Analyzing the Ravens Week 2 snap count totals

Last week, the Baltimore Ravens enjoyed a fifth preseason game in which the starting quarterback played in only 70% of the offensive snaps. They gave reps to undrafted free agent Patrick Mekari and Robert Griffin III threw a touchdown only a day after his second child was born. But against the Arizona Cardinals, they didn’t run away with the game in the same fashion.

I suggest reading these side-by-side, to understand the differences from Week 1 to Week 2.

Offensive 100%ers — Players who played all 79 offensive snaps in Week 2

• Ronnie Stanley
• Matt Skura
• Orlando Brown Jr.
• Bradley Bozeman
• Lamar Jackson
• Marshal Yanda

After giving Marquise Brown only 14 snaps in Week 1, the Ravens showed their confidence in the star receivers’ health when he received the most snaps of any player beside the offensive line and Jackson, with 51 snaps (65%).

Tight end snaps breakdown

• Nick Boyle: 49 (62%)
• Mark Andrews: 42 (53%)
• Hayden Hurst: 33 (42%)

Boyle continues to play the most snaps among the trio but this time it’s Hurst with the fewest snaps, rather than Andrews last weekend. Andrews finished the game with nine targets, meaning he’s being thrown to once every five snaps.

Wide receiver snaps breakdown

• Hollywood: 51 (65%)
• Willie Snead IV: 44 (56%)
• Miles Boykin: 38 (48%)
• Seth Roberts: 27 (34%)
• Chris Moore: 7 (9%)

Stark difference between Week 1 and Week 2. Hollywood goes from fewest snaps among all offensive players to most by a skill position player not including quarterback. Seth Roberts earned the most snaps in Week 1 but his participation is nearly cut in half from last week. Moore, who played 32 snaps in Week 1, also lost snaps. The Hollywood effect is showing through already.

Running back snaps breakdown

• Mark Ingram: 46 (58%)
• Justice Hill: 16 (20%)
• Gus Edwards: 16 (20%)

In the words of Bill Engvall, “Here’s your sign,” fantasy football owners. Ingram is earning more snaps than his counterparts combined. That being said, he struggled last week against the cardinals, racking up only 47 yards on the ground and adding another 30 in the receiving game. This may be due to teams still forcing Jackson to pass or heavily committing to defending the tailback, which is why Jackson threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns while adding another 120 rushing yards. Ingram will get his in due time.

Defense

Defensive 100%ers — Players who played all 60 of the defensive snaps in Week 2

• Tony Jefferson
• Anthony Averett
• Marlon Humphrey
• Patrick Onwuasor
• Earl Thomas III
• Brandon Carr

Forcing five defensive backs to cover receivers on 40 of 60 snaps produced exhausting results on Sunday. This, to me, shows why Arizona is a tough team to defend for 60 minutes. They’re not tiring the defensive line with their grind-it-out run style. They’re forcing cornerbacks to chase after Christian Kirk, Larry Fitzgerald, Damiere Byrd and KeeSean Johnson all game long.

Linebacker snaps breakdown

• Matt Judon: 48 (80%)
• Pernell McPhee: 40 (67%)
• Tim Williams: 30 (50%)
• Tyus Bowser: 21 (35%)
• Kenny Young: 17 (28%)
• Chris Board: 15 (25%)

Starting with the outside linebackers, there is nothing surprising. Judon gets the most and the second starter, McPhee, is right behind him. Williams is third in line and Bowser comes in fourth. With only three sacks against Kyler Murray on 40 dropbacks, the Ravens may show interest in Jaylon Ferguson against the Chiefs. Though the Ravens pressured well and Murray’s 50/50 balls landed far more frequently than they should have, another pass rusher to rotate could be helpful.

Both Young and Board saw such few snaps due to the gameplan. Can’t trot out those guys against the air raid offense. Young is fast enough to cover tight ends but the Cardinals weren’t using them.

Defensive back snaps breakdown

• Maurice Canady: 13 (22%)
• Cyrus Jones: 9 (15%)
• Anthony Levine: 6 (10%)
• Chuck Clark: 0
• DeShon Elliott: 0
• Justin Bethel: 0
• Brynden Trawick: 0

*Note: All players with 0 defensive snaps did participate in special teams.

Coach Wink came up with a game plan which strongly emphasized speed over strength, which is why both Elliott and Clark did not see the field on Sunday. The game plan was to shut down the passing attack, though it wasn’t the most successful.

Defensive line snaps breakdown

• Chris Wormley: 33 (55%)
• Brandon Williams: 29 (48%)
• Michael Pierce: 26 (43%)

That’s right, the Ravens only used three defensive lineman on Sunday against the Cardinals. There was no fear of David Johnson, clearly.