« Ups & downs | Main | Positional groupings »

Offensive participation

A snapshot look at offensive participation from the Patriots' 38-34 loss to the Colts in the AFC Championship game:

TE Benjamin Watson -- 50 of 58 snaps (86 percent)
WR Reche Caldwell -- 48 of 58 (82 percent)
WR Jabar Gaffney -- 47 of 58 (81 percent)
TE Daniel Graham -- 34 of 58 (58 percent)
WR Troy Brown -- 31 of 58 (53 percent)
FB Heath Evans -- 30 of 58 (51.7 percent)
RB Laurence Maroney -- 17 of 58 (29.3 percent)
RB Corey Dillon -- 14 of 58 (24.1 percent)
RB Kevin Faulk -- 10 of 58 (17.2 percent)
TE David Thomas -- 7 of 58 (12 percent)
WR Chad Jackson -- 2 of 58 (3.4 percent)

ANALYSIS: When it comes to how the Patriots used their personnel, the first thing that stands out is that Kevin Faulk wasn't on the field for the team's final 24 snaps. One week after playing the most snaps of all the running backs in San Diego (47), Faulk played in just 10, apparently because of a health-related issue. In his absence, Heath Evans played when the Patriots went to their three-wide set. Faulk's last snap was the third offensive play of the third quarter. At tight end, Benjamin Watson took a lead role, playing in the team's two-TE package and was also the primary tight end in the team's three-wide set. At receiver, Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney were 1-2 in the two-wide set, with Troy Brown coming on the field as a target in the slot.

MONDAY UPDATE: There is no media access at Gillette Stadium today. We'll plan on passing along our next update later tonight.