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Complete Falcons snap counts and notes for Week 7 against the Titans

Things are getting interesting at tight end and in the secondary, where changes are happening.

Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Offense

Chris Chester: 75 (100%)
Andy Levitre: 75
Ryan Schraeder: 75
Jake Matthews: 75
Mike Person: 75
Matt Ryan: 75
Julio Jones: 66
Devonta Freeman: 63
Jacob Tamme: 60
Roddy White: 54
Levine Toilolo: 37
Nick Williams: 33
Patrick DiMarco: 21
Tony Moeaki: 16
Tevin Coleman: 9
Leonard Hankerson: 8
Terron Ward: 6
Eric Weems: 2

The big note here is that Hankerson exited after eight snaps because he re-aggravated his hamstring injury. Many are down on Hank Time because of his drops, which I completely understand, but it's very obvious that he puts pressure on opposing defenses by getting open in ways Roddy White and Nick Williams simply cannot. White and Williams each had a pair of impressive grabs in this game and White does a nice job of blocking and clearing out looks for other receivers, but this passing game is still basically centered on Julio Jones, Jacob Tamme, and Devonta Freeman without Hankerson in. That's a problem.

It's worth noting that Levine Toilolo is ceding some work to Tony Moeaki, who is more of a pass-catching threat. If Moeaki can stay healthy and block well enough, he may be the second guy in the pecking order before long, which would potentially help that currently anemic passing game. The Falcons utilized plenty of three tight end sets yesterday with their receiving options looking a little grim.

Nick Williams is the obvious fourth receiver right now, and Justin Hardy's going to have to prove he can overtake him for that role. Things will get interesting when Hardy is ready and Devin Hester returns late in the season, but Williams does author at least one clutch grab per game, and Kyle Shanahan loves his #grit.

Devonta Freeman remains the obvious lead back here, and as talented as Coleman is, that's probably not changing any time soon.

Defense

Desmond Trufant: 54 (100%)
Robert Alford: 54
Ricardo Allen: 54
Justin Durant: 51
Paul Worrilow: 47
Jalen Collins: 37
Vic Beasley: 37
Adrian Clayborn: 37
Jonathan Babineaux: 35
Kemal Ishmael: 34
O'Brien Schofield: 33
Brooks Reed: 23
William Moore: 20
Kroy Biermann: 18
Tyson Jackson: 17
Paul Soliai: 17
Robenson Therezie: 13
Ra'Shede Hageman: 13
Grady Jarrett: 6

This was Jalen Collins' first exposure to extended playing time in a regular season game, and I thought he acquitted himself pretty well, albeit against an extremely weak offense. Robert Alford scuffled a little when he kicked inside, but he remains a much-improved corner, and if Collins is ready to chip in then the Falcons' secondary looks pretty damn strong. He pushed Phillip Adams off the field entirely, with the team's nickel back through the first six weeks of the season earning exactly zero defensive snaps.

The intrigue at linebacker is worth highlighting. With Justin Durant back, the Falcons didn't give Nate Stupar or Joplo Bartu a single snap, and they finally eased Paul Worrilow's workload a little bit, taking him off the field in favor of Durant on a few third downs. This was the smart play, and Worrilow rested up enough in those seven snaps (note: probably not) to make his impressive interception. Brooks Reed is clearly the third linebacker in the pecking order when the Falcons roll out lighter fronts and play in nickel and dime packages, but it'll be interesting to see if that changes once he's been fully eased back in to the defense.

If William Moore has to miss any time, it'll be interesting to see how the Falcons elect to divvy up snaps. Kemal Ishmael was the clear starter with Moore out, but Therezie continues to do some nice things with his limited snaps, including that game-sealing interception on Sunday, and the Falcons like to utilize some three safety sets. Chances are both will get some run at strong safety, but Ishmael appears to be the favorite to start.

If you're wondering why Antonio Andrews had some success against the Falcons on the ground, you need look no further than the snap counts. The Falcons went with their lighter front 66% of the time or so, and a bruising power back like Andrews can have fun with that. It speaks to how little stock the Falcons put into the Titans' ground game, and it didn't prove overly costly. Unfortunately, until the second half brought better fortunes, that light, pass rush-focused front didn't put a lot of heat on Zach Mettenberger, and the rush needs to improve for the Falcons to be defensively successful against better teams.

Finally, Jarrett did not get the bump in snaps I think some of us anticipated after Dan Quinn talked him up during the week. I do expect that to change, but it may not be instantly.

Special Teams

Nate Stupar: 18
Robenson Therezie: 17
Eric Weems: 16
Kemal Ishmael: 15
Patrick DiMarco: 14
Kroy Biermann: 12
Robert Alford: 12
Desmond Trufant: 12
Terron Ward: 11
Matt Bosher: 10
Tony Moeaki: 10
Levine Toilolo: 10
Ricardo Allen: 9
Jalen Collins: 9
Nick Williams: 8
Josh Harris: 7
O'Brien Schofield: 4
Tyson Jackson: 4
Paul Soliai: 3
Matt Bryant: 3
Joplo Bartu: 3

Chris Chester: 3
Jake Matthews: 3
Andy Levitre: 3
Ryan Schraeder: 3
Tevin Coleman: 3
Grady Jarrett: 2
Phillip Adams: 2
Ra'Shede Hageman: 1
Paul Worrilow: 1
Vic Beasley: 1
Adrian Clayborn: 1

When players step up and return healthy, you get Joplo Bartu and Philip Adams going from playing the majority of the game to chipping in a small handful of snaps on special teams, and nothing more. They'll be depth from here on out, if everything goes according to plan.

Otherwise, no real surprises here for yet another week. Keith Armstrong knows what works, and he likes to utilize the same guys over and over again. The only real concern is Matt Bryant, who missed another field goal Sunday.