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snap, crackle, and more SNAPS! (2013) - week 15 is up (1 Viewer)

Kool-Aid Larry

Footballguy
in this thread I'll cull through snap counts and post a few notes.

any commentary is most likely based entirely on snap data, and I welcome all corrections, observations, contributions, and discussion.

thx, football outsiders

WEEK 1

defenses who faced high and low end snap counts (league mean and median are about 67 for wk 1):

BUF (v NEP) 91 ! - that is a lot of snaps, I think pats O led the league last year, averaging ~75 snaps, and you only had about 8 total def face 90+ on any given week in 2012

DEN (v BAL) 89 (28 incompletions)

WAS (v PHI) 80

MIN (@DET) 80

MIA (@CLE) 77 (27 incompletions)

NYG (@DAL) 77

GB (@SF) 77

NO (v ATL) 56

OAK (@IND) 55

DET (v MIN) 55

HOU (@SD) 53

TEN (@PIT) 53

SEA (@CAR)52

misc team and player notes:

ari - LB dansby 100%, brinkley 90%, 2 others ~50%, DB mathieu 39 snaps (58%)

looks like honey was in on nickel a little more than half the game @STL

atl - LB biermann, dent, weatherspoon 100% DB samuel 0% mcclain 100%

looks like they had a nickel db in about half the snaps @NO, mcclain bumps up to starter to sub for missing samuel

bal - LB smith 100%, bynes 92%, suggs 83%, dumervil 56%, upshaw 52%, DB elam (18%)

probably in base nickel about 80% of the game @DEN

buf - LB alonso 100%, lawson 41%, 2 others 20-25%, DB 3 @96+%, 3 @63-74% (leonhard 63%)

db heavy scheme v NEP facing 91 snaps was probably perfect storm for alonso

car -LB kuechly, davis 100%, beason 46%, DB mikell 75% (v SEA)

Panthers SS Mike Mitchell (calf) returned to practice Wednesday.
chi - LB anderson, briggs 100%, dj williams 72%, bostic 0% (v CIN)

cin - LB burfict 98%, maualuga 78%, DB iloka 98%, mays 20% (@CHI)

cle - DB ward 74%, skrine 62% (v MIA)

Browns first-round OLB Barkevious Mingo (bruised lung) resumed practicing in full on Thursday.
dal - LB lee, carter 90+%, durant 30% DB

only 60 snaps v NYG, and nickel ~2/3rds

den - woodyard 94% (84 snaps), trevathan 74%, DB ihenacho 88% (78 snaps)

faced 89 snaps v BAL, probably base nickel most of the game

det - DL young, idonije, ansah, jones ~50% LB levy, tulloch 100%

only faced 55 snaps v MIN

While most rookies performed well in this game, Darius Slay (-4.4) was not amongst them. Jerome Simpson ate him for lunch as the second round pick managed just 31 snaps before being benched in favour of Rashean Mathis. ~PFF
gb - LB jones 97%, hawk 77%, DB jennings, mcmillan 97+%

faced 77 snaps @SF

hou - LB cushing 98%, mays 45% DB nickel+ swearinger 55%, mccain 57%

only faced 53 snaps @SD

ind - LB sheppard, freeman 92+%

only ~25% nickel db v OAK

jax - LB poz, hayes 100%, allen 58%

kc - DB 4 @86+%, 2 ~50%, 1 @33%

heavy db scheme @JAX trying to hold down gabbert

mia - LB ellerbe, wheeler 96+%, misi 58%

faced 77 snaps @CLE

min - LB henderson, greenway 100%, mitchell 19%

faced 80 snaps and in nickel almost entire game @DET

nep - LB mayo 100%, hightower 71%, spikes 25%

in nickel entire game @BUF

spikes leaves game with dehydration?

nos - LB lofton 100%, galette 59%, hawthorne, haralson 41% DB vaccaro, jenkins 100%, harper 88%

only faced 56 snaps and in nickel+ pretty much entire game v ATL

nyg - DL kiwanuka 77%, tuck 68%, jpp 65% LB paysinger 91%, williams, rivers ~50%, herzlich 32%

faced 77 snaps @DAL

Giants placed LB Dan Connor on injured reserve with a neck injury, ending his season.
nyj - LB harris, davis 100% (v TB)

oak - LB roach, burnett 96+%, maiava 62%, moore 15%

only faced 55 snaps @IND

phi - LB kendricks, ryans, barwin 96+%, cole 79% (@WAS)

pit - LB worilds 66%, jones 46% (v TEN)

Steelers first-round OLB Jarvis Jones is running with the starters at practice this week.
sd - LB bird 78% (v HOU)

sea - LB wright, wagner 100%, smith 60%

only 52 snaps @CAR

sf - DB reid 100%, asomugha 92%

in nickel pretty much all game v GB

stl - LB laurinaitis 100%, ogletree 93%, witherspoon 27% DB mcdonald 100%

nickel most of the game v ARI

tb - LB david 100%, foster 84%, watson 27%

nickel most of the game @NYJ

ten - LB fokou, brown 100%, ayers 55% DB sensabaugh 68%, g wilson 6%

only faced 53 snaps @PIT

was - DB biggers, rambo 92+%, doughty 8%

faced 80 run heavy snaps v PHI mostly in nickel

E.J. Biggers, and not veteran Reed Doughty, started in place of Meriweather on Monday because his speed should have helped against the Eagles’ multiple playmakers. But he had never played that position before and the results weren’t exactly what the coaching staff hoped.
 
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WEEK 2

PHI (v SD) 83

PIT (@CIN) 82 dalton 25/45

TEN (@HOU) 82 schaub 26/48

BUF (v CAR) 79

DEN (@NYG) 79 eli 28/49

ATL (v STL) 77 bradford 32/55

NOS (@TB) 59

SD (@PHI) 59

ARi (v DET) 58

CIN (v PIT) 57

SEA (v SF) 54

def facing PIT have now logged 53 and 57 snaps

ari - LB brinkley 24% DB mathieu 91%

6 db had 80+% of snaps v DET

atl - DL massaquoi 58% LB biermann 39% dent 78% weatherspoon 40% bartu 82% worrilow 0% nicholas 5% DB samuel 9%

biermann, weatherspoon, samuel inj vs STL -- nickel maybe 70%

bal - LB bynes 70%, upshaw 67%, mcphee 32% brown 24% DB elam 100%, huff 6%, smith 95%, graham 56%

elam takes over for huff v CLE

buf - LB lawson 75% DB leonhard 38%, searcy 94%

far less db usage v CAR

car - DB mikell 51%, mitchell 65%, godfrey 63% norman 84% moore 55%

norman, godfrey, mikell, moore inj @BUF

chi - not much change or nickel v MIN

cin - DB pacman 86%

extra db v PIT

cle - LB groves 3% mingo 35% DB skrine 100%

groves inj @BAL

dal - DB claiborne 55% @KC

den - woodyard 90% trevathan 65%, DB ihenacho 80%

ihenacho inj, heavy nickel/dime @NYG

det - DL young 68%, idonije 38%, ansah 70% DB slay 39%

I think slay benched again, majority nickel @ARI

gb - @SF

hou - v TEN

ind - LB sheppard 9%, angerer 88%

not much nickel again this week v MIA

jax - DB ball 98% gratz 0%

gratz out w/inj @OAK

kc - DB demps, abdullah ~40% v DAL

mia - @IND

min - DL k williams 60%

kevin williams back @CHI

nep - LB mayo 100%, hightower 97%, spikes 44%

hightower continues to dominate snaps over spikes v NYJ despite week 1 dehydration excuse

nos - LB galette 80%, hawthorne 73% DB harper 69%, robinson 7%

robinson hurt @TB

nyg - LB j williams 70% DB amukamara 100% v DEN

nyj - DB milliner 57%

not much extra db @NEP

oak - LB maiava 12%,s moore 46% DB branch 13% young 28%, b ross 88% hayden 67%

looks like an extra db most of game v JAX, similar to KC's def of JAX, branch inj

phi - DB boykin 96%

boykin replaces inj fletcher v SD

pit - LB worilds 32%, jones 72% williams 51% wilson 26% @CIN

sd - LB butler 81% bird 8%, r walker 61%

looks like reggie walker stole the spot from everybody's idp sleeper of the week, nickel+ whole game @PHI

sea - DL avril 48%

avril back in action v SF, thurmond in for inj browner

sf - DB reid 45%, dahl 55% asomugha 55%

reid inj @SEA

stl - not much different @ATL

tb - LB foster 47%

heavy extra db v NOS cuts foster's snaps

ten - DB sensabaugh 41%, g wilson 49%

wilson picks up snaps @HOU

was - DB biggers 3%, rambo 100%, doughty 65% meriweather 32%

meriweather puts biggers back on bench but leaves w/concussion - doughty probably takes over @GB

the following offenses have prompted a pretty large amount of extra db schemes

ARI

ATL

DET

JAX

GB

NYG

PHI

NOS - ATL was only about half nickel wk 1, but TB used db a bit more in wk 2

DEN - BAL probably used extra db in wk1 a bit more than NYG in wk 2, with welker dropping from 79% to 65%

NEP - BUF chose the db route in wk 1, whereas NYJ didn't use much nickel in wk 2

 
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So is Harper (DB, NOS) still a "starter". I see him listed in both gamebooks as the "starter", but is that just in name only? How much big nickle are they running?

