I am not playing the stat game with ya on this. I will never be convinced that against good front sevens running the ball out of the shotgun or slow developing run plays with Lacy behind center by himself or the sweep is a good way to get those teams out there "cover 2 shell" that Rodgers hates.
The fastest way to do it is to bring guys in and put Kuhn in as lead blocker zone block on edge and then play action out of it. Once you get the defense on there heels you can shotgun draw trap as much as MM's heart desires. You gotta soften em up first with body blows.
That's my stat for you. It's called "getting results".
I believe there are distortions in these stats as you suggest.
When the Packers run for short yardage, and the defense it keyed to it, most often that's with Rodgers under center. We see short yardage plays with a 7 man line, sometimes together with an H-back/FB and only one WR, sometimes with the full house backfield (or "inverted bone" or whatever you want to call it), where Lacy has two blockers with him in the backfield (a formation I loathe, by the way). These are under center plays.
The point being, the runs
designed for getting short yards are concentrated in the under-center snaps.
Conversely, when running out shotgun it's typically from a passing formation with the defense spread. It's not uncommon to see an audible from pass to run out of shotgun when it's evident Rodgers does not like what he sees in the coverage alignment. We've played a couple of teams that were confident in their 4 man rush and dropped 7...that's an audible-to-run situation if it's not 3rd. and long.
Given these factors, if Lacy were equally effective out of shotgun or under center, I'd expect the spread in the stats, as presented by CaptainWIMM above, to be wider than they are in 2014.
To my eye, this offense has the best run/pass balance and a look that keeps the defense guessing with the single back I, inline TE, and 3 wide.
That's the set out of which Lacy hit on the two big runs against the Vikes, setting the tone for the game.
The Vikes played neutral against this neutral offensive set with 6 men in the box against the 6 man line...I like Lacy's odds there if the guys execute. It also makes for more convincing play action. And Lacy just looks better, more in character, with a head start out of under center; he does not look as good starting flatfooted out of shotgun.
A key is for Quarless to block the way he did against the Vikes to make it work. Something happened there...it could have been the weaker competition, it could have been Quarless getting religion and seeing an opportunity to get his starting job back after Rodgers got pushed all over the field (and in Lacy's face). Whatever it was, we want more.
As for your preference for a blocking back, I don't think I necessarily agree unless the object is short yardage. I tried to find the piece where Lacy was quoted as preferring single back because the blocking back tends to get in his way or clog the hole, but I'm not finding it at the moment. I find that to be not surprising at all.
