Skins Snaps & Stats: Redskins @ Buccaneers

The Redskins continued their preseason dominance with a 20-13 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last night.  Check out their record in the preseason over the last six years in the tweet below.  Washington has also now defeated Tampa Bay in six straight exhibition contests dating back to 2002.

The #Redskins seem to have this whole preseason thing down pat.
2011: 3-1
2012: 3-1
2013: 4-0
2014: 3-1
2015: 3-1
2016: 3-1
(19-5)

— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) September 1, 2016

Offense

Eighteen of the Redskins' 35 offensive players participated against the Bucs in a game that saw the offense take 61 snaps.  Fourteen of the offensive players did not even make the trip to Tampa Bay.  This group consisted of the team's eleven projected starters, their third down running back (Thompson), their sixth offensive linemen (Long or Lauvao) and their backup tight end (Davis).

Three of the 21 offensive players that made the trip did not see any action (McCoy, Grant and Paul).  Those three and the 14 that stayed back in Virginia should be locks to make the roster.

The offense was on the field for 273 snaps in the preseason.  Kirk Cousins and the majority of the starting group only took 56 snaps this August (21% of all offensive snaps).  That is the lowest snap total for Redskins starters in the preseason since snaps began to be tracked by the NFL in 2012.

Quarterbacks (3)
Player (* - starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Nate Sudfeld *	61	100%
Kirk Cousins	DNP	N/A
Colt McCoy	DNP	N/A

• Nate Sudfeld led the quarterback group with 134 snaps this preseason.  That's nearly two and a half times the 55 snaps that Kirk Cousins saw.  That is, however, in line with the 139 snaps that Cousins saw in the preseason of his rookie year.

• Sudfeld is currently tied for second worst in the league with six sacks.  His 53 attempts are the tenth most going into Thursday night's games, but he only ranks tenth in completions (28) 32nd in first downs (12) and 39th in yards (238).  Among the passers who currently rank in the top 50 of attempts he ranks 23rd in QB rating (83.7), 38th in completion percentage (52.8%) and 48th in yards per attempt (4.5).  Sudfeld has flashed at times, but, at best, he is still a long-term project.
  

Wide Receivers (8)
Player (* - starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Maurice Harris *	46	75%
Rashad Ross *	43	70%
T.J. Thorpe	43	70%
Kendall Thompson	21	34%
Jamison Crowder	DNP	N/A
Pierre Garcon	DNP	N/A
Ryan Grant	DNP	N/A
DeSean Jackson	DNP	N/A
Josh Doctson	PUP	N/A

• At least for the time being, Rashad Ross ranks as tied for third with 11 preseason receptions and sits alone at first with three touchdowns.  Ross ranked first in receptions, yards and touchdowns last year, but he needs to carry that over to the regular season.  Ross has exceeded 43 receiving yards in six preseason games, but has only topped that number once in the regular season thanks to a 71-yard reception (all of his yardage in that game).  Ross led all Washington wideouts in snaps for the second year in a row (154 snaps).
  

• T.J. Thorpe, Maurice Harris and Kendal Thompson only combined for nine receptions, for 112 yards and one touchdown on 272 snaps.  Each of them probably needed to more than exceed that line on their own to have any kind of shot of cracking this talented and ultra-deep receiving corps.
  

Tight Ends (5)
Player (* - starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Logan Paulsen	42	69%
Marcel Jensen *	32	52%
Vernon Davis	DNP	N/A
Niles Paul	DNP	N/A
Jordan Reed	DNP	N/A
Derek Carrier	PUP	N/A

• Logan Paulsen dropped three passes in the game.  Paulsen makes his money as a blocker, but it was still not a good look for an unathletic 29-year old that is due to hit free agency.  it would not be surprising if Derek Carrier was able to take his roster spot if he comes off the PUP list, at least If Paulsen somehow sticks around that far, that is.  Old man Logan did, however, lead all Redskins tight ends in the preseason by a whopping 42 snaps (124 snaps to Marcel Jensen's 82). 
  

