If you’re looking for a reason why the Kansas City Chiefs offense didn’t put up more points, start with the number of plays they ran. The Chiefs ran 52 offensive plays while the Saints ran 74. Thanks for that pick six, Dirty Dan.
Onto the snap counts from the Chiefs victory over the Saints...
Quarterback
QB Alex Smith: 52
20-something passes, high completion percentage, couple of touchdowns, no turnovers ... that’s an Alex Smith day.
Offensive line
OT Eric Fisher: 52
G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif: 52
C Mitch Morse: 52
G Parker Ehinger: 52
OT Mitch Schwartz: 52
G Zach Fulton: 1
The offensive line has allowed one sack in two games. May not be a coincidence that it comes when their starting five is healthy. Schwartz came out of there with an ankle injury near the end but will be fine.
Tight end
TE Travis Kelce: 47
TE Demetrius Harris: 27
TE James O’Shaughnessy: 9
Lots of multiple tight end sets. Check out the Chiefs first drive each week and you’ll see some creative use of tight ends. Loved some of those running plays with the tight ends out in space blocking. Also, two catches for 24 yards from Travis Kelce. He needs more targets.
Wide receiver
WR Jeremy Maclin: 43
WR Chris Conley: 30
WR Tyreek Hill: 18
WR De’Anthony Thomas: 11
WR Albert Willson: 10
So now De’Anthony Thomas, in his second active game this season, is getting more snaps than Albert Wilson. Andy Reid praised Wilson saying they were mixing and matching but the numbers speak louder than words. Tough situation for him personally in the final year of his contract.
Running back
RB Spencer Ware: 36
RB Charcandrick West: 14
FB Anthony Sherman: 12
RB Jamaal Charles: 2
These are the NFL’s snap counts and perhaps they’re off by one because I thought Jamaal only played one snap where he got a carry. Ware is the clear lead back with Charcandrick giving him breathers. 12 snaps is also a lot of work for Sherman.
Cornerback
CB Steven Nelson: 74
CB Marcus Peters: 74
CB DJ White: 59
The Saints didn’t look Marcus Peters way very often. His picks are getting him a reputation. I thought DJ White did better than Nelson overall. We’ll see about that on our re-watch.
Safety
S Ron Parker: 74
S Eric Berry: 74
S Daniel Sorensen: 43
S Eric Murray: 4
Dirty Dan was the highlight with the Eric Berry tip and Sorensen’s catch and run for the touchdown. @PFTCommenter would love Sorensen.
Linebacker
LB Derrick Jonson: 74
LB Dee Ford: 68
LB Tamba Hali: 45
LB Frank Zombo: 35
LB Ramik Wilson: 28
The new guy here is Ramik Wilson, who started for the IR’d Justin March. Andy Reid said he had some struggles early on but started to figure it out. Sam Barrington would be another candidate for that spot or even Sio Moore, who was inactive.
Defensive line
NT Dontari Poe: 62
DE Jaye Howard: 55
DE Chris Jones: 38
DE Rakeem Nunez-Roches
DE Kendall Reyes: 2
I guess this is your new d-line rotation with Allen Bailey out. This is by far the most snaps Chris Jones has seen in a game. That’s also a ton of snaps for Poe. The Chiefs probably want to limit that a little bit.