Tag: snap counts

Bills snap counts: Depth chart breakdown vs. Patriots

Buffalo Bills snap counts vs. the New England Patriots in Week 8.

The Buffalo Bills secured a winning record in the AFC East this season by topping the New England Patriots in Week 8, 24-21, at Bills Stadium.

The victory gave the Bills a 6-2 record overall and a 4-0 one against the division and we’re only halfway through the 2020 season. And of course, it’s beating the Patriots, which always holds a little extra weight.

So which players had the biggest impact on the win? Here’s a full depth chart breakdown of the snap counts for the Bills against the Patriots:

Chiefs snap counts, Week 8: Henne and the Jets

What can we learn from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 8 snap counts?

The Kansas City Chiefs notched their seventh victory of the season against the New York Jets on Sunday. It went just as everyone expected, with the Chiefs amassing a comfortable lead heading into the fourth quarter. That allowed an opportunity for backup QB Chad Henne and several reserve players to get some snaps for the second consecutive week. So what did we learn about the Chiefs from the snaps in this game?

Here’s a look at how the snaps played out in Week 8:

*Snap counts via NFL Game Statistics and Information System

Observations

  • There was a much better balance to offensive and defensive snaps this week compared to last week.
  • Eric Fisher and Mike Remmers are the only offensive linemen who played 100% of the offensive snaps. Yasir Durant, Austin Reiter and Danny Isidora relieved the interior offensive line for a whole two snaps.
  • Chad Henne was in the game for 12 snaps, sending Patrick Mahomes to the bench after the lead was well-secured. He didn’t get the touchdown this week, but he burnt quite a bit of clock.
  • Le’Veon Bell played in just 17 snaps against his former team. So much for a “revenge game.” The game flow didn’t really call for a large portion of snaps from the running game, with Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the field for just 50% of the offensive snaps.
  • Mecole Hardman and Byron Pringle had more snaps than Demarcus Robinson this week. Each of the three receivers has stepped up in various ways in the absence of Sammy Watkins, yet it’s good to see some of the newer guys getting more play and thriving.
  • Deon Yelder and Nick Keizer have their second week of a near 50-50 split in terms of snaps. It seems that they’re both being utilized in different formations. Keizer seems to play with more horizontal blocking, while Yelder plays with more North-South stuff.
  • Tershawn Wharton played 31 defensive snaps and is carving out a nice little role for himself on defense. He notched his first career sack on Sam Darnold in Week 8.
  • Mike Danna played in 25 snaps in his return from a hamstring injury. He didn’t look quite as explosive in pursuit this week, but that’s to be expected at least early on.
  • Willie Gay Jr. played in just nine defensive snaps. His snap counts have been heavily tied to the amount of base defense the Chiefs are forced to play. The Jets rarely utilize three tight ends, especially when they’re playing from behind all game long.
  • Reserve defenders saw just three defensive snaps with BoPete Keyes, Tedric Thompson, Antonio Hamilton and Armani Watts getting some play in the secondary.
  • Dorian O’Daniel, Armani Watts and Antonio Hamilton led the team in special teams snaps with 23. Watts even had a blocked field goal at the end of the first half.

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Detroit Lions Week 8 snap counts: Shifts in the trenches couldn’t save the Lions

Examining the Detroit Lions Week 8 snap counts to identify which players coaches leaned on and how that impacted their game strategy.

The Detroit Lions entered their Week 8 contest with the Indianapolis Colts by trying to take away their biggest strengths and that meant adjusting their offensive and defensive lines.

The offensive line once again saw a shuffling of players up front, adding Joe Dahl back into the starting lineup — this time at right guard — pushing Hal Vaitai outside to right tackle and sending Tyrell Crosby to the bench.

On defense, the Lions used each of their four interior defensive linemen on over 53-percent of plays, something we haven’t seen during this coaching staff’s tenure.

The main goal: Establish the run on offense, take it away on defense.

