The NFL has begun keeping track of player participation information on a weekly basis and releasing that data to the media. Here's how the Titans lined up in Week 10's 37-3 win against the Miami Dolphins.
Offense (61 total)
QB: Jake Locker 50, Matt Hasselbeck 11
RB/FB: Chris Johnson 49, Quinn Johnson 24, Darius Reynaud 10, Jamie Harper 2
TE: Craig Stevens 46, Taylor Thompson 24, Jared Cook 23
WR: Nate Washington 42, Kenny Britt 33, Damian Williams 27, Kendall Wright 25
OL: Deuce Lutui 61, Michael Roos 61, Fernando Velasco 60, Steve Hutchinson 50, David Stewart 50, Kevin Matthews 12, Mike Otto 11
Defense (60 total)
DE: Derrick Morgan 43, Kamerion Wimbley 43, Scott Solomon 16, Jarius Wynn 9
DT: Sen'Derrick Marks 43, Jurrell Casey 41, Mike Martin 21, Karl Klug 15
LB: Zach Brown 51, Colin McCarthy 41, Akeem Ayers 23, Tim Shaw 19, Will Witherspoon 5
CB: Jason McCourty 60, Alterraun Verner 55, Coty Sensabaugh 27, Ryan Mouton 19, Tommie Campbell 5
S: Michael Griffin 60, Jordan Babineaux 56, Robert Johnson 4, Tracy Wilson 4
Patrick Bailey and Beau Brinkley each only appeared on special teams.
Analysis:
The counts at every position are thrown off by the amount of garbage time. The game was uncompetitive in the fourth quarter, so rarely-used players got a chance to play they otherwise would not have had. Thus, backups at virtually every position played more than they otherwise would have. About the only exception to that rule was Chris Johnson, who played his normal 50 snaps. That said, there is one thing I want to emphasize.
Jared Cook played fewer snaps than either Quinn Johnson or Taylor Thompson. Yes, it was close. Yes, those numbers are inflated by the garbage time I was just discussing. Still, teams tell you who they want to be, and the Titans are telling us they want to be a running team. This isn't much of a surprise. They're paying their running back a lot of money. They have a fullback on the roster. They paid a blocking tight end starter-type money in the offseason. When the game situation has permitted it, they've run the ball even when it hasn't been that effective (see the Colts game). The Titans are committed to what I termed the Craig Stevens Offense, not the Jared Cook Offense.
In the next day or two, I hope to have a broader look up at the trends in playing time over the first ten weeks of the season.
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