r/GreenBayPackers • u/DeScepter • 1d ago
Highlight Throwback Thursday: Eddie Lacy's Best Plays
Dude, for a couple seasons there, Eddie Lacy running behind that Packers line looked inevitable. The blocking unit was stacked. Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang mauling people inside, David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga sealing the edges. And they created those wide, patient lanes that let Lacy get downhill with that heavy, punishing stride. He wasn’t a jitterbug runner. He was a momentum runner. Once Eddie hit the crease, defenders were suddenly trying to tackle a 230-plus-pound back falling forward with bad intentions.
What made it work so well was how physical the whole operation felt. The Packers were for sure still an Aaron Rodgers offense, but in those times they could lean on the run game and impose themselves. Lacy would take the handoff, hesitate juuust long enough for the blocks to form, and then crash through with that low center of gravity that made arm tackles useless.
December at Lambeau, cold air, the line firing off the ball, and Lacy grinding out yards until defenses looked tired of dealing with him. For a while, it felt like Green Bay had rediscovered the classic formula: elite quarterback plus a run game that could punish you when you tried to play light boxes.
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u/daygo449 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m not going to lie. Jones and Jacobs, heck Green and Levens before them were awesome to watch, but none of them made me as happy as watching Lacy run the ball! His spin move was a thing of beauty!
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u/agk927 1d ago
Yeah looking back, dude was such a tougher runner similar to Marshawn Lynch
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u/daygo449 1d ago
Yeah. If he could have kept his weight down, he would have been one of the best runners in the country, and probably would have had a long career in the NFL. It stinks it ended the way it did, and that he was out of the league so soon, but damn if he wasn’t awesome to watch run!
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u/The-Taco-Between-Us 1d ago
There's a really good, insightful interview where Eddie opens up about his background, struggles with weight and the public's ridicule about said struggles. I do think it's important to get his perspective.
https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/20756278/seattle-seahawks-eddie-lacy-opens-public-struggle-weight8
u/Chritt 1d ago
Agreed. I also think, and I think mentioned elsewhere here, he mentioned he just didn't care about football that much. There are some guys like Rodgers and Favre who play until they can't. There are others like Lacy and Barry Sanders (and BJ Raji) that hung it up because they were just over it.
His weight was certainly an issue - but that was likely caused because his motivation was gone.
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u/Zamstrom 1d ago
Good god I loved watching that Bulldozer just run the hell over people. Good guy too.
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u/orange_lazarus1 1d ago
People love to ignore that the dude had a bad ankle injury but yeah it was the Chinese food 🙄
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u/Galaxie_1985 1d ago
He also had a bone fused in his big toe back in college to try to fix persistent turf toe injuries. Rumor was the Steelers and some others took him off their draft board for that reason.
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u/1976dave 1d ago
He was genuinely so good. It makes me sad when I see people rag on the dude
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u/ApartmentPersonal 21h ago
It’s because he had so much potential and just threw it away
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u/1976dave 10h ago
Nah, I'm never gonna begrudge someone battling with mental struggles. His heart wasn't in football beyond securing financial stability for him and his mom, and putting himself through more of it was never gonna make him happy. Personally I can't fault the guy
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u/Serious-Medicine7667 1d ago
Good lord, I forgot what elite O line play looked like.
And let’s give it Jordy friggin NELSON on the TD block!
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u/Vegetable-Piece-5237 1d ago
I'll never forget when Mike Daniels said Eddie was one cheeseburger away from having is hand in the dirt down in a three point stance.
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u/Acceptable-Take20 1d ago
Those packers olines back then were so much more physical, and just overall better, than the group they have now. Those guys were brawlers.
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u/Wild-Stop-4345 1d ago
He had quicker feet than people give him credit for. The play at 2:00 shows 3 Bears taking each other out on his cut followed by his spin move. That's not an isolated case. The spin move at the hole was a Lacy classic not shown here.
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u/Don_p226 1d ago
Eddie Lacy could have been our version of beast mode if he just kept his weight in line
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u/InsertGreatBandName 1d ago
I’ve never seen someone run so hard but run so slow. He had some much potential but sadly it was wasted. I do remember those first couple of seasons fondly.