• I wouldn't be holding out hope if I was a Marcel Jensen fan either.  Jensen is older than both Jordan Reed and Derek Carrier, and his six-yard touchdown against the Falcons was his only reception in the preseason.  The Redskins have opened the season with three tight ends in each of the past two years.

Running Backs (5)
Player (* - starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Robert Kelley *	31	51%
Mack Brown	30	49%
Joe Kerridge	17	28%
Matt Jones	DNP	N/A
Chris Thompson	DNP	N/A

• Mack Brown had an incredible performance on Thursday night when he rushed for 149 yards on just 16 carries.  That is the most rushing yards in a single preseason game by a Redskin on record (data dating back to 2000).  In fact, only seven other Redskins (Roy Helu did it twice) have put up 149 or more yards in a total preseason since 2000.   Brown's 227 preseason yards are the second most on record by a Redskin, behind only Marcus Mason's 317 in 2008; and Mason needed and additional game (HOF game) and 27 more carries to hit that number. 
  

• Matt Jones is the only Washington preseason rushing leader with a higher yards per carry average (7.0) than Mack's 5.8 mark.

• Robert Kelley received one more snap than Brown in the game (31 to 30), and chipped in with 99 rushing yards of his own.  Kelley led the team in running back snaps this exhibition season with 112 of them (Brown had 87).  Kelley's 198 preseason rushing yards are the fifth most on record by a Redskin.  He is only surpassed by Mason, Brown, Alfred Morris and Sultan McCullough (who?).  Brown and Kelley currently rank one and two in the NFL in preseason rushing yards.
  

Offensive Linemen (14)
Player (* - starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Takoby Cofield *	61	100%
Arie Koundijo *	61	100%
Austin Reiter *	61	100%
Nila Kasitati	40	66%
Vinston Painter	26	43%
Isaiah Williams	22	36%
Josh LeRibeus *	21	34%
Ty Nsekhe *	13	21%
Shawn Lauvao	DNP	N/A
Korey Lichtensteiger	DNP	N/A
Spencer Long	DNP	N/A
Morgan Moses	DNP	N/A
Brandon Scherff	DNP	N/A
Trent Williams	DNP	N/A

• Arie Koundijo, Austin Reiter and Takoby Cofield played on all 61 offensive snaps in Tampa Bay.  With that workload Cofield shot back past Ty Nsekhe for the most offensive or defensive snaps by a Redskins player in the preseason.  Cofield led the team after each of the first two games and now leads again with 178 snaps.  Last year, Spencer Long led the team with 170 preseason snaps.

• Many are projecting the Redskins to only keep eight offensive linemen on their final 53 man roster, but it's worth noting that they opened the 2014 and 2015 seasons with nine and ten O-linemen respectively.  Maybe things will change this year, because the depth on the line doesn't seem to be where the most talent is, but knowing this still should make Austin Reiter, Josh LeRibeus, Takoby Cofield and maybe even new acquisition, Vinston Painter, feel better about their chances of hanging on.

Defense

Twenty-two of Washington's 36 defenders combined to play on 70 defensive snaps in the game.  Twelve defenders did not make the trip.  Those twelve are comprised of ten of the projected starters, Greg Toler and Ziggy Hood.  That obviously bodes well for Toler and Hood's chances of getting a good deal of action during the regular season.

Two of the 24 that were present at Raymond James Stadium did not play in the game (Jean Francois and Reyes).  Will Blackmon only played on 3 snaps.  The little or no action for those three players is a good omen for them as well.

The defense played 284 snaps across the four exhibition contests this year.  If you exclude the game against the Jets when approximately half of the starting defense was rested, then the starters only took part on 35 snaps in the preseason (12% of the defensive snaps).  That too is a record low.

Defensive Linemen (10)
Player (* - starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Anthony Lanier *	58	83%
Corey Crawford *	46	66%
Jerrell Powe	25	36%
Matt Ioannidis *	21	30%
Cullen Jenkins	18	26
Chris Baker	DNP	N/A
Kedric Golston	DNP	N/A
Ziggy Hood	DNP	N/A
Ricky Jean Francois	DNP	N/A
Kendall Reyes	DNP	N/A

• You may not have noticed it, but in addition to getting rested against the Buccaneers, Kendall Reyes started in both the second and third preseason game.  He also took many of the first-team snaps in training camp.  It looks like either Reyes or the team's other veteran linemen signee, Ziggy Hood, will have a good chance to open the season as a starting end.

