The NFL this year is keeping track of player participation information and releasing it to the media. Here's how the Titans lined up in Week 9's loss to the Bears.
Offense (57 total)
QB: Matt Hasselbeck 57
RB/FB: Chris Johnson 52, Quinn Johnson 16, Darius Reynaud 3, Jamie Harper 2
TE: Jared Cook 35, Craig Stevens 28, Taylor Thompson 10
WR: Nate Washington 45, Kenny Britt 43, Kendall Wright 26, Damian Williams 25
OL: Steve Hutchinson 57, Deuce Lutui 57, Michael Roos 57, David Stewart 57, Fernando Velasco 57
Defense (69 total)
DE: Kamerion Wimbley 60, Derrick Morgan 58, Scott Solomon 11, Pannel Egboh 10
DT: Jurrell Casey 66, Sen'Derrick Marks 59, Mike Martin 8, Karl Klug 4
LB: Zach Brown 67, Colin McCarthy 56, Akeem Ayers 41, Tim Shaw 13
CB: Jason McCourty 69, Alterraun Verner 59, Coty Sensabaugh 31, Ryan Mouton 8
S: Michael Griffin 69, Al Afalava 36, Jordan Babineaux 33, Robert Johnson 1
Xavier Adibi, Beau Brinkley, Tommie Campbell, Kevin Matthews, and Tracy Wilson each only appeared on special teams. Mike Otto and Rusty Smith dressed but did not play.
Analysis:
Offense is mostly what I expected. With the Titans falling behind so early, you saw less run game personnel and more passing game personnel. That meant fewer snaps for Quinn Johnson and Craig Stevens and more snaps for Jared Cook and the wide receivers. With Kendall Wright's shoulder injury, he obviously got less playing time and Damian Williams more than he otherwise would have.
On defense, Jerry Gray decided to shake things up. The changes:
1. This is the first game all year, the Titans have averaged more than two defensive ends in per play. Granted, only one snap more than that, but most weeks it's been under that.
2. Jurrell Casey and Sen'Derrick Marks stopped coming out of the game. The backup defensive tackles only played 12 defensive snaps combined. Combined they'd had at least 35 in every prior game.
3. Zach Brown continued his ascension into a full-time player, while Akeem Ayers' role remained diminished. I think most or all of Tim Shaw's snaps came late for McCarthy, which I'd guess may have been as much related to McCarthy's health as anything else.
4. Coty Sensabaugh is your new nickel slot corner. His 31 snaps this week nearly matched the 33 he had in the first eight games combined. His work meant Ryan Mouton's 8 snaps were a season low.
5. Al Afalava got playing time for Jordan Babineaux at strong safety. A lot of it. His 36 snaps were double his previous season high, set against the Bills, and more than his season total of 29 coming in. Meanwhile, Robert Johnson's 1 snap was a season low.
We'll see how many of those changes stick around for next week's game against the Dolphins.
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