Question: Questions about Lacy from a Packer Fan

[justaguy80]

Hey Everyone.

First off, let me say congrats on dominating college football for the last few years. Its pretty awesome that Alabama is so good again.

I have a few questions regarding Eddie Lacy for you all.

I watch my fair share of SEC football (its to good not to) but Eddie Lacy was some what off my radar. Yes, I knew he was good, but it kinda got lost in the shuffle of other recently great Alabama running backs (Ingram and Richardson). So when the Packers selected Lacy, I went back and watched some games. Naturally, I checked out the Notre Dame game and the Georgia game. My jaw hit the floor. Lacy looked like one of the best players in those two games with other 1st round talent around him. He wasn't just the power back I expected. He displayed great instincts, good feet and balance, vision and that spin move. Also, I saw plenty of burst. He had a number of huge plays.

All of that being said.

How did this guy drop? What am I not getting here?

You guys know better then anyone. Why was it reported that Lacy had a bad attitude? Are his injury issues so serious as to drop him into almost the third round? I know he had a toe thing and he had hamstring issues but its not like he had a lattimore type injury.

Also, how does he compare to Ingram and Richardson in your opinion? How was he viewed by Saban?

Anyways -- any info you guys could offer would be wonderful.

Thanks

--Roll Tide--

 

[TexasTideFan]

Hey Everyone.

First off, let me say congrats on dominating college football for the last few years. Its pretty awesome that Alabama is so good again.

I have a few questions regarding Eddie Lacy for you all.

I watch my fair share of SEC football (its to good not to) but Eddie Lacy was some what off my radar. Yes, I knew he was good, but it kinda got lost in the shuffle of other recently great Alabama running backs (Ingram and Richardson). So when the Packers selected Lacy, I went back and watched some games. Naturally, I checked out the Notre Dame game and the Georgia game. My jaw hit the floor. Lacy looked like one of the best players in those two games with other 1st round talent around him. He wasn't just the power back I expected. He displayed great instincts, good feet and balance, vision and that spin move. Also, I saw plenty of burst. He had a number of huge plays.

All of that being said.

How did this guy drop? What am I not getting here?

You guys know better then anyone. Why was it reported that Lacy had a bad attitude? Are his injury issues so serious as to drop him into almost the third round? I know he had a toe thing and he had hamstring issues but its not like he had a lattimore type injury.

Also, how does he compare to Ingram and Richardson in your opinion? How was he viewed by Saban?

Anyways -- any info you guys could offer would be wonderful.

Thanks

--Roll Tide--

IMO, talent wise.

Heart wise, maybe flip Ingram and Lacy.

1. Trent
2. Lacy
3. Ingram

I don't think Lacy had any issues with the coaching staff.

Already a thread here on injuries and why he slipped in draft.

 

[RammerJammer14]

1) I've never heard of any attitude problem.

2) Word is that Lacy dropped solely due to concerns over injuries. He has had a nagging injury of one form or another since he has been at Alabama, most notably turf toe that apparently ended in surgery to fuse the bones of his big toe.

3) Lacy is equally comparable to Ingram and Richardson when at the top of his game. Due to the two/three back system we run, he seemed to feature less in the passing game than his backup Yeldon and Richardson before him, but that could just be an inaccurate perception on my part. The most impressive part of Lacy's game IMO is his crazy spin move due to his great balance and vision.


4) Further down the board there is a thread on why Lacy dropped with much more knowledgeable posters than me.

 

[B1GTide]

It has crept out that NFL scouts were very unimpressed with Lacy's conditioning at Alabama's Pro Day. Maybe that is where "attitude" and "desire" crept into the discussion - not sure. I am not aware of his ever having been problem to his coaches or fellow players at Alabama, and he seemed very motivated in games.

Teams were also concerned about the frequency of his injuries - and his toe injury, in particular. If a RB has foot problems, his career is effectively over (look at Shaun Alexander as an example).

 

[mikeincarolina]

He had several injuries that bagged him,turf toe and broken left hand I believe.The hamstring was just before the draft so all of these added up I guess.I believe you guys stole one that's Goo.g to prove all of his nay sayers wrong.Can't say anything.g about the bad attitude because he wasn't a problem here for Bama!That probably came from opposing defenses!Mango Teo most likely!

 

[Chukker Veteran]

Talk about an attitude problem was new to me, it was promoted by another pro team to justify why they picked a different running back over Lacy. The other thread goes into detail about it.

Watching these great running backs Bama has been turning out the past few years, it's hard to not be impressed with how they deal with sharing playing time and wait their turn. They could have been freshman starters at many programs, but Saban believes in sharing the load, and keeping the mileage down on his running backs. The wisdom of this approach has been generally recognized as an advantage to both the players and the team.

