St. Louis Rams vs. Washington: Snap Counts, Playing Time And Personnel Analysis

Offense

The Stedman Bailey bump was huge; Steddy played just 31.67% of snaps in Week 1 compared to three-quarters of the snaps yesterday.

Tre Mason's return split time between he and Benny Cunningham, though you have to wonder how obviously things were being telegraphed between the two. Despite 28 plays for Mason to Cunningham's 22, Mason had seven rushes to just one for Cunningham. That means 21 of Benny's plays were passes...

And Cory Harkey's time got halved as well. The game got away from the running strategy, but this was still something I didn't expect.

Defense

It's hard not to point to the Rams' lack of 4-3 usage as a reason Washington came out eager to attack with the run. Even though Akeem Ayers' usage tripled to counter the run and LaMarcus Joyner's PT halved, it clearly wasn't sufficient.

Trumaine Johnson's ability to play a full game adjusted things as well for Joyner and CB Marcus Roberson.

Special Teams

You can see why Daren Bates is so crucial to this team. It's oversimplifying, but the Tyler Lockette punt return in Week 1 vs. the clean coverage (and that's probably understating it -- they were damn good) in Week 2 isn't entirely attributable to Bates...but it's not unrelated.

Shout out to the 2015 UDFAs in Cameron Lynch, Bryce Hager and Bradley Marquez. I was a Lynch and Marquez fan, but Hager's certainly earned his stripes.

Something important to look ahead for, and for your Saturday TSTers to keep in mind: Isaiah Pead. He's in his contract year, and there's just no way he's around in the offseason in four months. Who fills in for him in special teams? Do the Rams need another running back? Even if the answer's no, we all realize Jeff Fisher is going to spend a pick in the first three rounds on one, right? You thought Jeff Fisher might not be around next year? What are these "standards" you have and how do they apply?

Drop your snap counts reactions in the comments.