RADIO
The struggles continue in Green Bay.
After dropping their second straight home game to a division rival, the Packers essentially find themselves half a game out of first place behind the Minnesota Vikings. It's been an unlikely stretch for the Packers of late, but in Thursday night's Thanksgiving contest, where Brett Favre's number was retired, we saw a running back produce in a way fantasy owners expected him to consistently this year. It only took about ten weeks to happen.
After his first 100-yard rushing game of the season against the Vikings last week, Eddie Lacy followed with 105 rushing yards on 17 carries, four catches for 34 yards, and one receiving touchdown; his most productive fantasy performance of the season. But what's important about Thursday night's performance is that Lacy appears to have retaken his starting job back from James Starks.
It's been a tug-of-war match between the two over the starting running back position, one that Eddie Lacy seemingly let slip through his fingers on numerous occasions. Frustrating fantasy owners, who likely picked Lacy in the first round, can now breathe a bit easier and continue to digest their turkey in peace. Lacy should be plugged into lineups as an RB2, at least, for the rest of the season.
Weeks after being criticized for his lethargic play and his overweight appearance, Lacy looked spritely yesterday against the Chicago Bears, showing the quickness we all forgot he had on Green Bay's first touchdown, a 25 yard catch-and-run. Despite being benched in the second quarter after a fumble, Lacy continued as the lead back in the third. Starks was out on the field on Green Bay's final drive, and not Lacy, but did not produce enough for his fantasy stock to remain high.
Starks finished the night with 39 yards on seven carries, and four catches for 41 yards; numbers that hold some value in deep 14-16 team PPR formats. Once the hottest waiver wire pickup two weeks ago, Starks is now difficult to start. It's tough to predict anything with Green Bay anymore, or with the rest of the NFL for that matter, but for now, Starks will likely see half as many touches as Lacy. It will be unwise to pencil in Starks, especially in standard formats. If this season and the constant change at running back have proven anything, it's that Starks should still remain in your lineup, just on the bench. He should not be dropped, and should be monitored the rest of the way.
The Packers face the newly resurgent Detroit Lions next week. The Lions give up 112.3 rushing yards per game and have allowed 15 rushing touchdowns all season, according to ESPN.com.
It's Lacy's job to lose again.
