Eddie Lacy Speaks, Looks Good At OTAs

The Packers running back has been under an intense amount of fan scrutiny all offseason. 

Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy didn't mince words when asked about Eddie Lacy at his end-of-year press conference back in January.

"Eddie’s got a lot of work to do. I’m stating the obvious. His offseason last year was not what it should be and he never recovered from it. He cannot play at the weight he did this year."

In the wake of McCarthy's words came months of fan and media speculation about what Lacy's offseason would entail, with some obssesive fans even taking to studying geo-tags on social media to try and discover the running back's whereabouts. 

Lacy was not made available by the team when players made their way back to Green Bay this spring for the start of the offseason program, so today's first open OTA practice would serve as somewhat of an introduction to the 2016 version of Eddie Lacy, and by all accounts, Lacy looks good. 

Speaking to reporters after practice, via Rob Demovsky, Lacy addressed McCarthy's words and his offseason:

"I think I look good. At the end of the day, we're all grown men. Whether he calls me out, I just have to take care of that responsibility. You don't get mad or act out or anything like that. You just take it as it is what it is and make it go away. I feel like I handled it well, and I held up my end of the bargain. It's a process. I've got to keep going and just keep hoping for the best."

Demovsky added that, according to a source, Lacy is hovering around 240 pounds after losing "15 to 18 pounds." All indications would point to Lacy continuing to try and shed some of the weight, but things certainly seem headed in the right direction. 

 

 

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Comments (22)

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Bearmeat's picture

May 24, 2016 at 04:40 pm

NICE!!

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Ibleedgreenmore's picture

May 24, 2016 at 04:45 pm

He looks good to me, hope he has all the power he had I mean the man can be a beast knocking over defenders.

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Handsback's picture

May 24, 2016 at 05:55 pm

I wouldn't want to meet him at the hole with him having a full head of steam. I doubt anyone would want to. If he's done that much training....Look Out!

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Rossonero's picture

May 24, 2016 at 06:38 pm

I knew he'd bounce back. There was a ridiculous overreaction to one bad season. although I was frustrated with him like many others, I was NOT one of the many voices on here calling for his head, to let him go or trade him.

Glad to see him back in shape, but I'm not surprised at all. If anyone knows a little about him, they'd realize he's not the soda slugging, cheese burger loving blob that sadly, some of my fellow Packer fans accused him to be. Sometimes players get complacent, but some were too quick to judge the best running back we've had since Ahman Green.

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NickPerry's picture

May 24, 2016 at 08:17 pm

I don't recall anybody wanting to trade Eddie last year or let him go, but i'm sure there were some. If you read the piece on PackersNews where they spoke with Tony Horton he said Eddie just loves his Crawfish and other "Rich Southern Foods" and seems to also really like Beer. I love it where Horton refers to Eddie as a genetic freak. Lacy got a little complacent, blew way up and still had some decent games. RC and I have always talked about how awesome it would be if Lacy played around 225 or so, hell look what it did for Bell of Pittsburgh. If Lacy stays on it, eating healthy there's no reason he can't be even better than he was his first 2 seasons.

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Rossonero's picture

May 24, 2016 at 09:52 pm

There were some for sure. I wish I could remember who, but if anyone starts talking smack, I may have to dig into the archives and pull names. I'm not surprised that Eddie loves southern foods, but the fat jokes I read about him (mostly from non-Packers fans, but a few Packers fans) were absolutely absurd. After two wonderful seasons, it just really bothered me how some fans discarded him like a piece of trash.

They should be thanking their lucky stars that Ted drafted what turned out to be the Offensive Rookie of the Year. I dunno, there's just some fans that are spoiled and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm glad you're not one of them, Nick. But there are some who probably do not remember the dark days of the 80s (or the 70s for that matter).

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MarkinMadison's picture

May 24, 2016 at 10:51 pm

I pointed out early in the off-season that Lacy is no longer a lock for re-signing next year. I still think there are a lot of lineman to take care of next off season, and RB is a position where a rookie can come in and play. This is not the same thing as me saying they should dump him, but he has raised the stakes for himself this year.

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NickPerry's picture

May 25, 2016 at 05:53 am

It would bother me as well Rossonero, I'm surprised I don't remember. I'm sure I called him fat because he was but to trade him? That's a bit overboard IMO. TT played that 2nd round that year, trading back and STILL getting Lacy. I was really encouraged by the interview with Horton, that PX90 is nothing nice when you start and it seems Lacy never wavered. Horton also said that Eddie didn't know that so many foods could actually taste good AND be good for you. I try to give everybody the benifit of the doubt. If Lacy falls off the "Good Eating Program" and reports to TC out of shape then I might question him but I think he's commited now and for the future. How many times have we saw young guys in the NFL throw it away by doing thing they can control. I remember the 70's and 80's..UGH!!!!!

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

May 25, 2016 at 07:31 am

Sorry, Rossonero, I don't agree. Lacy didn't just have a bad or down season, something that happens to many players over the course of their careers. He was unprofessional in allowing his weight to balloon up, something that was completely under his own control. We even had people on this site (wearing really thick rose-colored glasses) during last season denying that Lacy was overweight. They suggested that unless I was standing next to Lacy while he was on a scale, how could I be sure he was overweight? My reply that unless he was wearing a bolster or some pillows under his jersey, my eyes tell me he is fat made no difference to them. Once MM let the cat out of the bag - to wit - that he was a blob - we got stuff like this:

Rossonero says:
February 11, 2016 at 07:07 am

Obviously he was out of shape, but it was a perfect storm:
- ankle and rib injuries
- a banged up and inconsistent offensive line
- a dreadful passing attack meant defenses could load the box

There's no excuse for being out of shape,but I'm very confident that in a contract year, he'll have the motivation to get in shape.

