Packers Week Twelve Snap Counts Versus The Bears

A look at the Week 12 snap counts against the Bears. 

Let's take a look at this week's snap counts.  The Packers elevated two players from the practice squad, running back Mike Weber and linebacker Je'Von Harris.  They were elevated for depth since RB A.J. Dillon and ILB Krys Barnes are still on the covid list.  These elevations were covid elevations.    

Inactive Players Ervin, Jackson, Garvin, and Love. 
Active/DNP RB Mike Weber
 

The Packers elected not to have the maximum complement of players allowed.  There were only four inactive players.  The Packers save a bit of money by not elevating players, about $27,482 per player.   

 

Name Snaps % ST
Jenkins 71 100 6 - 24%
Turner 71 100 2 - 8%
Bakhtiari 69 97  
Patrick 58 82 4 - 16%
Runyan 50 70 6 -24%
Linsley 21 30  
Wagner 13 18 6 - 24%
Nijman 2 3 6 - 24%
       
Rodgers 69 97  
Boyle 2 3  
       
Adams 63 89 2 - 8%
MVS 56 79  
St. Brown 38 54  
Lazard 33 46 1 - 4%
Taylor 2 3 14 - 56%
Shepherd 2 3 4 - 16%
       
Tonyan 41 58 4 - 16%
Lewis 33 46  
Sternberger 16 23 5 - 20%
       
A. Jones 38 54  
J. Williams 33 46 7 - 28%
       
21 played Off.      

Corey Linsley was engaged with an opponent when two other players rolled into the back of Linsley's legs.  Linsley left the game and did not return.  The Packers opted to replace Linsley by moving Elgton Jenkins to center and inserting Jon Runyan at left guard.  I thought Runyan played better this week than last week.  In any event, the offense continued to hum at a high level.  Aaron Rodgers was not sacked and the Bears had no quarterback hits. 

The line opened up holes for the running backs.  Aaron Jones averaged 5.3 yards per carry while Jamaal Williams averaged 4.3 yards.  Williams once again picked up a first down on a third down and one play during the critical first drive.  That drive ended up with a twelve-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams.  The running backs combined for 163 rushing yards.  They had zero receiving yards.  The Packers rushed 39 times, including two scrambles by Rodgers and two kneel downs by Boyle.

The wide receivers gained 129 yards total for the game with 92 yards coming in the first half.  Valdes-Scantling did not receive a target despite playing 56 snaps.  Adams had a drop, which happens with him from time to time.  It was a very efficient performance overall and the wide receivers were no different, catching 13 of 17 targets for 2 touchdowns.  The identity of the top four receivers is very clear now from the snap counts.

The tight ends contributed nicely with Robert Tonyan leading the way.  He had 5 receptions on 5 targets, good for 67 yards and a 39-yard touchdown.  Marcedes Lewis chipped in with 2 receptions on 4 targets for 16 yards and a touchdown.  Jace Sternberger had one reception on one target for five yards.  His snap count is slowly sliding downwards.

 

Name Snaps % STs
Amos 68 100 2 - 8%
Alexander 68 100  
King 66 97  
Sullivan 64 94 13 - 52%
Greene 51 75% 17 - 68%
Savage 39 57 1 - 4%
Redmond 30 54 16 - 64%
Hollman 2 3 4 - 16%
Scott     12 - 48%
       
Kirksey 68 100 3 - 12%
Z. Smith 63 93  
P. Smith 45 66  
Gary 43 63  
Ramsey 9 13 17 - 68%
Martin 9 13 14 - 56%
Summers     19 - 76%
Burks 5 7 19 - 76%
Summers     19 - 76%
D. Harris     12 - 48%
       
Clark 44 65  
Lowry 30 44 9 - 36%
Keke 19 28 3 - 12%
Lancaster 17 25 9 - 36%
Winn 8 12 9 - 36%
23 played Def.      

Savage had two interceptions but did leave the game with an injury.  Although he returned, there are reports that the team will check out his back later this week.  Redmond played the snaps Savage missed.  Alexander, King, and Sullivan played almost every cornerback snap.  King had three passes defended while Alexander added one.

The Packers played just 1.73 true defensive linemen against the Bears.  Billy Winn had three tackles (1 solo) in his 8 snaps.  Clark and Lowry each contributed one assisted tackle.  Clark also had a hit on the quarterback.  Lowry's snap counts were down modestly from last week.  Keke and Lancaster played considerably fewer snaps.  It may be that with the big lead the Packers decided the team did not need a nose tackle, or true defensive linemen, on the field as much.

The Packers played 2.43 outside linebackers on average per play after playing 2.14 OLBs last week.  Preston Smith played roughly his usual percentage of snaps (down just a little), but Gary played more than he usually does.  It is too early to detect any trend here: Gary has played over 60% of snaps in previous games. 

Christian Kirksey played every snap.  He did not have a good game after playing pretty well last week.  Kamal Martin played just 9 snaps.  The Packers played just 1.13 inside linebackers on aveage per play.  Kirksey had 5 tackles (2 solo) with one pass defensed.  He also was called for pass interference in the end zone.  Martin had 2 tackles, both solo, and a sack.       

