Week 8 Snap counts, usage trends, and roster thoughts

[Chopper0080]

Week 8 snaps in detail

Offense (70 snaps)

Carson Palmer - 70 (100%)

Andre Ellington - 53 (75.7%)
Stepfan Taylor - 5 (7.1%)
Robert Hughes - 10 (14.3%)

Larry Fitzgerald - 65 (92.9%)
Michael Floyd - 55 (78.6%)
John Brown - 44 (62.9%)
Jaron Brown - 19 (27.1%)
Ted Ginn - 15 (21.4%)

John Carlson - 56 (80.0%)
Rob Housler - 21 (30.0%)
Darren Fells - 6 (8.6%)

Jared Veldheer - 70 (100%)
Ted Larsen - 70 (100%)
Lyle Sendlein - 70 (100%)
Paul Fanaika - 70 (100%)
Bobby Massie - 70 (100%)
Jonathan Cooper - 1 (1.4%)

Defense (92 snaps)

Calais Campbell - 62 (67.4%)
Tommy Kelly - 62 (67.4%)
Dan Williams - 18 (19.6%)
Ed Stinson - 51 (55.4%)
Frostee Rucker - 31 (33.7%)
Kareem Martin - 10 (10.9%)

Larry Foote - 92 (100%)
Alex Okafor - 69 (75.0%)
Sam Acho - 65 (70.7%)
Kevin Minter - 16 (17.4%)
Marcus Benard - 16 (17.4)

Patrick Peterson - 27 (29.3%)
Antonio Cromartie - 91 (98.9%)
Rashad Johnson - 92 (100%)
Deone Bucannon - 76 (82.6%)
Jerraud Powers - 84 (91.3%)
Tyrann Mathieu - 76 (82.6%)
Tony Jefferson - 73 (79.3%)
Justin Bethel - 1 (1.1%)

Trends

1-Alex Okafor continues to get more work in the starting lineup. This week he had the second most defensive snaps by a front 7 player which is huge. It speaks volumes about the trust the coaches have in Okafor that he played more snaps than Acho vs a top competitor who runs a tempo/volume offense. Players have to read and react on the fly which shows the progress Okafor has made. I'm still not sure what sort of pass rush threat he is going to be, but he can sure be a force OLB in our 3-4. Worst case, he is a more versatile Matt Shaughnessy going forward which has value.

2-Ed Stinson continued his usage trend as well. 51 snaps which tops his previous high of 33. Also, you have to be happy with the rush ability Stinson showed in the game. He wasn't a dominating pass rusher, but he did show the ability to win a few one-on-one matchups which is huge when playing next to Calais Campbell. Hopefully we continue to see further developemnt from the surprising rookie.

3-Jaron Brown had more snaps than Ted Ginn for the 2nd week in a row which was expected. Brown played 19 snaps which is pretty nice to see.

4-This game exposed the reasons why today's NFL can limit the effectiveness and usage of some players. Both Dan Williams and The Ghost played less than 20% of the snaps in this game which equals 74 snaps sitting on the sidelines. I'm not saying Dan Williams isn't a good player, but this game highlighted why you can't pay him big dollars to stick around. There will have to be some give and take.

5-It was reported after the Bronco game that Kareem Martin had made several errors. I'm guessing that report was true. Martin played 38 snaps the week before, and then 65 snaps in the Bronco game but has not played more than 12 snaps in any of the 3 games since. I'm guessing he is working on some things, and is dealing with Stinson's rise in snaps as well. He is young, no worries.

Thoughts

1-It isn't new information, but look for the team's LB corp to be gutted next year. Larry Foote - FA. San Acho - FA. Daryl Washington - Idiot. John Abraham - Retiring. Lorenzo Alexander - Overpaid. Thomas Kaiser - Awful. My guess is that we can probably count on Shuaghnessy, Okafor, The Ghost, Demens, and Carson to be on the roster next year, and not much more.

2-Our secondary has real nice depth right now, and looks like a solid mix. Cro looks to be pricing himself out of AZ which isn't a bad thing. We bought low, and got high production. Good problem to have. I'm guessing we will add a young CB in the draft, but it is tough to see us spending too much money on a free agent CB or taking one early.