I was especially impressed with how Lacy hung in there with nagging injuries and waited his turn. That to me, is the mark of a motivated player rather than one with a bad attitude. You are going to love his effort and talent, and his attitude.

 

[crimsonseal12]

Hey Everyone.

First off, let me say congrats on dominating college football for the last few years. Its pretty awesome that Alabama is so good again.

I have a few questions regarding Eddie Lacy for you all.

I watch my fair share of SEC football (its to good not to) but Eddie Lacy was some what off my radar. Yes, I knew he was good, but it kinda got lost in the shuffle of other recently great Alabama running backs (Ingram and Richardson). So when the Packers selected Lacy, I went back and watched some games. Naturally, I checked out the Notre Dame game and the Georgia game. My jaw hit the floor. Lacy looked like one of the best players in those two games with other 1st round talent around him. He wasn't just the power back I expected. He displayed great instincts, good feet and balance, vision and that spin move. Also, I saw plenty of burst. He had a number of huge plays.

All of that being said.

How did this guy drop? What am I not getting here?

You guys know better then anyone. Why was it reported that Lacy had a bad attitude? Are his injury issues so serious as to drop him into almost the third round? I know he had a toe thing and he had hamstring issues but its not like he had a lattimore type injury.

Also, how does he compare to Ingram and Richardson in your opinion? How was he viewed by Saban?

Anyways -- any info you guys could offer would be wonderful.

Thanks

--Roll Tide--

1. First - No bad attitude. If you play for Coach Saban, and you have an attidude, you don't play!

2. Injuries! yes he did have some the most serious was turf toe, while he did miss some games, he toughed it out and was still very productive backing up Trent.

3. Trent had a better career but also had more starts. Had Lacy returned for his senior year, his career would have been as good as Trents. A better and more complete Back than Ingram and a lot faster.

4. I think the main thing that dropped his draft status was his conditioning at pro Alabama's Pro day. However, he had injured his hamstring so his time to get back into top condition was very limited. This led scouts to believe he wasn't concerned or didn't take it serious enough.

I think he will be a very productive running back for the Packers due to Arron Rogers passing ability. Should be fun to watch.

 

[Alasippi]

Hey Everyone.

First off, let me say congrats on dominating college football for the last few years. Its pretty awesome that Alabama is so good again.

I have a few questions regarding Eddie Lacy for you all.

I watch my fair share of SEC football (its to good not to) but Eddie Lacy was some what off my radar. Yes, I knew he was good, but it kinda got lost in the shuffle of other recently great Alabama running backs (Ingram and Richardson). So when the Packers selected Lacy, I went back and watched some games. Naturally, I checked out the Notre Dame game and the Georgia game. My jaw hit the floor. Lacy looked like one of the best players in those two games with other 1st round talent around him. He wasn't just the power back I expected. He displayed great instincts, good feet and balance, vision and that spin move. Also, I saw plenty of burst. He had a number of huge plays.

All of that being said.

How did this guy drop? What am I not getting here?

You guys know better then anyone. Why was it reported that Lacy had a bad attitude? Are his injury issues so serious as to drop him into almost the third round? I know he had a toe thing and he had hamstring issues but its not like he had a lattimore type injury.

Also, how does he compare to Ingram and Richardson in your opinion? How was he viewed by Saban?

Anyways -- any info you guys could offer would be wonderful.

Thanks

--Roll Tide--

In my opinion the Packers got the steal of the draft and easily the best running back in the draft.

Lacy has never had any attitude issues whatsoever, has never created any problems, has done whatever he's been asked to do.

He played the National Title Game not completely healed 100% for a pulled hamstring and a lingering turf toe injury. Therefore he took a little time to heal and thus wasn't in peak condition for his Pro day. The brilliant doubting Thomases that call themselves NFL Scouts were too tunnel visioned to recognize this.

He will help you guys win a Super Bowl. I think he is as good a back as we've had.

 

[bamaslammer]

Lacy has had some injuries but I think it's incorrect to label him injury prone. He was very durable while playing significantly early in his career. The toe thing was just a long and painful injury that can affect anyone and he played through the pain. This past year was really his year and he was slowed through most of it by nagging injury so what you saw against Georgia and Notre Dame is what you're going to get.

As for the hamstring, He never had a hamstring issue before so it was probably just overtraining. Not uncommon for guys wanting to make an impression. Unfortunately it backfired on him.

I think the NFL personnel people shy away from Alabama offensive players because there is not a deep history of explosive players from Alabama after Bear died and if they don't work out they will be accused of not doing their homework and just picking a Saban player. They would rather pick some unknown chap from some forgotten backwater university in hopes that he will do well and they will look like a genius.

