The Baltimore Ravens don't run the same defense today that they used to under Rex Ryan, but don't be surprised if they borrow a look from their former defensive coordinator when they take on EJ Manuel and the Buffalo Bills this Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
If you watched the Bills' 27-20 loss to the New York Jets this past Sunday, you likely recall Manuel routinely floating deep passes out of bounds on numerous occasions. Most of those throws came on the same look: a third down, with the Jets crowding eight defenders at the line of scrimmage to disguise where their pressure was coming from.
Flip through the All-22 gallery above to see how Manuel reacted to the look each time (long story short: he made the same decision, and the same throw, every single time). It's an illuminating look at one of Manuel's most obvious flaws right now: making hot reads and throwing with sound technique in the face of pressure.
Dean Pees, who is the current Ravens defensive coordinator (he formerly held the same position in New England), is not as schematically aggressive as Ryan - and he doesn't have to be. The Ravens boast an exceedingly talented front seven featuring stud pass rushers Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil, star nose tackle Haloti Ngata, and a bunch of capable role players in Arthur Jones, Chris Canty, Daryl Smith and Courtney Upshaw. Unlike the Jets, they can create pressure with their personnel and scheme safer coverages behind that group of players. It would not be surprising if they threw another curveball on Sunday and backed off in these situations, rushing four or five, just to keep Manuel guessing.
Then again, Manuel was so bad against this look that it wouldn't be surprising to see Pees break character a bit and borrow this aggressive pre-snap look from his coordinating predecessor in Baltimore.