 
I think they address this in the idp roundtable podcasts, if you want to check them out.

looks like ryan has played the majority of the games in big nickel, but with vaccaro as the actual full time box safety.

ogletree played 66% of tb snaps, with harper in on 69%, so maybe that's just the nickel personnel ryan is rolling with.

 
WEEK 3

NYJ (v BUF) 86 manuel 19/42

PHI (v KC) 83

CIN (v GB) 81

CLE (@MIN) 80

BUF (@NYJ) 78

DET (@WAS) 77

NOS (v ARI) 58

GB (@CIN) 56

ATL (@MIA) 56

DEN (v OAK) 54

IND (@SF) 53

CAR 9v NYG) 52

def facing PIT have now logged 53, 57, and 66 snaps

def facing SF have now logged 77, 54, and 53 snaps

SEA def has now faced 52, 54, and 66 snaps

NOS def has now faced 56, 59, and 58 snaps

ari - LB brinkley 68% shaughnessy 84% acho 55% alexander 16% DB mathieu 85%, r johnson 28% @NOS

Johnson took his glove off during Sunday's loss to the Saints and the top of his left middle finger was still in itCardinals placed OLB Sam Acho on IR with a broken fibula/ankle, ending his season.

Cardinals placed OLB Lorenzo Alexander (Lisfranc) on IR ending his season.
atl - DL massaquoi 77% LB dent 68% bartu 98% worrilow 32% nicholas 20% DB samuel 98% mcclain 77%

nickel most of game @MIA as gibson (MIA) played 40 snaps (71%)

bal - LB brown 0% DB elam remains 100% v HOU

buf - DB leonhard 94%, mckelvin 9%

I'm assuming they moved aaron williams over to corner to replace mckelvin @NYJ?

Bills LCB Leodis McKelvin left Sunday's Week 3 game with a hamstring injury
car - LB blackburn 33% beason 2% DB mitchell 100% florence 100% lester 100% white 63% norman 4% moore 0% mikell 0%

inj DB shuffle v NYG

The Panthers will start UDFA Robert Lester at strong safety in Week 3 against the Giants.
chi - DL melton 50% LB dj williams 42% DB tillman 67% bowman 33% frey 58% @PIT

Tillman left Sunday night's Week 3 game against the Steelers with a groin injury
cin - DL johnson 86% dunlap 88% LB maualuga 85% DB pacman 99% hall 84%

extra db and only 2 lb v GB -- I knew something was up with that hall 84%!!

Bengals CB Leon Hall pulled his hamstring during the Week 3 win over the Packers.
cle - LB sheard 43% mingo 68% DB skrine 100%

sheard on crutches after game @MIN

dal - DL ware 39 snaps (57%) selvie 54% DB wilcox 78% allen 22%

spencer out v STL, looks like nickel whole game with maybe starters sitting out 4th qtr

Third-round rookie J.J. Wilcox will start at free safety for the Cowboys against the Rams on Sunday.
Will Allen played all 132 snaps at free safety the first two weeks.
den - trevathan 80% DB ihenacho 46% adams 67% t carter 11% webster 46%

ihenacho + carter inj v OAK

det - DL jones 19% young 74%, idonije 45%, ansah 62% DB slay 0% mathis 99%

slay benched @WAS

Lions placed LE Jason Jones on injured reserve
gb - LB matthews 46% DB mcmillian 25% banjo 96%

matthews inj, looks like banjo took mcmillian's job, extra db @CIN maybe due to matthews inj

hou - LB sharpton 41% mays 41% DB reed 73% swearinger 43%

reed back @BAL

ind - LB sheppard 60% conner 32% angerer 0% DB howell 100%

howell subs in for inj landry @SF, angerer back out

jax - DL babin 59% DB ball 0% gratz 0% lowery 3% blackmon 82% mccray 96% evans 97%

3 starting DB subbed @SEA - 3 rookies on field after lowery got knocked out

kc - LB jordan 92% DB flowers 83% abdullah 60% robinson 65%

extra DB @PHI , flowers struggles with knee inflammation

mia - DL wake 18% shelby 62% jordan 42% LB misi 27%

wake inj v ATL

min - DL k williams 68% DB cook 4% sherels 86% jefferson 9% sanford 68% sendejo 31%

cook, jefferson, and sanford inj v CLE replaced by sherels and sendejo, 2 LB on field most of game

nep - LB hightower 91% spikes 52% j collins 25% DB dennard 83% arrington 48%

hightower has replaced spikes who comes in for run support, jamie collins makes an appearance v TB

CB Kyle Arrington played three of his 34 snaps in the second half. Alfonzo Dennard played over him in the base defense in the 2nd half and rookie Logan Ryan came on for him in sub.
nos - DB harper 0%, r bush (not that one) 74%

bush subs in for inj harper in ryan's big nickel v ARI

On defense, the Saints were in a 4-3 front on nine snaps, 3-4 on seven snaps while running a nickel on 20 plays and dime on 20. ~PFF

nyg - DL jpp 86% tuck 55% kiwanuka 58% LB 4 players got 2/3rds snaps DB ross 99% t thomas 34%

ross subs in for inj webster, not much nickel @CAR

nyj - LB coples 66% DB milliner 26% k wilson 85% a allen 53%

rookie milliner benched v BUF

Jets DL/LB Quinton Coples saw his first action of the season as he played 55 snaps. He lined up all over the place, including 34 snaps at defensive end, 15 at defensive tackle, and nine at outside linebacker. ~PFF

oak - LB maiava 33%,s moore 0% DB branch 0% young 13%, b ross 100% hayden 80% porter 80%

sio moore out due to concussion from car crash, ross subs for inj branch, porter inj during game - mostly nickel @DEN

phi - DB fletcher 100% chung 73% n allen 73% wolff 53%

fletcher back, chung inj v KC

pit - LB worilds 42%, jones 63% williams 52% wilson 18%

v williams subbed out for db some chunk of snaps v CHI - is polamalu nickel LB?

sd - LB butler 1% bird 38%, gachkar 29% r walker 99% DB s wright 0%

shareece wright sits out, extra db @TEN


Although Chargers ILB Donald Butler (groin) is active for Week 3, he is not playing against the Titans.
He's on the sideline in full gear and is not expected to play any snaps. Butler suffered a groin injury in Week 2
sea - DL avril 73% clemons 24% LB wagner + wright only 49 snaps (74%) DB browner 53%

browner + clemons back, some starters sit 4th qtr in blowout

sf - LB willis 67% wilhoite 33% a smith 100% DB reid 97% asomugha 53%

reid plays v IND, asomugha mri after game, willis inj

stl - @DAL

tb - LB foster 72% DB l johnson 81% banks 93%

nickel most of game @NEP

ten - LB fokou 86% mccarthy 12% brown 54% ayers 58% extra DB sensabaugh 61%, g wilson 59%

brown suffered an illness during week, rolling with extra DB v SD

The #Titans went to a lot of dime where Zach Brown came off the field.

was - DB rambo 0%, doughty 0% meriweather 100% amerson 100%

straight 4 DB scheme v DET, rambo and doughty benched?

The defense of the Washington Redskins has yielded the most yards that any NFL team has allowed in the first three games of a season since 1966, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Those 1,464 yards by their three opponents are evidence that whatever the Redskins are trying on defense isn’t working particularly well. But defensive coordinator Jim Haslett can’t be accused of failing to be creative to attempt to come up with solutions.

The Redskins started a cornerback, E.J. Biggers, alongside rookie Bacarri Rambo at safety in their opening game against the Philadelphia Eagles, with Brandon Meriweather sidelined. In this past Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions, they benched Rambo and started only one safety — Meriweather — to go with cornerbacks DeAngelo Hall, Josh Wilson and David Amerson in their secondary.

The unusual one-safety, three-cornerback alignment allowed the Redskins to keep their standard defensive front seven on the field to deal with the Lions’ running game even when Detroit had three wide receivers on the field. The Redskins had been particularly vulnerable against the run in their first two games when opponents had spread the field with additional wide receivers in the lineup but then handed off.

The setup also put stress on the cornerbacks to cover receivers with less help than usual, though. The Lions had only 63 rushing yards but Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 385 yards. The Lions had two 100-yard receivers.

“Our game plan was to stop the run,” Wilson said Monday. “We did that.”

Asked about the demands of playing cornerback with only one safety on the field, Wilson said: “You play man-to-man — it’s like boxing, you’re gonna get a couple punches in but eventually he’s gonna hit you. You’ve got to understand that, and we’ve got to be able to roll with that. When you sit there all day like that, it’s gonna be a fight.”

Coach Mike Shanahan called the defense’s performance against the Lions “much better than our first two games. Not as good as we want to do. Any time you give up that many big plays, there’s deficiencies there. But I like the direction we’re headed.”

Shanahan called the three-cornerback, one-safety setup “a different game plan” but didn’t rule out using it in future games.

courtesy link
Shanahan said that Rambo didn’t play on defense partially because of game planning and partially because of poor execution in Weeks 1 and 2.