Still, in the end, I'm happy he's a packer. God knows Trent may never survive long enough to show what he can do in Cleveland. It's better to get paid less and actually have a chance to be successful.

Will be watching the pack.

 

[CHATTBRIT]

All I can say is that Eddie is a good un. He is a real talent and was seriously hampered by the turf toe injury. While trying non-surgical resolution, the turf toe never healed sufficiently that it did not affect his game. Following the surgery, he gradually came up to team speed and just looking at his last two games for Alabama is a good example of his talent.

 

[TideEngineer08]

The only concern I would have with Lacy is his health. And quite frankly, that's the concern you have with all players. Some get labeled as injury-prone, but all it takes is one hit, one bad cut, one misstep. As long as he is healthy, with Green Bay's passing game, Lacy will thrive. His attitude was never an issue here and as it's been mentioned up the thread, you don't sit and wait your turn and battle back from injuries if you are not motivated or have a bad attitude.

He's an underrated receiver and pass blocker as well...

 

[BigBama]

One of the supposed problems with Lacy is that his success was because of a dominate Oline. This was one of the most puzzling criticisms. While it is easy to see how the oline's push allowed his to get a few yards untouched, his yards after contact were very impressive which isn't as much about the oline as it his skills and determination. Before last season I honestly expected Yeldon to take the number one spot by midseason. The reason I thought that is that with his injury history i expected Yeldon to be more durable and take more and more of Lacy's snaps as the year progressed. In addition, Yeldon is going to be better than all three of Bama's recent backs and the fact that Lacy was able to keep the number one spot impressed me. In addition, he seemed to get better as the year went along with his best games coming in the two most important games of the season, the SEC champ game and BCS champ game. I consider Lacy a better back now that he has had an entire year as the 1a back. I expect him to instantly upgrade your backfield. If he can stay healthy he will indeed be the steal of the draft. Go Pack and Roll Tide.

 

[bonehouse81]

Eddie was hurt in some form or another for most of his time at Bama, even when he wasn't playing, and his turf toe was so severe that many people weren't really expecting a lot from him this past season.

Eddie started slowly last year (he also had an ailing knee at the time), looking slow and lethargic at times, but as his health improved he showed some pretty special ability for a guy so big.

He's definitely more elusive than it seems he should be at that size. Of course, his spin move is just nasty and made many look foolish. But also, he's got the feet and quickness to shake people in the box straight on as well.

Health is really the only big question with Eddie, and I think playing in a pass-first offense should increase his durability. I was glad to see him go the Packers, and if his health holds up he should be a good player.

 

[rgw]

Lacy is probably the second most talented back Saban has put out into the pros recently. He had some things that kept him off the field for most of career though. Early on he had a nagging fumble problem and some issues with pass protection which he corrected then he had some nagging foot related injuries that kept him from being a real throughly used complement to Richardson in 2011 and probably cut his snaps a bit in 2012. When he's healthy, he was as good as any back in the nation but his health was always sort of in question.

Where the Packers got him, he's a good value pick because nobody is going to cry over a 3rd rounder not working out. If he can stay healthy for just a season or two, he may be enough of a running threat to balance the Pack's offense out and protect Rodgers.

 

[runtheoption22]

The fused toe scared some off of "1st round value."

You got a good 'un.

 

[TiderJack]

If Eddie stays healthy I think he will have a better NFL career than Mark or Trent IMO.

Eddie's spin move is unique in that he anticipates contact and starts his spin before contact while most other players who do the spin move start their spin when they have been hit. It is a beautiful sight and reminds me of Chuck Foreman of the Vikings many years ago (sorry for the Foreman/Vikings reference - I have been a lifetime Packers fan since the Bart Starr days).

 

[TexasTideFan]

If Eddie stays healthy I think he will have a better NFL career than Mark or Trent IMO.

If Mark stays a Saint, I expect him to have a much longer shelf life than both of them. Mark is only brought in for short yardage situations. I bet he gets less than 20 touches a game.

Eddie has the best inside track to a ring unless the Saints can fix their Defense before Mark is traded or cut.

Trent is just reaping the rewards of being a 1rst Round pick. He is stuck in limbo until he can get out of Cleveland.

 

[257WBY]

He is as good as they get when healthy.

 

[Nolan]

Eddie should do quite well against defenses that are scheming to stop Rodgers.

 

[AgentAntiOrange]

Hey Everyone......



--Roll Tide--

Welcome to our board. I can't speak for others but the Bart Starr connection to GB has always made me feel something of a connection to the team. For that reason, as well as general respect for the legend of Coach Lombardi and the family atmosphere of the GB organization, I was thrilled to see EL drafted by the Packers(your current success and talent level doesn't hurt ).