According to the NFL’s official player participation information, here’s how the Titans lined up in yesterday’s 19-17 loss to Washington:
Offense (56 total)
QB: Charlie Whitehurst 56
RB/FB: Bishop Sankey 35, Leon Washington 15, Jackie Battle 9, Dexter McCluster 6
TE: Delanie Walker 49, Brett Brackett 9, Chase Coffman 8
WR: Justin Hunter 54, Kendall Wright 41, Nate Washington 39, Derek Hagan 7
OL: Andy Levitre 56, Taylor Lewan 56, Michael Oher 56, Brian Schwenke 56, Chance Warmack 56, Chris Spencer 5
Other: Karl Klug 3
Defense (63 total)
DL: Jurrell Casey 59, Mike Martin 49, Sammie Hill 28, Karl Klug 11, Al Woods 11, DaQuan Jones 5
OLB: Derrick Morgan 60, Kamerion Wimbley 35, Shaun Phillips 28, Quentin Groves 3
ILB: Avery Williamson 56, Wesley Woodyard 44
CB: Jason McCourty 63, Blidi Wreh-Wilson 63, Marqueston Huff 34
S: Michael Griffin 63, George Wilson 54, Daimion Stafford 27
James Anderson, Beau Brinkley, Brandon Ghee, Zaviar Gooden, Brandon Harris, and Byron Stingily each only appeared on special teams. Kris Durham and Zach Mettenberger were both active but did not appear in the game.
Notes:
1. This was a game of few plays-119 for both teams combined. The next-lowest total of the season was 129 for the Dallas game and the season-average coming into the game was 135. The official box, which doesn’t include plays negated by penalty has it at a combined 115 plays. That’s the fewest in a Titans game since they beat the Chiefs 34-10 in Week 7 of 2008. According to P-F-R, it is the first game in franchise history where the Titans/Oilers ran fewer than 50 plays and their opponent fewer than 60.
2. Dexter McCluster, rarely-used gadget back. Have we entered that era, or is this like his 9 snaps against the Colts, a matchup-created total that may rebound against the Texans next week? I suspect the latter, since the Jaguars game showed Ken Whisenhunt and Jason Michael are aware of the concept of lining him up someplace other than the backfield.
3. I still have dreams that one day Taylor Thompson will return to the lineup and the Titans will start playing more 12 personnel instead of spending most of the game stuck in 11 personnel out of lack of viable options at other positions given they’re not going to just play 21 and run the ball. Yes, Shonn Greene’s absence is probably a factor in that. Yes, it’s at least partially Ruston Webster’s fault Shonn Greene is the only good non-11 personnel runner on the roster.
4. That Chris Spencer is the 6OL/tight end in the jumbo sets is probably a commentary on Byron Stingily’s run blocking, given that offensive tackles (Taylor Lewan earlier, Mike Otto in seasons past) are generally preferred over guards in that role.
5. I wrote all offseason that Ray Horton likes to rotate his defensive linemen a lot to keep them fresh. Indeed, I’m pretty sure Horton talked about just that. And here’s Jurrell Casey playing 94% of the snaps. If you believe in revealed preference, that tells you a lot about what Horton thinks of the Titans’ defensive line depth. If you believe in revealed preference, you should also note Mike Martin’s increasing snap total. He’s played 50 snaps a game when Ropati Pitoitua has been out and has been in a fairly even split the two games in between that. Pretty big change from being a healthy scratch earlier in the season.
6. Back to the norm at outside linebacker, with Kam Wimbley playing more than Shaun Phillips. The Jaguars game looks like an aberration.
7. Same rotation at inside linebacker this week as last week, with Zaviar Gooden not finding the field at all. Reminder: the Titans drafted him because they needed a backup outside linebacker with Zach Brown banged up and didn’t have one.
8. Nickel CB Marqueston Huff 34 snaps, opposing WR3 Andre Roberts 40 snaps. Close enough for me.
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