Miami Dolphins at Tennessee Titans recap: Defensive snap counts for Miami

Yesterday morning, we took a look at the snap count for all of the Miami Dolphins offensive players from their 38-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans. While the offense finally appeared to be in rhythm for the first time this year, and they made an effort to go back to a balanced offense, allowing Lamar Miller to reach 100 yards for the first time and making it so Ryan Tannehill was not trying to throw the ball 73 percent of the time, it was the defense that was, finally, the star of the show for the Dolphins.  We now turn to that defense to take a look at their snap counts.

Jamar Taylor, despite not serving as a starting cornerback, led the way for Miami, playing 90 percent of the defensive snaps on the day. Fellow cornerback Brent Grimes played 86 percent of the game, along with safety Reshad Jones. Linebackers Koa Misi and Jelani Jenkins each played 83 percent of the snaps, and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was on the field 80 percent of the time.

Defensive end Olivier Vernon was in the game for 78 percent of the plays before a jump down to another defensive end, this time Derrick Shelby, who played 68 percent of the time. Safety Walt Aikens was on the field for 65 percent of the defensive plays, while cornerback Bobby McCain joined the list of players to be on the field for the majority of the game, coming in at 58 percent of the game played. Defensive tackle Eral Mitchell, along with his six snaps on offense as a fullback, played 51 percent of the defensive snaps.

Just shy of the half game mark, safety Michael Thomas was on the field 49 percent of the time. Defensive end Cameron Wake, who recorded four sacks and two forced fumbles, was on the field for just 43 percent of the game. Linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips were both in the game for 38 percent of the defensive snaps.

Defensive end Terrence Fede was on the field for 22 percent of the game, with defensive tackle C.J. Mosley appearing in 20 percent of the defensive plays. Cornerback Brice McCain, who sustained a first quarter injury, only played 16 percent of the game. Safety Jordan Kovacs and linebackers Zach Vigil and Neville Hewitt all played 14 percent of the game, primarily in the cleanup minutes late in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Spencer Paysinger (3 percent) and cornerback Zack Bowman (1 percent) round out the 23 players who made at least a one-snap appearance for Miami.

Week 6 Defensive Snap Counts

Defensive ends

Olivier Vernon - 54
Derrick Shelby - 47
Cameron Wake - 30
Terrence Fede - 15

Defensive tackles

Ndamukong Suh - 55
Earl Mitchell - 35
Jordan Phillips - 26
C.J. Mosley - 14

Linebackers

Koa Misi - 57
Jelani Jenkins - 57
Kelvin Sheppard - 26
Zach Vigil - 10
Neville Hewitt - 10
SPencer Paysinger - 2

Cornerbacks

Jamar Taylor - 62
Brent Grimes - 59
Bobby McCain - 40
Brice McCain - 11
Zack Bowman - 1

Safeties

Reshad Jones - 59
Walt AIkens - 45
Michael Thomas - 34
Jordan Kovacs - 10

2015 Season Snap Count Percentage - Defense

Click image to enlarge.