Saints snap counts analysis: Vonn Bell logged 104 plays vs. Falcons

By playing both defense and special teams, New Orleans Saints safety Vonn Bell saw his snap count climb to 104 against the Atlanta Falcons.

This year’s NFC South division championship belongs to the New Orleans Saints, just as it did last year, and the year before that. The Saints still haven’t played a complete game with penalty-free, clean execution in all three phases, but they’re still 10-2 and have clinched a playoff berth in November. They have time to improve before the postseason kicks off.

Snap counts got weird in this game, particularly on defense. They ran a season-high 93 plays when Atlanta had the ball, which is a huge disparity against the 50 plays the Saints ran on offense. When the Saints go 2-for-10 on third down while the Falcons go 6-for-16 (and get helped out by a number of dubious penalties against the Saints defense), that’s going to happen. Here’s our snap count analysis:

Offensive backfield

  • QB Drew Brees, 48 (96%)
  • RB Alvin Kamara, 41 (82%)
  • QB Taysom Hill, 13 (26%)
  • RB Latavius Murray, 13 (26%)
  • FS Marcus Williams, 1 (2%)

Hill didn’t see a huge jump in playing-time on offense (he’s averaged 11.4 snaps per game this year) but this game was easily his biggest day of the year so far. He scored both of the Saints’ two touchdowns (one through the air, another on the ground) and consistently gave the team a spark when they needed it on critical downs.

Skills positions

  • WR Michael Thomas, 40 (80%)
  • WR Tre’Quan Smith, 37 (74%)
  • TE Josh Hill, 29 (58%)
  • TE Jared Cook, 29 (58%)
  • WR Ted Ginn Jr., 27 (54%)
  • WR Krishawn Hogan, 11 (22%)
  • TE Jason Vander Laan, 5 (10%)

Smith ran a lot of routes but didn’t get open often against Atlanta, catching two targets for 14 yards. Cook was frustratingly inconsistent. The veteran tight end has clear playmaking ability — just look at his latest 40-yard catch-and-run — but he’s dropped three would-be touchdown passes in the last two weeks, and went 3-for-6 as a receiver on Thursday. At least Brees is still giving him chances to make an impact.

Offensive line

  • C Erik McCoy, 50 (100%)
  • T/G Patrick Omameh, 50 (100%)
  • G Larry Warford, 50 (100%)
  • T Ryan Ramczyk, 50 (100%)
  • G Nick Easton, 50 (100%)
  • G/C Will Clapp, 6 (12%)

New Orleans had to start two new faces at left tackle (Omameh) and left guard (Easton), and they both responded well when called up. The Saints gave up six sacks in their last game with the Falcons but rebounded to keep Brees clean and upright in this meeting. Their success in a pinch was a huge reason for the Saints’ success.

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