A willingness to play hurt is a great quality for a player to possess. It shows that he cares about more than just a pay cheque, that he actually gives a crap.

However, sometimes as a coaching staff, you have to be smart. I don’t feel like Mike McCarthy and the rest of the Green Bay decision makers were smart when they decided to let Eddie Lacy play against the San Diego Chargers.

Lacy is clearly bothered by his injured ankle. You could see that in the limited work he had in the game. So why play him?

Firstly, the risk of making the injury worse is real. With a bye next week, wouldn’t it be better to give Lacy an extended break to get the ankle better? I’d say it certainly is.

Next, the guy was clearly not himself and by putting him in the game, McCarthy and his staff risked having an ineffective player on the field. The fumble was a clear example. The guy simply wasn’t himself.

It’s not like the game was “must win” either. Green Bay were 5-0, that’s a record that gives you licence. Now, losing is never nice, but at 5-0, a loss doesn’t hurt too badly.

Also, the Packers have a pretty good replacement in James Starks. Starks isn’t as good as a fully healthy Lacy, but he’s better than a one-legged Lacy, that’s for sure.

The Packers managed to get the win against San Diego, so some might say the ends justify the means, but I still think it was a poor move to have Lacy suited up. This Packers team will need Lacy in December and January, risking not having him then to get an October home-win is pretty dumb in my opinion.