We hear all the time about how important continuity is to winning football games. Having a familiar group of guys on offense and/or defense breeds confidence, they say, and it helps gain an edge on your opponent. But continuity isn't just about retaining any number of people on the team, it's more important to bring back the guys who play a lot. With that in mind, we decided to look into snap-based continuity.
In the tables below, you'll find each team's percentage of returning snaps on each side of the ball for each of the last three offseasons, using data compiled from the amazing Pro Football Focus, along with quick comments listing things we noticed about each team in the division.
For a quick guide, look at the table directly below this paragaph: You'll see that the Cowboys' offense returned 88.6 percent of its snaps in 2015 – the only players from last year's roster that aren't returning next season are Dwayne Harris (160 snaps), Jeremy Parnell (388), Tony Hills (5) and DeMarco Murray (800). Losing Murray is certainly big, but pretty much everyone else of note from the Dallas offense is back.
| NFC East Offense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| DAL | 70.6% | 90.9% | 88.6% |
| NYG | 74.5% | 49.0% | 86.5% |
| PHI | 55.4% | 80.4% | 70.0% |
| WAS | 96.7% | 85.2% | 82.2% |
| NFC East Defense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| DAL | 63.2% | 65.4% | 78.3% |
| NYG | 62.0% | 58.7% | 59.1% |
| PHI | 51.3% | 76.8% | 64.6% |
| WAS | 77.6% | 74.1% | 64.8% |
- The first, most noticeable thing here is the Cowboys' offense, which they've retained at very high levels the last two offseasons, despite the loss of DeMarco Murray. This is largely due to the health and staying power of their offensive, Tony Romo, Jason Witten and Dez Bryant.
- Next, take a look at the Eagles. While Chip Kelly has come under fire for his personnel moves, looking at them in a snap context based on what the Eagles did in previous season makes it look much more normal. Kelly turned over much of the roster in his first offseason (2013), retained much of the roster in his second offseason after winning the division (2014) and turned it over again in his third offseason after missing the playoffs (2015).
- New York's large snap overturn in the 2014 offseason was due to a reshuffling of both the offensive line and running back situation, as well as the exodus of Hakeem Nicks.
- Washington returned an amazing 96.7 percent of its offensive snaps after Robert Griffin III's marvelous rookie season, but that number has been steadily dropping since. The same is true on the other side of the ball. That's likely due to Washington's backslide from division winner to bottom-feeder.
| AFC East Offense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| BUF | 63.0% | 72.3% | 70.1% |
| MIA | 67.0% | 58.9% | 54.4% |
| NE | 64.3% | 85.6% | 80.1% |
| NYJ | 50.6% | 72.5% | 83.0% |
| AFC East Defense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| BUF | 61.1% | 61.7% | 81.5% |
| MIA | 66.6% | 73.0% | 63.5% |
| NE | 75.9% | 73.0% | 67.5% |
| NYJ | 60.5% | 84.6% | 83.8% |
- Buffalo has steadily retained a greater percentage of its snaps on both sides of the ball in each of the last three offseasons.
- Ryan Tannehill hasn't exactly had much contunity on his side of the ball – the Dolphins have retained a lower percentage of offensive snaps in each offseason of his career. Some of that is the offensive line overturn, but his receiving options have been shuffled a lot as well.
- The Partriots have a reputation for churning a ton of the roster, but their stalwarts like Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Devin McCourty, most of the offensive line, and until this offseason, Vince Wilfork, kept the snap continuity at pretty normal levels when compared to the rest of the league.
