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Ball security eluding Eddie Lacy

By The Sports Xchange
Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy (L) breaks away from Chicago Bears inside linebacker Shea McClellin for a touchdown in the first quarter of their game November 26, 2015, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Photo by Frank Polich/UPI
1 of 3 | Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy (L) breaks away from Chicago Bears inside linebacker Shea McClellin for a touchdown in the first quarter of their game November 26, 2015, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Photo by Frank Polich/UPI | License Photo

GREEN BAY - Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy hasn't necessarily lost count. He admittedly just doesn't keep a count for how many times he has fumbled the football.

"I really don't know how many times I have fumbled," Lacy said this week. "I mean, it happens. You don't want it to happen, but it's something that you have to put in the back of your mind and just keep rolling."

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Unfortunately for Lacy, the ball has been rolling onto the ground after being in his hands far too much recently.

Lacy has four fumbles, two resulting in turnovers, in the last five games he's played. For comparison's sake, he had a total of four fumbles his first two NFL seasons.

"Ball security, it's always a premium," Lacy said. "Whenever you're going to make a play or you try to make a move, you try to put two hands on it. It's something that you have to be conscious and aware of."

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The star halfback learned again last week that mishandling the football, especially in careless fashion, won't be tolerated by the coaches.

Head coach Mike McCarthy kept Lacy on the sideline the rest of the first half after he lost a fumble at the end of a 15-yard run early in the second quarter of the Packers' 17-13 loss to the visiting Chicago Bears last Thursday night.

Lacy was guilty of not securing the football with both hands into his upper body, thus allowing Bears safety Chris Prosinski to come up from behind and knock the ball out.

Chicago capitalized with a short touchdown drive to tie the score at 7-7.

"As a ball carrier, that's what you don't want, especially when it turns into points for the other team," Lacy said. "It's something that you have to put in the back of your mind because you don't want that to slow you down for the rest of the season. It's something that you don't want to happen as a ball carrier."

Lacy responded from his brief benching by holding onto the football in the second half and finishing with a season-high 105 yards in 17 carries.

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The performance came four days after he had his first 100-yard game of an injury-plagued, underachieving season. It's the first back-to-back games for Lacy to reach the century mark on the ground in his pro career.

After reclaiming in the Bears game the starting job he lost to James Starks a couple weeks earlier, Lacy moved back into the team lead with 513 rushing yards through 10 games played.

Lacy will get his first shot to run against the Detroit Lions defense Thursday night on the road. He missed the Lions' upset win at Lambeau Field on Nov. 15 because of a groin injury.

--McCarthy wouldn't say Tuesday whether veteran tight end Andrew Quarless will be back in uniform on game day as soon as Thursday night.

"The inactives, we put that out an hour and a half before the game. I've been waiting to say that in here (the Lambeau Field media auditorium) for all year," McCarthy said sarcastically.

Of course, Quarless would have to be added to the 53-man roster before he can be activated to play again.

He remains on injured reserve, designated for return after being out since suffering a MCL injury in the Week 3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in late September.

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Quarless resumed practicing Monday and feels he's in game-ready condition despite the lengthy layoff.

"I trained hard, and I tried to keep in shape as best I could," Quarless said. "I wasn't gassed or anything like that (Monday). It's mostly getting back in the mix of the timing (of the offense) and the footwork. That's the most important thing."

Quarless is holding out hope the Packers will call on him Thursday, rather than have him wait until their following game Dec. 13 against the Dallas Cowboys for his long-awaited return to action.

He noted how receiver Randall Cobb was cleared to play the Packers' regular-season finale in 2013 after he was cleared to practice only a few days earlier following a lengthy stint on that same injured reserve list.

"I don't know if it's going to be this week, but I'm going to prepare like it is," Quarless said. "At the end of the day, it's up to (general manager) Ted (Thompson)."

The resumption of Quarless' on-field work Monday came the same day he was sentenced to a year of probation after entering a no-contest plea in Miami for firing a gun in public during a late-night incident Fourth of July weekend.

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Quarless' attorney entered the plea for the misdemeanor charge on behalf of Quarless, who didn't have to appear in court.

The judge also ordered Quarless to pay a $1,000 fine and take anger-management and firearms-safety classes.

Quarless still could face discipline from the NFL office.

--Second-year receiver Jeff Janis looks to be a keeper as Green Bay's midseason insertion on kickoff returns.

Janis was elevated to No. 1 on the depth chart at the spot this week after handling those duties the last two games.

Janis unofficially is the league leader with an average of 41.3 yards in four returns, buoyed by runbacks of 70 and 64 yards against the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago the last two games.

Green Bay opened the season with rookie wideout Ty Montgomery as its kickoff returner. However, Montgomery, who averaged a hefty 31.1 yards in seven runbacks, is expected to miss a sixth straight game Thursday because of a lingering ankle injury.

Janis may be hard-pressed to get even a few runbacks against the Lions as he returns to his native Michigan. Detroit punter/kickoff specialist Sam Martin had all eight of his kickoffs result in touchbacks at Ford Field in the Lions' blowout win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving Day last week.

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