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Falcons snap counts from a tough loss to the Chargers

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By: Dave Choate

Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Cordarrelle Patterson came back, Rashad Fenton was eased in, and more from Sunday.

The Falcons are at the point in their season where curveballs in the snap counts are few and far between, but the return of Cordarrelle Patterson at least created some intrigue on offense.

Let’s check out the tale of the snaps.

Offense

Marcus Mariota: 61

Jake Matthews: 61

Drew Dalman: 61

Chris Lindstrom: 61

Kaleb McGary: 61

Matt Hennessy: 50

Drake London: 46

Olamide Zaccheaus: 43

Kyle Pitts: 42

Parker Hesse: 29

Damiere Byrd: 29

Cordarrelle Patterson: 24

Tyler Allgeier: 23

MyCole Pruitt: 18

KhaDarel Hodge: 16

Keith Smith: 15

Caleb Huntley: 13

Colby Gossett: 11

Feleipe Franks: 4

Avery Williams: 3


Like everyone else, I was wondering what would happen when Patterson returned to the team and how the Falcons would divvy up snaps and touches. One game does not make a trend, but it sure looks like Patterson and Allgeier will operate as options 1A and 1B, with Huntley playing a smaller but critical role. It is, of course, possible that Patterson will start dominating snaps from here on out, but I sort of doubt it.

Allgeier had only one fewer snaps than Patterson and three fewer touches on the day, with both backs’ all-around games keeping them on the field. Huntley played around 10 fewer snaps and got about half the touches, but he’s still a mighty productive runner and clearly isn’t going to fade into the background. The more interesting question is what happens if/when Damien Williams gets back and makes this a truly crowded group, but the Falcons right now have an excellent, very productive group of backs that fuels their success on the ground.

The line is in minor flux at the moment, as Hennessy was pressed into left guard duties for Elijah Wilkinson after the latter went on injured reserve, but is now hurt himself. The Falcons will need to trot Colby Gossett out there on Thursday night, in all likelihood, and Ryan Neuzil will once again be elevated to the active roster because he can play both guard and center in a pinch. Gossett is a fine stopgap option—he’s shown that over and over again—but Atlanta’s depth is getting perilously thin.

Otherwise, things shook out in a way you’d expect them to, with the exception of Hodge picking up some more snaps (and targets!) after spending a few weeks as a complete afterthought in this passing game. With Byrd having a quieter week and Edwards still buried on the depth chart, perhaps Hodge’s stock is rising again. Nobody in this passing game is having consistent success right now, though, unfortunately.

Defense

Richie Grant: 69

Cornell Armstrong: 69

Jaylinn Hawkins: 69

Mykal Walker: 69

Rashaan Evans: 69

Darren Hall: 67

Lorenzo Carter: 56

Grady Jarrett: 51

Ta’Quon Graham: 42

Arnold Ebiketie: 39

Isaiah Oliver: 36

Adetokunbo Ogundeji: 28

Timothy Horne: 19

Jalen Dalton: 18

Abdullah Anderson: 17

Dee Alford: 15

Troy Andersen: 13

DeAngelo Malone: 13


Armstrong has shown he belongs on this roster, with a handful of impressive plays per game and a willingness to keep battling no matter how bad things get. As a full-time starter, obviously, he has been stretched and a frequent target for opposing quarterbacks, which is why this team desperately needs A.J. Terrell back. With Terrell hopefully on his way and Rashad Fenton likely to get up to speed soon after not playing at all this week, Armstrong will move to a reserve role again, but he should be able to stick around given the effort and occasional flashes he’s shown.

The team otherwise has a very set plan for how they’re going to roll everyone out, with Dalton joining (and frankly helping) a defensive line rotation that needs bodies and help. This was a good effort from Atlanta’s defenders up front, especially against the run, but the lack of pass rush here outside of Jarrett and occasionally Graham is and was evident. They’ll do the best they can with what they have the rest of the way, counting on continued growth from Graham, Horne, and especially their options off the edge in Ebiketie and Ogundeji. I’m not expecting drastic improvement, but there is some talent here.

Otherwise this is the same sort of picture we’ve looked at all year: This is a defense that has a number of intriguing individual defenders who flash at times, but as a unit they’re still one of the very worst in the league. An offseason infusion of talent and the kind of growth and experience that these rough efforts fuel is all that will fix it.

Special teams

Avery Williams: 20

Mike Ford: 20

Jovante Moffatt: 19

Nick Kwiatkoski: 17

Troy Andersen: 16

DeAngelo Malone: 16

KhaDarel Hodge: 16

Parker Hesse: 12

Keith Smith: 12

Bradley Pinion: 12

Richie Grant: 9

Isaiah Oliver: 8

Jalen Dalton: 8

Liam McCullough: 8

Feleipe Franks: 7

Adetokunbo Ogundeji: 6

Rashad Fenton: 5

Kaleb McGary: 4

Jake Matthews: 4

Chris Lindstrom: 4

Olamide Zaccheaus: 4

Colby Gossett: 4

Cornell Armstrong: 4

Ta’Quon Graham: 4

Abdullah Anderson: 4

Ryan Neuzil: 4

Younghoe Koo: 4

Germain Ifedi: 4

Tyler Allgeier: 3

Matt Hennessy: 2

MyCole Pruitt: 2

Jaylinn Hawkins: 1

Timothy Horne: 1


No great surprises here, either, but we do have a Rashad Fenton sighting! I’d expect him to grab ahold of a larger role on defense and special teams soon, but it may need to wait until after the bye.

While I don’t fear some sort of permanent regression, I’m quietly concerned we’re going to see an off year from Younghoe Koo when all is said and done. He’s currently 22nd in the NFL in field goal percentage after finishing 3rd and 5th in 2021 and 2020, respectively, with as many misses in 2022 as he had in those two seasons combined. Even great kickers go through bad years—you may have forgotten that Justin Tucker once missed seven in a season, back in 2015—but this offense isn’t good enough to weather many misses from #7.

Originally posted on The Falcoholic – All Posts