- The Jets have been acquiring offensive pieces each offseason, whether it's been on the offensive line or at the skill positions, but they've still yet to find a quarterback who can take advantage of the in-house options. Meanwhile, they largely kept the defense together the last two offseasons, really only turning over the defensive backfield this year.
| NFC North Offense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| CHI | 43.7% | 87.6% | 75.8% |
| DET | 63.1% | 82.6% | 74.5% |
| GB | 76.5% | 75.8% | 95.2% |
| MIN | 84.3% | 81.9% | 75.8% |
| NFC North Defense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| CHI | 69.5% | 52.9% | 71.2% |
| DET | 51.7% | 67.6% | 73.5% |
| GB | 81.5% | 72.5% | 74.9% |
| MIN | 84.9% | 56.7% | 93.6% |
- This is a division where you can very clearly see how coaching changes affected two of the teams.
- Chicago retained only 43.7 percent of its offensive snaps in the 2013 offensive, when Marc Trestman was hired. The Bears waited a year to overhaul their defense, retaining just 52.9 percent of the snaps from the awful unit in Trestman's first year. Ryan Pace was much more patient this offseason, keeping nearly three-quarters of the snaps on both sides of the ball.
- Detroit has steadily retained more of its defense year after year, even with the loss of Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley this offseason. The back seven of the elite Detroit defense is mostly still around.
- Green Bay, having re-signed Randall Cobb and Bryan Bulaga this offseason, is bringing back nearly every snap from last season's top offense. Jarrett Boykin was the only real player of note to leave.
- Minnesota had a lot of continuity in the final year of the Leslie Frazier era, followed by a defensive overhaul in Mike Zimmer's first offseason – the Vikes retained only 56.7 percent of their defensive snaps in 2014. That number took a huge jump this year, indicating that many of Zimmer's moves worked out.
| AFC North Offense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| BAL | 77.2% | 58.1% | 77.7% |
| CIN | 84.1% | 76.4% | 78.3% |
| CLE | 82.8% | 56.9% | 73.5% |
| PIT | 67.8% | 68.9% | 94.3% |
| AFC North Defense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| BAL | 54.3% | 68.1% | 75.2% |
| CIN | 80.9% | 83.4% | 87.0% |
| CLE | 62.4% | 73.8% | 75.7% |
| PIT | 66.0% | 76.4% | 63.5% |
- Baltimore sustained big losses on defense in the 2013 offseason as Ray Lewis and Ed Reed both left the team, but they've steadily worked their way back up to a unit with a whole lot of continuity over the last two years.
- Cincinnati's defense, meanwhile, has been one of the best in the league over the last few seasons, and they've done a good job retaining most of the key parts of that unit.
- The Browns... well, they're the Browns.
- Pittsburgh did a lot of churning through offensive parts in the 2013 and 2014 offseasons, but the 2014 season was possible the best of Ben Roethilisberger's career, and the Steelers ranked second in offensive DVOA, which led to a much higher rate of returning snaps in the 2015 offseason.
| NFC South Offense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| ATL | 72.8% | 69.9% | 71.7% |
| CAR | 90.0% | 59.1% | 73.4% |
| NO | 70.3% | 72.0% | 67.0% |
| TB | 90.5% | 34.9% | 75.3% |
| NFC South Defense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| ATL | 62.2% | 69.6% | 62.9% |
| CAR | 73.4% | 67.8% | 84.4% |
| NO | 68.9% | 83.9% | 71.7% |
| TB | 56.9% | 68.3% | 59.9% |
- The Falcons have been remarkably consistent with their offensive continuity, returning close to 70 percent of their snaps in each of the last three offseasons. While many thought new head coach Dan Quinn would clean house on defense, Atlanta's defensive snap retention isn't much different than the 2013 offseason.
- The Panthers haven't been very consistent with their snap retention, largely because of their massive salary cap issues. The 84.4 percent rate they posted on defense this offseason is the highest of any NFC South team in the last three years.
- New Orleans' shakeup this offseason doesn't look that much different than 2013, if you look at it on a snap-percentage basis, though obviously who the players are matters much more in this case (Jimmy Graham, Kenny Stills).