    

Name Snaps % ST
Crosby     13 -52%
Scott     8 - 32%
Bradley     8 - 32%

Crosby made five of six extra point attempts.  Scott punted twice for a 46.0 gross and net average.  One was inside the the twenty (a 42-yarder fair caught at the 18-yard line).  Both punts caused the returner fair catches.  Newly acquired Je'Von Harris played a lot of special teams snaps.  Raven Greene, despite his injury history, plays a lot of special teams.  Martin, Burks, Scott and Taylor each had one tackle on special teams.

 

 

 

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9 points
 

Comments (25)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Thegreatreynoldo's picture

November 30, 2020 at 07:45 am

I chose to use a photograph of Jenkins. Once again he displayed his versatility and the offense continued to hum.

I wonder if Pettine plans to play his "big three" OLBs together more often in the future. Maybe teams just immediately run at Winn whenever he is in the game. Either that or maybe Pettine knows when the opponent is likely to run the ball and only inserts Winn for those downs. IDK: all I know is Winn always has stats despite very limited snaps.

I will be interested to see if Barnes (when he is cleared to play) can wrest any snaps away from Kirksey.

As soon as the team identifies a player as important they tend to eliminate his ST duties. See Bob Tonyan. Not so for Raven Greene, which I find interesting. It may be that Greene is just too good at it to remove them from his duties? I note that neither ESB nor MVS ever plays any special teams.

5 points
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Coldworld's picture

November 30, 2020 at 08:52 am

Winn is a player we need more of and his stats back that up. Was fun watching Chicago have MVS in double coverage and then see what it opens for others. Tonyan and Lazard will really thrive if that continues. EQ finally looked like it’s starting to slow for him. King played really well at key points. Savage reminded us that he has such potential if it all clicks. The O line actually opened holes consistently. Williams played one of his best games on the ground getting hard yards.

I still have no faith that Pettine will give his D players the best chance to defend the run. In contrast, a very much better ST performance against Patterson. Scott too.

6 points
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Doug_In_Sandpoint's picture

November 30, 2020 at 09:29 am

“I chose to use a photograph of Jenkins.” Um...

1 points
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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

December 01, 2020 at 01:10 am

Oops! I guess you'll have to use your imagination!

0 points
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Turophile's picture

November 30, 2020 at 12:16 pm

Interesting point about relatively important players being removed from ST duties. This is true to some extent for all teams, but it's all a matter of degree.

Preston smith and Rashan Gary both got about two thirds of the available snaps and Gary looked far better than his box score, he seems to be rounding into the player the Packers hoped he would become. Winn is almost a polar opposite, not many snaps but has an effect for the few snaps he is in there. If you can affect the game with just a few snaps available, it will certainly help keep you on the team, once the season ends.

PS Elgton Jenkins is simply awesome in both the quality of his play and the versatility he brings. Anyone who griped about the Packers using a second round pick on him will be trying hard to forget what they once said.

0 points
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Lphill's picture

November 30, 2020 at 07:59 am

Interesting that the Bears were prone to run and again Pettine floods the field with defensive backs instead of linebackers and D lineman, on the big 60 yard run by Montgomery there were 2 D lineman in. Pettine was playing Trubiskey like he was Joe Montana .

0 points
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dobber's picture

November 30, 2020 at 08:41 am

The Bears run game really wasn't a threat for 2/3 of the game.

2 points
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Coldworld's picture

November 30, 2020 at 08:56 am

Although one would have expected that, the Bears really ran very little, with Trubisky throwing 40+ times.

Pettine was right to play DBs in this game ... I hope that was a reaction to Chicago, not his plan all along. Finding it hard to convince myself if that too. The D actually did a great job if you ignore the soft play late on. Chicago had perhaps the worst game plan for us that I recall. Pettine can’t expect that in future.

6 points
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Leatherhead's picture

November 30, 2020 at 01:08 pm

On that big run, watch Kamal.

0 points
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Guam's picture

November 30, 2020 at 08:07 am

I found it very interesting that Preston Smith played his best game of the year AFTER Gary started the game in Preston's OLB spot. Message delivered and heard. P. Smith has been put on notice that his lackadaisical play must stop and he must return to last year's effort level. It will be instructive to see how long the message lasts. I think his future with the Packers will depend on his response.

Gary continued to play pretty well and he needs more playing time. Not sure where to find it if P. Smith starts playing well again, but Gary needs to play.

If Linsley's injury is serious, has he played his last game with the Packers? The Packers seem very comfortable with Jenkins playing center and Runyon playing left guard and that could very well be the lineup for 2021. BTW, kudos to Leatherhead for predicting the Packers would play Jenkins at center in the absence of Linsley. I thought Patrick would move to center.

4 points
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dobber's picture

November 30, 2020 at 08:44 am

I think there's plenty of balance to be had for P. Smith and Gary if Gary lines up as a de facto DE. He seemed to be doing this a lot last night.

It will be interesting to see how the Packers deal with Smith this off-season...whether they keep him as-is, try to get him to take a pay cut, or cut him outright.

