Falcons vs. Dolphins preseason 2016: Snap counts and heavy sighs

Well that was a ride. Let's get preoccupied with some fresh snap counts, yeah?

Offense

Ben Garland G: 45 (68%)
Wes Schweitzer G: 40 
Tom Compton T: 33
Bryce Harris T: 33 
Mike Person C: 33 
Jake Matthews T: 33 
Ryan Schraeder T: 33
Matt Ryan QB: 33 
Alex Mack C: 33 
Aldrick Robinson WR: 32 
Mohamed Sanu WR: 31 
Cyrus Gray RB: 27 
Chris Chester G: 26 
J.D. McKissic WR: 25 
Nick Williams WR: 25 
Matt Schaub QB: 22 
Joshua Perkins TE: 21 
Andy Levitre G: 21 
Austin Hooper TE: 20 
Devonta Freeman RB: 18 
Tevin Coleman RB: 15 
Justin Hardy WR: 15 
Jordan Leslie WR: 14 
Patrick DiMarco FB: 13 
D.J. Tialavea TE: 13 
Jacob Tamme TE: 12 
Sean Renfree QB: 11 
David Glidden WR: 11 
Julio Jones WR: 10 
Levine Toilolo TE: 10 
Brandon Wilds RB: 6 
Devin Fuller WR: 6 
Will Ratelle FB: 6

Well, the first-string offense looked completely awful. The offensive line struggled to give Ryan much protection and failed to open many running lanes for Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. This performance was especially frustrating to see, but we have to take it for what it is. Preseason is a time to work out kinks, and if the team is going to experience them, now is the time. Teams do little game planning in the preseason, if any. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, at least.

Once the first-string guys left and some fresh legs took the field, guys like Austin Hooper and Aldrick Robinson began to impress. For the first time in a while, I can be excited with the talent at the back end of the receiving corps. Just by looking at the counts here, you can tell it's a tight race for the last roster spots.

Matt Simms was absent from the counts, surprisingly. I'm assuming he will duke it out with Matt Schaub in the final preseason match for the right to be the "official" backup. The team could choose to keep all three. The trifecta would be complete, but roster spots are valuable when you have talent you'd like to hold on to.

Guards Levitre and Chester played notably less than their other offensive line members, allowing Wes Schweitzer and Garland to get extra work and even a bit with the first team. Though, while they were in, things like this happened. Yikes, moving on.

Defense

Ricardo Allen S: 46 (61%)
Desmond Trufant CB: 45 
Robert Alford CB: 44 
Brian Poole DB: 37 
Philip Wheeler LB: 33 
Damian Parms S: 32 
Deion Jones LB: 29 
De'Vondre Campbell LB: 29 
Derrick Shelby DE: 29 
Vic Beasley DE: 29
C.J. Goodwin WR: 27 
Ra'Shede Hageman DT: 27 
Grady Jarrett DT: 27 
Akeem King CB: 26 
Nordly Capi DE: 25 
Tyler Starr DE: 24 
Paul Worrilow LB: 23 
LaRoy Reynolds LB: 23 
Sean Weatherspoon LB: 23 
Robensen Therezie S: 22 
Adrian Clayborn DE: 21 
Brooks Reed LB: 20 
Courtney Upshaw LB: 19 
Jonathan Babineaux NT: 19 
Malliciah Goodman DE: 18 
Sergio Brown FS: 18 
Keanu Neal DB: 17 
Brandon Williams DE: 16 
Sharrod Neasman DB: 15 
Jalen Collins CB: 13 
Tyson Jackson DE: 13 
Cory Johnson DT: 11 
Devonte Johnson DB: 6 
Efe Obada DE: 6 
Joey Mbu NT: 5 
Ivan McLennan LB: 4 
Jordan Sefon DB: 2 
Matt Wells LB: 2

Let's look at some of the positives. Our defense kept their first-team to a mere 7 points for the first two-quarters of game time. Now, the Dolphins aren't exactly known for their high-powered offense, but that's still impressive. Grady Jarrett looks very comfortable with his new role, and all is right in the world as long as I'm concerned.

Okay, a little more bad news. The pass rush was abysmal this week, and I'd be lying if I told you if I thought it'll look drastically better than last year. Vic Beasley didn't have his greatest game as a Falcon but has looked fine this preseason, otherwise. The injury has definitely impacted Vic's ability to some extent the last two weeks. Clayborn left with an injury and Dwight Freeney didn't play. Throw all of this together and the chances of good pass rush action plummets. I believe it'll be better than last year's, but it's hard to judge. The full rotation hasn't given us much to dissect. Looks like we'll be waiting until Week One for a good assessment.

Brian Poole looks to have ran away with the CB3 spot this week -- getting a majority of the action with the first team. He's had a respectable offseason, and should do fine in Jalen Collins' absence for the first quarter of the season.

Special Teams

Paul Worrilow: 11
Damian Parms: 11
Philip Wheeler: 10
LaRoy Reynolds: 9
C.J. Goodwin: 9
Joshua Perkins: 9
Matt Bosher: 8
Sharrod Neasman: 8
Sean Weatherspoon: 8
Deion Jones: 8
Brian Poole: 8 
Austin Hooper: 8
Eric Weems: 7
Cyrus Gray: 7
Jalen Collins: 6
Robert Alford: 6
Josh Harris: 5
Gus Johnson: 5
Akeem King: 5
Ricardo Allen: 5
J.D. McKissic: 5
Ben Garland: 5
Brandon Williams: 4
Desmond Trufant: 4
Malliciah Goodman: 3
Brooks Reed: 3
Robensen Therezie: 3
Ra'Shede Hageman: 3
Patrick DiMarco: 3
Nick Williams: 3
Tom Compton: 3
Wes Schweitzer: 3
Shayne Graham: 2
Ivan McLennan: 2
Tyson Jackson: 2
Keanu Neal: 2
Sergio Brown: 2
Courtney Upshaw: 2
Grady Jarrett: 2
Devin Fuller: 2
Brandon Wilds: 2
D.J. Tialavea: 2
Michael Huey: 1
Joey Mbu: 1
Cory Johnson: 1
Jonathan Babineaux: 1
Nordly Capi: 1
Derrick Shelby:1
De'Vondre Campbell: 1
Jordan Leslie: 1
Tevin Coleman: 1
Andy Levitre: 1
Aldrick Robinson: 1
Ryan Schraeder: 1
Jake Matthews: 1
Mike Person: 1
Bryce Harris: 1

Shayne Graham filled in nicely for Matt Bryant and hit a 53-yard field goal with his eyes closed. J.D. McKissick looked awesome... again -- he and Devin Fuller have both made strong cases for a spot on the 53. Special teams kept everything under control and all is well in this department yet again.

Thoughts on the snap counts and last Thursday's game?