I'm afraid that at this point Starks is not much of an option in the running game. He still has some effect in the screen game. I believe we'll start seeing more plays with Michael involved since his quickness advantage is apparent. What's holding him back is MM and Rodgers not trusting his blocking and...being unfamiliar with the plays. Monty is becoming more of an option running the ball, he hits a hole quick and he recognizes where the hole is. He's so dynamic receiving that his lack of blocking is not as big a problem.

I'm starting to really like our receivers. Adams, Nelson, and Cobb are dynamic and starting to look like one of the best receiver trios in football. R Rodgers looks better now that Cook is active. This is a good receiver group.

The OL has been great at protecting AR all year. Actually, this game continued a string of excellent performances. Overall, our offense is the least of our problems.

Unfortunately, the defense remains a work in progress. With Ryan and Martinez at close to 100%, we're a very hard team to run on. With them playing at less than 100%, or missing one or the other, we are average, at best, against the run

Without Matthews at 100%, we have to blitz to get any pressure on opposing QBs. This exposes holes in our very porous zone defense. A good QB would have a career day against this secondary playing zone. The problem is that I don't believe Randall and Rollins are close to 100%, and we can't play press man without them being near 100%. Gunter has skills, but is limited by his lack of closing speed, and none of the other young CBs are anywhere close to ready to play press man. This means we have to use Hyde and the other safeties as defacto CBs and they are limited by their body type and training.

I think our offense will keep us in every game. But my feeling is that we'll win 2 or 3 of the remaining 4 games and miss the playoffs because of our defensive limitations.