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Raiders week 9 snap counts vs 49ers: Young safeties back to the bench because reasons

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NFL: Indianapolis Colts at Oakland Raiders Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Early in the season, the shuffling going on in the secondary was a little odd, but somewhat understandable. They were trying to see what worked and what didn’t and if anyone would step up and take the starting job. Thus far at the safety positions no one has.

We don’t yet know what WILL work at the safety spot, but we do know what will NOT work. Reggie Nelson and Marcus Gilchrist have NOT worked. Those two are also the elder statesmen of the group, so with a clear long term rebuild happening, the only answer is to go with the young unproven safeties, Erik Harris and Karl Joseph.

Paul Guenther went with a different answer.

A week after Reggie Nelson wasn’t even active on game day, and Gilchrist was clearly the worst player on the field, the two of them trotted out once again as the team’s starters and played the majority of the snaps at safety.

Meanwhile Harris played 25 snaps (45%) and Joseph 13 (24%).

No one is saying Harris and Joseph have earned the starting jobs, but if either or both of them are going to be able to showcase themselves and show they are deserving of a shot at being the long term answer, they can’t be up and down each week and getting limited snaps.

Jon Gruden said after last Sunday’s loss to the Colts that the Raiders are trying to put the best players on the field, not just put players out there for evaluation or to “audition” them. The players on the field aren’t giving them any better chance to win, and quite possibly are hurting the team.

This team isn’t winning. Not even close most weeks. The defense is a travesty. Not only are Nelson and Gilchrist part of that, but it’s past time to shift into evaluation mode and put in players hungry to carve out a career. Not guys who are clearly giving up because hope in winning is lost.

Week 9 snap counts

. . Offense . Defense . Special Tms .
. . Offense . Defense . Special Tms .
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct Num Pct
Gabe Jackson G 57 100% 0 0% 2 7%
Rodney Hudson C 57 100% 0 0% 0 0%
Brandon LaFell WR 53 93% 0 0% 0 0%
Kelechi Osemele G 47 82% 0 0% 2 7%
Derek Carr QB 47 82% 0 0% 0 0%
Jordy Nelson WR 43 75% 0 0% 0 0%
Brandon Parker T 41 72% 0 0% 2 7%
Jared Cook TE 34 60% 0 0% 0 0%
Seth Roberts WR 32 56% 0 0% 0 0%
Ian Silberman G 30 53% 0 0% 2 7%
Jon Feliciano G 28 49% 0 0% 2 7%
Doug Martin RB 26 46% 0 0% 0 0%
Kolton Miller T 25 44% 0 0% 0 0%
Jalen Richard RB 22 39% 0 0% 0 0%
Lee Smith TE 21 37% 0 0% 15 56%
Martavis Bryant WR 21 37% 0 0% 0 0%
Derek Carrier TE 12 21% 0 0% 20 74%
Keith Smith FB 10 18% 0 0% 17 63%
DeAndre Washington RB 10 18% 0 0% 7 26%
A.J. McCarron QB 10 18% 0 0% 0 0%
Dwayne Harris WR 1 2% 0 0% 18 67%
Tahir Whitehead LB 0 0% 55 100% 7 26%
Gareon Conley CB 0 0% 53 96% 8 30%
Marcus Gilchrist FS 0 0% 40 73% 9 33%
Johnathan Hankins DT 0 0% 40 73% 7 26%
Daryl Worley CB 0 0% 39 71% 7 26%
Maurice Hurst DT 0 0% 36 65% 0 0%
Frostee Rucker DE 0 0% 35 64% 2 7%
Clinton McDonald DT 0 0% 34 62% 7 26%
P.J. Hall DT 0 0% 34 62% 0 0%
Emmanuel Lamur LB 0 0% 32 58% 10 37%
Marquel Lee LB 0 0% 31 56% 25 93%
Reggie Nelson FS 0 0% 29 53% 3 11%
Erik Harris SS 0 0% 25 45% 25 93%
Leon Hall CB 0 0% 23 42% 0 0%
Arden Key DE 0 0% 21 38% 7 26%
Nick Nelson CB 0 0% 15 27% 13 48%
Fadol Brown DE 0 0% 15 27% 6 22%
Jason Cabinda LB 0 0% 15 27% 1 4%
Karl Joseph SS 0 0% 13 24% 9 33%
Nicholas Morrow LB 0 0% 9 16% 18 67%
Bruce Irvin DE 0 0% 9 16% 0 0%
Kyle Wilber LB 0 0% 2 4% 25 93%
Johnny Townsend P 0 0% 0 0% 8 30%
Trent Sieg LS 0 0% 0 0% 8 30%
Daniel Carlson K 0 0% 0 0% 4 15%