That appears to be what the local media wants to do.
The thinking goes something like this. Eddie Lacy has underperformed and/or is in the doghouse. James Starks deserves a role. And now rookie John Crockett is everyone’s favorite spark plug.
So are you ready to turn on the assembly line and put together an A-1 running back controversy?!
I bet you are!
It has been suggested that Lacy will now have to compete with Crockett for carries. And of course, the tired refrain of Lacy being fat and slow has also come up again.
We’re sure you know how exhausted we are of hearing that. And now this “controversy?”
Right up there with the dumbest things we’ve heard this season. And believe me, we’ve heard some downright top-shelf idiocy from the tools who cover the Packers, this year.
Let’s break this down in a little world I like to call reality.
James Starks is real nice backup. We know he’s been a starter at times for the Packers this season, but that doesn’t make him a No. 1 running back. If you were to ask any personnel man in the league that question — Is James Starks a No. 1 running back? — you’d get a “no” every time. You don’t have to look any further than the offseason of 2014 to find that out.
Starks entered free agency that offseason looking for a shot to start. He obviously wasn’t going to get that in Green Bay, so it would have had to come with another team. Starks never got that offer and ended up returning to the Packers on a two-year deal worth a little over $3 million. That’s total, not per season.
So argue all you want about how good Starks is, the rest of the NFL told him he wasn’t even good enough to compete for a starting job right there.
The problem with Starks is his production relies almost exclusively on big runs. When he has big games, such as he did against San Diego (10 carries, 112 yards), he ends up breaking off a 60-yard run or so. Those runs don’t come very often and, if you’re an NFL team, you don’t want to have to rely on them for your top back to have a good day.
What you want, is a guy who can gain yards after contact or make guys miss. An Adrian Peterson, a Todd Gurley, a Marshawn Lynch, an Eddie Lacy…
Oh, wait! We’ve got one of those!
We’ve been over this time and again. The evidence is irrefutable.
If you feed Lacy the ball, he performs. If you don’t, well, surprise! He doesn’t!
Four times this season, Lacy has gone over 80 yards rushing in a game. Guess what all of those games have in common.
Lacy has carried the ball at least 15 times.
Here they are:
- at Chicago: 19 for 85
- at San Francisco: 18 for 90
- at Minnesota: 22 for 100
- Chicago: 17 for 105
You probably know that two of those games came in the past three weeks.
And what happens when Lacy doesn’t handle at least 15 times? Why, if you said he doesn’t gain many yards, you’re right!
His game-high for rushing yards is 46 against Kansas City if you throw those four games above out. In that game, he only carried 10 times, but that was still a healthy 4.6 per.
So, I mean, really. This unoriginal “Eddie Lacy is fat,” shit?
Stuff it up your clenched assholes, media dickwads.
Was Ed too fat two weeks ago when he was blasting through the Bears for 105 yards and 6.2 per carry?
We get it.
The Packers had to make an example out of Lacy for missing curfew this past week. That’s why he wasn’t involved in the game plan and that’s why he only got four carries against the Lions.
But it’s a completely ignorant statement to say the guy didn’t perform when he was only handed the ball four times.
History tells us that Lacy needs more carries than that to make an impact. When he gets them, he does just that.
Now, as for Crockett, we really like the kid. We liked him in camp and you could see he brought a little spark to the offense, Thursday night.
But let’s not get carried away here.
Crockett is an undrafted rookie who couldn’t make the opening-day roster. He has five rushes and 22 NFL yards to his name.
He shouldn’t be taking away Ed’s touches. Neither should James Starks, for that matter.
Hopefully Big Mike feels he’s made his point and we can get back to business. With the passing game in the state it’s currently in, Eddie Lacy is the only thing that can carry this offense.
And therefore, the Packers will only go as far as they’re willing to let Ed take them.