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

It's time to take a look at how many snaps the players on the Cleveland Browns played on offense in the team's 41-27 loss to the New York Giants. Despite all of the points Cleveland scored, they only had 58 offensive snaps, their lowest total of the season. Before you look at the snap count distributions, ask yourself the following two questions:

-Did Chris Ogbonnaya play more often than he has the past few weeks?
-Who played more: Josh Gordon or Jordan Norwood?

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

Offensive Line
Joe Thomas	Jason Pinkston	Alex Mack	Shawn Lauvao	Mitchell Schwartz	John Greco
100% 58/58 plays	100% 58/58 plays	100% 58/58 plays	100% 58/58 plays	100% 58/58 plays	2% 1/58 plays

Thoughts: For the fifth week in a row, the Browns had seven offensive linemen active, and all of the starters played every snap. They did not surrender a single sack to the Giants' pass rush, and they seemed to excel in run blocking as well compared to the previous games. The Giants only had two quarterback hits all game. John Greco played one snap on offense.

Running Back / Fullback
Trent Richardson	Chris Ogbonnaya	Owen Marecic	Montario Hardesty
84% 49/58 plays	19% 11/58 plays	24% 14/58 plays	2% 1/58 plays

Trent Richardson: 17 carries, 81 yards, 4.8 average, 1 touchdown. 5 catches, 47 yards (7 targets).
Chris Ogbonnaya: 3 catches, 54 yards (4 targets).
Owen Marecic: No stats registered.
Montario Hardesty: No stats registered.

Thoughts: This was the highest percentage of snaps that Trent Richardson has played all season, and his previous high for snaps in a game was 48. Despite this fact, fans will still be irked by the big 3rd-and-1 call that resulted in a Brandon Weeden interception and changed the game. Without Richardson in the game, with how few carries Chris Ogbonnaya has had this year, and with how Ogbonnaya was lined up in the backfield on that play, the threat of a run was non-existant. Bummer. Montario Hardesty saw his only offensive snap of the season, which I assume came on the play where the Browns had a full house backfield (but I need to verify that).

Wide Receiver
Greg Little	Josh Gordon	Jordan Norwood	Joshua Cribbs
91% 53/58 plays	86% 50/58 plays	67% 39/58 plays	14% 8/58 plays

Jordan Norwood: 9 catches, 81 yards (9 targets). 1 carry, 1 yard.
Josh Gordon: 2 catches, 82 yards, 2 touchdowns (8 targets).
Greg Little: 0 catches (2 targets).
Joshua Cribbs: No stats registered.

Thoughts: I'm not sure what is more telling: the fact that Greg Little didn't have a catch, or the fact that he was only targeted twice by Brandon Weeden. I expected Joshua Cribbs to see a lot of reps like he was on pace to receive against the Ravens, but that wasn't the case. Instead, they handed the reigns over to Josh Gordon, who made the start and came away with two touchdown receptions. I wanted Jordan Norwood to be the slot guy all offseason, and look what happens when he gets the opportunity: 9 targets, 9 catches. Four of Norwood's catches went for first downs, and a couple of his other catches helped make it a 2nd-and-short situation.

Tight End
Benjamin Watson	Jordan Cameron
81% 47/58 plays	29% 17/58 plays

Jordan Cameron: 2 catches, 26 yards (2 targets).
Benjamin Watson: 1 catch, 1 yard (3 targets).

Thoughts: The tight ends are not being utilized nearly as much as I envisioned them being used heading into the season. Jordan Cameron had two catches, but wasn't targeted beyond that. Benjamin Watson was the target on Brandon Weeden's second interception, which I thought was a good playcall since he hadn't been thrown to very often up until that point. With a better throw, I think that's a touchdown.

Quarterback
Brandon Weeden
100% 58/58 plays

Brandon Weeden: 22-of-35 for 291 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions.

Thoughts: It was such a promising game for Brandon Weeden and the Browns' offense until he made the terrible decision on 3rd-and-1. Yes, maybe you attempt to make that throw when your team is losing late in the game and down by a couple possessions. When you are about to go up by two possessions, and even still have a chance to go for it on fourth down and short, you don't throw it. I still love what Weeden brings to the table for this offense, and in the end, I can only hope that all of these little mistakes add up in the experience column so that he doesn't do them again. When everything comes together, the payoff will be great.

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