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          NFL Nation

          For starters, Eddie Lacy's opening act hit the norm

          • Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff WriterSep 15, 2016, 10:10 PM
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              Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA. You can follow him on Twitter at @RobDemovsky.
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          GREEN BAY, Wis. -- As season openers go, this year's was fairly typical for Eddie Lacy.

          The Green Bay Packers' fourth-year running back carried 14 times for 61 yards in Sunday's win at Jacksonville.

          Guess what his career averages are in season openers?

          Try 14.8 carries for 56 yards.

          So anyone who tries to project what Lacy might do this season after a disappointing year in 2015 best wait a few weeks. Or at least see what he does this Sunday at the Minnesota Vikings, who have yielded four 100-yard games to Lacy in the last five meetings.

          Packers coach Mike McCarthy typically takes it slow with Lacy. Last season, Lacy didn't hit the 20-carry mark until Nov. 22 against the Vikings, which also was his first 100-yard rushing game of the season. In 2014, he first reached the 20-carry mark Nov. 23 on the way to his second straight 1,100-yard season.

          That was a change from his rookie year, when he had 20 or more carries six times before mid-November.

          "You'd probably know better than me; I really don't remember how many carries I got last year versus this year," Lacy said Thursday. "Like I've always been saying, whatever I do get, just try to maximize it."

          Even if Lacy's physique doesn't look all that different even after the extensive training he did this past offseason with P90X founder Tony Horton, there were signs in Week 1 that the work paid off. There was the fourth-and-1 run in the first quarter for a 9-yard gain and a 28-yarder in the third quarter in which he juked Jaguars safety Tashaun Gipson.

          Asked what he thought of his start to the season, Lacy said: "So far so good."

          All eyes are on Lacy as he enters the final year of his contract coming off his worst season (758 yards).

          Given how much McCarthy emphasized the running game going into this season, maybe more should have been expected. The offense stumbled with 5:12 left, turning the ball over to the Jaguars with a three-and-out, giving the Jaguars one last chance only to see the Packers' defense come up with the game-clinching stop.

          "I think we've committed quite a bit of time throughout the offseason as well as preseason football and now we get an opportunity to do it in real live games," Packers offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett said. "I think our guys are committed to what's necessary to be successful in that area."