Green Bay Packers: Eddie Lacy considers Lambeau Leap
Green Bay Packers fans won’t like it, and when the news that former Packers running back Eddie Lacy said he was considering a Lambeau Leap if he scores a touchdown in his former haunt, Lambeau Field, my reaction was the same as everyone else.
The Packers simply have to keep him out of the end zone when the Packers host the Seahawks in both teams’ season opener Sunday afternoon.
Lacy, who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round (61st overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft, will return to Lambeau with another team because the Packers opted not to re-sign the stout running back this past spring after he ran through his first four seasons in Green Bay.
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Instead, Lacy found a new home with the Seahawks, the Packers’ first opponent of the 2017 season.
As a highly-popular and productive running back his first two seasons in Packers News, Lacy appeared to gain too much weight and was sluggish in his third season before getting injured early last season and finishing the year on injured reserve.
In his first two seasons, Lacy gained 2,317 yards on the ground over those first two seasons – yards he pounded out with shear will and momentum. Over his first two seasons he scored 20 touchdowns on the ground. He also caught 77 passes from Aaron Rodgers for another 684 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
However, Lacy’s fallout with the coaching staff began in 2015 when his total rush yardage fell to 758 and he scored just three times on the ground. He also caught only 20 passes that season. When the year concluded, head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed Lacy had some work to do to lose weight and come into camp in shape.
That appeared to have motivated Lacy last season as he went into the year on the fourth and final year of his rookie contract.
However, the injury bug hit after five games. Over the course of the first quarter of last year, Lacy carried 71 times for 360 yards (a 5.1-yard average). Lacy was always the type of player who got stronger as the season progressed so Packers fans and coaches were hoping for the best from the Alabama running back – but that was before he was injured and shelved for the remainder of the season.
Eddie Lacy’s career statistics, per profootballreference.com:
Nobody ever confused Lacy with runners like Adrian Peterson or Barry Sanders. Lacy’s style was four yards, a pile of dust and defenders bouncing off of him left and right. Indications are that his style isn’t about to change.
But with his return to Green Bay in the first game of this season, the storylines are thick and filled with words like revenge and retribution.
Lacy even stated in interviews this week that he is considering a Lambeau Leap if he scores a touchdown.
No, Eddie. Don’t do it.
Better yet … the Packers will have to do everything in their power to keep Lacy out of the end zone.
Next: No revenge for Eddie Lacy
Though it’s the first game of the year, the team that wins this one will have the upper hand when it comes to playoff football in January. This game could go a long way in determining final seeding for the tournament.
Not only do the Packers have to win the game, but they must contain Lacy and thwart his opportunity for a Lambeau Leap.