Mike McCarthy says James Starks is now Green Bay’s No. 1 back – at least for now. When the Lions come to town, it will be with Starks starting and Eddie Lacy coming off the bench.
"I would say James is our No. 1 back right now going into Detroit," McCarthy told reporters. "He's earned that opportunity. I'm not a big believer in riding one back the whole season. We'll stay with the one-two punch."
Sounds like Lacy will be opportunities to move back into the top spot, but thus far he’s struggled. He looks like he might be carrying a few extra pounds – like he’s lost some speed.
There’s been some talk about Lacy being hurt. He sprained his ankle against Seattle in Week 2. But I believe that kind of talk is overblown. I don’t think it’s an injury issue.
When the Packers gave Starks the vast majority of the playing time in the San Diego game, they said Lacy had an ankle injury. But Lacy after that game said he was fine physically.
After the Carolina game, they said Lacy had a groin injury. But I just re-watched all of his carries from that game. He doesn’t get up limping after any of them, and I don’t see any indication that he received any kind of medical attention on the sideline. Lacy is practicing fully.
I’m of the school of thought that Starks took over in the Carolina game because he was playing better. He has more ability to make people miss and find cutback lanes. Lacy ran for only 10 yards on 5 carries against the Panthers.
There are also ball security issues. Lacy has fumbled three games in a row. At Carolina, he had a 3-yard run down to the 1, with the ball squirting out after he was down (not a fumble, but not a good sign). In the second quarter, he was carrying the ball a little loosely, allowing Charles Tillman to punch it out.
Lacy got up after that fumble and walked to the sideline, with no indication he had any kind of groin injury. That was it for his day. He didn’t get back in the game. They showed up on the bench a few times during the following series, and there was never any sign that he was getting any kind of medical attention. He’s not hurt; he’s just not playing well.
It’s possible Lacy will move back into the starting lineup at some point, but right now it looks far more likely that Starks will be a top-15 running back in the second half of the season.
—Ian Allan
