running backs

[ThunderDan]

Monty has good instincts with the ball in his hand. I don't want to speak for Maxie but he'll have to learn timing, flow and reading how, when and where his blockers are going to create lanes for him as a runner. Sometimes he needs to be patient, other times he needs to smash it through, and other times he'll need to cut backside. He doesn't have that, and it takes time and experience but that's definitely something he can gain with practice and repetition. Some guys never really seem to get it. I think Starks is still below average at it. Monty strikes me as a guy who gets that kind of stuff pretty quickly and has the football ability to leverage his instincts and intelligence.

Funny, I always thought Starks was one of the best one cut ZBS runners I had seen.

[vince]

Funny, I always thought Starks was one of the best one cut ZBS runners I had seen.

Yeah just my opinion. I'd say he's had some periods where he's had really good rhythm cutting it up and he always hits it hard when he does. I think he's had just about as many periods when he seems to get into a funk missing the cutback and bouncing out to the sideline too often for no gain, or similarly getting the dropsies on screens during those same periods.

When he hits it I agree he slashes through, runs hard and covers a lot of ground with his long strides. I think sometimes he gets thinking too much (dropping passes, missing reads/adjustments blocking, not having a good sense of where the strength of the defense is and/or what their doing in run pursuit, etc. That has hurt his effectiveness at times.

That's the stuff that high football IQ guys excel at I think. Monty's got it IMO. Rodgers has it, (although he has his insecurities too which cause him to hold the ball too long too often) In my opinion, while Starks does have that great one-cut-and-punishing-finish running style that's real effective when he's on, his football IQ is average and at times his decision-making is a little off. Confidence breeds more confidence, and with him, a split second of uncertainty breeds more uncertainty. He's streaky.

Was it the Detroit game where he practically handed the linebacker in front of him the ball late in the game? That's a good example. I don't know what his rushing line looked like that game but I bet it wasn't good. I wouldn't be surprised to find out he missed a blitz pick-up too.