You are correct. There is NO excuse for a professional football player to come into camp overweight, and stay that way for the whole season. Lacy is a young man. Maybe he thought he could play at 260 lbs. Maybe now he knows better, and this will never be an issue again. Or maybe his current weight loss is motivated solely by his desire in a contract year to earn a lucrative 2nd contract with a big signing bonus. IDK Mr. Lacy, so I don't know whether the former or the latter is true. My accusation that Lacy was a blob last season was simply true. It is irrelevant whether his weight gain was due to love of soda, cheeseburgers, some other food, or simple sedentariness during the off season. Recalling the note in his scouting reports that scouts questioned whether Lacy likes football, be sure that no matter how good of a 2016 season he has, re-signing Lacy is going to make me nervous, but this is a call that has to be made by people who have the chance to know him better than I do, like TT and the coaching staff.

TL/DR: I called Lacy fat last year. Lacy was fat. I did not call for him to be traded; I was concerned about re-signing him.

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Rossonero's picture

May 25, 2016 at 03:07 pm

Yes and you are correct he was overweight. My initial comment in my first post was that players get complacent sometimes. It's unprofessional, yes, but unfortunately part of life in the NFL. It happens every season to each team.

What matters is how players handle this failure. Lacy has handled it just how the Packers want: to be humble, admit his mistake, get to work and lose the weight.

I'm glad you weren't calling for his head. If he came to camp out of shape then that's justified, but just watching his E60 even will show anyone that he has a work ethic. I don't buy all the scouting reports either. Those same "experts" said his toe surgery was a major concern. We know how that turned out.

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WKUPackFan's picture

May 27, 2016 at 06:47 am

I was, and still am, a big Eddie defender. There's got to be more involved than simply being "unprofessional " (whatever that means). If anyone is paying attention, they would know that Eddie seems to be an introspective, sensitive individual. MM seems to understand this, thus he deflected the criticism during the season. Why MM decided to go public after the season is unclear.

And can we please dispense with the "he doesn't like football " nonsense? A huge majority of US citizens hate their jobs, yet somehow commerce keeps rolling. If we pumped truth serum into all NFL players most would probably say they're not in love with all aspects of the game.

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4thand1's picture

May 24, 2016 at 09:56 pm

Jordy healthy, Eddie healthy, Cobb healthy, a seam busting Cook (healthy), Rodgers to Rodgers healthy, the o-line healthy. This year is gonna be fun, 14-2.

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Point-Packer's picture

May 25, 2016 at 12:12 am

You are on drugs. 11-5.

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4thand1's picture

May 25, 2016 at 03:44 pm

11-5 coming from a pessimist like you is like going 16-0.

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Rossonero's picture

May 25, 2016 at 07:51 pm

Assuming we have health on our side for once, 14-2 is absolutely realistic. The few seasons this team has been healthy (2011 and 2014), the Packers went 15-1 and 12-4. We must have health or at least better performances from depth players.

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al bundy's picture

May 24, 2016 at 09:56 pm

I think 240 ish is too heavyish mikey. A 230 Lacy would be good. 225 better, more speed . he doesnt need more pwer he needs speed.

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Point-Packer's picture

May 25, 2016 at 12:13 am

A number of reports state he has not met off season expectations regarding weight loss.

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dobber's picture

May 25, 2016 at 06:08 am

It's not his running style. He's not a "nifty/shifty" back. The way he runs, he still needs to drop his pads and run through defenders. I think he needs to hover between 230-240 to be at his best.

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Since'61's picture

May 25, 2016 at 08:59 am

It's good to see that Lacy is on the right track with his weight management program. The next step should be for the coaches and trainers to help him manage his weight until the season begins. IMO MM should have a chat with Lacy where he simply says, "Eddie if your not down to 230 or whatever the weight goal is by the 1st game of the season you won't play." If Lacy is interested in playing football and he wants his payday after this season he should then be motivated to get down to the proper playing weight. If not, I think we know what that means. Eddie hurt the team last season by being overweight and his extra weight probably contributed to his injuries and recovery from them. Beyond that the run game is I increasingly important to the Packers offense to take some pressure off of Aaron Rodgers and hopefully to reduce the number of hits that he is exposed to. I for one am expecting and looking forward to the return of the 2013-14 Eddie Lacy. If not then I expect MM to take whatever steps necessary form the good of the team. Go Pack Go! Thanks, Since '61

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Finwiz's picture

May 26, 2016 at 11:45 am

Eddie needs to get down to about 230 and get his speed to at least 4.6 to be effective. That game last year where he was caught from behind on the 50 yd run that should of been a TD was illustrative of his lack of conditioning and speed. I'd say he was a 4.8/40 guy last year. That doesn't cut it in the NFL. Has all the instinctive tools in world to find the seam, just has to commit to being a professional in the conditioning part of his game.

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3rdigraphics's picture

May 26, 2016 at 03:56 pm

You have to wonder what Ted/Mike fundamentally think about this whole scenario with Lacy. This is ridiculous that they have to talk and waste air taking about it.

What I'm getting at is, they might let Lacy walk even if he runs for 1,800 yards and scored 15 TDs. Playing weight is such a rudimentary, common sense thing that Lacy hasn't gotten 3 years into the league.

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chs's picture

May 26, 2016 at 06:28 pm

It's a new year, with new goals, making the post season, lets see where it Goes....Go Pack Go

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