Analyzing the Snap Counts in Bengals vs. Browns (Offense)

It's time to check out how many snaps the players on the Cleveland Browns played on offense in the team's 34-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns had 65 snaps on offense, which is higher than they've been averaging. They did have a spurt in which they went three-and-out on quite a few consecutive drives, but they "battled" (it's contagious) through it and made some big plays. Before you look at the snap count distributions, ask yourself the following two questions:

-Who ended up getting more snaps at running back: Trent Richardson or Montario Hardesty?
-In his return game, did tight end Alex Smith get more snaps than Jordan Cameron?

Check out the snap distributions below, and let us know what your reactions are in the comments section.

Offensive Line
Joe Thomas	Alex Mack	Shawn Lauvao	Mitchell Schwartz	John Greco
100% 65/65 plays	100% 65/65 plays	100% 65/65 plays	100% 65/65 plays	78% 51/65 plays
Jason Pinkston	Oniel Cousins
22% 14/65 plays	9% 6/65 plays

Thoughts: For the first time this season, the starting five did not play all 100 percent of the snaps. That was because left guard Jason Pinkston did not feel well upon waking up Sunday morning. He tried to play early, but the coaching staff eventually put John Greco in for the rest of the game. This was also the first time this season the team gave reps to Oniel Cousins, who I believe game in on goal line / short yardage type of packages. The offensive line surrendered two sacks and two quarterback hits. I guess that Bengals' defensive line isn't so elite after all, eh?

Running Back / Fullback
Montario Hardesty	Trent Richardson	Owen Marecic	Chris Ogbonnaya
46% 30/65 plays	42% 27/65 plays	35% 23/65 plays	14% 9/65 plays

Montario Hardesty: 15 carries, 56 yards, 3.7 average, 1 touchdown. 1 catch, 9 yards (1 target).
Trent Richardson: 14 carries, 37 yards, 2.6 average. 2 catches, 17 yards (3 targets).
Chris Ogbonnaya: 1 carry, 6 yards. 2 catches, 5 yards (2 targets).
Owen Marecic: 0 catches (2 targets).

Thoughts: Look -- Montario Hardesty is back from the grave! Some people have wondered why Hardesty was kept on the roster for five weeks without getting any reps. My logic was that if Trent Richardson suffered an injury, he would become the primary tailback, while Chris Ogbonnaya would maintain his role as the third-down back. Sure enough, that's what happened, and Hardesty delivered. Marecic also got a bit more work than he's been getting, but he still can't catch a pass during a game to save his life.

Wide Receiver
Greg Little	Josh Gordon	Josh Cooper	Joshua Cribbs
91% 59/65 plays	77% 50/65 plays	32% 21/65 plays	14% 9/65 plays

Josh Gordon: 3 catches, 99 yards, 1 touchdown (4 targets).
Josh Cooper: 2 catches, 39 yards (3 targets).
Greg Little: 3 catches, 18 yards (5 targets).
Joshua Cribbs: 0 catches (1 target). 1 carry, 8 yards.

Thoughts: This was the second straight week that the wide receivers delivered by not dropping passes. Josh Cooper's receptions came early in the game, and we'll see if he maintains the role as the slot receiver when Mohamed Massaquoi and Travis Benjamin come back. Josh Gordon scared me on one catch that he bobbled in the air, but he managed to snag it in before a defender could get to it. Greg Little is still working hard out there, delivering some devastating blocks to the opposing team. That work does not go unnoticed, and it makes me root for Little to keep pushing and turn this thing around.

Tight End
Benjamin Watson	Jordan Cameron	Alex Smith
88% 57/65 plays	48% 31/65 plays	5% 3/65 plays

Jordan Cameron: 2 catches, 38 yards (3 targets).
Benjamin Watson: 2 catches, 6 yards, 1 touchdown (5 targets).

Thoughts: I was pleased to see Jordan Cameron with more reps than Alex Smith. After Cameron stumbled on a third down late in the game, he got back up and made a big catch to set Cleveland up for another score. I wonder if Smith was just being eased back into the lineup, or if the coaching staff is now committed to declaring Cameron as the No. 2 tight end. Benjamin Watson had his first touchdown of the season.

Quarterback
Brandon Weeden
100% 65/65 plays

Brandon Weeden: 17-of-29 for 231 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception.

Thoughts: Week after week, we are seeing Brandon Weeden improve in many facets of the game. The next step, and I'm not sure if this is something he can correct or the offensive line needs to help him out with, is preventing the tipped passes. It led to Weeden's only interception of the game. Overall, it was another performance by Weeden that made me a happy camper.

History of Snap Counts on Offense:

-Week 1: Philadelphia vs. Cleveland
-Week 2: Cleveland vs. Cincinnati
-Week 3: Buffalo vs. Cleveland
-Week 4: Cleveland vs. Baltimore
-Week 5: Cleveland vs. New York Giants