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Offensive and defensive snap counts for Cardinals vs. Redskins

A look at who got the playing time.

Norm Hall

It's a little later in the day than I wanted, but here is where I give you the snap counts for the game.

Offense:

There were 70 offensive snaps in Sunday. Carson Palmer and the starting offensive line played all 70 snaps, which is normal. No other lineman played on offense.

But what about the rest?

Running backs: Andre Ellington, 52; Stepfan Taylor, 15; Robert Hughes, 11

Again, Ellington played A LOT. Taylor, though, got a few more snaps and looks than he did against Denver. What is interesting is that he used to get the snaps for four-wide sets as the blitz pickup guy. Hughes has been getting more of those snaps than before.

Receivers: Larry Fitzgerald, 66; Michael Floyd, 59; John Brown, 49; Ted Ginn, 12; Jaron Brown, 4

It has been almost alternating each week who gets more snaps between Fitz and Floyd. Fitz played very well in the run game. An interesting observation I made during the game was that, in some three-tight end sets with only one receiver, it was Jaron Brown that was out there. It happened once or twice. Ginn's snaps were almost worthless. I personally would like to see Jaron play more, but Ginn does offer more pure speed.

Tight ends: John Carlson, 59; Rob Housler, 31; Darren Fells, 7

We saw a few more four-wide sets than against Denver, which meant a few more plays off the field for Carlson.

Defense:

There were 60 defensive snaps on Sunday. There were four ironmen -- Safety Rashad Johnson, cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Antonio Cromartie and linebacker Larry Foote. This is normal.

Defensive line: Tommy Kelly, 55; Ed Stinson, 33; Frostee Rucker, 26; Dan Williams, 23; Kareem Martin, 6; Alameda Ta'amu, 1

Kelly played a ton again. Arians said 60+ snaps was too much for him last week. He almost played that much. Rucker got hurt during the game but returned. That meant rookie Ed Stinson had to step up. He played a bunch and, according to Bruce Arians, played well. Dan Williams got time on the field once again in more than base sets. The interesting number is that of Kareem Martin. He was listed as the starter for Calais Campbell. I was surprised he got six snaps. I don't remember seeing him once. He didn't get any playing time at outside linebacker this week. He did have six mental errors in the game in Denver, so maybe he didn't have a good week of practice. Again, Ta'amu got only one play.

Linebackers: Larry Foote, 60; Alex Okafor, 54; Sam Acho, 44; Kevin Minter, 11; Marcus Benard, 8; Lorenzo Alexander, 2

Okafor played more than three times the number of snaps he had played in his career. He played well. Acho did too, in coverage and against the run. It was good to see Benard get some playing time and it was a surprise to see Alexander out there in the fourth quarter. He was out there with Acho. You might not remember, but Acho and Alexander were the starting OLBs to start last season.

As it has been the case all season, Minter's playing time is related to the package on the field. He only plays in base packages. Deone Bucannon comes in for passing downs.

Defensive backs: Patrick Peterson, Rashad Johnson and Antonio Cromartie, 60; Jerraud Powers, Deone Bucannon and Tyrann Mathieu, 49; Tony Jefferson, 11

The biggest change is in Jefferson's playing time. With the Honey Badger ready for action, Jefferson now becomes the Kevin Minter of the secondary. Mathieu is apparently not going to overtake Powers as the nickel corner. Bucannon's snaps all came at linebacker. That isn't going to change this year, it appears.