Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Could recent praising of Lacy lead to Harris' downfall?

So far in training camp, it's been very clear that the Packers two best running backs are DuJaun Harris and Eddie Lacy. As for Jonathan Franklin, the rookie out of UCLA, he's been good too. But Harris and Lacy are clearly the guys that the management, coaching, and starting QB seem to like the most. 

When asked who he thought should be the team's starting RB, head coach Mike McCarthy didn't hesitate to say Harris. 

""I'm excited to see when DuJuan Harris comes back, because I view him as our starter," McCarthy told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. "I want him to get back in there and earn it like he did all of last year. He made an impact in our offense."

Now while McCarthy's opinion is obviously important, so is Aaron Rodgers'. Now Rodgers does not say that he favors Lacy over Harris, but he does give the rookie a good amount of praise for what he's done so far. 

"I think everybody's been really impressed with Eddie and how he's looked in pads," quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. "He offers something a little different — a big back who's got incredible vision."

Now some people who like to doubt that Lacy has a legit chance of beating out Harris for the starting spot often point to Lacy's lack of professional experience. But really, I don't think that matters. Currently, Harris is 24 and Lacy is 23, so it's not like one's that much older than the other. And last year was really Harris' first NFL season, as his first two were spent on practice squads. While Harris was one practice squads, Lacy was dominating with Alabama and winning national titles. Now while I know that NCAA football is nowhere near as hard as NFL, I do feel like Lacy will make the transition to the pros easier on himself. I mean, he won three national titles and a Capitol One Bowl while with the Crimson Tide, doesn't that show that he does know how to perform under pressure? 

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