Colts Week 12 Snap Counts vs. Titans

Another week, another second-half meltdown leading to a loss. The Indianapolis Colts are now 0-2 against the Tennessee Titans this year. They controlled the first half of both games and got boxed out in the second half of each. This one ended 20-16.

• Running back Frank Gore out-paced rookie Marlon Mack by a huge margin, unlike any other time this season. A big factor was Mack’s awful second-half fumble recovered inside the Colts’ own 5-yard line.
• I wanted to make sure that the Colts were going to keep Chester Rogers solidified into the WR3 role this week after his big game in Week 10. Kamar Aiken was previously the WR3 but missed Week 10 with a hamstring injury. He hadn’t done much all year, and Rogers went for over 100 yards in his absence. Rogers is now clearly the WR3 over Aiken.
• Rookie undrafted free agent Kyle Kalis was inactive after starting the previous couple weeks at right guard, and Joe Haeg took his place on Sunday. Denzelle Good started in Haeg’s right tackle spot. Good was brought in for nine snaps last week after spending the previous 10 weeks on Injured Reserve, and is now unlikely to relinquish his spot.
• Starting center Ryan Kelly suffered a concussion and was replaced by Mike Person in the second half. Kelly did not return.
• The Colts have been using three tight ends all year, but with TE3 Darrell Daniels (hamstring) out this week and Erik Swoope not yet ready to return, the Colts would’ve needed to rely on Jason Vander Laan. The Colts elected to play just two tight ends on Sunday — Jack Doyle and Brandon Williams. Vander Laan did see significant time on special teams, however.
• Overall, 15 players saw offensive snaps.

• Safety Clayton Geathers is back. He got a sack on his first play, but it was called back by a defensive holding penalty. 10 total snaps is a good start to get him worked into the lineup.
• Top cornerback Rashaan Melvin suffered a hand injury during an interception and was replaced by Kenny Moore. Melvin did not return.
• Likely due to injuries along the defensive line, starting defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins has been seeing a significant amount of defensive snaps in recent weeks. Earlier in the season, he, Henry Anderson and Al Woods had been rotating out more frequently.
• I made a point this week that I wanted to follow the playing time of some of the younger defenders through the rest of the year. If the coaches are going to play these guys more, it likely won’t be until the last couple of weeks when things are officially over. Tarell Basham (16%) and Grover Stewart (29%) saw their normal meager amount of snaps, with Anthony Walker still not sniffing the field on defense.
• Rookie cornerback (and second-round pick) Quincy Wilson was made inactive again. The most recent statement from the coaching staff about him was that he was as healthy as he’s been since going through knee issues starting in Week 2. Was this a healthy scratch? If so, it looks bad because it’s the second time they’ve made him a healthy scratch and Melvin has gone down. It could also be a flare-up of the knee issue, in which they should just shelve him for the year.
• Overall, 20 players saw defensive snaps.

*Snap counts via NFL official game book.