Jim Brown/USA Today Sports
Snap Judgments: Drawing Conclusions Based on Playing Time vs. Chargers
Jeffery Simmons is a freak of nature.
That is the only possible conclusion to draw after the Tennessee Titans’ top pick in the 2019 NFL Draft made his NFL debut in Sunday’s 23-20 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Eight months removed from reconstructive knee surgery and with exactly one week of practice, Simmons, a 6-foot-4, 305-pound defensive lineman, was on the field for 21 snaps, which was one-third of the defense’s total. Among Titans defensive linemen only Jurrell Casey (50 snaps) and DaQuan Jones (39 snaps) saw more action.
“I think that we wanted to try to keep it right where it was,” coach Mike Vrabel said Monday. “[We] would like to continue to look to increase that based on how he feels. The more that players can handle, the more we’ll try to give them.”
It was not just that Simmons played, however. It was when he played. And it was how well he played.
Simmons (pictured) was on the field for the game-saving goal line stand in the final minute. He stopped running back Melvin Gordon at the 1-yard line on the Chargers’ next-to-last play and then blew up the man in front of him on the next snap, which allowed linebacker Wesley Woodyard to get to Gordon and knock loose the ball, which Casey recovered to seal the victory.
Following review of the game film by the coaches, Simmons was credited with six tackles, one sack and two quarterback pressures.
“That was cool for him to play in his first game and be able to contribute the way he did and see some of the stuff that he had worked on while he was coming back from his rehab,” Vrabel said. “… I think you’re always excited to play with guys that give you a chance to win that can dominate, that are good at their position. I’m happy for Jeff (Jeffery Simmons), happy for the entire team.”
Other observations based on playing time against the Chargers:
• Filling in: Dennis Kelly played 56 snaps at right tackle after Jack Conklin sustained a thigh injury and Jamil Douglas played 49 at right guard after Nate Davis sustained a rib injury. Both played significantly early in the year. Kelly was the starter at left tackle for the first four games while Taylor Lewan served a suspension. Douglas started four games at right guard while Davis recovered from a training camp injury.
All that early work paid dividends as they were part of one of Tennessee’s better blocking efforts of the season.
“ (Kelly) and (Douglas) are heroes of the game,” Lewan said following the contest. “They stay there all week and when their number was called, they were there.”
• Division of labor: For the third consecutive game wide receivers Corey Davis, A.J. Brown and Adam Humphries all played more than 30 snaps.
In this case it was 48 for Davis (75 percent), 39 for Brown (61 percent) and 31 for Humphries (48 percent) and it was a situation in which more was more. Davis had his best game of the season with six catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. Brown set a career-high with six catches, which went for 64 yards and Humphries finished with four receptions for 40 yards, the second time this season he averaged at least 10 yards per reception.
• Age of specialization: As expected, inside linebacker Wesley Woodyard’s first start of the season meant a dramatic reduction in his special teams responsibilities. The 33-year-old Woodyard logged just three snaps in the kicking game but played 57 out of a possible 64 (89 percent) on defense as the replacement for injured starter Jayon Brown. He matched his season-high with seven tackles and made the play of the game when he forced the fumble at the goal line, on the Chargers’ final offensive play. It was his first forced fumble in more than four years.
• See the future: When the time comes that Delanie Walker no longer is the Titans’ best option at tight end, Jonnu Smith will be first in line to try to replace him. Walker got on the field for just five snaps against the Chargers before an ankle injury forced him to watch the rest of the contest from the sideline.
Smith ended up playing 53 snaps, which was all but 11 for the offense. That was more than the team’s other two tight ends – MyCole Pruitt (32 snaps) and Anthony Firkser (15 snaps) – combined. The third-year man took advantage of the opportunity with season-highs of three receptions and 64 receiving yards. His 35-yard reception was the Titans’ second-longest play of the contest.
