The Talking Heads Kept Talking About The Packers

It seems after the first week of the exhibition season out of 868 rushing attempts in 16 games by over a hundred rushers 4 were the most talked on NFL.com and ProFootballTalk. Get that just .005% of those carries got everybody talking and if you haven't figured it out yet it was the first four rushes of a game on Friday. Was that enough of a hint to identify what player got everybody's tongues a wagging?



Ok, second hint. He's not quite the man he used to be figuratively and otherwise. Got it? Third hint. His uniform number is half of Carl Bradford's. Didn't think I'd make it that easy for you did you? I made you do math.

 

Still no clue? Fourth Hint. He was immortalized with his own name burger. Come on that was easy.

 

No Not The Gilbert Burger

Ok, not that easy evidently. His signature burger sold for $1.27 when he "racked up 100 yards of total offense in any game or scored". I bet they sold a million until last year.

 

You Got It Right The Eddie Burger

The most talked about and discussed rushes over the entire first weekend was Eddie Lacy's four carries for 24 yards. Great!!!!!!!! Give that girl a cheroot.

 

Here's what the experts on NFL.com and ProFootballTalk were talking about on Monday.

 

Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com)

3) Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers:

It's not about his size. Lacy doesn't look that much different and guessing a man's weight is high on the Unsavory Beat Writer Activities Power Rankings. The difference in Lacy's limited work last Friday night: He ran angry, leaving defenders on the ground behind him.

 

First Carry - 6 Yards

Adam Schein (NFL.com)

3) Eddie Lacy looks like the Eddie Lacy of old

And that's a good thing. The limited numbers don't exactly jump off the page (four rushes for 24 yards in one series of action), but the Pack back passed the eye test -- a big development in the wake of a 2015 campaign when Lacy got large and lazy. The power and burst were there, most strikingly on an 11-yard rumble up the gut. If Eddie Lacy is the Eddie Lacy of 2013 and '14 -- a 1,000-yard power back who provides Aaron Rodgers with some offensive balance -- the Packers will win the NFC North and be right in the Super Bowl conversation.

 

Second Carry - 3 Yards

Alex Gelhar (NFL.com)

The Eddie Lacy redemption story is off to a good start

Eddie Lacy's weight loss and bounce-back attempt is one of the biggest stories this offseason, and so far all signs are pointing in an upward trajectory. Lacy looked like his old self in Lambeau on Friday night, breaking through tackles and accelerating to the second level and beyond. Lacy was a top-six fantasy back in each of his first two seasons as a part of the high-powered Green Bay offense. Our friends at Around The NFL have Lacy pegged as one of their top candidates to be this year's Doug Martin, for what it's worth. Don't let the recency bias of his 2015 campaign dissuade you too much on draft day.

 

Third Carry - 11 yards

Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk)

Eddie Lacy is feeling “more explosive,” with a heavier workload

For a guy who only blew up in terms of waist size last year, hearing Eddie Lacy describe himself as “more explosive” has to be good news for Packers fans.

Because the running back they need to get their offense back into balance turned in a solid debut, and has shown there might be more in store.

 

Via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Lacy felt good about his four-carry, 24-yard line in Friday’s game against the Browns, for reasons that went beyond the yards. His ability to convert a third-and-1, running through an arm tackle, made him feel like his old self.

 

“How fast you make the cut,” Lacy said. “How fast you get north and south out of the cut, and how fast you’re able to put your pad level down. Once you and that defender make contact, who goes backward? Or is it a stalemate?”

 

Packers offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett described it as a “good start,” and has been pleased with Lacy’s work after an offseason spent working on getting in shape.He was especially pleased with Lacy’s ability to break tackles.

 

“You see him finishing runs,” Bennett said. “Look at practice [Sunday], he’s finishing all the way on the other end of the field, getting that conditioning in. We just have to continue down that path being consistent.”

 

The Packers ran with intent Friday night, handing off on seven of the first eight snaps. Of course, Aaron Rodgers wasn’t playing, but the emphasis on having a productive Lacy involved in the offense will continue once the quarterback returns.