- Holy house-cleaning, Batman! Lovie Smith retained just 34.9 percent of Tampa Bay's offensive snaps in his first offseason with the Bucs. That's insane.
| AFC South Offense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| HOU | 84.4% | 71.1% | 75.4% |
| IND | 76.4% | 64.8% | 76.1% |
| JAX | 71.7% | 55.4% | 76.6% |
| TEN | 61.1% | 68.0% | 62.9% |
| AFC South Defense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| HOU | 65.6% | 59.2% | 69.2% |
| IND | 62.8% | 57.2% | 63.3% |
| JAX | 50.3% | 71.2% | 71.2% |
| TEN | 72.2% | 77.6% | 79.5% |
- Houston turned over a lot of its roster on both sides of the ball in Bill O'Brien's first offseason, but the defense definitely got the bigger overhaul, returning only 59.2 percent of snaps from the previous season.
- For a team that's been consistently good, the Colts sure have turned over their roster a lot, particularly on defense where the team has struggled relative to the success of Andrew Luck and the offense.
- Gus Bradley stripped the Jaguars' defense bare in the 2013 offseason, but has had a much higher retention rate in each of the last two years. He saved the offensive overhaul for the 2014 offseason, and again the snap retention rate jumped up this season. His team seems to be moving in a direction he likes.
- The Titans have churned their offensive snaps as much as any team in football. That may have something to do with not having found a quarterback just yet, but I guess they hope Marcus Mariota is it.
| NFC West Offense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| ARI | 51.5% | 54.1% | 67.3% |
| STL | 52.5% | 71.5% | 62.3% |
| SF | 84.6% | 78.3% | 58.7% |
| SEA | 86.0% | 70.1% | 78.7% |
| NFC West Defense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| ARI | 44.0% | 55.5% | 67.7% |
| STL | 73.6% | 86.9% | 94.4% |
| SF | 78.9% | 60.5% | 50.3% |
| SEA | 79.8% | 76.4% | 81.6% |
- How in the world Arizona was able to have such a good defense the last two years again after retraining only 44.0 and 55. percent of their snaps from the year before is simply unbelievable. Credit to Todd Bowles and his staff for cobbling things together.
- The Rams have retained more and more of their defense the last few years as players like Chris Long, Michael Brockers, Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald have become the foundation of the team.
- Watching the San Francisco exodus from right after their Super Bowl run until now is miraculous. Massive drops on both sides of the ball with every passing year.
- Seattle has retained a surprisingly high percentage of its defensive snaps the last few years given how many teams have raided their defense for parts like Brandon Browner, Chris Clemons, Clinton McDonald, Walter Thurmong and Byron Maxwell.
| AFC West Offense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| DEN | 79.6% | 75.3% | 58.5% |
| KC | 42.7% | 70.0% | % |
| OAK | 54.9% | 48.6% | 71.7% |
| SD | 58.9% | 79.2% | 74.2% |
| AFC West Defense |
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| DEN | 75.2% | 56.2% | 74.9% |
| KC | 64.2% | 67.0% | 83.1% |
| OAK | 28.3% | 38.4% | 57.2% |
| SD | 47.0% | 73.6% | 67.0% |
- Denver saw its defense get overhauled after being embarrassed in the Super Bowl by the Seahawks, but in the two other offseasons over the last three years, they've been remarkably consistent in their snap retention. This offseason saw an offensive overhaul with the hiring of Gary Kubiak and an exodus of offensive linemen and tight end Julius Thomas.
- Coaching changes are very obvious with the other three teams in the division, as well. Andy Reid barely kept any of the Chiefs' offense around when he took over during the 2013 offseason, and he went back to the drawing board again this year. Meanwhile, the Chiefs have steadily kept more and more defensive players in house.
- Reggie McKenzie's roster churn rate in Oakland is something to behold. The defensive numbers are particularly amazing.
- Mike McCoy took over the Chargers in the 2013 offseason and overhauled the entire team, but he's been much more consistent about keeping players around in the two offseasons since.