Welcome to the Week 2 edition of Snaps, Pace, & Stats, where we examine trends in snap totals and no-huddle usage. It is meant to be a 30,000-foot view of upcoming games, with the goal of identifying which matchups will – and which will not – be played on fertile fantasy soil.
The week is top-heavy in terms of high-volume games. Nobody needs to be told the Patriots–Saints or Packers–Falcons are juicy games to attack for fantasy, just as it should be obvious why the Texans–Bengals and Browns–Ravens matchups are less attractive. The middle, however, is where DFS differentiation will take place, and will be a more useful area for us to focus on.
Up in pace
Rank | Week 1 Snaps | 2016 Snaps/Game | Opponent Wk 1 Snaps | 2016 Opp Snaps/Gm |
1 | Green Bay (74) | New Orleans (69.1) | Kansas City (74) | San Francisco (68.9) |
2 | New England (74) | Arizona (67.9) | Seattle (74) | Miami (68.0) |
3 | Buffalo (72) | Philadelphia (67.5) | N.Y. Jets (72) | Denver (67.3) |
4 | Dallas (71) | Baltimore (67.4) | N.Y. Giants (71) | Cleveland (66.7) |
5 | DET / HOU (69) | Houston (66.9) | ARZ / JAX (69) | Kansas City (66.4) |
Detroit Lions at New York Giants
Let’s begin at the end, with a Monday night matchup between two teams known for their unusual tempo, if not exactly prolific offenses. Last season, the Giants ran the most no-huddle, while the Lions finished third after on-again/off-again hurry-up usage (more on this below in No-Huddle Notes). Detroit is coming off of a 69-play, 49-percent no-huddle opener in which their offense again appeared potent, scoring their most points in a full year. If they stick with that approach, instead of the Cowboys-esque brand of keep-away they used for most of last year, the matchup will yield useful play volume.
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