Shanahan explained that the need to stop the run prompted the Redskins to stick with a seven-man front, but that the team also needed to keep three cornerbacks on the field to cover the Lions’ three-receiver sets. Strong safety Brandon Meriweather played center field and served as the last line of defense.

“We had a different game plan. They started in a three-wide-receiver package and so we kept our base defense on the field, but with three wide receivers, if you ever want to play man coverage, you want a corner to match up with a wide receiver. So at the free safety we put [Meriweather] back there rather than [Rambo] because of his experience as a tackler and a center fielder. That was our game plan going in.”

courtesy link
 
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After targeting JJ Wilcox in late rounds of my rookie drafts I'm delighted to see this report. Thanks KL Larry. a glass of Purple Kool-aid in your honor sir! :cool:

 
Awesome Work

nyj - LB coples 66% DB milliner 26% k wilson 85% a allen 53%

rookie milliner benched v BUF

Jets DL/LB Quinton Coples saw his first action of the season as he played 55 snaps. He lined up all over the place, including 34 snaps at defensive end, 15 at defensive tackle, and nine at outside linebacker. ~PFF

shouldn't he be moved to DL then?

 
After 0 snaps in week 1 and 2 snaps in week 2, Desmond Bishop with 12 defensive snaps and 10 special teams snaps in week 3. Are we close to seeing him take over a starting spot? Seems he split 50/50 with Mitchell this week.

 
dgreen said:
After 0 snaps in week 1 and 2 snaps in week 2, Desmond Bishop with 12 defensive snaps and 10 special teams snaps in week 3. Are we close to seeing him take over a starting spot? Seems he split 50/50 with Mitchell this week.
I am in no way even remotely qualified to comment on this, but calling him a starter by beating out mitchell is probably semantics, as they seem pretty comfortable with just greenway and henderson on the field for the bulk of the play, unless the db injuries change that approach any.

I think he'd have to beat out henderson, and while bishop's probably better in run support, I wonder if he has the coverage range they'd want with 2 lb on the field, and in that particular scheme -- maybe he's their spikes, or maybe that's his upside.

although, I'd welcome any commentary from people who actually watch the vikings, or from staff.

I'll leave you with some profootballfocus commentary from their game recaps, if it helps any.

Bishop Impresses

Though he was on the field for just 10 defensive plays, you couldn’t help but come away impressed by the play of linebacker Desmond Bishop (+2.7). Seeing just five snaps against the run, he recorded two tackles, with both resulting in defensive stops. That included two plays where he was far too much for Browns running back Chris Ogbonnaya to deal with as a lead blocker.

First, on 1st-and-10 with 5:50 remaining in the first quarter, he met Ogbonnaya at the point of attack, tossing him aside with ease and recording the tackle. As impressive as that play was, he topped it on 1st-and-10 with just 04:21 remaining in the third, when he spun free from the attempted block to bring down Willis McGahee for a 6-yard loss.
I can't decipher the grading, but the +2.7 is a positive grade.

from week 1 against detroit

With the trio of EJ Henderson, Ben Leber and Chad Greenway, the Vikings had one of the best sets of linebackers in the league for a while. Two of the three are gone however and the third may be on his last legs. Greenway (-3.7)struggled in the second half of last season and this game will have done nothing to dispel the concerns that he may have lost a step. Despite playing 37 run snaps, Greenway had just the solitary stop and finished with a -3.1 grade in run defense. There were a couple of occasions (Q1, 2.55 and Q3, 12.21) where he had Bush lined up with a chance to bring down the runner for a short gain, but simply couldn’t make the play. Similarly Erin Henderson was consistently manhandled in the run game and there should be serious questions as to whether he can handle the transition to middle linebacker. The position is especially difficult in the Viking’s scheme because they predominantly run cover 2 and thus ask their Mike backer to position himself deeper at the snap. Henderson (-4.3) had particular trouble with Warford when he came to meet him at the second level.

Both players also graded below average in coverage. Their combined stat line reads seven targets, nine receptions, 164 yards and a touchdown. To be fair much of that came from Reggie Bush’s 77 TD on a screen in which Greenway happened to be in coverage, but aside from that they combined to give up four first downs. Henderson was also crucially taken out on the aforementioned screen.
 
WEEK 4

note: players listed are largely either of possible interest, or have changed significantly over last week

if a guy isn't mentioned it's probably because he approximated last week's snap count

SEA (@HOU) 91!

BAL (@BUF) 84

MIN (PIT) 79

NEP (@ATL) 76

ARI (@TB) 76

JAX (v IND) 76

SD (v DAL) 59

IND (@JAX) 56

PIT (MIN) 52

NOS def has now faced 56, 59, 58, and 60 snaps

ari - DL dockett 66% LB brinkley 66% DB mathieu 100%

r johnson out, brinkley inj, nickel 70+% @TB - washington back wk 5?

atl - LB dent 74% bartu 91% worrilow 18% nicholas 39% DB samuel 0% mcclain 97%

dent + worrilow inj, samuel out - mcclain starts v NEP

bal - DB webb 20% graham 77% LB bynes 89%

webb inj, not much nickel @BUF

buf - DL branch 43% dareus 54% bryant 29% hughes 60% LB lawson 83% DB a williams 72% robey 74%

mckelvin out, a williams inj, nickel most of game v BAL

car - BYE

Panthers LCB Josh Thomas has been medically cleared from his Week 3 concussion.
chi - LB dj williams 35% DB tillman 62% frey 65% @PIT

melton IR v DET

cin - DB mays 90%

nelson + hall out @CLE

cle - LB mingo 100% v CIN

dal - DL ware 75% selvie 61% LB carter 67% sims 38% DB wilcox 100% claiborne 89% scandrick 86%

mostly nickel @SD

carter benched for sims

Cowboys CB Morris Claiborne has lost his starting job to Orlando Scandrick.
den - DB ihenacho 99% carter 90%

all nickel v PHI

det - DL young 75%, idonije 40%, ansah 68% DB slay 88% bentlry 72% houston 67% mathis 12%

mathis + houston inj, ~70% nickel v CHI

gb - BYE - m burnett back?

hou - LB sharpton 70% mays 61% cushing 39% DB reed 97%

cushing inj v SEA

ind - LB sheppard 7% angerer 28 snaps (50%)

starters probably sat 4th qtr @JAX

jax - DB ball 83% blackmon 99% evans 100%

gratz and lowery out v IND

kc - LB jordan 33%

flowers out, heavy db scheme v NYG

mia - DL shelby 73% jordan 31% DB carroll 66% j taylor 39%

wake out @NOS, taylor subbed for carroll when he inj ankle near end of first half

min - LB mitchell 13% bishop 19% DB robinson 97% sherels 97% rhodes 70% sendejo 53% raymond 46%

cook, jefferson, and sanford out, mistral makes an appearance, ~70% nickel v PIT

nep - DL wilfork 13% LB hightower 66% spikes 8% j collins 16% DB dennard 99% arrington 92%

wilfork IR, nickel+ entire game @ATL

nos - DB r bush (not that one) 82% lewis 63% carr 45% white 37%

bush subs in for inj harper - big nickel all game, good chunk in dime

For the Saints, cornerback Keenan Lewis briefly left the game in the third quarter with a muscle strain but returned later in the period.
nyg - DL tuck 72% LB paysinger 100% herzlich 85% DB ross 60% t thomas 88%

a ross inj, nickel most of game @KC

nyj - DB k wilson 39% walls 90% a allen 61% jarrett 31%

rookie milliner out @TEN, probably not a lot of nickel

Wilson, who was flagged on five consecutive plays against Buffalo in Week 3, saw his playing time decrease to 26 snaps as the Jets' nickel cornerback.
oak - LB maiava 45%,s moore 80% burnett 58% DB b ross 100% hayden 35% porter 97%

hunter out v WAS

phi - DB n allen 88% wolff 88%

chung out @DEN

pit - LB worilds 33%, jones 67% v williams 43 snaps (83%) wilson 0% v MIN @London

williams putting wilson on bench

sd - LB freeney 36% butler 48 snaps (80%) bird 0% r walker 71% te'o 24% DB cox 56% patrick 95% marshall 85%

freeney IR, cox knee inj, s wright still out, extra db v DAL

sea - DL avril 54% clemons 67% bennett 35% LB wagner 90 snaps (99%) wright 79%

bennett inj @HOU

sf - LB wilhoite 91% skuta 48% lemonier 64% DB brock 66% (nickel db for aso)

a smith, willis, and asomugha out @STL

stl - LB witherspoon 57% DB mcdonald 59% giordano 43% finnegan 30% t johnson 74%

j dunbar re-signed, finnegan and mcdonald inj v SF

Rams placed S T.J. McDonald on short-term injured reserve with a fractured right leg.
tb - LB foster 94% DB l johnson 55% banks 98% barron 16% black 87%

barron inj v ARI, rookie banks has taken the spot opposite revis from johnson

Bucs waived FS Ahmad Black.
ten - LB fokou 100% mccarthy 0% brown 80% ayers 68% extra DB sensabaugh 69%, g wilson 34%

fokou shuts out mccarthy in 38-13 blowout v NYJ

was - DB meriweather 100% doughty 52% amerson 48% biggers 42%

@OAK

 
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Sio Moore stands out to me. The obvious question is how did he play 80% of the snaps and not hit the stat line? Weird.

