Rookie from Dallas stepping up to fill void for Packers
The Green Bay Packers didn’t draft Ty Montgomery to be a starting receiver this season. Injuries, though, changed their plans and sped up his development. The Dallas St. Mark’s product has started the past two games, playing 133 of 135 offensive snaps.
“The year’s been going by pretty fast,” Montgomery said in a phone interview. “Things definitely happened a lot faster than I thought they would. I’m thankful I’ve had the mentality to just stay prepared since Day One.”
After leading receiver Jordy Nelson tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the preseason, Green Bay’s Super Bowl odds fell from 9-2 to 6-1. But six weeks into the season, the Packers have returned to the role of favorite with 3-1 odds.
Everyone has discovered what the Packers knew all along: Their backup receivers were good enough.
But we knew in-house that we had guys who were willing and able to step up and fill in in that role or whatever role it may be. So we weren’t really too worried.
Packers receiver Ty Montgomery on dealing with injuries
“Yeah, when you see something like that, it sucks,” Montgomery said of Nelson’s injury. “In my opinion, you can’t blame people on the outside for thinking what they were thinking when he went down, because he was a huge contributor to the team. He was a veteran leader. But we knew in-house that we had guys who were willing and able to step up and fill in in that role or whatever role it may be. So we weren’t really too worried.”
Still, Montgomery didn’t see much action the first two weeks. He played one snap in Week 1 and 25 of 69 in Week 2. His biggest contribution the first two weeks came in the return game, with four kickoff returns for 125 yards.
His first return — a 41-yarder — matched the Packers’ longest in 2014, when they ranked 31st in the league. He later had a 46-yarder.
But a left ankle injury to Davante Adams meant an increased offensive role for Montgomery, who has nine catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns the past three games and 13 catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns this season.
“The biggest adjustment has just been getting used to the multiple coverages that defenses use,” Montgomery said. “The defenses weren’t as complicated in college as they are in the league, just with the mix-up of coverages and the pressures that they bring and the way the defensive backs play.”
Montgomery caught 172 passes for 2,125 yards and 15 touchdowns in his four-year career at Stanford, including earning All-America honors in 2013 with 61 receptions for 958 yards and 10 scores. But 16 drops and three fumbles in his past three seasons and a 9.9 yards-per-catch average in 2014 dropped his stock on draft day.
The Packers took him in the third round with thoughts of using him as a full-time returner.
“I’ll say that I had confidence in myself, and I thought I could have went higher — should have went higher — than the third round, but based on what I was hearing I didn’t really expect to go any higher,” Montgomery said. “I’m not complaining. Being in Green Bay is a blessing.”
He gets to play with Aaron Rodgers, the two-time league MVP. What could be better?
“I don’t think you can get any better than that,” Montgomery said. “I’m blessed. Learning from him and being able to play with him, you just can’t ask for anything better coming in as a rookie.”
Daniel honored
Chase Daniel couldn’t attend his induction into Southlake Carroll’s Hall of Honor on Oct. 9, but the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback was humbled by the honor.
“It means a lot,” Daniel said in a phone interview. “Obviously, everyone in the NFL got their start in high school. With our program and [former] coach Todd Dodge and the program that they still run today, it prepared me so well to make the jump to college and then to the NFL. Obviously, that part of it plays a very special role in my heart.”
Daniel, whose parents pulled out his No. 4 jerseys and stood in for him during the parade and then halftime, passed for 8,298 yards and 91 touchdowns and went 31-1 as a two-year starter at quarterback for the Dragons. He already has a spot in Missouri’s Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame, having passed for 12,515 yards and 101 touchdowns as a three-year starter for the Tigers.
Now in his sixth NFL season, Daniel has lasted far longer than many thought he would as a 6-foot quarterback. He began his career as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Redskins, who cut him out of training camp in 2009.
But Daniel has not gotten an opportunity to put up the big numbers he did in high school and college.
He backed up Drew Brees in New Orleans for three seasons and is in his third season backing up Alex Smith in Kansas City.
…I definitely feel like I’m ready to be a starter in this league. I feel like I can do it for all 16 games. But that’s not where I am right now, and it’s not really up to me. It’s up to the big man upstairs, and that’s how we’ve always gone about it.
Chiefs backup quarterback Chase Daniel
Daniel has appeared in 53 games, but mostly as a holder. He is 1-1 in his career as a starter, getting his first win last season against the San Diego Chargers.
In his career, Daniel has completed 48 of 75 passes for 460 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
“First and foremost, I knew what I was sort of signing up for here in Kansas City [in 2013],” Daniel said. “They made it very clear to me when I first came here that this is Alex’s job. The job for a backup quarterback is to be ready at any given time no matter the situation, and that’s what I try to do.
“…I definitely feel like I’m ready to be a starter in this league. I feel like I can do it for all 16 games. But that’s not where I am right now, and it’s not really up to me. It’s up to the big man upstairs, and that’s how we’ve always gone about it.”
