New England Patriots snap counts analysis entering Week 2

Week 1 Patriots snap counts: Defensive line

Your Week 1 defensive line Patriots snap counts:

Jabaal Sheard – 44 snaps (72 percent)

Chris Long – 39 snaps (64 percent)

Alan Branch – 31 snaps (51 percent)

Malcom Brown – 30 snaps (49 percent)

Trey Flowers – 21 snaps (34 percent)

Vincent Valentine – 20 snaps (33 percent)

Anthony Johnson – 20 snaps (33 percent)

Not surprisingly, Sheard and Long were the iron men in Week 1. Branch, Brown, Valentine and Johnson split the interior work pretty evenly, making for a balanced and effective group of defensive tackles.

Against the Dolphins, expect Flowers to see more looks as the Patriots get a better idea of his pass rushing threat

Week 2 predictions

Sheard – 36 snaps

Flowers – 32 snaps

Brown – 30 snaps

Long – 26 snaps

Branch – 24 snaps

Valentine – 22 snaps

Johnson – 17 snaps

Next: Linebackers