The rookie receiver out-snapped the team’s returning veteran receivers and tied one in targets. The Green Bay Packers  certainly appear to have found some gems in the fifth rounds of the last two NFL Drafts. Last year, the Packers selected running back Aaron Jones  from UTEP, while this year they picked up wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling  from South Florida.
On Sunday, both players had huge plays in the second half against the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams , as they each scored touchdowns that combined to give the Packers a lead early in the fourth quarter. Jones scored on a delayed handoff up the middle, bursting through the center of the Rams’ defense for a 33-yard touchdown; a few minutes later, MVS shook cornerback Troy Hill  and sprinted down field for a 40-yard score that put the Packers ahead.
Both players have earned significant snaps in different ways. .For MVS, it has been steady contributions over the last few weeks with veteran receivers out, leading to him getting the second-most snaps of any player in the receiver room. Meanwhile Jones has been the most consistent and explosive runner on the team and he finally forced the coaching staff to make him the featured runner (or as featured as one can be in the Packers’ offense).
Here’s a look at how playing time broke down for the Packers on Sunday.
OFFENSE (52 plays)
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers  52
Rodgers  had another solid day throwing the football, and thanks to a few big plays his yards per attempt number was over nine for the second game in a row and the third time this season. He’s now up to 8.0 on the season after averaging about seven over the last three years combined. His 18 completions were a season-low and his 30 attempts tied the low on the year (with week one), but he still managed a passer rating over 100 and is now at 100.4 for the year.
Of course, the storyline for Rodgers coming out of this game will be that he was robbed of a chance to win the game late. We’ll get to that in just a second.
Running Backs
Aaron Jones  32, Jamaal Williams  13, Ty Montgomery  6
Finally — FINALLY! — Mike McCarthy turned the keys to the running game over to Aaron Jones, who responded with both his biggest performance of the year and the longest single rush of the season for the team. Jones had 12 carries for 86 yards and a score, while none of the other backs had more than four carries. Williams  added an early goal-line touchdown but
The one quibble with how the Packers deployed their backs came on the safety, when McCarthy lined Jones up in the backfield without a lead blocker. It was a maddening playcall, and was an example of a lack of situational awareness when deciding which running back to put on the field — Williams is much more suited to running through a stacked line and picking up a tough couple of yards than Jones.
Of course, Montgomery ’s special teams play will be the big story of the game, and rightfully so. He averaged just 22.7 yards per return on kickoffs on the day and 21.0 on the year, but decided to go against his coaches’ explicit instructions to take a knee and ran the ball out of the end zone. One fumble later, the game was all but over.
Wide Receivers
Davante Adams  40, Marquez Valdes-Scantling  31, Geronimo Allison  30, Randall Cobb  24, Equanimeous St. Brown  6
Are we seeing a changing of the guard already at wideout? Valdes-Scantling had the second-most snaps of the receivers, despite Allison ’s and Cobb ’s returns from injury. and although Cobb had more receptions than the rookie (four to two), MVS had the same number of targets (five) and put up a 40-yard touchdown. Allison, meanwhile, only had a single target for a 14-yard reception, while St Brown had bigger production (two targets, two catches, 31 yards) on just six snaps.
Meanwhile, Adams  continued his blistering pace thanks to a pair of receptions for 40-plus. He finished the day with five catches on seven targets for 133 yards, burning Marcus Peters  on both of his big plays.
Tight Ends
Jimmy Graham  46, Lance Kendricks  17, Marcedes Lewis  12, Robert Tonyan  3
It was a quiet day for Graham , who caught just one of his four targets. That pass nearly went for a touchdown, however, as it was reversed upon video review when it became clear that he hit the ground just before crossing the goal line. Tonyan  recorded the only other target among the tight ends, but the Packers did roll through a handful of snaps in 12 personnel.
Offensive Linemen
David Bakhtiari  52, Lane Taylor  52, Corey Linsley  52, Byron Bell  52, Bryan Bulaga  52
Thankfully, the starting line remained intact once again against a stout Rams front. Aaron Donald  did record a pair of sacks of Rodgers, both on third downs; the first set up Mason Crosby ’s 53-yard field goal, while the second completed the Packers’ three-and-out midway through the fourth quarter with the team up by one point.
DEFENSE (78 plays)
First, let’s note the difference in snap counts between the offense and defense. All told, the Rams led in time of possession by about eight minutes, and had the ball for 9:34 in the second quarter and a whopping 10:33 in the fourth. Green Bay actually did reasonably well when starting at the 25 or beyond, but when they were closer than that they never gained more than 21 yards. That led to breakdowns for the defense towards the middle and end of the game, as they were forced to be on the field for sustained drives throughout much of that period.
Defensive Linemen
Kenny Clark  63, Mike Daniels  49, Dean Lowry  38, Tyler Lancaster  8, Montravius Adams  5
Clark continued his heavy workload, and he also kept up his pass rushing productivity with a pair of sacks, bringing him to four on the season. Once again Daniels showed up only modestly on the stat sheet, with three total tackles, but he was consistently disruptive and in the backfield. Lowry  provided a stout presence for much of the game as well, picking up two solo tackles.
Outside Linebackers
Clay Matthews  53, Nick Perry  40, Reggie Gilbert  34, Kyler Fackrell  28
This was probably Matthews ’ best game of the season; he picked up seven solo tackles and was credited with one sack of Jared Goff  and another hit on the quarterback. Fackrell  had the unit’s other sack, on an impressive speed rush around All-Pro left tackle Andrew Whitworth. Perry  and Gilbert  each recorded four total tackles — Gilbert having two for losses and a hit on the quarterback to boot.
All told, the front performed very well against an excellent Rams offensive line, with four sacks coming from the line or outside linebackers and a fifth from an inside backer.
Inside Linebackers
Blake Martinez  78, Oren Burks  8
The Packers lined up largely in a Nitro front, with Blake Martinez  and Jermaine Whitehead  typically playing together as the inside linebackers. Martinez looked energized and active early on, and he finished the game with 12 total tackles and a sack on a perfectly-timed blitz. Burks ’ bigger impact came on special teams, where he picked up a pair of tackles in addition to one on defense.
Safeties
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix  78, Jermaine Whitehead  75, Kentrell Brice  65
As mentioned above, Whitehead  played linebacker for much of the game, but did take some snaps at safety over Brice  when Burks was in at linebacker. He totaled six tackles (one for loss). Clinton-Dix  had four solo tackles and Brice had a tackle and a pass breakup.
Cornerbacks
Jaire Alexander  78, Tramon Williams  78, Kevin King  76, Josh Jackson  3
Looking back at the game plan, it’s now clear why Bashaud Breeland  was a healthy scratch: the Packers game-planned to use Alexander , King , and Williams as their three corners on every snap. Alexander was a menace in coverage all day, however, breaking up a ridiculous five passes in the game while adding seven solo tackles.
The coaches rotated the three corners through different positions with regularity, however, with Williams getting some of his first action in the slot all year and even playing a little bit of a deep rover position on occasion .He finished with two tackles, while King had a pair plus a pass breakup.


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Continue Reading @ [url=https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/by-the-numbers/2018/10/29/18037594/packers-week-8-snap-counts-aaron-jones-finally-gets-his-snaps-is-mvs-the-new-wr2]Evan "Tex" Western 

Evan "Tex" Western wrote: