The performance of Eddie Lacy as a Seattle Seahawk is both a matter of curiosity to Green Bay Packers fans and an important factor in whether the Packers or Seahawks will prevail on September 10.
The numbers on Lacy to date in the preseason: 10 rushes for 30 yards, and one catch for three yards. Since his first rush for nine yards, his next nine carries have produced 21 yards.
Is this meaningful? Could be. Coach Pete Carroll is on record as saying he’s fine with Lacy weighing in at 245 pounds or so. My prior analysis strongly suggests that 230 would be the maximum desired weight for Lacy’s 5’10 ½” frame.
Lacy appeared to be carrying about 245 pounds on Saturday, though his waistline was trimmer than during his last two years in Green Bay. He didn’t show any ability to change direction, he seemed slow, and he has yet to display the power he showed with the Packers. Lacy also continues to tend to slant off whenever the intended hole does not open up, rendering him totally ineffective.
While the Packers offensive line players during Lacy’s time in Green Bay were known to be better pass protectors than run blockers, Lacy still had a vastly better blocking crew in Green Bay than he has in Seattle – and that was before the year-ending injury to left tackle George Fant.
There’s another relevant aspect to this topic. Upon Marshawn Lynch’s departure after the 2015 season, the Seahawks thought they were set at running back with Thomas Rawls, who went undrafted in 2015. When healthy, here’s what Rawls did prior to breaking his ankle on December 13 of his rookie year: 830 rushing yards on 147 carries, a 5.6 average; established the team records single game rushing yards by a rookie (209); and rushed for 711 yards in his first six games.
In 2016, he fractured his fibula in the season’s second game. He returned for the final seven games, but was not near full capacity. However, in the postseason he almost single-handedly dismantled the Lions, gaining 161 yards on 27 carries – a team postseason record.
Rawls was once again sidelined on Saturday, but only with a minor ankle sprain. The talk in Seattle is that Lacy will, at most, split snaps with the flashier incumbent.
It could be that Seattle will often line up with both runners in the backfield. Other than that, however, my bet is that Rawls will start ahead of Lacy at Lambeau in three weeks.