The return of middle linebacker E.J. Henderson from a broken leg this season has meant that Ben Leber again is seeing his snaps cut when the Vikings go to their nickel defense. Strong-side linebacker Chad Greenway played every defensive snap Sunday against the Lions, so that means either Henderson or Leber usually came out.

Coach Brad Childress called it a rotation between Henderson and Leber but the numbers don't back that up. The Lions had 63 offensive plays and the Vikings were in nickel (by my count) for 38 of them. In those situations, Henderson played 29 snaps and Leber only 11. The total is 40 because there were two plays in the first quarter when the Vikings used a 3-3-5 alignment, with three down linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs.

But ordinarily when rookie cornerback Chris Cook checked in, Leber came out.

Asked about this, Leber said: "I think every player would like to play more if your snaps are getting limited. But I'm just happy to go out there, and maybe there's some of those times I wouldn't make the play if I didn't have fresh legs. There's a rhyme and reason for everything, and I think what we have going right now is working pretty well."

Leber had an interception in the fourth quarter -- his first regular-season pick since 2008 -- but that came with the Vikings in their base defense. Leber was in for only two of 15 nickel situations in the first half -- both coming in the 3-3-5 alignment -- and the only reason that number jumped to 11 was because Leber was in for all eight plays in nickel on the Lions' final drive. In the previous series, Henderson had been in for every nickel situation in a 12-play drive that featured 10 snaps with five defensive backs on the field. It's likely the coaching staff felt Leber would be less fatigued after Henderson's long stint. The interesting thing is that Leber is playing very well and with Greenway's development having him rotate out in nickel seems highly unlikely. The only thing the Vikings could consider during the bye week would be trying to have Henderson and Leber split more time. Because the Vikings are in nickel so much defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has found ways to get Leber into more of a rotation in previous season. While Henderson appears to be fully back when he's going against the run, there is no question teams are targeting him at times in the pass game. That was the case on Shaun Hill's 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tony Scheffler in the first quarter. Nonetheless, coach Brad Childress seems satisfied with how the linebackers are being used. "The snaps are about where we want to see them," he said.