Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy has been severely under-utilized at times this season.
The loss in Buffalo is a perfect example. Aaron Rodgers was playing like garbage, while Lacy was averaging 6.5 yards per carry. He looked unstoppable and yet, Mike McCarthy only saw fit to let him carry the ball 15 times.
Also a perfect example of Buffoon being Buffoon, as far as we were concerned. That loss cost the Packers the No. 1 seed in the NFC for all intents and purposes.
We’ve been pondering a possibility for the last couple days though. Perhaps Buffoon isn’t so buffoonish after all. Perhaps he was just saving Lacy. Saving him up for some games in January, where he would fully unleash the bruising tailback.
Lacy didn’t have a game with more than 20 carries this season until week 12. That was one of only three all year. As you’ve probably guessed, Lacy carried the ball less in 2014 than he did in 2013. Thirty eight fewer times to be exact.
Lacy has also said he’s fresher right now than he was at this time last year, when he entered the playoffs nursing an injured ankle.
Is that by design? Maybe, maybe not.
Obviously, the Packers were forced to rely on Lacy last season because Rodgers missed numerous games because of a broken collarbone. With Rodgers healthy, Lacy’s carries were probably bound to decrease this season, whether by design or coincidence.
The fact remains that the Packers have a battering ram of a running back that’s both healthy and tailor-made for playoff football. The question is, will they use him appropriately?
We’re talking 20-plus carries a game.
History would seem to dictate they will. The last time the Packers were successful in the playoffs, James Starks played a major role, rushing for 315 yards during the team’s 2010 Super Bowl run. Starks, who was a rookie at the time, didn’t even start a game until the playoffs. He had just 29 carries in the regular season. However, that Starks does have one characteristic in common with Lacy this year.
Fresh legs.
Time to ride Eddie, if you ask us. In fact, that’s the only way we can see the Packers with a chance of getting by Seattle.
We’ll soon see if McCarthy agrees.