MintBaconDrivel
11 years ago

GREEN BAY — As pleased as Mike McCarthy was with the production he got from running backs Eddie Lacy and James Starks on Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers coach would have preferred to have done a better job balancing out the carries.

Lacy carried 29 times for 94 yards and a touchdown in the Packers' 44-31 victory over the Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome, while Starks had seven carries for 57 yards, including a 25-yard TD.

"You can sit here and draw the stuff up on a napkin and you'd probably want to balance it out a little more," McCarthy said during his usual day-after-the-game press briefing Monday evening. "But at the end of the day, you're in the game. Eddie was in a groove so we stayed the way we did and obviously it worked out well."

For the season, Lacy has carried 112 times for 446 yards, and his 112 carries rank 13th in the NFL. Considering Lacy has essentially played only five games — he suffered a concussion in Week 2 on his first carry against Washington on Sept. 15 and sat out the Packers' Sept. 22 loss at Cincinnati, then the Packers had a bye — that's a lot of carries for a guy who never had more than 20 attempts in a single game in college.

Over the past four games, during which Lacy has rushed for 395 yards, he had 23 carries against Detroit on Oct. 6, 23 carries at Baltimore on Oct. 13, 22 carries against Cleveland on Oct. 20 and 29 carries Sunday night. The 29 carries were the most by an individual Packers running back since Ryan Grant carried 31 times (for 105 yards) against Indianapolis on Oct. 19, 2008.

Last week, running backs coach Alex Van Pelt acknowledged that the coaches want to be careful with Lacy's workload but that it's hard to take him off the field because of his ability.

"Obviously, it's something that we keep an eye on over the course of the season," Van Pelt said. "Do I think he can carry it 20, 25 times a game? Yeah. But is it healthy and the best for the team? Maybe, maybe not. It puts him at risk of wearing down late in the season when we're going to need him."

For the game, Lacy played 62 of the Packers' 76 offensive snaps while Starks, who had been sidelined with a knee injury suffered against the Bengals, played only 11.

"When James got his opportunity, I thought he jumped in there and made an impact," McCarthy said. "He was running hard, downhill, not wasting any steps. He had good reads. That's why the attempts and things like that, you look at it week to week. I would have liked to have James Starks get a few more carries."

Jason Wilde  wrote:


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nerdmann
11 years ago
Lacy's better than Starks.

I love Starks, don't get me wrong. But as always, this team shows favoritism towards veterans.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
Dulak
11 years ago

Lacy's better than Starks.

I love Starks, don't get me wrong. But as always, this team shows favoritism towards veterans.

Originally Posted by: nerdmann 



I do agree; although I remember when starks came in during out SB run ... late in the season and helped us win. Seeing him shine again like he did that year. I certainly dont mind him taking some carries; so far like him a bit better then franklin.

Zero2Cool
11 years ago
Lacy makes Starks look quick and fast and elusive.

If Starks could stay healthy, I'd go Starks, no question.
UserPostedImage
steveishere
11 years ago
Starks has definitely done enough to earn some more carries this year. No reason to wear out Lacy when we've got another guy who can get it done too.
nerdmann
11 years ago

I do agree; although I remember when starks came in during out SB run ... late in the season and helped us win. Seeing him shine again like he did that year. I certainly dont mind him taking some carries; so far like him a bit better then franklin.

Originally Posted by: Dulak 



Franklin=Tony Dorsett.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
DarkaneRules
11 years ago
This is also a little bit about snap count and preservation for the play offs. You run the horse but spelling him every now and then should not be an issue especially if Starks shows he can continue to be effective, which I think barring injury he can be.
Circular Arguments: They are a heck of an annoyance
PackFanWithTwins
11 years ago
Its hard to say either it better than the other, they are different. I have concerns over health with Starks that I don't have with Lacy. But that could all be behind Starks now also.

What I do like is while they are different, they both can be productive without having to change the offense. Inside runs, outside runs, screens and checkdowns. The entire playbook is open for either. Which keeps us from being predictable
The world needs ditch diggers too Danny!!!
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