The results were not in the Lions’ favor.

The Lions managed just 29-yards rushing, with only eight of those yards coming from their running backs group. On defense, they faired better, but after a rough fourth quarter, they finished the day allowing a total of 119-yards, more than their previous two games combined.

That, and more observations in this week’s review of the Lions snap counts.

Handing out grades from the Texas Longhorns-Oklahoma State game on Saturday

Following the Texas Longhorns upset win over Oklahoma State, we hand out grades for the team. Which unit was the best on Saturday?

The Longhorns may have very well ruined the Big 12’s bid at the College Football Playoff, but that was a much needed win for the program. Texas won their first game on the road against a top 10 foe since defeating Nebraska 20-13 in 2010. It has been just over 10 years since the last time that happened.

With the Longhorns back against the wall, they needed to pull off a win against Oklahoma State. Sitting at 3-2 and 2-2 in conference play, if they wanted any shot at a Big 12 Championship game berth they had to come out on top.

As we try and unpack all of the fallout of the victory, we look to hand out grades for the team. Plus a look at how Pro Football Focus graded the individuals. We start with the offense.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Snap count notes: Browns efficient offense rules the day in Week 7

The Browns needed just 52 snaps to post 37 points on the Bengals

The Cleveland Browns had their lowest offensive play total of the 2020 season in Week 7. Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland offense needed just 52 snaps to rack up 37 points in the win in Cincinnati over the Bengals.

The starting offensive line and Mayfield played all 52 snaps, as expected. After that, there were some injury-related shakeups.

Kareem Hunt took 47 of the 52 snaps at RB, his highest percentage as a Brown. D’Ernest Johnson played just two, and he was the only other RB to take the field.

With Odell Beckham injured on the second play of the game, the wide receiver breakdown took a radical change. Rashard Higgins topped the Browns wideouts with 44, followed by Jarvis Landry (40) and Donovan Peoples-Jones (36). In Week 7, the Browns compensated for losing Beckham with more tight end play. Stephen Carlson played his most reps of the season as the No. 3 TE with nine, bumped up in part because Austin Hooper was out. David Njoku (31) also had his season-high, behind rookie Harrison Bryant (40).

On defense, linebacker B.J. Goodson and cornerback Denzel Ward were the only iron men. Both played all 75 defensive reps. Terrance Mitchell missed just one rep at the other CB spot opposite Ward. Kevin Johnson got 51 snaps as the nickel back.

Myles Garrett played an astonishing 70 snaps, nearly 20 more than his average game output. Fellow DE Olivier Vernon played 66, while reserve Adrian Clayborn played 25 as the Browns went lighter and faster for many reps. Porter Gustin saw the field for just three snaps.

 

 

Chiefs snap counts, Week 7: Le’Veon Bell makes his debut

What can we learn from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 7 snap counts?

The Kansas City Chiefs notched an important win over the Denver Broncos on the road in Week 7. It extended their winning streak against Denver to 10 games. It also gave them a comfortable lead in the AFC West rankings. It was an awkward day on offense for Kansas City, but the team had great contributions on defense and special teams. Can the snaps tell us something about why that is?

Here’s how the snaps played out in Week 7:

*Snap counts via NFL Game Statistics and Information System

Observations

  • The snap split between Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Le’Veon Bell wasn’t equal in Week 7. Edwards-Helaire received 10 more snaps to Bell. I’d expect that to be closer to equal if not a little more lopsided in Week 8 against the New York Jets, who are Bell’s old team.
  • Despite a hot start to the game, Mecole Hardman played in just 22 snaps on offense. He also matched his season-low snap total on special teams with Byron Pringle emerging at kick returner.
  • Nick Keizer and Deon Yelder both had very similar snap counts and yielded similar results. I think that upgrading at TE2 would be a wise choice for the Chiefs moving forward.
  • Darrel Williams had just one offensive snap on the day. He seems to be relegated to third-string duties behind Edwards-Helaire and Bell.
  • Chad Henne, DeAndre Washington, Marcus Kemp all received 10 snaps in garbage time when the game was essentially wrapped up. Byron Pringle played WR opposite Kemp as well, but he also saw some repetitions with the starters.
  • An interesting note about substitutions on offense, the Chiefs left in every starter on the offensive line with the exception of Daniel Kilgore. I’d think they would want to get snaps for guys like Yasir Durant and Danny Isidora. Instead, they put in Austin Reiter for 10 snaps, further emphasizing his demotion.
  • Willie Gay Jr. saw the most defensive snaps he’s seen all season with 39 snaps. He had a pair of passes defended and flowed to the football very well, looking the part of a starter on defense.
  • Tershawn Wharton also saw the most defensive snaps of his young career with 47. It was surprising given the return of Khalen Saunders. He notched a key forced fumble during the game and seems to be improving steadily.
  • Armani Watts and BoPete Keyes both saw eight snaps on defense as key substitutions.
  • Antonio Hamilton, Armani Watts and Dorian O’Daniel led the way on special teams with 22 snaps a piece.

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Chiefs snap counts, Week 6: Nick Allegretti, Daniel Kilgore unleashed

What can we learn from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 6 snap counts?

The Kansas City Chiefs bounced back with an impressive win over the Buffalo Bills on the road in Week 6. They got the job done mostly on the ground, with a total of 245 rushing yards outweighing the passing yards on the day. Can the snaps tell us anything about this marked improvement on the ground?

Here’s how the snaps shook out in Week 6:

*Snap counts via NFL Game Statistics and Information System

Observations

  • Mitchell Schwartz only played in eight snaps during the game before exiting with a back injury. Nick Allegretti played in 65 snaps on the day and had a great day moving folks in the ground game along with Daniel Kilgore who notched the start in place of Austin Reiter.
  • Reiter, who Andy Reid said is dealing with a tender knee, played five snaps on special teams. That suggests this change could have more to do with performance as opposed to injury.
  • Demarcus Robinson saw the most snaps of any wide receiver on the day with 69. That’s significant because in the past it had been Mecole Hardman who benefited from the snaps with Sammy Watkins out. Hardman barely out-snapped Byron Pringle, who had 28 snaps on the day.
  • Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a monster day on just 67% of the offensive snaps. It just goes to show you there are built-in snaps for Le’Veon Bell once he is ready to play.
  • Ricky Seals-Jones played in just two forgettable snaps during his Chiefs debut.
  • Five players in the secondary played in 100% of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps. They just so happen to be the starters in the secondary from the 2019 season. It just shows you how trusted and reliable Mathieu, Sorensen, Thornhill, Breeland and Ward are.
  • Alex Okafor played in just 15 defensive snaps before suffering a hamstring injury. Surprisingly Taco Charlton played just 13 snaps in relief of Frank Clark and Tanoh Kpassagnon.
  • Willie Gay Jr. played in just two defensive snaps on the day. I’ll be curious to find out if that was just a personnel package thing or if the Chiefs are moving away from playing the rookie as much.
  • Armani Watts, Dorian O’Daniel and Antonio Hamilton all tied for the most special teams snaps on the day with 20.

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Chiefs snap counts, Week 5: Bashaud Breeland’s Return

What can we learn from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 5 snap counts?

The Kansas City Chiefs suffered their first loss of the season, losing 40-32 to their most bitter rival, the Las Vegas Raiders. This was a team loss, with struggles coming on both sides of the ball and throughout the roster. Can the snaps tell us anything about why the Chiefs struggled?