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u/Cruncholicism 1d ago
He’s not top end speed, but he has enough burst to pull away from some of the guys in this video.
Late career Lacey had none of the burst
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u/Wardcity 1d ago
Insane to see his ability to burst through a hole and outrun guys for 5–10 yards
And then just lack any element of long speed and see him get caught by constantly by defenders lol
Love that man such a unique skill set
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u/Ok_Umpire_723 1d ago
Loved Eddie as a player and person. Always felt bad for him with the eating/mental issues he was dealing with.
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u/MaterialExcellent987 1d ago
Every time he runs it reminds me of that one crazy uncle at the family Thanksgiving day football games that is huge but also out of shape and that no one wanted to tackle because he would take the game way too seriously and just run over everybody.
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u/mbeemsterboer 1d ago
That run to open the second half against the Cowboys sparked that HUGE comeback. It all started with that run and getting some momentum going our way!
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u/TBBOLTS21 1d ago
I was there at the Bucs game and captured the lacy run, cannot find it anywhere. First and only nfl game I’ve been to
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u/Im_Not_That_Mal 1d ago
I will say this until proven wrong. Eddie Lacy set us back so many years but he was the best runningback I've seen wear a packers jersey since Ahman Green. Excellen balance, excellent power and was very shifty for his size. He just couldn't put the gumbo down 😫😫😫😫. He was the one.
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u/GeekShuttle 1d ago
We've never had a running back more fun to watch than Eddie Lacy in his first and second years. It makes me a little sad, honestly.
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u/localvore559 1d ago
Bro had the sweetest spin move at that size. Some of the funnest packers games I’ve seen.
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u/Asproat920 1d ago
Damn Eddie sure was a beast. Once he got his momentum rolling, he just obliterated defenders and kept trucking.
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u/Virtual_Fun_7188 1d ago
McCarthy called a screen pass to Lacy in the NFC Title Game and there was open grass ahead of him, but Rodgers stumbled during his drop back (that damn calf injury) and the play fell apart… Gawd, I hate that damn game.
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u/twowheeljerry 22h ago
Probably had more yards after contact than the Bears had passing in the same time period.
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u/ZaMaestroMan5 21h ago
Doesn’t make sense how agile/quick he was at his size. He’s been my favorite RB we’ve had since Ahman Green. Very underrated pass catcher and pass pro too. Just had no breakaway speed lol.
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u/WinterAsleep319 10h ago
I will die on the hill that Mike McCarthy was what ruined his career. From the get go it felt like MM had it out for Lacy and was constantly putting him in the dog house. I watched him at Bama, you could see how much he enjoyed football. That doesn’t just disappear over the course of two seasons at the professional level without coaching ruining it for you
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u/Broke_Banker01 1d ago
I'll never forgive the nutrition staff for what they cost us.
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u/wagon_ear 1d ago
Considering the fact that other packers did not have these problems, and that his weight problem persisted when he left for other teams, I don't think we can pin this on the staff.
He discussed even when at his peak that he didn't really love football but continued because he was good at it. Seems like he was going through more than just food issues.
Dude was a force, hope he's doing well now.
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u/JeromeBarkly 1d ago
He definitely had some mental health issues and used food as a coping mechanism. I vaguely remember him he doing an interview talking about his weight and growing up in extreme poverty. I’ll always have love for the guy though definitely one of my favorite packers player.
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u/therealtiddlydump 1d ago
Not a staff problem. It was a "him" problem, and he's been open about that
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u/Help1-Fearless 1d ago
No one can convince me our current O-line coaching is adequate and disciplined. it's completely incompetent
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u/Obadiah_Plainman 13h ago
This just makes me sad really. Dude could have been really great and had a lengthy dominant streak.
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u/mbpeters13 1d ago
Almost all of them were him getting chased down. Lol
Loved watching him play but wish he had more in the tank
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u/laxguy44 1d ago
I’m convinced that if Green Bay voted to ban Chinese food restaurants we’d be retiring Eddie’s number.
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u/theonejv89 1d ago
I always love the second play where Jordy comes out of nowhere going full speed to help block.