• Anthony Lanier led all Redskins' defensive linemen with 58 snaps in the finale and with 130 total preseason snaps.  Lanier also tied for the team lead in QB hits (2) and forced fumbles (1) in the preseason; he led or tied all D-linemen in total tackles (4), sacks (1) and pass deflections (3).  Meanwhile, his chief competitor for a roster spot, Matt Ioannidis, was only able to record four assisted tackles in the entire preseason and three of those came in one game (Buffalo Bills).
  

Outside Linebackers (6)
Player (* - starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Houston Bates *	49	70%
Lynden Trail	41	59%
Mike Wakefield	41	59%
Trent Murphy *	9	13%
Ryan Kerrigan	DNP	N/A
Preston Smith	DNP	N/A

• Mike Wakefield led the Redskins with two sacks in the preseason, but he was unable to record a stat in both the opener and in last night's game despite playing on 13 and 41 snaps in those games respectively.  Wakefield led all outside backers in snaps with 107 this preseason.  He failed to record a special team stat across 46 snaps on that unit.

• With that in mind, it probably comes down to Houston Bates and Lynden Trail for the final OLB spot.  It's been pretty close between those two.  Trail has one more special teams tackle than Bates, but he needed 25 more snaps to do it.  Bates has one more total tackle and two more solo tackles than Trail on virtually identical defensive snaps (101 to 100).  Trail is four months younger and is a better athlete (30.7 to 7.7 SPARQ percentile), but Bates has actual regular season experience (10 games).

Inside Linebackers (6)
Player (* - starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Terence Garvin	57	81%
Carlos Fields	44	63%
Martrell Spaight *	26	37%
Su'a Cravens *	13	19%
Will Compton	DNP	N/A
Mason Foster	DNP	N/A

• Terrance Garvin led all Washington inside linebackers with 57 snaps in this game and in the entire exhibition season with 164 snaps.  He totaled six total tackles (5 solo and 1 assisted) and a pass deflection against the Bucs.  His 15 total and ten solo tackles in the preseason both rank second on the team. 
  

• Carlos Fields chipped in with 8 total tackles in August (4 solo and 4 assisted), to go along with three solo special teams tackles (Garvin had 0).  However, Garvin has taken part in 38 more regular season games (43 to 5), has outproduced Fields on special teams in the regular season (33 total tackles to 3) and is ten months younger (both are 25).  Fields is, however, a better athlete than Garvin is and racked up all his stats this year on 60 fewer defensive snaps.
  

Cornerbacks (8)
Player (* - starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Kendall Fuller	55	79%
Lloyd Carrington	44	63%
Mariel Cooper	44	63%
Quinton Dunbar	26	37%
Deshaun Philips	13	19%
Bashaud Breeland	DNP	N/A
Josh Norman	DNP	N/A
Greg Toler	DNP	N/A

• Kendall Fuller led all Redskins cornerbacks in this game with 55 snaps and in the preseason with 173 snaps.  He actually led all Washington defenders in defensive snaps, came in second on the team in offensive or defensive snaps and had the most total snaps (offensive + defensive + special teams) of any player on the team (221). 
  

• Last year Martrell Spaight led the team in defensive and total snaps (136 and 182), so based on the way that Spaight is looking right now maybe that is a harbinger of good things to come for Fuller.  Fuller currently leads the NFL with six pass deflections.

Safeties (6)
Player (* - starter)	Snaps	Snap %
Deshazor Everett	67	96%
Geno Matias-Smith	44	63%
Duke Ihenacho *	26	37%
Will Blackmon *	3	4%
David Bruton	DNP	N/A
DeAngelo Hall	DNP	N/A

• Deshazor Everett led the game with eight total and six solo tackles.  He also led all players in the game with 67 defensive snaps and a whopping 90 total snaps.  His 123 defensive snaps through four exhibition games ranks second among the teams safeties and his 178 total snaps rank him near the top of the squad as well.  Everett leads the team with three specials tackles; a category that he ran away with in the 2015 regular season.  He tied for the team lead with two assisted ST tackles and had more solo teams tackles than the next best player on the Redskins in this department (9 to 5). 
  