Also, the Penn St rookie LBers got on the field for all the ST snaps and Mauti recorded two solo tackles. It's good to see he and Hodges healthy and hopefully they get some auditioning time at LB soon.

 
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PFF

- With Vince Wilfork out the Patriots shifted to more of a 3-4 defense which will be something to monitor over the coming weeks. They used the formation on 27 defensive downs as opposed to just four for the 4-3.
 
there's no way he's off the field -- he played every snap

I know they've used him at 3-4 end in some packages

I'll copy some bits from mike reiss, although it's not really what you were asking for -- thx, mike

Rookie defensive end Michael Buchanan (seventh round, Illinois) has been a solid contributor as a nickel rusher at right end, allowing the Patriots to kick Chandler Jones inside in a three-DE look on some third-down situations. The Patriots didn’t use that package often on Sunday, with Buchanan playing just six snaps,

Linebacker Brandon Spikes was sent into the middle of the line multiple times on run blitzes, including on the Bengals’ first offensive play, a 13-yard run by BenJarvus Green-Ellis. While Spikes was generally solid on those plays (e.g. second quarter, 7:21 remaining), and was a big part of the Patriots’ plans in accounting for the loss of injured defensive tackle Vince Wilfork

On defensive tackle Chris Jones’ second-quarter sack, it was a combination of good coverage, good rush and an offensive-line breakdown. The Patriots were in a 4-2-5 sub defense, with end Ninkovich standing up in a linebacker-type look on the end of the left side of the line. Jones was the end to his right

The most significant change from last week was the inclusion of linebacker Brandon Spikes in sub packages, as his overall snap total (57) spiked considerably. Spikes had averaged 22.5 snaps per game through the first four weeks and was on for just six plays last week versus the Falcons. As ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi had forecasted, Spikes was utilized on several run blitzes into the middle of the line as part of the strategy of accounting for defensive tackle Vince Wilfork’s absence. Spikes' increase in playing time had a trickle-down effect on Dont’a Hightower, whose snaps were down from the norm. Hightower has a hamstring injury, which could also have been a factor in that switch. ... In sub packages, the Patriots got away from their three-DE grouping and mostly stayed with two defensive tackles,

 
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WEEK 5

note: players listed are largely either of possible interest, or have changed significantly over last week

if a guy isn't mentioned it's probably because he approximated last week's snap count

NYG (v PHI) 81

DAL (v DEN) 79

MIA (v BAL) 77

CLE (v BUF) 77 (BUF QB 19/40)

NYJ (@ATL) 76

BAL (@MIA) 58

SD (v OAK) 58

DEN (@DAL) 58

NOS (@CHI) 56

HOU (@SF) 53

ATL (V NYJ) 46

NOS def has now faced 56, 59, 58, 60, and 56 snaps

def facing SF have now logged 77, 54, 53, 69. and 53 snaps

ari - LB dansby/washington 100% brinkley 0% shaughnessy 59%

brinkley out, washington returns with a splash v CAR

atl - LB dent 0% bartu 100% worrilow 61% nicholas/gaither 39% DB samuel 98% mcclain 61%

dent out, samuel back, only 46 total snaps v NYJ

bal - LB bynes 59% a brown 40% DB webb 84%

almost all nickel @MIA

Rookie Arthur Brown returned after missing two games with a pectoral injury and he played 23 snaps at weak-side linebacker. With Brown back, starter Josh Bynes played only 34 snaps.

Cornerback Lardarius Webb, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, got the start against the Dolphins, but Jimmy Smith and Corey Graham were the cornerbacks who played every defensive snap. Webb played 49 snaps -- 84 percent -- as the third cornerback this week
buf - DL dareus 84% LB lawson 94% DB a williams 99% leonhard 93% mckelvin 85% j rogers 7% robey 57%

mckelvin back, a williams takes over for rogers at cb @CLE

car - LB blackburn 37% DB mitchell, lester, j thomas ~100% @ARI

beason traded

chi - DL collins 68% LB dj williams 82% DB tillman 100% frey 26%

collins inj, surprisingly few nickel snaps v NOS

- Injuries have seen the Bears move Corey Wootton to defensive tackle. This week all bar two of his snaps were spent between the tackles. In the first four weeks 158 of 205 snaps were outside them. - PFF
cin - DL gilberry 83% hunt 63% DB crocker 83% mays 51%

m johnson + hall out, nelson back v NEP

cle - DB owens 57% v BUF

dal - DL ware 72% selvie 73% LB carter 49% sims 58% DB church 82% claiborne 92% scandrick 99%

nickel entire game v DEN, w allen cut, ware came out w/cramps, church broke his nose, sims reportedly poor vs run while carter graded well by PFF

den - DL ayers 29% LB woodyard 36% irving 50% trevathan 93% DB carter 52% harris 55% webster 84%

ayers, woodyard, harris inj @DAL, nickel most of game

det - DB slay 0% bentley 90% houston 100% mathis 100%

slay remains benched, nickel whole game @GB

gb - LB matthews 63% b jones 34% lattimore 24% mulumba 25% DB burnett 100% house 93% mcmillan 31%

matthews, jones, francois inj, burnett returns, nickel whole game v DET

hou - LB sharpton 43% mays 57% cushing 83% DB reed 45% swearinger 38%

hou blown out @SF 34-3

safety Ed Reed came up hobbling after stopping a sliding Colin Kaepernick. Reed said after the game that he tweaked his knee on the end of the play, not the hip on which he had arthroscopic surgery in April. Reed also said he wasn't concerned about the injury and it did not need further tests Monday.
ind - LB sheppard 0% angerer 45% conner 36% DB howell 85% v SEA

jax - LB allen 71% DB evans 100% @STL

lowery IR

kc - LB jordan 19% DB 6 with 72+%

flowers back, heavy db scheme @TEN

mia - DL wake 3 snaps LB ellerbe 21% trusnik 56% misi 61% DB carroll 78% j taylor 19%

ellerbe, carroll inj v BAL

min - BYE

nep - DL vellano 83% chris jones 50% LB hightower 53% spikes 83% j collins 14% DB arrington 51% kelly came out for a bit, see above posting for notes @CIN

nos - DB r bush (not that one) 93%

bush subs in for inj harper - big nickel all game, some dime @CHI

nyg - LB paysinger 100% herzlich 0% rivers 84% DB rolle 99% hill 100% mcbride 100%

t thomas, webster, hosley out, ross IR mcbride subs at cb, hill back from suspension, all big nickel v PHI, beason acquired

Thomas, who has undergone three ACL surgeries on his right knee, was limited to just one snap last week against the Eagles but expects to play more on Thursday night against the Bears. He said today that the decision to hold him out last week was part medical and part football because the Giants were facing a stretch of two games in five days.
nyj - DB k wilson 54% walls 97% a allen 21% jarrett 63%

rookie milliner out @ATL

oak - LB maiava 1%,s moore 26% burnett 99% DB hayden 90%

hunter back, nickel whole game v SD

phi - DB n allen 100% wolff 100%

chung out @NYG

pit - BYE

sd - LB english 93% te'o 72% butler 86% walker 17% DB cox 98% patrick 38%

s wright still out @OAK

sea - DL avril 58% clemons 68% bennett 60% LB wagner 95% irvin 57%

bruce irvin suspension over @IND

sf - DL mcdonald 59% LB wilhoite 88% DB brock 47% (nickel db for aso) hitner 99%

willis still out, aso replaced by brock, mcdonald biceps strain v HOU

stl - LB witherspoon 0% dunbar 32% DB giordano 67% t johnson 100% d stewart 100%

mcdonald IR, finnegan out v JAX

tb - BYE

ten - DL morgan 39% LB fokou 100% mccarthy 3% brown 56% ayers 49% extra DB sensabaugh 39%, g wilson 63%

Titans CB Coty Sensabaugh suffered a concussion in Sunday's Week 5 game against the Chiefs.Titans linebacker Zach Brown hurt his right knee and twice went to the sideline. And defensive end Derrick Morgan hurt his shoulder late in a loss to the Chiefs.
was - BYE

KC and NOS, 2 of the season's better defenses, have been playing primarily nickel+ schemes

 
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I'd like some solid info on the will hill vs terrell thomas nickel db battle if anybody has any --- all I've read is thomas thinks he gets back in there thursday, after missing last game for knee maintenance, while fewell says scheme will remain similar to this past sunday.

not sure what they plan going fwd

 
On defensive tackle Chris Jones’ second-quarter sack, it was a combination of good coverage, good rush and an offensive-line breakdown. The Patriots were in a 4-2-5 sub defense, with end Ninkovich standing up in a linebacker-type look on the end of the left side of the line. Jones was the end to his right
Where was Chandler? Considering he played 100% of the defensive snaps.

And the gamebook had McCourtey at SS and he had his best tackle game. Was he actually closer to line/TE this game?

