The Green Bay Packers took their playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals pretty hard. How do we know? Because immediately afterward, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy started dropping serious truth bombs about the state of the team and some if it's most important pieces. McCarthy will continue calling plays on offense, Clay Matthews needs to move back to the outside on a permanent basis, and Eddie Lacy's conditioning and preparation were not up to snuff at any point during what amounted to another lost season of quarterback Aaron Rodger's prime NFL years. Of all of them, that last one may wind up being the most important though, as a reports - and McCarthy - have suggested that Lacy's future in Green Bay isn't all that clear at this point.
In the second half of the Packers' overtime loss to the Cardinals on Saturday in the NFC divisional playoffs, Lacy ripped off the best run of his career, a 61-yard burst that put the Pack in scoring position. But it was a play that also highlighted the limitations of Lacy's current physical makeup, which is to say that he looked like he couldn't find another gear to beat the Cardinals defensive backs down the field and really, looked like he was simply out of gas.
Per Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, Packers team sources indicated that they believed Lacy looked "sluggish," which, in their view, was likely a product of Lacy showing up to training camp "terribly out of shape." Lacy, not exactly a svelte man to begin with, is listed at 5-foot-11, 234-pounds, but looked much larger for most of this season. He's a chain-moving power back, so he's not going to win many foot races even when he's in top shape, but in the past Lacy was able to use a surprising agility to stay on his feet and, at times, even make defenders miss.
Instead, this season was marred by ineffectiveness and the kinds of small, consistent injuries that indicate a player simply isn't in the right kind of shape. Lacy wound up posting career-lows in carries (187), rushing yards (758) and touchdowns (3). He also apparently got Packers running back coach Sam Gash fired, though that's probably giving Lacy too much credit.
In all, since his electrifying rookie season, Lacy is trending in the wrong direction in nearly every meaningful statistical category. And while the big run against Arizona looked like vintage Lacy, it ended in all-too-familiar fashion for Packers coaches and team executives.
Lacy likely isn't headed anywhere else this offseason. He's far and away the team's best back when healthy and in shape. But if the Packers are going to make the most of the latter portion of Rodger's NFL career, they'll need a runner able to shoulder the load on a regular basis.
Lacy may have only one more season to prove that he can be that guy in Green Bay.
