The downfall of Green Bay’s Eddie Lacy

Aiden Jones, Contributing Writer
December 3, 2015

In the NFL, good running backs are a dime a dozen. The veteran halfback market is minuscule since teams can pay the minimum rookie salary, or close to it, for a young pair of legs that can do just as good a job as a seasoned player. Immanuel Kant may find it highly disturbing, but the majority of NFL running backs are glorified battering rams. However, a great tailback, a LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Walter Payton level ball runner, is a rare find. (Side note: when I say Adrian Peterson, I’m referring specifically Pre- Child Abuse scandal, Post ACL tear Adrian Peterson. The Golden Age of 2000 yard rushing).

The Green Bay Packers thought they had picked up this elite level talent when they drafted Eddie Lacy in the second round of the 2013 draft. He put up monster numbers his first two seasons in the league, recording 1200 rushing yards and 11 rushing scores his rookie year on an offense that revolves more tightly around quarterback Aaron Rodgers than the universe revolved around the Earth pre-Copernican heliocentric. His sophomore year his stat line dropped slightly, losing about 100 yards and two touchdowns as Aaron Rodgers took over even more during an MVP winning season.

However, Aaron Rodger’s performance was not the only thing that changed over the years. Every season that we have seen Lacy in the ole’ Green and Gold, he has come out softer and softer, literally. The 25 year old has been listed officially at “230 pounds” his whole career. I put that in quotations to mark that either the Packers’ scale has been stuck for the past two and half years, or it is a very liberal 230 pounds. Judging by the photos in my Facebook newsfeed posted by ESPN or other football news sites, and by the first half of every Monday Night Football game the Packers have played in, Eddie Lacy is still 230 pounds just like I am still rocking my fall trimester freshman year 4.0 GPA: He is not. It is no wonder his added tonnage comes from his frequently-mentioned love for crawfish and comfort food, and neglect for any nutrition science-based diet found frequently among professional athletes such as Tom Brady and JJ Watt.

While he has done pretty well so far, it’s no secret that Eddie Lacy’s weight has caught up with him, just like any 300-pound defensive lineman is able to now. His game came primarily from his power; I remember watching as he lowered his head with no regard for mental problems later in life and barreled through even the biggest defensive players on the field. It also came from his mobility and elusiveness. The single greatest cause of ankle fractures in US males, aged 21-35, came from his trademark spin-move, which left linebackers guessing harder than me taking a Ms. Lasevich BC calculus quiz. I don’t need to go into rotational motion and torque physics to explain to you why putting on more mass is bad for these spins and jukes. Eddie Lacy’s stat line this year does that well enough for me. Halfway through the season with an extra 15 pounds of adipose tissue and only 300 yards and two TDs to his name, his options are clear: learn what a calorie is and how to count them, or wash out