Imagine if your end-of-year feedback from your boss included: “Lose weight.”
That’s the somewhat awkward position Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy finds himself in entering the offseason after Green Bay was sent packing by way of a heart-breaking NFC Divisional Round Playoff game in Arizona on Saturday night.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy in his final news conference of the season Monday admitted what many had suspected all season about Lacy. The third-year running back didn’t do enough offseason conditioning before the 2015 campaign and weighed too much during the season. McCarthy challenged Lacy, who was listed at 234 pounds, to lose weight and be in better shape entering next season.
“Eddie Lacy has a lot of work to do,” McCarthy stated Monday, per the team’s website. “I think I’m stating the obvious. His offseason last season was not good enough. He has to get it done. He cannot play at the weight he did this year.”
A perfect example of Lacy’s weight issues affecting his on-field performance appeared Saturday night in Arizona. Lacy broke through for a 61-yard in the third quarter with plenty of open field. He looked destined for the end zone, but ran out of steam before reaching the goal line.
The Packers eventually scored a touchdown on the same drive, so it didn’t hurt the Packers per se. Still, it was an example of how improved conditioning could benefit Lacy and the Packers.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
