GREEN BAY, Wis. -- From day to day, sometimes even from practice drill to practice drill, a different running back has lined up with the Green Bay Packers' starters.

A week into training camp, it's nearly impossible to tell who falls where on the depth chart.

It's no knock against the two backs general manager Ted Thompson drafted in April, when he took Alabama's Eddie Lacy in the second round and UCLA's Johnathan Franklin in the fourth. Anyone who watched Lacy power through defenders during Thursday’s goal-line period or has seen Franklin's quickness slice through the secondary can tell they’re off to a strong start.

But it also would be wrong to discount returning veterans Alex Green and James Starks, who combined to start six games last season but struggled with productivity and injuries.

Rob Demovsky  wrote:

There are a number of things the Packers liked about RB Eddie Lacy coming out of Alabama, but his ability to run in short-yardage situations was one of the most appealing, especially given the number of times Mike McCarthy's running game has failed to get a yard when it needed it.

In practice on Thursday, a good portion of a drill late in practice was devoted to plays inside the 10-yard line and Lacy was given the ball numerous times to see what he could do.

There is no live tackling, so to say he would have gained the yards he did in a game isn't necessarily the truth. The defense was allowed to lower its shoulder pads and put a lick on him; it just couldn't tackle him to the ground.

Lacy, who is listed at 230 but might be 8 to 10 pounds heavier than that, took several handoffs from inside the 10 and bulled his way into the end zone practically every time.

"He's a big powerful guy," running backs coach Alex Van Pelt said. "The closer you get down in the red area, down near the goal line, the plus-10 and down inside the 10, you have a guy who can carry tacklers into the end zone with him.

jsonline  wrote:

the better Lacy does in short yardage situations the less likely Kuhn will stick.

Originally Posted by: wpr 

I still believe so much of that will depend on the pass protection that Lacy can provide. Haven't heard a whole lot on that front, and I won't believe any of it until I see some real defenders trying to destroy Rodgers. Still a correct statement though, the better that Lacy proves in short yardage, it makes the margin of a roster spot that much narrower. In the end I can see Kuhn eating a TE roster spot if we keep an entire stable of RBs and go with 6 WRs. Wish I could be a fly on the wall in the coaches offices. I'll sign an NDA Uncle Ted, I promise I won't share.

Originally Posted by: Tezzy 

the better Lacy does in short yardage situations the less likely Kuhn will stick.

Originally Posted by: wpr 

I still believe so much of that will depend on the pass protection that Lacy can provide. Haven't heard a whole lot on that front, and I won't believe any of it until I see some real defenders trying to destroy Rodgers. Still a correct statement though, the better that Lacy proves in short yardage, it makes the margin of a roster spot that much narrower. In the end I can see Kuhn eating a TE roster spot if we keep an entire stable of RBs and go with 6 WRs. Wish I could be a fly on the wall in the coaches offices. I'll sign an NDA Uncle Ted, I promise I won't share.

Originally Posted by: Tezzy 

I will be very surprised if John Kuhn makes the team. I want a real blocking fullback that can pancake linebackers and catch a screen pass. Why Vontae Leech was ever let go is beyond me.

Originally Posted by: DakotaT