• It also might be wise to hold onto the 24-year old Everett, because besides Duke Ihenacho (27) the other safeties projected to make the roster are all at least 29 years old.  Hall and Blackmon will actually turn 32 and 33 respectively this year.  And the second youngest of the bunch, Ihenacho, is slated to hit free agency in 2017.  Even if the Redskins keep Everett they will still have one of the very oldest safety corps on average, but it would be nice to add a little youth to the unit.  Everett is also a plus athlete and has the versatility to play corner like Hall and Blackmon.
  

• Even with all that being said, it could be difficult to fit him in.  The Redskins have only kept nine defensive backs in each of the two years under Jay Gruden.  Keeping Everett could very well mean that two of Deshaun Philips, Quinton Dunbar and Will Blackmon would be left on the outside looking in.

Special Teams

Thirty-four players received work on special teams against the Bucs over the course of 32 snaps.  Seventy-one players participated on this unit during the preseason.

The Redskins special teams saw 121 snaps of preseason work.  Between the offense, defense and special teams the team played 678 snaps this August.

Special Teamers (34)
Player	Snaps	Snap %
Carlos Fields	27	84%
Lynden Trail	24	75%
Geno Matias-Smith	24	75%
Mike Wakefield	24	75%
Deshazor Everett	23	72%
Lloyd Carrington	18	56%
Houston Bates	16	50%
Joe Kerridge	16	50%
Marcel Jensen	15	47%
Logan Paulsen	15	47%
Kendall Fuller	14	44%
Mariel Cooper	13	41%
Nick Sundberg	12	38%
Tress Way	12	38%
Rashad Ross	11	34%
Kendall Thompson	10	31%
Dustin Hopkins	9	28%
Maurice Harris	8	25%
Mack Brown	7	22%
Matt Ioannidis	7	22%
Robert Kelley	7	22%
T.J. Thorpe	7	22%
Terence Garvin	4	12%
Nila Kasitati	4	12%
Arie Koundijo	4	12%
Josh LeRibeus	4	12%
Austin Reiter	4	12%
Takoby Cofield	3	9%
Corey Crawford	3	9%
Jerrell Powe	3	9%
Su'a Cravens	1	3%
Anthony Lanier	1	3%
Ty Nsekhe	1	3%
Vinston Painter	1	3%

• Lynden Trail led the team with two solo special teams tackles against the Buccaneers.  He was tied for the second most teams snaps in the game.  Trail leads all Washington players with 72 ST snaps in the preseason (60%) and is tied for the team lead with three tackles. 
  

• He's tied with Carlos Fields who actually led the Redskins in specials snaps against Tampa Bay and ranks second on the team 62 snaps through four games.  Deshazor Everett also finishes with three tackles and sits third on the team with 55 snaps.  Houston Bates was fourth and fifth in tackles and snaps.
  

• Kendall Fuller and Quinton Dunbar led the way this August with three assisted tackles and two fumble recoveries respectively.  Bubble players Mike Wakefield, Anthony Lanier, Deshaun Philips, Logan Paulsen and Matt Ioannidis did not record a special teams stat in any of the four games.
  

• Tress Way finished the preseason with per punt and net averages of 49.6 and 43.4 yards.  Those numbers are better than both his career averages and seasonal bests.  Also, 11 of Way's punts ended up pinning opponents inside their 20 (including 5 against the Bucs).  His career high for punts inside the 20-yard line is 22.  Tress looks to be on his way to a career year and a potential Pro Bowl bid. 
  

• If only things would go so well for the punt return team.  The Redskins currently rank 29th in that statistic (3.8 yard average) after finishing 2015 in 31st place. 
  

*All statistics are courtesy of NFL.com, NFL Gamebooks, NFL GSIS, Pro Football Focus and Redskins.com*