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After 4 games, we are still waiting to see the same runner from his rookie year, but so far, he seems to have regressed.  He looks hesitant and indecisive.  Whereas last year he would only occasionally hesitate or shift before picking his route, this year he does it almost every time, sometimes shifting twice or even three times before moving forward (the problem of course being, by that time the whole defense is converging on him).  The proverbial and dreaded "dancing."

 

Against the Bears, Starks did not get a carry.  Someone in the chat room suggested maybe the coaching staff thought Lacy needed reps to get his groove back.  I agreed at the time, but I don't think it worked.  I guess I'm getting concerned.  His problems seem mental, the hardest kind to fix. 

 

I've been looking without success for an article I read in the off-season, wherein Eddie said something along the lines of, he wanted to change his running style a bit to become "shiftier."  That he would still be a battering ram, but he would be even better with these new "moves."  As soon as I read that, I went, "uh oh."  My mind went back to none other than John Brockington (!) who, after 3 consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons, spent an entire off-season watching O.J. Simpson (!) footage and came into camp saying something similar, then proceeded to suck the rest of his career.  (Let's be clear here : Lacy is Not Brockington , and there will be no LILB.)  I just really hope Eddie's not trying to be something he's not, because that will never work.

 

Obviously the blocking is less than stellar, but it was just as bad, if not worse, last year, and he still would manage to get positive yardage.  And when Starks came in against the Lions, he averaged like 5 yards a carry.

 

So what do you think is going on here? 

Last edited by Pistol GB
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http://blogs.discovermagazine....ilemma/#.VCnwvhZ4WSo

 

"In short, pigeons succeed because they don’t over-think the problem. It’s telling that among humans, it’s the youngest students who do best at this puzzle. Eighth graders are actually more likely to work out the benefits of switching than older and supposedly wiser university students. Education, it seems, actually worsens our performance at the Monty Hall Dilemma."

Lacy and the running game will get going. I am far less worried about this then say, our run defense.

 

Teams will start blitzing Rodgers again. MM spoke today about the versatility of Cobb including using him out of the backfield.

 

I suspect it will finally dawn on MM to start screening again, sticking Cobb in the backfield, using Starks and then I think the lanes re-open. Tretter also becomes available to practice starting next week.

 

It's going to be very interesting to see whether MM goes back to Tretter or sticks with an improving rookie.

Originally Posted by Ghost of Lambeau:
Originally Posted by packerboi:
It's going to be very interesting to see whether MM goes back to Tretter or sticks with an improving rookie.

This isn't difficult.  If Tretter can't stay on the field, it is the improving rookies job.  Until Tretter can stay on the field he isn't a player.  He must have the injury gene. 

Flanny

Originally Posted by PackLandVA:

       
Thru 4  games, Eddie is running like he doesn't want another concussion.

       
This. Two concussions in less than 1 1/2 seasons. My guess is he wants to be "shiftier" because he doesn't think he'll last if he keeps trying to run people over.  He's probably right. Unfortunately, a "shifty" Lacy isn't nearly as effective as a "run you the *#!Β₯ over" Lacy. I hope he figures it out.
Last edited by bdplant

I certainly can't say what it is, but Lacy has a different 'look' thus far this season.

I don't want to believe anybody ever "plays scared", but this may be as close as I could describe. PLVA may have hit it on the head.

 

Nothing worries me long-term; Lacy should do fine. The OL is apparently suffering from memory loss this year; they've forgotten how to block for the run since last year. It's hard to get much going when he has to dodge a defender before he takes the hand-off.

 

I've been crying for a couple of weeks or so to sub in Starks and/or Harris at times. Not that I think the RBBC approach is the way to go, but a fairly regular rotation of at least Lacy/Starks should happen in any typical game.

Lacy has to have holes to run through.  Even a sliver allows him to get positive yardage.  Too often, you see a play getting disrupted in the backfield.  Or, that dreaded "time it with a sundial" run to the outside.  The OL, with all the injuries, has had a hard time being a dominant smash mouth OL. We use the pass to set up the run, rather than dominate up front and use the pass to mix it up. GB needs more road graders to see Lacy become consistently effective. I expect us to struggle against good DLs and see effective running against the rest (because of Lacy's beast mode).  Success all starts up front.

Fewer holes.

No Barclay, the best run blocking T on the team.

Fewer downhill runs to gain a "head of steam" with most coming out of shotgun/on delays.

Possible tentativeness from concussions.

 

The first three are easier to identify while the fourth requires speculation. That said, Starks is averaging 2 yards more per carry than Lacy from a limited sample size. If Starks sees more snaps and continues to outperform Lacy, I think we can direct the focus more closely at Lacy.

Originally Posted by Satori:

http://blogs.discovermagazine....ilemma/#.VCnwvhZ4WSo

 

"In short, pigeons succeed because they don’t over-think the problem. It’s telling that among humans, it’s the youngest students who do best at this puzzle. Eighth graders are actually more likely to work out the benefits of switching than older and supposedly wiser university students. Education, it seems, actually worsens our performance at the Monty Hall Dilemma."

So, we should replace Lacy with a pigeon? I think that is a bad idea. Pidgeons are so puny. On the other hand, they can jump over that pile at the goal line like nobody's business.

I think he is running differently. Noticed it in the first game where he took it out of bounds whereas a year ago he was looking to blow somebody up. Can't say as I blame him. Dishing out that kind of violence has it's price and maybe Eddie has figured that out (or has been told). That's the problem with that kind of running style. Unfortunately that's Eddie's bread and butter too. I think he's trying lengthen his career and memory. He will likely revert back to his early form if he really wants to stay in the league. It's who he is.

He's playing differently to avoid concussions, it's obvious. I can understand why he'd want to do that, but if he isn't willing to play to his strengths on that basis, he just needs to retire. He either needs to just take his chances with the head injuries, or simply retire; he's never going to be a guy who can get away with dancing in the hole or lateral movement.

Originally Posted by Goalline:

So, we should replace Lacy with a pigeon? I think that is a bad idea. Pidgeons are so puny. On the other hand, they can jump over that pile at the goal line like nobody's business.

Nah, we should replace the fans with pigeons, that was the point of that link. Fans will choose what they think the problem is this week, until they are presented with another choice - then they will switch and assign the blame to that new choice until they are again, inevitably proven wrong.

 

The pigeons are smarter than most NFL fans in that they are capable of learning over time

and getting better at the task. Pretty amazing given the relative puniness of their gray matter. They do have one huge advantage - they are not swayed by their emotions

 

Have you ever seen a pissed off pigeon ?

 

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