Who's Counting? When It Comes to Play Time, the Titans

There was a limit to how much A.J. Brown could play Sunday at Jacksonville, and the same could be true for others Monday against Buffalo.

NASHVILLE – It’s midway through the fourth quarter on Monday night at Nissan Stadium. The Tennessee Titans trail Buffalo and need a big play.

Offensive coordinator Todd Downing calls for a deep pass to A.J. Brown, only to realize that … oops, sorry, Brown has reached his snap-count limit for the game. Move on to the next option.

Could that nightmare scenario ever materialize for Brown, or for any other Titans player for that matter?

“To this point, I haven’t experienced that,” Downing said. “I hope I don’t get that, `Hey, he’s reached his max and (he’s) out.’ No ATM overdraft fees.”

Still, the fact that Brown admittedly was on a “snap count” last Sunday against Jacksonville – his first game back after a hamstring sidelined him in Week 4 – raises some interesting questions, especially since veteran stars Julio Jones and Bud Dupree may soon be following a similar path when they return from injuries.

How, for instance, does the Titans’ coaching staff determine just how many snaps a player will play when he’s only available on a limited basis? How do they determine which specific plays the player plays and those that he sits out? Is it a hard and fast number of snaps that the player is allowed, or is there some wiggle room involved?

And there’s this important one, especially as it pertains to a highly talented player like Brown: How hard is it for a coach or coordinator to restrain himself from overstepping the prescribed number of snaps, possibly risking injury to a returning player?

“I’d say the hardest part for me is I’m so excited to see him out there,” Downing said. “We love him being out there, just his energy and certainly his talent. So, you want him out there for a bunch of stuff.

“So as you’re laying out the plays, you’re saying, `We really want him on this play,’ or `We really want him on this play.’ All of a sudden, that list can grow to be quite large. I think that’s a delicate balance.”

That balancing act last week began days prior to the game in Jacksonville when it became clear Brown would be healthy enough to return. He’d sat out the previous game at the Jets after having watched most of the contest before that – against the Colts – with the hamstring strain.

But when to use Brown and when to sit him, knowing he wasn’t deemed ready for a full game’s workload?

“You obviously want your best players in a game when there’s a chance he could get the football,” Titans wide receivers coach Rob Moore said. “And (Downing) does a pretty good job of trying to forecast what play is going to come up next.

“So, you kind of make a decision on whether it’s a play you think it’s worth him being in the game for. Because you don’t want him on the backside of a run, using up a play he’s not really going to have an impact on. So, you try to put him in situations where he could have the most impact. Try to forecast that – sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t.”

In the end, Brown wound up playing 41 snaps against the Jaguars, which was 64 percent of the offense’s total for the day.

It represented a clear step back from Brown’s two other complete games this season. He played 52 snaps (81 percent) in Week 1 and 74 snaps (84 percent) in Week 2

That’s not to say everything went smoothly. Brown finished the Jacksonville game with three catches for 38 yards, sounding frustrated with the snap limit afterward, though at the same time noting he was not yet completely healthy. Moore, meanwhile, noted that Brown didn’t necessarily comply with every request to leave the field.

“There were a couple of times, to my dismay, (Brown) shook me off and stayed in there,” Moore said with a smile. “So, he did have a few of those once in a while. But for the most part, he was pretty good about coming in and out as we asked him.”

The Titans maintained a comfortable lead for most of the second half against the Jaguars, meaning they didn’t have to worry about potentially giving Brown more snaps than his recovering hamstring could handle.

It’s unclear whether he will still be on a snap count this week against Buffalo. But before Titans fans start worrying about Brown running up a snap count too early in the AFC showdown, understand this: Limited snap counts are not set in concrete. A little fudging – if necessary – would probably be fine if the Titans are in dire need.

“I think that you can adjust (the snap count) in game based on how guys are feeling and all those things,” Downing said. “I don’t think you really go in saying, `Alright, there’s this hard cap and we can’t go past.’ I think you kind of deal with the ebbs and flows of the game. That’s a group decision.

“It certainly starts with coach [Mike] Vrabel and then with coach Moore and myself. We kind of figure it out along the way.”