3-I really like Ellington as an offensive weapon, but a legitimate RB will be a need next year. I feel like we are limited in our use of Ellington because we have to go empty if we are flexing him out wide. It would be huge if we could have a legit RB threat in the backfield while we have Ellington lined up as a WR. Could save a WR roster spot, and give our offense another dimension which doesn't include two TEs (aka awful players).

4-Interior OL is an issue, and I am guessing the staff won't be too patient moving forward. It won't shock me if the Cards look to draft another OG in the 2nd or 3rd round of next years draft to get more production out of our power running game (which is non existent now). Hopefully Cooper fills one of these spots, but I am guessing his next starting chance will be the last one he gets. Arians doesn't seem like a real patient guy. I think Cooper will succeed, and end up signing a second contract with the Cardinals. However, you only get so many chances in the pros.

5-Michael Floyd is really helping Fitzgerald's negotiating leverage. I'm not sure what is going on, but he is struggling to seperate from defenders, and is dropping some pretty good jump ball opportunities.

###

That is all I have this week. If you have other questions, let me know.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

How does the OL have more snaps than the QB? Is it including Punts and FG's? If so, Sendlein isn't the C on those units, so is he in a different line position?

 

[BACH]

1-Alex Okafor continues to get more work in the starting lineup. This week he had the second most defensive snaps by a front 7 player which is huge. It speaks volumes about the trust the coaches have in Okafor that he played more snaps than Acho vs a top competitor who runs a tempo/volume offense. Players have to read and react on the fly which shows the progress Okafor has made. I'm still not sure what sort of pass rush threat he is going to be, but he can sure be a force OLB in our 3-4. Worst case, he is a more versatile Matt Shaughnessy going forward which has value.

2-Ed Stinson continued his usage trend as well. 51 snaps which tops his previous high of 33. Also, you have to be happy with the rush ability Stinson showed in the game. He wasn't a dominating pass rusher, but he did show the ability to win a few one-on-one matchups which is huge when playing next to Calais Campbell. Hopefully we continue to see further developemnt from the surprising rookie.

4-This game exposed the reasons why today's NFL can limit the effectiveness and usage of some players. Both Dan Williams and The Ghost played less than 20% of the snaps in this game which equals 74 snaps sitting on the sidelines. I'm not saying Dan Williams isn't a good player, but this game highlighted why you can't pay him big dollars to stick around. There will have to be some give and take.

1 - Really positive! Okafor looks the part of a starter at "sam" OLB going forward. The pass-rushing OLB is still needed, but Okafor's development could be one more problem solved.

2 - Agree! Great find in the 5th.

4 - I won't put that much into it. Both Williams and Minter are players almost exclusively used on run downs. The Eagles basicly didn't line up in run formations.

 

[nationsrj]

The Offensive Line played 70 snaps, according to Mike Jurecki's Birdseed blog.

 

[Chopper0080]

How does the OL have more snaps than the QB? Is it including Punts and FG's? If so, Sendlein isn't the C on those units, so is he in a different line position?

lol...I copy and paste week to week, and edit where it is needed. I forgot to edit that. It is now changed, and thanks for the heads up.

 

[Chopper0080]

1 - Really positive! Okafor looks the part of a starter at "sam" OLB going forward. The pass-rushing OLB is still needed, but Okafor's development could be one more problem solved.

2 - Agree! Great find in the 5th.

4 - I won't put that much into it. Both Williams and Minter are players almost exclusively used on run downs. The Eagles basicly didn't line up in run formations.

Right. This highlights how players who are limited in their scheme versatility can be taken out of a game just by scheme and formations. When building a roster and considering a salary cap, you can't invest too much money into players who can be taken out of a game by formation/scheme alone. When you are in a league that has teams like Denver, Philly, New England, New Orleans, and Green Bay where the game is tempo based and spread out, players like Williams have less impact. There is obviously a place for Williams on this team, but there is also a number that you shouldn't exceed.

 

[Goldfield]

I really enjoy this stuff Chopper. Thank you.

This isn't something the average fan would see or even end notice.

