Trying to be pragmatic, I looked at the Bills and Saints on defense in the NFL for a comparison. Why them? They have allowed the fewest points in the league on defense, so thought that was a decent proxy for benchmarking.
Last Buffalo game, which was competitive.
- Both starting CB's played every snap, slot CB played all but three snaps
- MLB/SLB played every snap
- Their third LB played the three snaps that the slot CB didn't play, meaning they only played three LB's total
- FS/SS both played every snap
- They played four total DE's, each playing between 20-34 of the 53 snaps
- They played three DT's total, each playing between 20-31 snaps
Last New Orleans game, which was competitive.
- One CB played all 83 snaps, nickel played 77, one played 61, dime played 20 snaps
- Two LB's played all 83 snaps, third LB played six snaps
- Both safeties played every snap
- One DE played 67 snaps, others played 31, 37 and 36 snaps
- DT's played 45, 34, 31 snaps
There were 75 defensive snaps in our UNC game.
- Amari Carter led us in snaps at 61
- Bubba Bolden played 60 snaps
- Flagg played 57 snaps
- Tyrique played 56 snaps
- Steed played 48 snaps
- Couch played 48 snaps
- Two highest graded players by PFF played 27 snaps (Harvey) and Leonard Taylor played 20 snaps
It's another of the baffling things that our coaches do. Play your best players and play them a ton. To get on the field is a privilege, not a right because you were recruited or because you are an upperclassmen.
James Williams needs to play every snap. Kam Kinchens needs to play every snap. Taylor needs to play as much as he can. Tyrique needs to play every snap. Harvey needs to play more. Keontra needs to play every snap.
Quit making it harder than it is to win games.