No snaps for Witherspoon in loss to Vikings

Here are a few snap-count tidbits of interest from the Titans’ 30-7 loss to Minnesota on Sunday:

• Middle linebacker Colin McCarthy, who hadn’t played since the first week of the season, was on the field for 60 of 69 defensive snaps. He left the contest in the fourth quarter in hopes of making sure his ankle will be in good enough condition to play Thursday against Pittsburgh.

• McCarthy’s return had the biggest impact on Will Witherspoon, who wasn’t on the field for a single defensive snap. At the start of the season, Witherspoon was one of the team’s three starting linebackers, and he played 25 snaps (at middle linebacker) as recently as the Houston game. But his old starting spot at weakside linebacker has been taken by rookie Zach Brown, who was on the field for 38 snaps against the Vikings.

• Wide receiver Kenny Britt returned after a one-week absence, but was clearly still affected by his ankle injury. Britt was on the field for 28 of the Titans’ 71 offensive snaps. He was thrown to five times and had just two catches – one coming on the game’s last play.

• Tight end Jared Cook, still recovering from a shoulder injury, was on the field for 43 of the 71 offensive plays. But he was apparently wearing the cloak of invisibility for the first three quarters, as Matt Hasselbeck did not throw a single pass in his direction. The Titans re-discovered Cook in the final quarter, targeting him eight times. He caught five for 37 yards and a touchdown.

• On the defensive line, rookie tackle Mike Martin saw double the snaps of Karl Klug for the second straight week. Martin was on the field for 31 snaps yesterday, compared to 16 for Klug. The numbers were similar against Houston, as Martin got 23 snaps compared to 12 for Klug. The likely explanation there is that both the Texans and Vikings have good running games, and the Titans seem to use Klug almost exclusively in passing situations.

Source: Titans Insider