 

[Vermont Maverick]

What stands out to me is that for the second year in a row, we drafted multiple players at one position (Taylor, Ellington then Martin, Stinson) and the guy we picked second is outplaying the guy we picked first.

You nailed it with Dumpster Dan and Minter being first down players You can't pick guys that are going to play 20% or 30% of the snaps in the first and second round. Though Dumpster does his job and first down is important, he's just not asked to do it much. Doubt we will see him return.

If I was the Cards, I would tell DWash he is welcome to return, with a restructure. And I wouldn't make him take a pay cut. Here is what I would do. Pay him the minimum annual salary, and give him the rest at the end of the year as a bonus - IF he makes it through the year without being suspended.

 

[CardLogic]

Week 8 snaps
Offense (70 snaps)

John Carlson - 56 (80.0%)
Rob Housler - 21 (30.0%)
Darren Fells - 6 (8.6%)

Thoughts

3-I really like Ellington as an offensive weapon, but a legitimate RB will be a need next year. I feel like we are limited in our use of Ellington because we have to go empty if we are flexing him out wide. It would be huge if we could have a legit RB threat in the backfield while we have Ellington lined up as a WR. Could save a WR roster spot, and give our offense another dimension which doesn't include two TEs (aka awful players).

70 offensive plays and only a total of 83 snaps by TE's; meaning only 13 plays total, about 18% of the plays were run with a two tight end formation.

It has me wondering if the lack of effective TE performance is a significant part of why the Cardinals offense has been less than optimal or, as it has been described, sputtering. BA likes the use of two TE formations, and yet hasn't used it all that much. I think this issue could be taking BA out of his comfort zone with play calling.

 

[Catfish]

Thanks Chopper. I really look forward to these posts. Keep them coming. Great job.

 

[Cardiac]

Really do enjoy these threads. Rashad getting 100% or the D snaps and IIRC he did last week as well. I think he has developed into a very good safety and obviously Bowles has a ton of faith in him. I say this because Jefferson jumps out to me as making plays and HB looks to be almost fully back. Long winded way to say we have a ton of quality DB's and Rashad still gets 100% of snaps.

 

[Finito]

Couple things I think Williams and Minter will pretty much be in the whole game against Dallas since their bread and butter is the power run game.

I think in the long run Martin will be better than Stinson but both have turned out to be very good picks. You have to understand this is pretty much a complete position change for Martin. It took CC to about year 3 to really be an impact player but between the two of them I think it's safe to say we don't need to make looking for Dockets replacement a big deal.

 

[cardncubfan]

I really enjoy this stuff Chopper. Thank you.

This isn't something the average fan would see or even end notice.

+1 much appreciated.

 

[Darkside]

Great post Chopper. One of my favorite reads the week after a game.

 

[Santiago]

Thanks for the hard work. Great read.

 

[Chopper0080]

Couple things I think Williams and Minter will pretty much be in the whole game against Dallas since their bread and butter is the power run game.

I think in the long run Martin will be better than Stinson but both have turned out to be very good picks. You have to understand this is pretty much a complete position change for Martin. It took CC to about year 3 to really be an impact player but between the two of them I think it's safe to say we don't need to make looking for Dockets replacement a big deal.

To this point, I agree a bit. We have yet to play some power rushing teams like Dallas, Seattle twice and San Fran again. Those games will feature traditional offensive sets more than our games vs Philly & Denver. That being said, Dan Williams is never going to play 100% of the snaps. He is more valuable in our division than he is vs some of the other top teams around the NFL. I think Arizona will offer him a decent contract, and I believe he will take it. My guess would be around 5 mil, though I personally feel it is a bit high.

Re: Martin...i don't know. I never thought he was drafted to be a 3-4 DE, and I don't believe he is suited for the position but I could be wrong. I thought he was drafted as a nickel DE, and the team would ease him into Matt Shaughnessy's role. Now that Okafor has latched onto an OLB role, I think the waters are more muddied. I can't see Martin and Okafor as 3-4 OLBs together. No edge rush in that group. Now that is either ok, and the rush will come from the ILBs, OR they will form a rotation. Good problems to have in a way.