Green and Bold: Ty Montgomery Is Changing Packers' Offense

The Packers have one of the NFL's most coveted weapons in Ty Montgomery—a running back who can churn out yards after contact and also line up as a wide receiver to create matchup nightmares for opposing defenses. 

In his first full season as a running back, the Packers' Ty Montgomery is leading the team in rushing, with 46 carries for 152 yards.

However, through four games, Montgomery is also the team's No. 2 receiver, coming in just behind Randall Cobb, with 18 receptions for 129 yards. (For the record, Cobb has currently tallied 19 receptions for 189 yards.)

That last stat is more surprising than you might think. Sure, as a converted wide receiver, Montgomery was expected to lend his pass-catching prowess to the offense, certainly catching passes out of the backfield but also even occasionally lining up wide or in the slot. 

But to be catching this many passes? This is unexpected. 

If you take a look around the league after Week 4, a surprising seven NFL teams have running backs as their primary receivers (the Bills’ LeSean McCoy, Patriots’ James White, Browns’ Duke Johnson, Redskins’ Chris Thompson, Rams’ Todd Gurley, Bears’ Tarik Cohen, and Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey). These players aren't solely the recipients of quarterback dump-offs; these teams are scheming to get the ball in their hands. 

While the Packers don't quite fit the profile of those other teams—sure, Montgomery is a receiver by design on some plays, but he's also frequently simply a checkdown option for Aaron Rodgers—there's no question that Montgomery's unique skill set is causing the Packers to change the identity of their offense slightly. 

In 2016, the Packers were last in the league in receptions by a running back. 

This year, Montgomery's 18 receptions rank ninth in the league among running backs. He's 10th in receiving targets per game, with 10, and 13th in receiving yards, with 129.

The Packers offense has become faster. In 2016, Green Bay attempted 39.4 passes per game and averaged 6.9 yards per attempt. This season, the Packers are throwing the ball more—40.2 times per game—and averaging 6.5 yards per attempt. That yardage may be going down, but Rodgers is getting the ball out quicker—in 2.72 seconds compared to 2.87 seconds in 2016, according to NFL Next Gen Stats

But a lot of this is due to injuries along the offensive line. Without their preferred starting (or backup) tackles available, Mike McCarthy and Edgar Bennett's priority becomes getting the ball out of Rodgers' hands quickly. This is where Montgomery has come in. 

Could we go so far as to call these new-look Packers in 2017 a quick-strike offense? Andy Benoit of Sports Illustrated and The MMQB says not so fast. 

"Green Bay has a lot of exceptions to some rules, because they're so unique," Benoit told me. "Rodgers is such an unconventional quarterback that even if they did go to a quick strike offense—and I bet they would tell you, 'Yeah, we're a quick strike offense,' because that's kind of what they are on paper—they're not going to play quick strike, because Rodgers just isn't like that."

Benoit also noted that Green Bay just has so many weapons that "they'll come back to the mean" on running back receptions as the season goes on, unlike some of the other teams mentioned earlier, which are scheming their running backs into catches. 

Still, the numbers on Montgomery's usage through four games are surprising. It may have been necessitated by injuries along the offensive line, but Montgomery has proven more than capable of being a reliable receiver even as he lines up as the Packers' No. 1 running back.

In Week 5 and possibly beyond, however, the Packers may have to contemplate what life without their Swiss Army knife looks like. Montgomery confirmed that he suffered multiple broken ribs in the Packers' Week 4 game against the Chicago Bears, and even if he grits his teeth and takes the field in Week 5 (perhaps wearing a Kevlar vest), he won't have the same production. 

Green Bay's coaches also spoke about being conservative with Montgomery's usage this season to keep him fresh and effective for a playoff push. That certainly hasn't happened through the first quarter of the year; he led the league in snap count among running backs in Week 1 (74), was second in Week 2 (65), led again in Week 3 (65) and fell off in Week 4 only because he suffered the injury, all per Football Outsiders

That pace is not sustainable, and in some ways, the injury might be a blessing in disguise for Montgomery, as he can take the time to heal and rest. When he's ready to re-enter the lineup, however, the Packers offense will likely continue to look a little different this year as it tries to get the ball into what is quickly becoming one of its best player's hands. 

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Comments (14)

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croatpackfan's picture

October 04, 2017 at 06:17 am

NIce overview...