 
On defensive tackle Chris Jones’ second-quarter sack, it was a combination of good coverage, good rush and an offensive-line breakdown. The Patriots were in a 4-2-5 sub defense, with end Ninkovich standing up in a linebacker-type look on the end of the left side of the line. Jones was the end to his right
Where was Chandler? Considering he played 100% of the defensive snaps.

And the gamebook had McCourtey at SS and he had his best tackle game. Was he actually closer to line/TE this game?
chandler jones was the right edge rusher, or occasionally 3-4 rde, I believe.

I think what that blurb is describing is ninky walking up to the line as a linebacker, but essentially becoming another lineman as the leftmost edge rusher, with chris jones as the closest lineman on his right --- chris jones being the actual left end with ninky outside him to his left.

chandler jones was on the other side of the line on the righthand side.

and this is a good example of why the 3-4/4-3 distinctions everyone usually makes can be overblown, and why belichick never likes getting caught up in the semantics of it when people question him on his defensive schemes.

I'll game rewind it tomorrow and see if I can chart some mccourty action.

 
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Brandon Flowers was used as a slot corner in the Week 5 win at Tennessee.
The Chiefs wanted to get rookie Marcus Cooper on the field outside, so they used Flowers inside and kept Cooper in press-man opposite Sean Smith. Dunta Robinson didn't play a single snap.
 
ok, I have completed my homework assignment and here's my report on devin mccourty

who is already owned in my leagues, unfortunately, so wtf am I doing this, again....?

just to lay the foundation -- he played 70 snaps @CIN, which is maybe a touch high average, defending 20 completions and 39 runs (inc 6 QB and 1 WR end around)

eifert and gresham combined for 9 catches on 11 targets, and shared the field about half the game.

1st half:

played on the defensive right about twice as often as the left, dropping into coverage on just about every play, and was the single high centerfielder when they used one.

Q!

duron harmon subs in for gregory for an 8 play series, during which mccourty nets 4 tackles

- TE right

- playing centerfield on designed QB run

- TE left

- coverage on right, closed on RB

Q2

- in single coverage, which I think he passed off (from memory) - TE to his side

2nd half

got lazy and just watched the plays he made tackles on

Q3

- centerfielder on 28 yd pass

- centerfielder on 28 yd run

Q4

- single covering a TE

- on a run from the pats 6 - closed quick from right side

- RB from 14 yds deep centerfield

- 6 yd pass to RB on sideline, mccourty sniffed it out playing CF 14 yds deep

- run to his side, playing about 9 yds deep (forced fumble)

in summary, he is definitely FS

4 TE tackles in a TE rich environment

6 on runs, when they ran 39x, but he wasn't in the box unless you count one from the pats 6

couple plays at the wall

maybe 5 plays that came to him

3 more he just made excellent reads on and was quick to the ball

I don't really see a single cause for the tackle spike, and maybe it was just a confluence of things.

target rich environment, helped by some natural randomness, and I doubt a few of those plays develop like they did if wilfork is in there --- this could be ongoing in trying to get offenses off the field

also, gregory missing a series might've helped him poach a few off harmon

TL;DR FS

 
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This week vs Jimmy Graham. Spike could continue.

Thanks Larry.
yeah FS vs NOS is usually :moneybag: -- probably any safety, really

the more I think about it, the more I'm wondering if losing wilfork is pimping his tackle opps up the middle a bit.

there were probably 3 or 4 he doesn't get if wilfork's there

 
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Honey Badger gonna be bumped when/if Johnson returns? He got 100% defensive snaps last week plus some special teams snaps too. He's been very productive for owners so far. Plus DWash is back and looks good as ever. Will the ride end soon?

 
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On defensive tackle Chris Jones’ second-quarter sack, it was a combination of good coverage, good rush and an offensive-line breakdown. The Patriots were in a 4-2-5 sub defense, with end Ninkovich standing up in a linebacker-type look on the end of the left side of the line. Jones was the end to his right
Where was Chandler? Considering he played 100% of the defensive snaps.

And the gamebook had McCourtey at SS and he had his best tackle game. Was he actually closer to line/TE this game?
chandler jones was the right edge rusher, or occasionally 3-4 rde, I believe.

I think what that blurb is describing is ninky walking up to the line as a linebacker, but essentially becoming another lineman as the leftmost edge rusher, with chris jones as the closest lineman on his right --- chris jones being the actual left end with ninky outside him to his left.

chandler jones was on the other side of the line on the righthand side.

and this is a good example of why the 3-4/4-3 distinctions everyone usually makes can be overblown, and why belichick never likes getting caught up in the semantics of it when people question him on his defensive schemes.

I'll game rewind it tomorrow and see if I can chart some mccourty action.
Chris Jones reminds me of a shorter, slower Derick Wolfe. Lead all DTs in sacks and tfl per game the last two years.
 
WEEK 6

note: players listed are largely either of possible interest, or have changed significantly over last week

if a guy isn't mentioned it's probably because he approximated last week's snap count

NOS (@NEP) 86

BUF (v CIN) 86

DAL (v WAS) 78

STL (@HOU) 76

PIT (@NYJ) 58

CHI (v NYG) 54

WAS (@DAL) 54

SEA (v TEN) 52

SD (v IND) 48

HOU (v STL) 42 !!

SEA def has now faced 52, 54, 56, 91 (@HOU), 65, and 52 snaps

NOS def has now faced 56, 59, 58, 60, 56, 86 (@NEP) snaps

ari - DL campbell 91% LB brinkley 19% DB mathieu 87% r johnson 16%

pretty much no nickel used @SF

atl - BYE

bal - DL ngata 66% LB bynes 81% a brown 19% DB webb 100% c graham 59% v GB

buf - LB lawson 29% bradham 45% moats 42% DB a williams 81% gilmore 30% leonhard 97% searcy 88% byrd 48%

gilmore and byrd return, lawson inj v CIN

car - LB davis + kuechly 81% (50 snaps) DB lester 0% mikell 100%

lester out, starters probably sit 4th qtr in blowout @MIN

chi - LB j anderson 70% (38 snaps) dj williams 39% bostic 39% (21 snaps) DB tillman 0% bowman 100%

DT paea still out but may return wk7, dj williams IR - rookie bostic in, bowman subs for tilman v NYG

Bostic spent time during Monday’s practice working at his customary spot in the middle, but also took repetitions at strongside linebacker as a contingency plan for if James Anderson suffered an injury that would force him to miss time. When Anderson sustained a back injury that forced him out last Thursday, the Bears plugged in veteran Blake Costanzo and kept Bostic in the middle.
If that situation takes place again, there’s a chance the Bears would move Costanzo to the middle and Bostic to the strongside.
cin - LB maualuga 75% DB crocker 3% mays 30%

hall + m johnson back, nickel+ most of game @BUF

cle - LB mingo + kruger 81% groves 38% DB owens 73% (nickel DB) v DET

dal - DL ware 21% wilber 65% hatcher 68% LB carter 94% sims 36% DB church 97% claiborne 63% scandrick 100%

sims subs for inj durant, carter back in nickel, ware inj v WAS

den - LB woodyard 0% lenon 50% irving 40% trevathan 99% DB bailey 97%

ayers + woodyard out, c bailey back, nickel entire game v JAX

det - DB slay 71% r mathis 28% bentley 65%

r mathis inj @CLE

gb - LB hawk 97% lattimore 68% perry 52% mulumba 59% palmer 11% m neal 79% DB house 23% hyde 59%

matthews, jones, francois out, perry inj, extra db @BAL

At some point during the Green Bay Packers' game Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, Andy Mulumba and Nate Palmer will be taking the place of Clay Matthews and Nick Perry.

With Perry out most of the second half Monday, Mulumba played 39 snaps and Palmer seven. They played together only a couple of snaps in the second half when Neal was rested, but they probably will have to play more this weekend to make sure Neal doesn't wear dowCapers said he did not bench cornerback Davon House despite his poor play on tight end Dallas Clark's 45-yard reception in the second quarter.He said he thought House was getting tired having to play so much on special teams and decided to spell him with rookie Micah Hyde in the nickel package. When Hyde played extremely well in the slot position, Capers decided to keep him in the game.

"We put Micah inside, blitzed him a few times," Capers said. "He was doing a nice job on his blitzes and then he had those three good plays on the goal line and so he stepped up and delivered."

