Eddie Lacy benched as his inexplicably bad season gets worse

Eddie Lacy came into this season as one of the handful of best backs in the NFL. Now he's not even the best back on the Green Bay Packers.

Mike McCarthy said on Wednesday that James Starks "is our No. 1 back right now going into Detroit." McCarthy added that he'll continue to go with a "one-two punch" and he doesn't believe in using just one back, but no matter how much he couched the news, it was clear what happened.

Lacy has been benched. And it says something that nobody could possibly argue with the move. Starks has clearly been better. "He's the better player between the two of us right now," Lacy said, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Michael Cohen. What happened? The fall has been dramatic. Lacy is not old, at just 25. He wasn't a product of unwarranted hype. Lacy had more than 2,300 yards the past two seasons at well over 4 yards per carry. And now he's coming off the bench. He wasn't even overworked, with just 246 carries in a pass-first offense last season. Injuries haven't helped, though Lacy hasn't missed any games. An ankle injury has reportedly bothered him, and he was knocked out of last Sunday's game with a groin injury. That ailment came after 10 yards and a fumble on five carries against the Carolina Panthers. Lacy, however, is practicing this week.

There has been a lot of speculation that Lacy is overweight. He's listed at 234 pounds, but it doesn't seem that's accurate. Lacy has said his weight isn't an issue, but won't disclose what it is either.

Whatever the cause, the results are clear. Lacy isn't making anyone miss. He doesn't have a run longer than 15 yards this season. He's just a plodder with a 3.3-yard average since the beginning of October. In the same offense Starks has a 4.3-yard average and a couple receiving touchdowns as well. Starks has been the better back, and it's not really close. Lacy's benching can't be considered permanent, however. Starks has had a solid career but he has never had more than 133 carries in a season and has only had more than 89 one time. He has never been a high-volume runner, so Lacy will get carries and theoretically his opportunities to impress the coaching staff and get his job back. But something will have to happen, either with Lacy not running like he has cement shoes or Starks struggling, because the new status quo is Starks on top of the depth chart.

The Packers offense is surprisingly thin on weapons, though Aaron Rodgers has kept it afloat. The team knew Jordy Nelson would miss the season with an ACL injury, and nothing was done to improve the tight end position in the offseason. But the Packers never figured coming into the season they would have to worry about Lacy. Now they just have a really big name occupying their No. 2 spot.