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Patriots at Dolphins: Miami Defensive Snap Counts

The Miami Dolphins lost to the New England Patriots 23-16 on Sunday. Here are the defensive snap counts for Miami during the game.

US PRESSWIRE

Earlier today, we took a look at the Miami Dolphins' offensive snap counts against the New England Patriots. The Dolphins want to run an offense similar in tempo to the one the Patriots run. The Dolphins got a chance to see that offense up close on Sunday, with New England running nearly 20 more plays than Miami.

The Dolphins were on defense for 81 snaps Sunday. Here's the breakdown, by position group:

Defensive Line

Jared Odrick

Cameron Wake

Paul Soliai

Randy Starks

43 / 81

58 / 81

47 / 81

54 / 81

53%

72%

58%

67%

Season
709 / 858
83%

Season
678 / 858
79%

Season
472 / 858
55%

Season
637 / 858
74%

Defensive Line

Tony McDaniel

Olivier Vernon

Kheeston Randall

Derrick Shelby

27 / 81

31 / 81

--- / ---

23 / 81

33%

38%

----

28%

Season
153 / 858
18%

Season
317 / 858
37%

Season
136 / 858
16%

Season
173 / 858
20%

Defensive Line

Ryan Baker
(Released after Week 2)

Andre Fluellen
(Signed before Week 3)
(Released after Week 4)

----

----

----

----

Season
3 / 217
1%

Season
14 / 289 (14 / 154)
5% (9%)


Thoughts:
one of the biggest controversies of the game came from the Dolphins' rotation of defensive linemen. On the Patriots' clock killing drive in the fourth quarter, when suddenly the team could run the ball, Wake and Odrick were both on the sideline. Asked about it after the game, both head coach Joe Philbin and defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said that the team was sticking to their planned rotation of defensive linemen to prevent players from being worn out, and to keep fresh players in the game, against the New England offensive tempo. Ultimately, it didn't seem to make much difference, given the Patriots were running the ball up the middle, not toward rookie Vernon or Shelby, but it was a questionable decision at that point in the game. Ultimately, Wake, Soliai, and Starks all played about their normal number of snaps, with Odrick down during the game.

Uspw_6810680_medium


Linebackers

Kevin Burnett

Karlos Dansby

Koa Misi

Jason Trusnik

81 / 81

81 / 81

49 / 81

--- / ---

100%

100%

60%

----

Season
841 / 858
98%

Season
837 / 858
98%

Season
500 / 858
58%

Season
39 / 858
5%

Linebackers

Jonathon Freeny

Austin Spitler

Josh Kaddu

--- / ---

--- / ---

--- / ---

----

----

----

Season
13 / 858
2%

Season
10 / 858
1%

Season
3 / 858 (3 / 266)
0% (1%)


Thoughts: Just like last week, Misi's snap count remained high this week. It's also interesting that he returned to playing defensive end for some of this game, as the Dolphins really looked for ways to keep the defensive linemen fresh.



Cornerbacks

Richard Marshall
(Placed on IR before Week 10)

Sean Smith

Jimmy Wilson

Nolan Carroll

--- / ---

78 / 81

74 / 81

38 / 81

----

96%

91%

47%

Season
238 / 592
40%

Season
825 / 858
96%

Season
424 / 858
49%

Season
589 / 858
68%

Cornerbacks

R.J. Stanford

Bryan McCann
(Signed Before Week 10)

40 / 81

6 / 81

49%

7%

Season
100 / 858
12%

Season
13 / 858 (13 / 266)
2% (5%)

Thoughts: Carroll and Stanford continue to split time, with Stanford actually taking more snaps this week. Wilson saw his snap count jump way up, which can be contributed to the Patriots' use of multiple receivers - especially Wes Welker.

Uspw_6809236_medium

Safeties

Chris Clemons

Reshad Jones

Troy Nolan
(Released after Week 3)

Jonathan Amaya

80 / 81

56 / 57

----

--- / ---

99%

98%

----

----

Season
841 / 858
98%

Season
852 / 858
99%

Season
3 / 217
1%

Season
4 / 858
0%

Thoughts: Both safeties had to miss a couple of plays, with Clemons actually going out for a few plays with cramps. Wilson moved back into the safety spot to fill in whenever one of the two were out of the game.

Uspw_6809584_medium

[Picture Credits: Derrick Shelby picture courtesy Steve Mitchell - US PRESSWIRE 12/2/12; Bryan McCann picture courtesy Steve Mitchell - US PRESSWIRE 12/2/12; Reshad Jones picture courtesy Steve Mitchell - US PRESSWIRE 12/2/12]

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