Here’s how the snaps shook out in Week 5:

*Snap counts via NFL Game Statistics and Information System

Observations

  • This was really the first week of the season where the Chiefs had near equal offensive and defensive snaps, with 72 on offense and 70 on defense.
  • Kelechi Osemele only played five snaps before tearing both tendons in his knees. Mike Remmers filled in for the remainder of the snaps, playing 67 snaps total.
  • Sammy Watkins played in just 27 snaps before exiting the game with a hamstring injury. His presence was sorely missed and players like Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman struggled to make an impact without him on the field.
  • Clyde Edwards-Helaire seems to be hovering right around 60% of the snaps. He played two more snaps this week from last and didn’t have much to show for it.
  • Anthony Sherman only played in two snaps for the Chiefs’ offense. This surprises me, given how the Raiders had been gashed by 21 and 22 personnel groupings against New England earlier this season. I thought that Andy Reid might utilize him against a poor run defense.
  • Damien Wilson played a season-high snap total in Week 5. This was due to the injury to Anthony Hitchens that had him in and out of the game. Hitchens played just 47 total snaps.
  • Everyone’s favorite rookie LB Willie Gay Jr. saw a bump in snaps this week. He played in seven more defensive snaps to Week 4 and saw noticeable improvement notching six tackles and the lone sack of Derek Carr.
  • He might have just returned from suspension, but no other Chiefs corner saw more snaps than Bashaud Breeland in Week 5 with 51 snaps. That just shows you the trust that the staff has in Breeland and how prepared he was in his return.
  • Charvarius Ward saw the second-most snaps with 49. He was benched to start the second half after surrendering three touchdown receptions in the first half of the game. He would get some snaps later on in the fourth quarter as the defense started to get gassed. He didn’t record a single stat on the day.
  • Rashad Fenton was in on 50% of the defensive snaps and he probably should’ve played more. He notched a pass defended and three tackles on the day.
  • Tedric Thompson saw a season-low of two defensive snaps. It was a bit surprising given his play the past few weeks.
  • Antonio Hamilton, Dorian O’Daniel and Armani Watts led the specials teams unit with 27 total snaps each.

Chiefs snap counts, Week 4: Willie Gay Jr. arrives

What can we learn from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 4 snap counts?

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the New England Patriots 26-10 in Week 4. It came on the back of an impressive defensive performance and a difficult offensive performance. There were a few new players who stepped up in terms of snaps, including a rookie who earned his first career start.

Here’s how the snaps shook out in Week 4:

*Snap counts via NFL Game Statistics and Information System

Observations

  • It was a long day for the defense, playing 75 total snaps, while the offense played just 56 total snaps.
  • Tyreek Hill was on the field for 93% of the offensive snaps one week after seeing Sammy Watkins lead the Chiefs receivers in snaps.
  • Clyde Edwards-Helaire had his season-low in offensive snaps so far with 41 total snaps. He seemed to make the most of it, though, rushing for 64 yards on 16 attempts and catching all three of his targets for 27 yards.
  • Darwin Thompson didn’t play a single offensive snap after fumbling in last week’s game against the Baltimore Ravens. Instead, the Chiefs relied on Darrel Williams in relief of Edwards-Helaire.
  • Rashad Fenton played 100% of the defensive snaps for Kansas City. It shouldn’t come as a surprise as he was all over the field during the game, notching three tackles, a tackle for loss, four pass breakups and an interception on the day.
  • Tanoh Kpassagnon led Chiefs’ edge rushers with 66 snaps but didn’t have much to show for it. He had two tackles and a ball-batted on the day.
  • Tershawn Wharton received the most snaps of his young career with 41 snaps on the day. He had a flashy moment, running down RB James White from behind.
  • Willie Gay Jr. made the first start of his career, playing 25 snaps in his debut as a starter. He played 41 snaps in total in the game, recording just two tackles. He was around the ball often.
  • The defender who made the most of limited snaps was Taco Charlton. He played in just 17 defensive snaps yet recorded three tackles, one sack, one quarterback hit and one forced fumble.
  • Anthony Sherman, Antonio Hamilton, Armani Watts and Dorian O’Daniel all tied for the lead in special teams snaps with 18.