Eddie Lacy was the NFL offensive rookie of the year, but new Packers RB coach Sam Gash thinks he can teach him some things about advancing his career beyond first-year success.
"Just point him in the right direction and let him go," Gash said. "Just talk to him about the little things, the part about being a pro. He’s a young guy and he plays hard, but there’s an art to being a pro. I’m definitely not going to mess him up. That’s something I learned a long time, let runners run."
Gash said as soon as he got the job he called Lacy and introduced himself. He said he began watching some tape of Lacy recently and based on his conversation with the rookie and what he saw on tape, he said he thought there were similarities between Lacy and Curtis Martin.
"Even though he’s bigger, same mentality," Gash said. "Curtis didn’t like watching football. If anybody watched his Hall of Fame speech, he was a guy who didn’t necessarily like watching football, but he was instinctive and just a great player.
"Eddie is pretty similar in his mentality. But you watch him on film, which I’m just starting to do, he’s an exciting prospect."
Lacy finished as the #7 RB in his rookie season and did it in essentially 14 games. Removing Week 2 (where he was concussed and only carried the ball once), Lacy averaged 14.9 fantasy points, which is the 6th-best average, just behind Adrian Peterson. He is a great talent and plays in a potent offense that should be even better in 2014 with a (hopefully) healthy Aaron Rodgers under center.
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