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Offensive participation

Posted by Mike Reiss, Globe Staff January 13, 2008 01:11 PM

A look at the snaps played by offensive skill position players in Saturday night's win over the Jaguars:

WR Randy Moss -- 55 of 58 snaps
WR Wes Welker -- 49 of 58
WR Jabar Gaffney -- 33 of 58
RB Laurence Maroney -- 31 of 58
TE Kyle Brady -- 27 of 58
RB Kevin Faulk -- 27 of 58
WR Donte' Stallworth -- 27 of 58
TE Benjamin Watson -- 22 of 58
RB Heath Evans -- 13 of 58
TE/LB Mike Vrabel -- 3 of 58

(snaps do not include kneel-down at the end of the first half, but do include a chop block penalty against the Patriots that does not register as an official play)

ANALYSIS: The only time Randy Moss left the field was in the short yardage 3 TE/1 FB/1 RB package. ... Jabar Gaffney and Donte' Stallworth split snaps as the third/fourth receivers, essentially rotating series. ... As the numbers suggest, this wasn't a game in which the tight ends played much despite Benjamin Watson showing up with two touchdown receptions. ... Heath Evans showed his versatility in his 13 snaps, lining up as a lead fullback, split out wide as a receiver, and also playing in the shotgun as a pass protector. ... Laurence Maroney's 31 snaps were his fourth highest total of the season, and of note was that he was more involved in spread packages which are usually handled by Kevin Faulk.

4 comments so far...
  1. Keep up the great work Mike!

    Posted by Mike Brewster January 13, 08 01:57 PM
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  1. I'd be kind of curious as the rationale behind lining Heath Evans out wide. Were the majority of those snaps on running plays to his side of the field?

    Posted by Rob January 13, 08 04:04 PM
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  1. Rob...I believe it forces the defense to show their hand. Who will they match Evans with out wide? A corner or linebacker. The pats did this in the giants game with an empty set. The two widest receivers were faulk and evans and were matched with corners. That left Moss inside on a backer. Result, touchdown.

    Posted by Alex January 14, 08 09:49 AM
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  1. Ah, that makes sense Alex. Thanks for your insight.

    It's an interesting dilemma for the defense. Do you "waste" a corner on the least explosive receiver on the field or do you risk putting a linebacker all the way on the perimeter and weaken your interior run defense?

    Posted by Rob January 14, 08 11:32 AM
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