Running game - Is it really the guys up front?

[Patler]

To play off PB's thread, maybe it is as much the fault of the backs. At least according to this piece you might think so:

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packe...219714051.html

A nice fluff piece, but it does get a fan excited to see Lacy when it counts.

[Pugger]

What is the most exciting to me about Lacy is his vision and how he can get yards when there is no discernible hole for him to hit. I can't wait to see him in action.

[Maxie the Taxi]

Lacy reminds me of John Brockington...

http://youtu.be/oB3mp7-EYW0

Obviously, a great OL can make a RB look better than he really is, but there is no denying that there are significant differences between RB's. Some guys have the God-given ability to make something out of nothing or to take it to the house on any particular carry. We've been operating with mediocre talent at RB for several years now. Lacy has a chance to change all that and be an elite runner in this league without the necessity of an All-Pro OL.

[George Cumby]

Lacy reminds me of John Brockington...

http://youtu.be/oB3mp7-EYW0

Obviously, a great OL can make a RB look better than he really is, but there is no denying that there are significant differences between RB's. Some guys have the God-given ability to make something out of nothing or to take it to the house on any particular carry. We've been operating with mediocre talent at RB for several years now. Lacy has a chance to change all that and be an elite runner in this league without the necessity of an All-Pro OL.

This. The run game was a horse of a different stripe when CedBen was playing last year. It then went nowhere once he got hurt.

[ThunderDan]

DuJuan was a nice boost to the run game at the end of the season.

[Fritz]

Lacy reminds me of John Brockington...

http://youtu.be/oB3mp7-EYW0

Obviously, a great OL can make a RB look better than he really is, but there is no denying that there are significant differences between RB's. Some guys have the God-given ability to make something out of nothing or to take it to the house on any particular carry. We've been operating with mediocre talent at RB for several years now. Lacy has a chance to change all that and be an elite runner in this league without the necessity of an All-Pro OL.

I have waxed nostalgiacally (and elegantly, I might add) about John Brockington, who was one of my favorite Packers as a boy. That dude ran hard and was not afraid of contact. I think he made a lot of DB's and maybe even some linebackers afraid of contact. But an injury derailed what might have been a Packer Hall-of-Fame career. I think your comparison, Maxie, to Lacy is an astute one.

But I am disappointed that you did not work Alex Gillette's name into your post, as you have in all your others. My fear is that you and your wife will be in the throes of passion (don't forget your nitroglycerin pills, by the way), and at the height of your passion you will cry out "Oh, Alex Gillette!" instead of your wife's name.

[Patler]

I have waxed nostalgiacally (and elegantly, I might add) about John Brockington, who was one of my favorite Packers as a boy. That dude ran hard and was not afraid of contact. I think he made a lot of DB's and maybe even some linebackers afraid of contact. But an injury derailed what might have been a Packer Hall-of-Fame career. I think your comparison, Maxie, to Lacy is an astute one.

Do you mean a Packer getting into the NFL Hall of Fame, or Brockington making it into the Packer Hall of Fame? He has been in the Packer Hall of Fame for almost 30 years.

I don't recall any injury derailing his career. I remember a runner who after three years became increasing tentative, would take the handoff and stutter before taking a single step forward. There was no saving him at that point. All in all, a candle that burned brightly, but flamed out rather quickly.

[Maxie the Taxi]

Now that you mention him, I'm thinking Alex Gillette might be the answer for third down RB. He's a great receiver and was a running QB in college...and he does look a little like my girl friend...

[Fritz]

Damn. I couldn't find anything, but I thought he got hurt after three years and was never the same. I must have been thinking of Barty Smith, who did suffer a knee injury against the Lions.

I did not know he was in the Packer hall of fame. After only three years of production? Wow.

If he wasn't hurt, I wonder why he became so tentative?

[Maxie the Taxi]

There's an excellent article about Brockington here that answers as well as any why his production fell off...

http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Where-are-they-now-Brockington-was-punishing-runner/df693f66-d87a-478c-b28d-32a13833ee52

Some blame the punishment Brockington endured. All of his yards came the hard way; there were no style points. He often hit defenders right in the chest before bouncing outside.

There was also a change at head coach. In addition, backfield mate MacArthur Lane, who had rushed for 1,711 yards from 1972-74, was traded to Kansas City and Brockington missed the counterpunch.

“We didn’t really have anyone like him after trading Mac,” he said. “And we changed the offense. My big play was a slant off tackle; all you did was hit it. That’s how I played in college and that’s how I played in the NFL. We went to a stretch offense, where you pick your hole, and I wasn’t prepared for that. I couldn’t adjust. I think I sulked a little bit about that and about Mac.

“But there always comes a time when you can’t do it anymore. I didn’t think that was the case, but athletes are always the last to know. We think we can do it forever.”

[Patler]

Damn. I couldn't find anything, but I thought he got hurt after three years and was never the same. I must have been thinking of Barty Smith, who did suffer a knee injury against the Lions.

I did not know he was in the Packer hall of fame. After only three years of production? Wow.

If he wasn't hurt, I wonder why he became so tentative?

There was a lot of conjecture about that at the time. Some said what really fueled his fire was breaking the long runs, and he never shied away from contact to do that. But he didn't enjoy contact for contact sake, and when the long runs weren't there for whatever reason (blocking, scheme, overall team skill) he became a dancer, and wouldn't blast into holes just for 2 or 3 yards.

I can't remember who the radio announcers were back then, but I remember one going crazy saying that there were a few yards there to get, but Brockington wouldn't put his shoulder down and get them. He would stutter instead, waiting for a bigger hole to open.

[Maxie the Taxi]

There was a lot of conjecture about that at the time. Some said what really fueled his fire was breaking the long runs, and he never shied away from contact to do that. But he didn't enjoy contact for contact sake, and when the long runs weren't there for whatever reason (blocking, scheme, overall team skill) he became a dancer, and wouldn't blast into holes just for 2 or 3 yards.

I can't remember who the radio announcers were back then, but I remember one going crazy saying that there were a few yards there to get, but Brockington wouldn't put his shoulder down and get them. He would stutter instead, waiting for a bigger hole to open.

That's consistent with Brockington's own explanation with regard to a change to the stretch offense.

[Patler]

Damn. I couldn't find anything, but I thought he got hurt after three years and was never the same. I must have been thinking of Barty Smith, who did suffer a knee injury against the Lions.

Except that Barty Smith wasn't the same even before his injury!!

The guy whose injury changed his career was Eddie Lee Ivory. He looked like he would really be something special. Even after the first knee injury it seemed like he would still be quite good. After the second one, he became more or less just OK.

[Maxie the Taxi]

That's so true about Eddie Lee Ivory. But again, it goes to show you that maybe it's the RB talent that means more than the OL talent in the running game. Coming out of college, Eddie Lee was brilliant. I can't remember who else was back there available at the time, but Eddie Lee stood out like a beacon compared to them.

[Fritz]

Yeah, I had high hopes for Eddie Lee. He really was talented. But then the injuries.

Thanks Maxie for the article on Brockington. It makes sense - sounds like they went to the same type of stretch running game MM is using now. And Brockington didn't have or didn't try to have the skills to make that work.

But those first three years....man, he was fun to watch.