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NickPerry's picture

October 04, 2017 at 07:20 am

All this is very interesting but until the Packers get their starting tackles back it's tough to call the Packers Offense "Faster". Mostly from necessity has the ball come out faster this season, maybe a little self preservation on Rodgers part. Michelle's done an excellent job breaking it down for us, but I can't help but think those numbers are skewed a bit.

Get Bahkatiri and Bulaga back and I'd bet both the YPC and that 2.72 seconds both go up.

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RCPackerFan's picture

October 04, 2017 at 07:34 am

Also have to think the production of Bennett and Kendricks goes up as well... They are having to use them differently without the OT's playing.

The entire offense will look different when they get those guys back.

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RCPackerFan's picture

October 04, 2017 at 07:21 am

I love Montgomery and what he brings to the offense.

My biggest concern was the amount of snaps he was taking the first 3 games. He was on pace for 900+ snaps for the season, which was way to many.

With Williams and Jones able to take some of the workload off of Montgomery, IMO they should have taken away some of his snaps and given them to the rookies.

Now that Montgomery and Williams are hurt it looks like Jones will be the top RB. I think we will get to see why many of us are very high on him.
Jones is the closest to Montgomery as far as skill set among the rookies. They will be able to have him do a lot of the same types of things that Montgomery was able to do. I don't think we will see many difference with Jones in the offense compared to Montgomery.

Hopefully when Montgomery does come back, they will not feel that they have to play him as much as they were. I think will make him more productive. Also that will save him for later in the year if he isn't taking so many snaps. He is key player on offense, and we need him in January.

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Handsback's picture

October 04, 2017 at 07:22 am

Having Monty in the game changes what the defense does. That is a primary reason he stays in the game. He might not get a carry or pass thrown to him, but his presence makes the defense account for him. This week against the Cowboys you will see the difference he makes as I think Green Bay will struggle in this game. Monty has cracked ribs, I just don't see him playing. Jones can be Monty light and it might be enough to open up some of the quick middle routes. If the Packers can run with Rip, Jones and Mays it will also make it easy on Rodgers and that will depend on who comes back to play on that offensive line.

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HankScorpio's picture

October 04, 2017 at 08:05 am

It's all about the matchups. Montgomery is every bit the matchup nightmare that Darren Sproles was a few years back in NO, And more, since I think he is capable of handling more traditional RB duties better than Sproles.

Who does the defense allocate to cover the RB in a particular look? If it is a LB trying to cover a converted WR, that's advantage Packers all day and twice on Sunday. If they allocate a DB, they weaken themselves in coverage elsewhere. If the defense goes DB heavy, Montgomery is able run it.

The only issue is whether Montgomery can really hold up as a RB. RBs take such a pounding. He's gotten heavy touches so far this year and suffered broken ribs. Hopefully when he comes back they will have found another legit option to chew up some snaps without losing much effectiveness. Having that matchup nightmare available in January will be a nice card to play.

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dobber's picture

October 04, 2017 at 08:43 am

I always thought Montgomery reminded me of David Johnson from the Cardinals. Similar measurables, similar skill sets.

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Tundraboy's picture

October 04, 2017 at 08:26 am

Blessing in disguise is that now McCarthy is forced to play Jones and hopefully now Mays. Why not find out what we have earlier in the season then towards the end. Gets everyone some experience. It's all good.

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dobber's picture

October 04, 2017 at 08:37 am

Maybe against the Browns or the Bengals, but against NFC teams that they might be jockeying for playoff position with (and reliant on tiebreakers) like Dallas and Minnesota, I'd rather have the first string available.

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Tundraboy's picture

October 04, 2017 at 08:45 am

Understood. I just feel we have some diamonds in the rough that could help us even in the big games.

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dobber's picture

October 04, 2017 at 08:52 am

True. I'm curious about them, too.

OTOH, it could be that getting the OL healthy and putting Jones/Rip/Mays out there at RB will essentially create "unscouted looks" for Dallas to deal with. Montgomery was playing so many snaps and provided a different kind of skill set. Dallas has a lousy secondary, but has been decent rushing the passer.

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Tundraboy's picture

October 04, 2017 at 08:32 pm

OL healthy. Wouldn't that be great this week!

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RCPackerFan's picture

October 04, 2017 at 10:02 am

I agree Tundraboy.

The thing I keep going back to was in 2015 when we were forced to play Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis because our top guys were hurt. Had those guys played more earlier in the year, perhaps they would have been better in that game late in the year.

I like getting the younger backup players playing time throughout the year. That way when you need them late in the year, they aren't making the rookie mistakes.

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Tundraboy's picture

October 04, 2017 at 08:32 pm

Yup!

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