GIF Breakdown - Miami Dolphins at New York Jets (3 of 4)

Q2, :32 remaining. The New York Jets are in 11 personnel, which means one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers. The Miami Dolphins are in a 4-3 defense. It's third down, and the Dolphins are showing pressure. In fact, they're showing an all-out blitz. Two linebackers are crowding the inside of the line, standing over Nick Mangold. However, they immediately drop back at the snap into coverage.

Geno Smith doesn't have a whole lot of options here, as all three receivers are covered pretty well (the cornerback at the top peels off when he sees the ball being thrown, and the one at the bottom has his eyes on Smith the entire time). Despite this, Smith decides to throw the ball into tight coverage, never really removing his eyes from the center of the field (although this isn't why the ball was picked). Dannell Ellerbe turns his head at the last second when the ball is already in the air, just the right time, to box Greg Salas out and snag the ball.

There are a few things that went wrong on this play. The first is that no receiver was truly open (I might say he should lob it over the top to the receiver at the bottom, but there's a safety waiting). Despite this, the second problem is that Smith throws to the most covered receiver. Ideally, Smith would pull the ball down and escape to his right and just run for the first down.