2 points
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Guam's picture

November 30, 2020 at 08:58 am

Yeah, I saw both Gary and Z line up inside a fair amount last night which is a good way to get three OLBs on the field when you have a big lead. I am not sure I want to see that configuration against Derrick Henry.

I think Gary's development and the 2021 salary cap issues may leave the Packers with little choice regarding Preston Smith. I doubt he will take a big enough pay cut to make a difference and the Packers can't afford to keep him as is. I would prefer the Packers keep P. Smith, but I just don't see a clear way to do so. Hopefully Gute is a lot better GM than I would be.

3 points
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dobber's picture

November 30, 2020 at 10:15 am

The recipe for Derrick Henry, IMO, is penetration and stopping him before he gets started. They like to pitch him out quite a bit, too, which makes it hard.

1 points
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Guam's picture

November 30, 2020 at 02:44 pm

Penetration might be hard to do with their good O-line. I hope Pettine plays a full 3-4 with three down D-linemen and keeps his OLB rotated and fresh to penetrate or chase. Make Tannehill beat us - he has had off games.

0 points
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Coldworld's picture

November 30, 2020 at 08:58 am

The use of the ILBs was different last night. A much better way of getting more from them and better run D/contain. Now, let’s see more Winn too

1 points
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Guam's picture

November 30, 2020 at 09:08 am

Winn is the great mystery for me. Every time he plays, he contributes. Yet if the other guys are all healthy, Winn is a scratch. I don't get it. I would be starting Winn in place of Lowery.

5 points
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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

December 01, 2020 at 01:32 am

I think Preston Smith needed to replicate his 2019 (or come close to it) to stay on the team due to the Covid Cap issue.

I don't think Gary usurped Preston's starting position. It looks like the 1.73 true DL average means Gary played perhaps 20 snaps as a de facto DE, perhaps more. I think Dobber below hit that on the head.

Preston only dropped into coverage twice per reports. And had his best game. Probably not a coincidence.

0 points
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dobber's picture

November 30, 2020 at 08:46 am

The snap counts for this week really seem to highlight the Packers' preferred player combos, perhaps more than in any past week. I'm surprised there weren't more defensive snaps late for some of the #2s (Summers, Hollman, etc.).

3 points
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Coldworld's picture

November 30, 2020 at 09:22 am

I’m thinking there would have been had one of the Chicago drives stalled in the 4th?

2 points
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Guam's picture

November 30, 2020 at 12:19 pm

I still wonder about the ILBs. Barnes was playing well before being relegated to the virus list and Kirksey was not very good last night. What happens when Barnes returns? Unless Kirksey improves over the last few games, I suspect he may be on the cut list after the season. A low paid UDFA who can play as well as an $8 million veteran becomes very attractive during a salary cap crunch.

4 points
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HankScorpio's picture

November 30, 2020 at 11:19 am

If the cap projections for 2021 are accurate, Kirksey is not the only one that might be looking for another contract.

1 points
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Ferrari-Driver's picture

November 30, 2020 at 09:19 am

Nice summary. Thanks

3 points
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JohnnyLogan's picture

November 30, 2020 at 10:02 am

Still not seeing all that from Gary, who is the only player I know who gets praised regularly around here for simply getting near a QB a few times a game. He doesn't affect the game much more than any average OLB on any team. How often have we seen him simply get by a tackle for a clean sack? Remember what Clay looked like?... chasing down QB's and crossing half the field to take down ballcarriers, multiple times a game? A terror. Do you get even the slightest feel that Gary will ever get to that level? After almost two years the #12 pick is just a guy you can play because you don't have anyone better, but not a difference-maker.

-3 points
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Since'61's picture

November 30, 2020 at 12:11 pm

It’s good to see that Gary is getting more snaps. He gets QB hurries on pass plays and he is enabling the Smiths to play more effectively.

We’re also a better defense when Raven Green is on the field although he missed a couple of tackles last night. Winn should also be getting more snaps. Our most effective DL is probably Clark, Keke and Winn. Those are the 3 that I would use against the run. Lowry and Lancaster can rotate in the spell them at specific times during the game.

Defense doesn’t need to be great. They just need to tackle better so that they can get off the field. Teams are throwing almost exclusively to King’s side of the field. The few passes towards Alexander were incomplete or broken up by him.

Hope we can get Ervin back soon. Thanks, Since ‘61

3 points
4
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flackcatcher's picture

November 30, 2020 at 10:16 pm

"The Packers played just 1.73 true defensive linemen against the Bears." Morning coffee went directly into my lungs when I read that. LOL man. (Kenny Clarke and 70% of whoever) Pettine has been juggling the D line all season trying to keep them fresh. One of the reasons we see more sub packages. Finding a way to pressure and cover the edge and gap did result in putting all three of OLB/hybrids on the field for most of this game. I don't know why, but Raven Greene is one of those players who makes everyone around him better. No surprise he is on special teams being the Packers best tackler. This looks like the Packers have settled on a roster for their playoff run with Gutes new signings. Thanks TGR.

2 points
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