Falcons vs. Dolphins snap counts: Priorities and wide receivers

Let’s not dwell on this game’s particulars any longer and just get into the snap counts. Good? Good.

Offense

Matt Ryan: 57

Andy Levitre: 57

Jake Matthews: 57

Alex Mack: 57

Wes Schweitzer: 57

Ryan Schraeder: 57

Austin Hooper: 52

Taylor Gabriel: 48

Julio Jones: 45

Justin Hardy: 42

Devonta Freeman: 42

Tevin Coleman: 18

Levine Toilolo: 15

Marvin Hall: 12

Derrick Coleman: 5

Andre Roberts: 5

Eric Saubert

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Bluntly, I don’t get it. Gabriel and Hardy played most of game and had seven combined catches for 73 yards, while Marvin Hall had one grab for 40 yards on just 12 snaps, and Tevin Coleman improbably found his way to only 18 snaps and caught just one pass for four yards. Steve Sarkisian’s offense has had a very tough time getting Taylor Gabriel the ball in space, where he’s most useful, and Hardy continues to be a useful but lightly used option in the passing game. When you need big plays, there’s really no excuse for not putting Tevin Coleman out there in passing situations more often, and I think the offense really erred in not doing so.

Defense

Robert Alford: 67

Ricardo Allen: 67

Keanu Neal: 67

Deion Jones: 65

Desmond Trufant: 64

De’Vondre Campbell: 60

Dontari Poe: 52

Grady Jarrett: 50

Brian Poole: 38

Duke Riley: 35

Adrian Clayborn: 34

Brooks Reed: 29

Derrick Shelby: 29

Takkarist McKinley: 27

Vic Beasley: 26

Joe Vellano: 14

Taniela Tupou: 7

Kemal Ishmael: 3

Sharrod Neasman: 3

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It will change at some point, but Duke Riley really is a liability at linebacker right now, and he’s playing over half the snaps against a game like Miami that likes to run a lot. He couldn’t stop Jay Ajayi, not that anyone could.

The most disappointing part of this game was how little pass rush the Falcons generated from anyone. They got more snaps out of Vic Beasley than I had anticipated, but he didn’t do any more than Takk, Shelby, Reed, or Clayborn, all of whom had ample opportunities. The defense wasn’t truly bad, but they sure as hell weren’t inspiring.

Special Teams

Kemal Ishmael: 18

C.J. Goodwin: 18

Jordan Tripp: 14

Derrick Coleman: 14

Eric Saubert: 14

Matt Bosher: 12

Sharrod Neasman: 10

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It was an unusually bad day for special teams, too, though primarily because of a botched snap and some bad Matt Bosher punts. As always, you’re seeing the same core of guys that Keith Armstrong trusts working on special teams. At some point as the Falcons stop playing run-first teams, I’d like to see Goodwin actually get some time on the field with the defense, but he’s very obviously one of the guys who will never struggle to find time on teams.