James Starks (RB) Set for NFL Debut

[SnakeLH2006]

Starks was quite a breath of fresh air yesterday. He really hits the hole with speed and tenacity (something we've been lacking at RB this year).

I'm glad to see that he had 52 catches in 2008, mmmdk, as he'll need to be able to catch the ball some. Most of the time he was in there yesterday, he ran the ball. Most of the time BJ was in there, he was used as a handoff decoy, a blocker, or pass-catcher. I like that setup, but it won't take long for the rest of the league to take notice and clamp down on Starks, unless he can catch a few balls or show he can pass protect.

[3irty1]

Ok so here are my full thoughts on Mr. Starks:

First thing you really notice when seeing him in HD is that the guy is Wesley Snipes black. I hear was Harvey is saying, he didn't look totally comfortable yesterday and ran kind of choppy and out of control. He's got some of those stutter step and head fake moves that you usually see from a running back who knows he's got speed. He also seems to like to spin off of contact for the extra yard. It's already apparent that he has much more under the hood than Jackson. The area where he stands to separate himself from the Packer's other running backs the most is his vision and there is reason to think he will do so after just one game where he didn't leave many yards on the field. He's powerful the way a futon mattress is heavy as opposed to the way a 5-gallon bucket full of wet sand is heavy. He reminds me a lot of Mike Gooden of the Panthers the way he spins out of tackles and wiggles his way North and South. I have a feeling that youtube home-run speed will show itself when he gets the ball out in space and as they start using him on stretch and zone plays with cutback lanes for him to burst through. I saw him pick up a rusher in pass pro yesterday where he ran up and popped the guy right in the chest. The Packers obviously put a premium on this part of a running back's game so it'll be important to see how he does.

[RashanGary]

Interesting post, 31. I never noticed the head-fake thing, but i did see Sam Shields do it and have success with it. That's a hard move to pull off when everyone is fast. Shields did it and it worked.

Everyone's fast and Shields is faster than everyone. Whatever that means.

[mission]

Here's the video of his 16 yard run... I just watched it a bunch of times.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/green-bay-packers/09000d5d81ca9243/RB-Starks-16-yd-run

As much as I like Ryan Grant, we've all seen him go down from a lot less than that leg pop by a dude like Willis. It's awesome to see a GBP RB bouncing off guys like that.

[3irty1]

Its weird to see a Packer RB run past the OL and into uncharted territory.

[Zool]

I'd like to see the guy do it more than once before I declare the RB situation solved. Definitely showed some hard running and decisiveness, but too many times he was slapping his own helmet after the play. Get outa your head rook and just do what you do.

[MichiganPackerFan]

Here's the video of his 16 yard run... I just watched it a bunch of times.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/green-bay-packers/09000d5d81ca9243/RB-Starks-16-yd-run

As much as I like Ryan Grant, we've all seen him go down from a lot less than that leg pop by a dude like Willis. It's awesome to see a GBP RB bouncing off guys like that.

Its weird to see a Packer RB run past the OL and into uncharted territory.

Its funny how fast time flies: 2003, Ahman Green and Clifton/Wahle/Flanagan/Rivera/Tauscher/Henderson seem SO long ago.

It was a nice debut for Starks, but I certainly want to see a lot more before anointing him as the second coming.

[RashanGary]

Here's the video of his 16 yard run... I just watched it a bunch of times.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/green-bay-packers/09000d5d81ca9243/RB-Starks-16-yd-run

As much as I like Ryan Grant, we've all seen him go down from a lot less than that leg pop by a dude like Willis. It's awesome to see a GBP RB bouncing off guys like that.

That's an awesome run. He shows really good balance. Reminds me of a guy I really like that the Chargers drafted, Ryan Matthews.

[Pugger]

I just want Jackson gone! I would rather risk fumbling with Starks than watching Jackson run anymore. Other than pass blocking he offers nothing. I would rather Kuhn start, and don't like Kuhn at Rb. I like him at Fb.

Jackson ain't a feature RB but he isn't too bad catching out of the backfield and picks up the blitz pretty well so he's fine as a 3rd round back.

[hoosier]

That's an awesome run. He shows really good balance. Reminds me of a guy I really like that the Chargers drafted, Ryan Matthews.

Don't you dare make that comparison! The only thing Matthews has shown so far is that he is brittle. You better hope you didn't just jinx Starks and make him the nineteenth name on the Packers's ever expanding IR list.

[Pugger]

His ability to fall forward, even on clear short yardage situations, was encouraging. He also seemed to be able to use his length well by having just enough shift and angle to not get stopped cold and fall forward. Instead of hitting a tackler head-on, he seemed to consistently force them to one side and use his momentum to carry the tackler forward. Given what I've seen since Grant went out, I am more than happy with just that aspect.

I didn't get to see the game but if he was falling forward and getting something out of nothing that can be a huge lift for our offense. I truly think we lost in Atlanta and in a couple of our other loses because we couldn't convert on 3rd and short to keep drives alive.

[SnakeLH2006]

Bottom Line: Starks is spades above ANYTHING BJack can do. BJack gets tackled all the time behind the line of scrimmage. He's small, has no change of ability moves, and makes Ryan Grant (who I previously used to rip on for not breaking tackles) look like Jim Brown.

Starks is a young, fast RB. He's upright, but that's ok cuz he really fights for yards (much like Grant did). I like him in the same mold. With an ace QB like ARod, the odds are stacked we will NEVER have an ace RB, but Starks is pretty damn exciting as I watched EVERY carry he had last week and he's nothing like Kuhn (slow plodder) or BJack (indecisive slow smallish RB with NO moves). Starks is an upgrade and then some. I like this young cat. He fights and even if he's almost tackled he still fights and gets 2 more yards....reminds me of a better Tony Fisher (maybe a bad comparison but Fisher could get some yards, but didn't have the speed Starks does as an upright runner). Anything is better than BJack....and this is why we are gonna be unbeatable till the SB now. We found our RB. Starks is legit. Snake came back and started his first topic on Starks and now we win the SBowl. Thank Snake.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I wouldn't say Jackson has no moves. He's a nice back in space on those screens and dumpoffs. His problem is trying to make those moves at the LOS... dancing around looking for a hole. One cut it and get it up in there.

[OS PA]

Its weird to see a Packer RB run past the OL and into uncharted territory.

Colledge looked like he was in uncharted territory too. Had he kicked out to his left and blocked the safety that hit Starks, Starks could have broken that one. Instead, Colledge assisted Wells in knocking the DT down and then ran himself to the right out of the play. Somebody who knows more than I do - How has Colledge been lately on the second level? How are our other linemen at the second level?

This seems important now that we have an RB who is willing to stick his nose in and break into the linebackers and secondary. If any of our lineman are capable of getting off combo blocks and blocking that second level, I have a feeling we could see Starks breaking some runs.

I'm still hesitant to call him our "savior", but I do feel a bit more confidence in him after seeing how hard the kid runs.

[SnakeLH2006]

So Snake just got back on here, but I see I can't edit shit from the past or even hilite your reply with an edit of your post...? WTF, Joe? Snake is legendary with his own edits, but I can't even hilite a guy and short-edit his post for a reply?

Damn this new site does suck then.

With what OS PA said...Collegde sucks, but offered enough to keep Starks happy with runs. Is this site so messed up I cant't even edit the dude I wanna reply to? Whatever...Snake is 110x better than any lacky wanting to make his name a point on here.