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/packers-nick-perry-injury-diagnosed-a-broken-foot-b99119828z1-227762921.html
hou - LB mays 74% DB d manning 71% keo 31% reed 81% swearinger 21%

d manning inj - to be replaced by keo, pretty much no nickel in only 42 snaps v STL

ind - LB freeman 51% angerer 43% sheppard 55% harvey 47% DB howell 93%

freeman inj @SD

jax - LB allen 42% @DEN

kc - LB jordan 45%

cooper subs for flowers v OAK

mia - BYE

min - LB mitchell 27% bishop 23% DB h smith 66% sendejo 31% sanford 96% rhodes 46% sherels 20%

bishop takes start from mitchell but IR'd, sanford back, h smith and rhodes inj v CAR

nep - DL vellano 85% chris jones 100% LB hightower 35% mayo 89% spikes 72% fletcher 11% collins 11% DB talib 54% arrington 75% l ryan 49% d harmon 22%

DT kelly out, mayo + talib inj, mostly nickel+ packages matching up with te v NOS

ANALYSIS: This performance highlighted the depth and improvement in the secondary in 2013, as the Patriots went seven players deep, spending most of the game in either their nickel (5 defensive backs) or dime package (6 defensive backs) as they essentially viewed Saints tight ends Jimmy Graham and Benjamin Watson as receivers. Third-round draft choices Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon played critical snaps and held their ground. Harmon’s playing time came after CB Aqib Talib left with injury in the third quarter, with the Patriots moving Devin McCourty into Talib’s role against Graham. … One game-specific wrinkle was a four-cornerback nickel package, which looked like a game-planning matchup against the Saints’ three-receiver grouping. … Surprising to see Chris Jones play every snap at defensive tackle; he is a rookie on his third team this year who the Patriots claimed on waivers Sept. 11. It’s a credit to Jones, and also to defensive line coach Patrick Graham. … For the second week in a row, Brandon Spikes has played more snaps than Dont’a Hightower. That could be a residual effect of losing Vince Wilfork and the coaches now placing a greater value on Spikes’ downhill play against the run without Wilfork clogging things up in the middle. ... The 66 snaps were the second fewest played by the defense this season

~Mike Reiss
nos - DB r bush (not that one) 72%

r harper still out, continue with big nickel base @NEP

nyg - LB paysinger 100% rivers 41% beason 93% DB hill 59% t thomas 91% mcbride 0%

webster, hosley out @CHI

nyj - DB k wilson 12% walls 100% cromartie 100% a allen 97% jarrett 5%

k wilson inj v PIT

oak - LB s moore 41% burnett 100% @KC

phi - DB chung 17% wolff 83% boykin 56%

chung inj @TB

pit - LB j jones 57% worilds 43% v williams 45% sylvester 0% DB gay 97% c allen 60% sh thomas 53%

gay starts over allen, steelers used a quarters package quite a bit @NYJ subbing 2 db for mclendon and v williams

sd - LB te'o 65% walker 42% gachkar 58% butler 0% DB s wright 94% cox 92% patrick 71% addae 40%

butler out, s wright back, fairly heavy extra db v IND

sea - DL avril 58% clemons 56% bennett 46% LB wagner 0% wright 100% m smith 92% irvin 56% DB browner 71% thurmond 67%

wagner out, clemons inj v TEN

On their second possession of the game, the Tennessee Titans took a shot down the sideline, and Kendall Wright blew past Brandon Browner to catch a pass for a 32-yard gain.

On the very next play, Tennessee quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick again connected with Wright, who again was covered by Browner, giving the Titans another 11 yards. Those two plays helped set up a field goal, Tennessee's only offensive score until they added another field goal late in the fourth quarter, and they were also apparently enough to convince Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll that Browner needed a break. "They tilted some balls at him all of a sudden there, they were going after him," Carroll said. "I just wanted to give him a break, that's all. When the Titans returned to the field, Walter Thurmond, not Browner, was Seattle's right cornerback, and when the Seahawks brought a third corner on, that player was Byron Maxwell. At first that brought up the question of whether or not Browner was injured, but by late in the half he was standing on the sideline holding his helmet, clearly ready to play. This was, it appeared, a benching.
sf - DL mcdonald 58% LB willis 85% lemonier 65% DB brock 68% (nickel db for aso)

willis back v ARI

stl - LB ogletree 72% dunbar 79% witherspoon 25% DB giordano 24% t johnson 97% d stewart 100%

finnegan out, not much nickel @HOU

tb - LB foster 74% DB l johnson 74% tandy 21% banks 97%

mostly nickel+ v PHI

ten - DL morgan 35% LB fokou 69% mccarthy 32% brown 91% ayers 66% extra DB sensabaugh 62%, g wilson 9%

fokou inj @SEA

was - DB doughty 43% biggers 37% amerson 31%

amerson inj @DAL

 
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WEEK 7

note: players listed are largely either of possible interest, or have changed significantly over last week

if a guy isn't mentioned it's probably because he approximated last week's snap count

NEP (@NYJ) 91 OT

ATL (v TB) 83

DAL (@PHI) 80 PHI qb 27 incompletions

IND (v DEN) 78 manning 20 incompletions

CIN (@DET) 78 stafford 23 incompletions

PHI (v DAL) 77

NYG (v MIN) 71 freeman 33 incompletions

DET (v CIN) 57

BAL (@PIT) 57

KC (v HOU) 56

TB (@ATL) 46

minny, hou, and atl may join offenses like stl and pit on the list to keep a skeptical eye on for match ups
conversely, their idp may get a bump if the offenses can't stay on the field

ari - DB mathieu 54% r johnson 97%

looks like johnson took his job back from honey, bumping him back to nickel v SEA

atl - LB bartu 100% worrilow 97% dent 37% DB mcclain 11% alford 64% trufant 88% v TB

they cut chaney and signed thomas howard

The Falcons took a slightly different approach on defense against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. swapping out rookie Desmond Trufant for Robert McClain in the nickel.

Trufant performed extremely well, earning a positive rating from Pro Football Focus, and allowing just six completions on 12 targets. Tampa Bay's top receiver, Vincent Jackson, was the intended receiver on nine of those targets, and Trufant allowed Jackson to pull in just four of those targets for a total of 40 yards, and no touchdowns. Twelve of those yards came after the catch.

Trufant successfully kept Vincent Jackson out of the end zone with a timely red zone pass deflection. Jackson did have two receiving touchdowns, but they came in coverage against Thomas DeCoud and Asante Samuel, respectively. Trufant also managed a forced fumble, stripping the ball from Vincent Jackson after a 10-yard reception.

It's worth noting that rookie Robert Alford, starting outside in place of Trufant, also performed well in coverage. Alford allowed one completion on three targets for a total of eleven yards.

The Bucs adjusted their offensive game plan to try to exploit Trufant against Jackson, and Trufant lived up to the challenge
bal - DL ngata 75% LB bynes 0% a brown 49% mcclain 53% DB c graham 49%

bynes out, mcclain back @PIT

buf - LB lawson 42% bradham 6% moats 29% DB a williams 68% gilmore 55% leonhard 94% searcy 74% byrd 77% mckelvin 80% robey 58%

lawson inj, gilmore and byrd continue to regain snaps in db heavy scheme @MIA

car - LB blackburn 36% DB mitchell 100% mikell 100% j thomas 59% white 66% florence 38%

j thomas burned on a couple big plays v STL and currently has the flu

Here's a more detailed look at how the St. Louis Rams tried to neutralize Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly on Sunday.
In case you missed it, the 2012 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year was held to a career-low three tackles in Carolina's 30-15 victory. But it wasn't all about the linemen in front of him making plays.
Much of it had to do with a special scheme the Rams hadn't shown all season. It involved the linemen getting off their blocks on the defensive front quickly and going after Kuechly.Let defensive coordinator Sean McDermott take it from here.

"What happened was they decided they weren't going to let Luke make a hundred tackles," McDermott said. "So they started going up to the second level to block Luke. Now [tackles Kawann Short, Star Lotulelei and Colin Cole] all have to make those plays, and they did."
Lotulelei had a career-best six tackles, two for losses. Short had three tackles, two for losses. Cole had two tackles, one for a loss.
The Rams ran the ball only 10 other times -- end Greg Hardy had four tackles on those -- so Kuechly didn't have many opportunities.
"They've got to pick their poison,'' McDermott said. "We've got tackles right now that are playing at a high level that can help us. They just made a point to go up and slip block and quick scoop to the second level and make sure Luke and Thomas [Davis] and Chase [blackburn] aren't at the top of the stat chart as they are every week.''
chi - DL paea 79% LB bostic 88% briggs 64% costanzo 24% DB tillman 75% bowman 24% frey 24%

briggs inj @WAS, paea back

cin - LB maualuga 71% DB crocker 86% hall 26% pacman 76%

hall IR, nickel+ most of game @DET

cle - LB mingo 59% sheard 68% DB owens 70% (nickel DB)

sheard back, mingo loses snaps @GB

dal - DL ware 0% wilber 74% hatcher 68% LB carter 90% sims 10% DB church 86% wilcox 84% claiborne 96% scandrick 99%

ware out, all nickel @PHI

den - LB lenon 84% irving 19% trevathan 93% von miller 95% DB bailey 42% drc 57% webster 72%

woodyard and carter out, ayers and von miller back, c bailey inj @IND

det - DB slay 60% r mathis 72% bentley 58% houston 68%

houston benched v CIN

gb - DL m neal 49% LB hawk 99% lattimore 75% mulumba 83% palmer 65% DB house 80% hyde 31% banjo 35% jennings 66% mcmillian 1%

extra db v CLE, hayward returns soon?

Despite all their injuries, the Green Bay Packers are not hurting in the secondary. In last Sunday’s win over Cleveland, rookie Micah Hyde shared playing time with Jerron McMillian as the sixth D-B in the Packers’ dime package. And rookie Chris Banjo was rotated with safety M-D Jennings. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers said the idea was give Banjo more playing time. He had a pass break-up and a tackle in just over two dozen snaps. Meanwhile, Hyde and Davon House have done well in giving corners Sam Shields and Tramon Williams a breather. Those positions could get crowded soon, with the possible return of second-year corner Casey Hayward. He has not played in the regular season yet, as he comes off an injured hamstring. Hayward led the Packers with six interceptions in his rookie season a year ago. He practiced all three days last week, but Capers says Hayward has not been ready to go full-throttle during a game. Capers said he’ll need to see how Hayward practices this week before making a decision on his return
hou - LB cushing 60% mays 78% sharpton 53% DB keo 38% swearinger 85%

cushing, d manning IR @KC

ind - LB freeman 100% angerer 95% sheppard 3% DB landry 100% toler 51% vaughn 49%

landry back, toler inj, pretty much all nickel v DEN

jax - DB gratz 30% blackmon 73% m harris 51%

gratz back v SD

kc - DB demps 41% cooper 59% v HOU

mia - DL wake 31% jordan 37% LB ellerbe 0% trusnik 54% jenkins 46% wheeler 100%

ellerbe out v BUF

min - LB mitchell 53% DB sendejo 69% raymond 31% sanford 99% rhodes 47%

h smith out @NYG

nep - LB hightower 92% spikes 80% collins 16% DB arrington 37% m cole 66% l ryan 70% gregory 73% d harmon 31%

mayo IR, talib out, arrington benched for cole @NYJ

nos - BYE

nyg - LB beason 77% paysinger 75% DB mundy 75% hill 65% t thomas 20% mcbride 90% v MIN

nyj - DL harrison 20% DB milliner 89% k wilson 79% walls 11% a allen 93% jarrett 41%

extra db v NEP

oak - BYE

phi - DB chung 0% wolff 95% boykin 56%

chung out v DAL

pit - LB j jones 0% worilds 100% v williams 29% DB gay 95% c allen 76% sh thomas 76%

jones out, db heavy db scheme v BAL

sd - LB te'o 62% walker 31% gachkar 69% butler 0% DB s wright 98% cox 98% patrick 92%

butler out, all nickel+ in blowout @JAX

sea - DL avril 49% clemons 41% bennett 67% LB wagner 0% wright 91% m smith 85% irvin 75% DB browner 100% thurmond 59%

wagner still out @ARI

sf - LB willis 100% lemonier 68% DB brock 73% hitner 63% spillman 32%

hitner knee issue?, blowout @TEN

The value of Eric Reid and Donte Whitner at safety was exploited when Craig Dahl and C.J. Spillman stepped in for a few plays as the starters were out. Chris Johnson's 66-yard touchdown off a screen pass should have been stopped, or at least not gone the whole way. Had Whitner or Reid been on the field, Johnson most likely would have had a 20 yard gain
stl - DL long 42% LB ogletree 100% dunbar 68% DB giordano 31%

long ejected @CAR

tb - LB foster 89% DB l johnson 70% tandy 37% goldson 43% mccray 43%

goldson inj @ATL

ten - DL morgan 0% LB fokou 0% mccarthy 100% brown 91% ayers 92% DB verner 72% sensabaugh 18%, g wilson 42% griffin 69%

fokou out, griffin inj v SF

was - DB doughty 42% amerson 58% biggers 29%

doughty inj v CHI

 
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WEEK 8

note: players listed are largely either of possible interest, or have changed significantly over last week

if a guy isn't mentioned it's probably because he approximated last week's snap count

ARI (@ATL) 83 ryan 27 incompletions

WAS (@DEN) 81

DAL (@DET) 80

NEP (v MIA) 79

DET (v DAL) 57

JAX (v SF) 57

NYJ (@CIN) 57

ATL (@ARI) 54

KC (v CLE) 53

GB (@MIN) 47

STL (v SEA) 44

DAL offense has produced less than 60 snaps 4 of the last 5 weeks

ari - LB abraham 64% shaughnessy 53% DB mathieu 99% r johnson 63%

looks like honey took his snaps back, abraham inj v ATL

atl - LB bartu 91% worrilow 91% dent 54% DB alford 45% trufant 94%

bal - BYE

buf - LB hughes 96% DB a williams 100% gilmore 81% leonhard 16% searcy 61% byrd 90% mckelvin 80% robey 61%

lawson out @NO

car - LB blackburn 17% DB mitchell 100% mikell 17% lester 83% j thomas 0% white 100% florence 83%

white replaces thomas, lester back for mikell @TB

chi - BYE

cin - DL dunlap 66% LB maualuga 21% burfict 76% boley 37% DB crocker 55% kirkpatrick 40% newman 63%

maualuga inj, starters rested in blowout v NYJ?

cle - LB mingo 53% sheard 68% DB owens 53% (nickel DB) @KC

dal - LB carter 56% sims 44% DB church 80% claiborne 41% heath 99% webb 49%

ware + wilcox out, claiborne + church inj, nickel whole game @DET

Claiborne was forced to leave the Detroit game with a hamstring injury and now, ESPN Dallas is reporting that he could miss two or more games. The Cowboys will likely replace Claiborne by moving Orlando Scandrick from the slot to the outside, and inserting rookie B.W. Webb into the slot, just as they did down the stretch of the loss to the Lions.

Safety Barry Church also suffered a hamstring injury against the Lions, and also left the game. But his injury is thought to be less serious than Claiborne’s and he’s expecting to play Sunday against the Vikings at AT&T Stadium. There’s still no word if rookie safety J.J. Wilcox, who missed the Lions game with a knee injury suffered in practice last week, will return this week.

In Sunday’s loss, Wilcox was replaced by Jeff Heath, who stacked up nine tackles and forced the fumble from Reggie Bush.
den - LB woodyard 100% trevathan 73% DB bailey 0% drc 61% webster 59% adams 58% ihenacho 49%

woodyard back. bailey out, ihenacho inj v WAS

det - DL ansah 21% DB slay 32% r mathis 98% bentley 23% houston 96%

ansah + bentley inj v DAL

gb - DL m neal 89% LB lattimore 60% mulumba 30% palmer 81% DB house 23% hyde 40% banjo 21% jennings 79% hayward 47%

extra db @MIN

hou - BYE

ind - BYE

jax - DL babin 63% DB gratz 46% blackmon 46%

pretty much no nickel v SF @london

kc - DB demps 51% cooper 68% v CLE

mia - DL wake 50% LB ellerbe 100% misi 45% DB patterson 91% carroll 12% @NEP

min - LB mitchell 29% DB sendejo 91% raymond 66% sanford 33% rhodes 68%

sanford inj v GB

nep - DL a carter 25% LB hightower 78% spikes 78% collins 32% DB arrington 66% m cole 56% l ryan 38% gregory 91%

see mayo thread for mike reiss's full notes

nos - DB jenkins 45% v BUF

Vaccaro and Lewis banged heads on their final defensive snap and had to be helped off the field by trainers. Both were in the locker room after the game and appeared OK. But it’s too soon to predict whether they’ll have any lingering effects. Same with safety Malcolm Jenkins, who left in the second quarter with an undisclosed leg injury. He said afterward it was more of a precaution.
nyg - LB beason 100% paysinger 0% j williams 100% DB mundy 0% hill 100% t thomas 100% webster 20%

mundy reportedly has hip pointer but played on 11/25 special teams snaps, webster reappears, nickel @PHI

Spencer Paysinger, the Giants most consistent linebacker this season, played zero defensive snaps in Sunday's win over the Eagles.

Part of that is due to the emergence of Jon Beason as a true middle linebacker. Part of it was due to Paysinger nursing a mild ankle injury.

But another part, according to Paysinger, was because he asked to. The original plan was to have Paysinger swap with Jacquian Williams every few series.

After seeing the Giants defense play three strong series with Williams and Beason at linebacker, Paysinger approached special teams coordinator Tom Quinn and asked him to take Williams' place on special teams. Williams plays on four special teams units.
nyj - DB milliner 49% k wilson 26% walls 46% a allen 67% jarrett 37%

milliner benched @CIN

oak - LB burnett 72% s moore 49% v PIT

phi - DL sopoaga 64% DB wolff 100% boykin 36% v NYG

sopoaga traded

pit - LB j jones 17% worilds 88% v williams 80% DB gay 97% c allen 24% sh thomas 19%

worilds takes over for jones @OAK

sd - BYE

sea - DL avril 49% clemons 71% bennett 36% LB wagner 100% wright 93% m smith 7% irvin 80% DB thurmond 28%

wagner back @STL

sf - DB brock 49% hitner 92% v JAX @london

stl - LB dunbar 45% DB finnegan 55% v SEA

tb - LB foster 100% DB l johnson 63% banks 63% tandy 59% mccray 40%

goldson out, banks inj but returned v CAR

ten - BYE

was - DB rambo 69% biggers 99% amerson 91%

doughty out, meriweather sus @DEN

 
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WEEK 9

note: players listed are largely either of possible interest, or have changed significantly over last week

if a guy isn't mentioned it's probably because he approximated last week's snap count

