do in college: The young quarterback has a strong arm and is very mobile, perhaps too mobile.  Manuel’s tendency is to target his number one passing option and if that receiver is not open, he would usually take off and run.  His decision-making while throwing the ball can be concerning as he forces the ball into tight windows that close earlier than he anticipates when perhaps the quarterback should simply wait for the play to develop.

Manuel has a quick release, good arm strength, and played against tough collegiate competition for a long time.  For as athletically gifted as he is, his footwork needs a lot of work.  He needs to work on being more of a complete passer, and not an athletic weapon, as Manuel does not have the size/physicality of Cam Newton or the speed of a young Michael Vick.  Manuel is his own man.  He took his Senior Bowl invite and was willing to take coaching from the start and was very hard-working in those practices.

Here is what I saw from Manuel playing against Cleveland: Early on, Manuel was willing to take what the defense was giving him: short to intermediate passes.  The young quarterback is a quick decision-maker who gets rid of the ball in a hurry.  Fortune was on his side early when he got lucky on a tipped ball that was thrown to Johnson but ended up in tight end Scott Chandler’s hands.

The young quarterback took advantage of the Browns commitment to stopping the run by freezing defenders with his selling of fake handoffs.  Manuel is very good at rolling out in order to cut the field in half and to get a better line of site of the defense.  His accuracy, touch on passes, and sense of pressure in the pocket are more developed than what I had seen on his college tape.  The Browns front seven was very active and Manuel took a pounding from them.  The defense also contained his ability to attempt throws farther down the field.

Manuel did his best avoiding pressure, until the third quarter, it caught up with him.  The quarterback sensed pressure in the pocket and then escaped down the sideline for a first down when he was hit low in the knee by a safety.  This caused him to leave the game and not return.  According to reports, Manuel may miss anywhere from six to eight games.  Now, I do not think Manuel will be a top ten dynasty option at quarterback, but after seeing his skills in action he could be a serviceable quarterback by committee member or simply a top 15 quarterback option.

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