Packers snap counts: Allison fills role as third wide receiver
With Randall Cobb injured and Ty Montgomery now a running back, it means the Green Bay Packers needed someone else to be the third wide receiver behind Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams.
Enter Geronimo Allison. The rookie wasn't even on the active roster until late October and had played in just 81 offensive snaps in his previous eight games.
But against Minnesota, Allison got 43 snaps (73 percent), his most on-field time since his first game with the Packers against Atlanta in Week 8.
With the increased playing time also came production. Entering the game, Allison had four receptions on nine targets for 44 yards. Against the Vikings, Allison was targeted seven times, doubling his season reception total with four catches -- each of which resulted in a first down -- for 66 yards.
Some other notes from Saturday's snap counts:
-- Ty Montgomery is the unquestioned lead running back for Green Bay now and he was in on 63 percent of the snaps vs. the Vikings. On those 37 plays he had nine carries and was targeted five times (with four receptions).
-- Brett Hundley was in for three snaps and now has 22 offensive snaps on the season. That's 12 more snaps than backup Scott Tolzien had last year. In 2014, Matt Flynn got 67 snaps while Graham Harrell had 32 in 2012 (Aaron Rodgers was injured for part of 2013, meaning backups were on the field more than usual).
-- Clay Matthews was back being more than a part-time player, getting in on 55 (71 percent) defensive snaps. After not producing much on the field the past couple of games, Matthews recorded three tackles with sack, three quarterback hurries, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.
-- Unlike Matthews, inside linebacker Blake Martinez's defensive playing time remains scarce. He had just 10 snaps on defense (13 percent). But Martinez did get a lot of time on special teams, recording 24 snaps (71 percent).
-- To no surprise, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix once again played every defensive snap.
Here's the complete offensive and defensive snap counts for Green Bay against Minnesota in Week 16:
GAME 15: VIKINGS (OFFENSE)
| PLAYER | Plays (59) | % |
| Taylor | 59 | 100% |
| Linsey | 59 | 100% |
| Lang | 59 | 100% |
| Bakhtiari | 56 | 95% |
| A. Rodgers | 56 | 95% |
| Nelson | 56 | 95% |
| Adams | 55 | 93% |
| Bulaga | 49 | 89% |
| Allison | 43 | 73% |
| Montgomery | 37 | 63% |
| Cook | 35 | 59% |
| R. Rodgers | 29 | 49% |
| Ripkowski | 14 | 24% |
| Spriggs | 14 | 24% |
| Michael | 14 | 24% |
| Janis | 7 | 12% |
| Barclay | 3 | 5% |
| Hundley | 3 | 5% |
| Kerridge | 1 | 2% |
GAME 15: VIKINGS (DEFENSE)
| PLAYER | Plays (78) | % |
| Rollins | 78 | 100% |
| Burnett | 78 | 100% |
| Clinton-Dix | 78 | 100% |
| Hyde | 71 | 91% |
| Thomas | 66 | 85% |
| Randall | 62 | 79% |
| Matthews | 55 | 71% |
| Jones | 51 | 65% |
| Daniels | 49 | 62% |
| Brice | 43 | 55% |
| Peppers | 42 | 54% |
| Ryan | 36 | 46% |
| Guion | 26 | 33% |
| Clark | 20 | 26% |
| Gunter | 19 | 24% |
| Lowry | 19 | 24% |
| Martinez | 10 | 13% |
| Fackrell | 9 | 12% |
| Ringo | 6 | 8% |
| Doreleant | 4 | 5% |
| Evans | 2 | 3% |
Dave Heller is the author of the upcoming book Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth's Shadow as well as Facing Ted Williams Players from the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns
