GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Back in the 1990s when Mike Holmgren coached the Green Bay Packers, he used to wait until the end of the season or the playoffs to throw in starters or key players to return kicks and punts.
Current Packers coach Mike McCarthy didn't even wait that long.
The impetus for starting receiver Randall Cobb's return to punt-return duty was rookie Trevor Davis' fumble on Nov. 13 against Tennessee. Even though Davis owns the Packers' longest return of the season -- a 55-yard punt return against Atlanta on Oct. 30 -- the job is now Cobb's for the rest of the season and, if necessary, the playoffs.
"I've been lobbying for Randall [to return punts] the whole year," special teams coordinator Ron Zook said. "Obviously, I understand the importance of Randall and the offense. You've got to have him there. We're in a situation where we've got to go play. We've got to play our best guys, and Randall was obviously one of those guys. He can make some people miss, and make things happen."
That was on display against the Houston Texans this past Sunday, when Cobb had returns of 21 and 23 yards. His average of 13.5 yards per return would rank fourth in the NFL if had enough attempts to qualify, but he's only been doing the job full time for the past three games.
"We had talked about it earlier in the year and then I had my hamstring issue," Cobb said of the midseason injury that kept him out of the Atlanta game. "So it just got pushed back a little."
Cobb has three career returns for touchdowns -- two on punts and one on a kickoff -- but all came in his first two NFL seasons. In 2013, as he became a bigger player on offense, he passed off the return duties to others with only the occasional rep on special teams. When he signed his four-year, $40 million contract before the 2015 season, it seemed like Cobb's days as a returner were done for good. After returning 57 punts and 72 kickoffs in his first two seasons combined, he returned just two kickoffs and 21 punts in his next three seasons (including no kickoffs and four punts last season).
But much like Holmgren did with starting receivers Antonio Freeman and Robert Brooks during critical times, McCarthy has followed suit with the Packers (6-6) fighting for their playoff lives and in desperate need of playmakers wherever possible.
Cobb wasn't the only one to provide a spark in the return game. Ty Montgomery returned a kickoff 39 yards against the Texans that was close to going all the way.
"We need to do a better job blocking in the return game," McCarthy said. "We had a couple opportunities. We just have to sustain our blocks better and keep that play alive. Because Randall is going to break tackles and he's going to give us a chance for a big play. Really, two big opportunities in the return game. Both Ty and Randall, we had chances to go to the house."
Cobb hasn't had a 100-yard receiving game this season and hasn't had a big game since before his injury. He's been quiet since an 11-catch, 95-yard, one-touchdown game in Week 7 against the Bears. Although he's added two more touchdown catches since then, he has only 18 catches for 189 yards in the last five games combined.
"I'm glad to be back there and help the team in any way and find a way to get different touches and have an impact," Cobb said of handling punt returns. "Try to put us in the best field position we can whenever we get the ball on offense.
"It's just more opportunities and find a different way to get touches. Just trying to have an impact where I can for this team. They asked me to do it. We were going to do it a lot earlier, but due to my hamstring, we had to push it back a little bit. But just trying to put ourselves in the best position we can moving forward."