James Starks (RB) Set for NFL Debut

[pbmax]

Starks isn't quite as fast as Grant, but from what I've seen has far better lateral quickness. I think the upright argument is overplayed. People said the same thing about Adrian Peterson and Eric Dickerson when they came into the league. I'm not comparing Starks to either of those guys except to say they - along with Grant - all have/had an upright running style. Robert Smith was another.

Can anyone cite an upright runner whose career was negatively impacted by it? I can't really think of one...

I don't know if it is tied directly to shorter careers, but it is often associated with fumbles. Adrian Peterson, Laurence Maroney for instance. Brandon Jacobs is mentioned, but he might be the only current player a wear down argument could be made that I am aware of.

Dickerson had trouble with fumbles. Often this description is applied to tall running backs. The point is also made that running this way makes the back slower to change direction. It used to be these backs would be slotted to fit best in an I formation backfield.

[mmmdk]

I don't know if it is tied directly to shorter careers, but it is often associated with fumbles. Adrian Peterson, Laurence Maroney for instance. Brandon Jacobs is mentioned, but he might be the only current player a wear down argument could be made that I am aware of.

Dickerson had trouble with fumbles. Often this description is applied to tall running backs. The point is also made that running this way makes the back slower to change direction. It used to be these backs would be slotted to fit best in an I formation backfield.

I hear ya but I couldn't believe what I read; Starks had no fumbles in 3 years at Buffalo!? That's according to ESPN.

[rbaloha1]

I'm in the same camp. Starks had a great debut, but there are some things about his running style that leave me wondering. He's tall, and runs very upright. Those guys tend to get hurt in the NFL. He's also a long strider, so there's no lateral quickness. He might be just what we need to finish out this year. But I'm not as encouraged long term.

Good observations. While being encouraged by Starks performance my concern is how effective Starks is outside of the front five.

[rbaloha1]

He had at least 2 cutbacks on zone plays. One was a fantastic read by him. He would seem to have enough lateral quickness to run zone plays.

Yes. Does Starks have homerun ability?

[mmmdk]

Yes. Does Starks have homerun ability?

In college: YES! I recall a 92 yard monster run I watched on Utube.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Starks looks like he's better than the guys we have on 1st and 2nd down, but I was slightly disappointed on how he looked. He did a good job finding holes and gaining extra yards, but he looked a little stiffer and slower than I thought he'd look (e.g. compared to his youtube video). I'm also concerned with his running style. It's his first game though. I'll be interested to see how fast he looks on the turf in Detroit.

[Packgator]

I read that Starks 73 yards....... are the most rushing yards by a Packer rookie in his first game since 1948. Is that possible?

[mmmdk]

Starks looks like he's better than the guys we have on 1st and 2nd down, but I was slightly disappointed on how he looked. He did a good job finding holes and gaining extra yards, but he looked a little stiffer and slower than I thought he'd look (e.g. compared to his youtube video). I'm also concerned with his running style. It's his first game though. I'll be interested to see how fast he looks on the turf in Detroit.

I thought his thighs looked a wee bit too slim - add muscle in offseason? He hasn't played in nearly 2 years and I was baffled that he as well as he did.

[Patler]

Starks looks like he's better than the guys we have on 1st and 2nd down, but I was slightly disappointed on how he looked. He did a good job finding holes and gaining extra yards, but he looked a little stiffer and slower than I thought he'd look (e.g. compared to his youtube video). I'm also concerned with his running style. It's his first game though. I'll be interested to see how fast he looks on the turf in Detroit.

In the minicamps before he hurt his hamstring, a couple observers mentioned that he looked a little stiff, too.

Watching him run yesterday, he reminded me of someone from quite a while ago. I can't think of his name or even who he played for. But he was a tall, lean, but well-built athlete who also looked a bit stiff, but hammered away at the 3 and 4 yard runs, busting one for 10-15 now and then. Only rarely anything longer. But at the end of the game he piled up yardage and a decent average.

[Joemailman]

Yes. Does Starks have homerun ability?

I don't know. But Bryan Bulaga does.

[vince]

Starks looks like he's better than the guys we have on 1st and 2nd down, but I was slightly disappointed on how he looked. He did a good job finding holes and gaining extra yards, but he looked a little stiffer and slower than I thought he'd look (e.g. compared to his youtube video). I'm also concerned with his running style. It's his first game though. I'll be interested to see how fast he looks on the turf in Detroit.

I had to watch the game online, so the resolution wasn't the greatest and there were instances of choppiness in the feed, but I thought he looked good. Very reminiscent of Grant with more shake. He's not a speedster like Chris Johnson, but neither were/are most running backs. I think he has homerun ability from what I saw. He just needed a tad more space to get going than he had yesterday. I'm waiting to download the game on TenYardTorrents and watch it again in higher resolution.

I think the concern about his ball security is legitimate and hopefully Edgard can get that solidified and get him to run with a bit more lean. He'll always be more upright though because of his size. A year of offseason to thicken up more could do wonders as well.

[denverYooper]

In the minicamps before he hurt his hamstring, a couple observers mentioned that he looked a little stiff, too.

Watching him run yesterday, he reminded me of someone from quite a while ago. I can't think of his name or even who he played for. But he was a tall, lean, but well-built athlete who also looked a bit stiff, but hammered away at the 3 and 4 yard runs, busting one for 10-15 now and then. Only rarely anything longer. But at the end of the game he piled up yardage and a decent average.

IMO, the part in bold is very much what the Packers offense needs a RB to do in the run game.

[Cheesehead Craig]

If he can keep running how he did yesterday and get 18-20 carries/game, the offense just got quite a bit better.

[swede]

In the minicamps before he hurt his hamstring, a couple observers mentioned that he looked a little stiff, too.

Watching him run yesterday, he reminded me of someone from quite a while ago. I can't think of his name or even who he played for. But he was a tall, lean, but well-built athlete who also looked a bit stiff, but hammered away at the 3 and 4 yard runs, busting one for 10-15 now and then. Only rarely anything longer. But at the end of the game he piled up yardage and a decent average.

If he were a bit stouter, I'd compare him to Eddie George.

Eddie listed at 6' 3" and 235--which sounds about right since he always looked something like a tight end minus an inch of height and 10 pounds.

James is listed at 6' 2" and 211--and he could benefit from another ten pounds of muscle in his legs and butt.

With his shoulder needing a good couple of years to heal properly I would have thought Starks would have put some effort into doing just that, and if that's all he has to show for all the squats and lunges he may be stuck being a skinny-ass upright runner.

[Joemailman]

If he can keep running how he did yesterday and get 18-20 carries/game, the offense just got quite a bit better.

Not only is he better than Jackson at running the ball, but it allows Jackson to concentrate on what he does best, which is being the 3rd down back. Kuhn is fine as a short yardage guy. The situation at RB did get a lot better if Starks can repeat what he did yesterday.