PHI (@OAK) 95 OAK QB 27 incompletions

MIA (v CIN) 93 OT

KC (@BUF) 80

GB (v CHI) 77

OAK (v PHI) 59

BUF (v KC) 58

CHI (@GB) 55

CAR (v ATL) 50

ari - BYE

atl - LB bartu 100% worrilow 100% dent 62% DB alford 32% trufant 96% @CAR

bal - DL ngata 80% LB mcclain 66% a brown 18% bynes 13% DB j smith 66%

j smith inj @CLE

buf - LB hughes 48% lawson 71% DB a williams 100% gilmore 93% leonhard 14% searcy 40% byrd 93% mckelvin 93% robey 29%

lawson back, looks like the secondary transformation is complete v KC

car - DL ch johnson 68% (34 snaps) LB blackburn 36% DB mitchell 90% mikell 56% lester 44% j thomas 0% white 100% florence 64% v ATL

chi - LB anderson + bostic 100% greene 44% DB frey 56% @GB

cin - DL dunlap 97% atkins 24% LB burfict 100% rey 97% j harrison 41% DB crocker 63% kirkpatrick 6% newman 97%

atkins IR, maualuga + boley out @MIA

cle - LB mingo 47% sheard 71% DB owens 97% gipson 88%

nickel whole game v BAL -- think they might've actually opened with 3 corners + ward

dal - DL e brown 43% LB carter 44% sims 56% durant 60% DB claiborne 0% heath 99% webb 40%

heath subs for wilcox, claiborne out v MIN

den - BYE

det - BYE

gb - DL m neal 94% LB b jones 56% lattimore 30% mulumba 27% DB house 33% hyde 14% banjo 0% jennings 96% hayward 55%

b jones back, mulumba inj v CHI

hou - LB sharpton 100% mays 48% DB swearinger 100% keo 77% reed 52% mccain 74%

extra db v IND

ind - LB angerer 90% DB vaughn 99% butler 49%

toler out @HOU

jax - BYE

kc - LB jordan 71% DB demps 29% cooper 64% @BUF

mia - DL wake 74% LB misi 39% DB patterson 80% carroll 0% j wilson 49%

patterson + carroll (concussion on special teams) inj v CIN

min - LB mitchell 25% DB sendejo 91% raymond 58% rhodes 77% sherels 75% jefferson 26% blanton 51%

cook, sanford, h smith out, rhodes inj @DAL

nep - DL a carter 60% ninkovich 47% chris jones 95% LB hightower 80% spikes 59% collins 3% DB arrington 97% m cole 39% l ryan 79% gregory 52% harmon 52%

ninkovich + gregory inj, db heavy in blowout v PIT - dennard inj on final series?

nos - LB lofton 97% hawthorne 100% vilma 20% DB bush 77% white 48%

jenkins out, vilma returns @NYJ

nyg - BYE

nyj - LB coples 96% DB milliner 99% k wilson 47% walls 0% a allen 50% jarrett 58%

a allen inj v NOS

oak - LB burnett 100% s moore 54% DB hayden 59% v PHI

phi - DB wolff 63% chung 54% boykin 57%

starters rested in 95 snap blowout @OAK

pit - LB j jones 28% worilds 83% v williams 47% sylvester 17% DB gay 96% taylor 93% c allen 47% sh thomas 45%

taylor + williams inj @NEP

sd - LB te'o 77% walker 25% gachkar 76% DB s wright 95% cox 48% patrick 52% marshall 39%

butler out, cox benched @WAS

sea - DL avril 43% clemons 70% bennett 36% LB wagner 100% wright 100% irvin 74% DB thurmond 36% v TB

sf - BYE

stl - LB dunbar 66% DB finnegan 98% t johnson 34% v TEN

tb - LB foster 94% DB l johnson 29% banks 71% tandy 100% @SEA

goldson out

ten - DL d morgan 93% LB ayers 100% brown 97% mccarthy 60% DB wilson 100% sensabaugh 47%

d morgan returns, wilson subs for griffin @STL

was - DB meriweather 100% rambo 12% biggers 81% amerson 86% doughty 12%

nickel whole game v SD

 
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WEEK 10

note: players listed are largely either of possible interest, or have changed significantly over last week

if a guy isn't mentioned it's probably because he approximated last week's snap count

BAL (v CIN) 89 OT dalton 27 incompletions
DAL (@NOS) 83 NOS 34 comp + 38 rushes
MIN (v WAS) 79
PHI (@ GB) 79

TB (v MIA) 59
SEA (@ATL) 58
NYG (v OAK) 57
IND (v STL) 55
CAR (@SF) 53
WAS (@MIN) 52
NOS (v DAL) 45

ARI - LB abraham 87% DB mathieu 99% r johnson 53% v HOU
ATL- LB dent 51% DB alford 26% mcclain 26% v SEA
weatherspoon returns next week
BAL - DL ngata 48% LB mcclain 40% a brown 30% bynes 22% DB graham 62% smith 100% v CIN
BUF - LB lawson 65% DB a williams 90% gilmore 100% searcy 26% byrd 100% mckelvin 84% robey 37% @PIT
CAR - LB blackburn 0% klein 57% DB mikell 60% lester 40% florence 40%
klein replaces blackburn @SF
CHI - LB greene 24% DB frey 76% tillman 92%
tillman IR, mostly nickel v DET
CIN - DB crocker 72% kirkpatrick 22%
mostly nickel @BAL
CLE - BYE
DAL - DL ware 61% e brown 54% LB lee 22% durant 45% carter 100% sims 51% bosworth 28% DB claiborne 0% heath 100% webb 31% pellerin 27%
heath subs for wilcox, claiborne out, ware returns, lee + durant inj @NOS
DEN - DL ayers 26% LB v miller 86% trevathan 70% irving 25% DB drc 66% webster 62% jammer 45% adams 92%
ihenacho + bailey out @SD
DET - DB mathis 100% slay 17% carey 48%
ansah out @CHI
GB - DL m neal 67% jolly 33% pickett 36% LB b jones 77% lattimore 15% matthews 64% perry 31% DB house 46% hayward 38%
mulumba out, matthews + perry return, perry, jolly, pickett + hayward inj v PHI
HOU - LB mays 73% DB swearinger 100% keo 94% reed 18% k jackson 20% mccain 77%
ed reed cut, k jackson inj @ARI

IND - butler 20%

toler out v STL

JAX - LB poz 84% allen 49% DB gratz 99% evans 67% guy 37% blackmon 32% harris 26%

poz inj @TEN

*Bradley said safeties

Josh Evans and Johnathan Cyprien each played better Sunday than they had in previous weeks. He also said Winston Guy, who shared repetitions with Evans Sunday, played well. “I felt a different Winston Guy last week because he knew he was going to have an opportunity to play,” Bradley said. “We benefited from it.”
KC - BYE

MIA - DL wake 65% LB trusnik 67% misi 0% DB patterson 0% carroll 97% j wilson 35%

patterson + misi out @TB

MIN - LB mitchell 53% DB sendejo 100% raymond 63% rhodes 97% sherels 47% jefferson 37% blanton 37%

cook, sanford, h smith out v WAS

NEP - BYE

NOS - LB hawthorne 22% humber 38% DB bush 100% white 67% vaccaro 71% k lewis 84%

vilma IR, jenkins out, vaccaro inj v DAL

NYG - LB beason 100% rivers 63% j williams 77% paysinger 23% DB mcbride 77% t thomas 35% rolle 98% hill 98% mundy 23%

webster out v OAK

NYJ - BYE

OAK - LB burnett 100% s moore 74% DB ross 66% young 57%

hayden out @NYG

PHI - LB kendricks 3% goode 89% DB wolff 19% chung 81% boykin 41% carmichael 100%

fletcher out, kendricks + wolff inj @GB

PIT - LB j jones 60% woodley 52% worilds 93% v williams 46% DB c allen 61% w allen 48% sh thomas 6%

sh thomas + woodley inj v BUF

SD - LB te'o 72% butler 100% english 23% t willaims 77% DB cox 52% patrick 68% marshall 52%

english IR, butler returns, cox benched again v DEN

SEA - DL avril 57% clemons 72% bennett 76% LB wagner 86% (50 snaps) wright 86% irvin 59% DB thurmond 86% browner 22%

browner inj @ATL

SF - a smith 18% lemonier 23% DB reid 56% dahl 42% brock 35%

a smith returns, reid inj v CAR

STL - LB dunbar 20% DB t johnson 99% finnegan 78%

mostly nickel @IND

TB - LB foster 69% DB goldson 97% l johnson 36% banks 100% tandy 34%

goldson returns v MIA

TEN - DL d morgan 97% LB ayers 100% brown 63% mccarthy 98% DB wilson 5% griffin 95% sensabaugh 43%

griffin returns, mccarthy steals from brown v JAX

WAS - DB meriweather 100% rambo 12% biggers 29% amerson 38% doughty 69%

doughty makes a comeback @MIN

 
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some notables


ATL- weatherspoon returns next week

CHI - I assume frey subs for tillman going fwd

DAL - coming out of wk11 bye carter should get snaps back -- who subs for lee at mlb?

HOU - keo takes reed's job

JAX - allen picks up snaps + mlb spot for poz?

NOS - question at safety

SEA - thurmond should sub for browner going fwd

SF - aldon smith should be taking his job back

TEN - does fokou return wk11 - thurs v IND?

 
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