Daniel ranks as one of the highest-paid backups in the league, with a $3.75 million base salary and a $4.8 million cap hit this season. Daniel’s average of $3.33 million per season ranks him 33rd among all quarterbacks, with only four backups, including Robert Griffin III, making more.
Daniel becomes an unrestricted free agent in the off-season.
Charean Williams: 817-390-7760, @NFLCharean
My five cents
1. Now that Tyrod Taylor is banged up, the Bills are taking heat for trading backup quarterback Matt Cassel to Dallas for a swap of 2017 picks. Bills coach Rex Ryan defended the decision, expressing faith in former first-round pick E.J. Manuel.
2. Former TCU offensive lineman Marcus Cannon became part of the mix to replace Patriots left tackle Nate Solder, who tore his right biceps. The Patriots could move Sebastian Vollmer from right tackle to the left side or they could have Cannon at left tackle, which they did for 40 plays against the Cowboys after Solder went out.
3. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who signed a six-year, $114 million deal in the off-season, bristled at a report that he wore gym shoes to the Thursday practice before the Dolphins’ game in London on Oct. 4. When asked last week whether the gym shoes were a protest toward coaches, Suh replied that “a lot of people can’t handle the truth.” Miami fired coach Joe Philbin after the loss to the Jets.
4. Jay Cutler has drawn his share of criticism, but he has led the Bears to back-to-back fourth-quarter comebacks. He completed 54 of 88 passes for 533 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in victories over the Raiders and the Chiefs. Could this be a new Jay Cutler? Probably not, but only time will tell.
5. Adam Vinatieri will become the next specialist to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Vinatieri played 10 seasons with New England, helping the Patriots to three Super Bowl titles. He now is in his 10th season with the Colts, winning another Super Bowl. Vinatieri became the first player in NFL history to kick 200 field goals with two franchises and the first player in NFL history to score 1,000 points with two franchises.
Who’s hot
Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell has gained at least 100 yards from scrimmage in 16 of his past 19 games. That is the most of any running back since the beginning of the 2014 season, topping DeMarco Murray (14) and Matt Forte (13).
Who’s not
Bucs receiver Mike Evans missed the season opener with a hamstring strain and played 38 of 62 plays in Week 2 with no targets and no catches. In the past three games, the former Texas A&M star has 30 targets, 13 receptions for 174 yards and no touchdowns.
2016 NFL Draft
Dane Brugler of CBS Sports and NFLDraftScout.com gives his top 10 senior interior offensive linemen and top-five draft-eligible underclassmen at the position for the 2016 draft:
Senior interior OLs
1. G Vadal Alexander, LSU, 6-5, 326
2. G Cody Whitehair, Kansas State, 6-4, 309
3. C Max Tuerk, USC, 6-6, 285
4. G Spencer Drango, Baylor, 6-6, 310
5. G Christian Westerman, Arizona State, 6-3, 302
6. G Rees Odhiambo, Boise State, 6-4, 305
7. C Nick Martin, Notre Dame, 6-4, 295
8. C Jack Allen, Michigan State, 6-2, 298
9. G Landon Turner, North Carolina, 6-3, 325
10. C Mike Matthews, Texas A&M, 6-2, 290
Draft-eligible underclassmen
1. G Pat Elflein, Ohio State, 6-3, 300
2. G Greg Pyke, Georgia, 6-5, 313
3. C Dan Voltz, Wisconsin, 6-3, 312
4. G Ethan Pocic, LSU, 6-6, 302
5. C Isaac Seumalo, Oregon State, 6-4, 310
Numbers game
244: Rushing yards by the Lions this season, putting them on pace for the lowest total (784) in a 16-game season. The 2000 Chargers set the record for fewest rushing yards in a 16-game season with 1,062.
Blitz
Running back Jamaal Charles, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee, has accounted for 30.9 percent of the Chiefs’ offense since 2012.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has thrown three pick-sixes in five games.
The Buccaneers have allowed 148 points through five games, most in the NFL.
The Patriots have scored 148 points this season, only one point fewer than they scored in the first four games of the 2007 season, when they set the NFL record with 589 points.
The Cardinals have only eight sacks this season.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers needs 186 passing yards to reach 30,000 for his career. He ranks No. 2 on the team’s all-time list with 29,814 passing yards in his 11th season. Brett Favre finished with 61,655 in his 16 seasons in Green Bay.
The Ravens have lost four games by an average of 4.25 points. Baltimore had a second-half lead in each of those games.
Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has 100-yard rushing games in only four of his past nine games dating to 2013. Both of his 100-yard games this season came at home.
The 49ers have allowed a combined 20 points in their two home games.
J.J. Watt leads the Texans with four sacks. He needs one more to pass Richard Dent (61.5) for the most sacks in the first five seasons.
Information from The Sports Xchange was used in this report.
This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Rookie from Dallas stepping up to fill void for Packers."