Starks, Quarless and Nelson

[RashanGary]

The way Nelson played down the stretch, you have to be excited about his future in GB.

Andrew Quarless wasn't great, but he was a rookie coming into a complex offense. He showed flashes, particularly when he ran right by that safety on the fake FG. Not many TE's have 4.5 speed. He does. He could be another mismatch type weapon, Jermichael-lite.

Starks showed me more as a runner than I thought possible. I remember the clips of him in college catching out of the backfield, lining up out wide and running WR routes, catching bombs. I didn't think he would be able to run the way he did. After a year in the offseason program and a year knowing the offense, he could come back as a unique weapon who can run or split out and pressure the defense that way.

If I had to rank who I think is most likely to be good, I'd do this:
Nelson
Starks
Quarless


If I had to rank who has the highest potential, I'd do this:
Starks
Quarless
Nelson


Regardless, we have some possible up and coming playmakers. Will be fun to see who pans out.

[Joemailman]

Training camp will be fun next year. It's a coach's dream to have the kind of competition the Packers will have at so many positions, and that's without knowing what the draft will bring in.

[Smidgeon]

Training camp? What's that? ~CBA

[sharpe1027]

I might even be more excited about Neal. Burnett is intriguing as well.

[Joemailman]

Training camp? What's that? ~CBA

Brett? Is that you?

[King Friday]

Quarless is OK, but he's not going to get much of a chance to shine once Finley comes back. He has his moments, but he seemed to drop as many passes and he caught. When you are the 5th guy the defense is worrying about as a receiver, you need to be able to make plays consistently. Not big plays, but plays. Barring Finley becoming a ego maniac and forcing his way off the roster, I don't see Quarless ultimately shining in Green Bay. He may catch on elsewhere though.

I like Starks, but it will be interesting to see how he factors in with Grant back. The likely abbreviated training camp this offseason (that CBA won't be done until mid-August at the earliest) is not in Starks' favor. The kid needs some reps. Grant will too for that matter. RB will be very interesting to watch preseason next year.

Nelson is reaching his potential at this point. He's no better than a #2 WR, but he's clearly a guy that Rodgers has a lot of confidence in. With Driver probably in decline, Nelson will see more #2 CBs covering him. Being able to continue to excel with more defensive attention paid to him will be vital for this offense to continue to shine, but I think he can handle it.

[mraynrand]

. Barring Finley becoming a ego maniac and forcing his way off the roster, I don't see Quarless ultimately shining in Green Bay. He may catch on elsewhere though.

Maybe it's just me, but I see that as reasonably likely.

[channtheman]

Maybe it's just me, but I see that as reasonably likely.

As do I. We thought he matured but I could easily see him becoming a locker room cancer. Time will tell, but my confidence in Finley is low.

[Smidgeon]

Brett? Is that you?

What does Brett Favre and and ending CBA have in common? No training camp!

[Smidgeon]

Quarless is OK, but he's not going to get much of a chance to shine once Finley comes back. He has his moments, but he seemed to drop as many passes and he caught. When you are the 5th guy the defense is worrying about as a receiver, you need to be able to make plays consistently. Not big plays, but plays. Barring Finley becoming a ego maniac and forcing his way off the roster, I don't see Quarless ultimately shining in Green Bay. He may catch on elsewhere though.

I like Starks, but it will be interesting to see how he factors in with Grant back. The likely abbreviated training camp this offseason (that CBA won't be done until mid-August at the earliest) is not in Starks' favor. The kid needs some reps. Grant will too for that matter. RB will be very interesting to watch preseason next year.

Nelson is reaching his potential at this point. He's no better than a #2 WR, but he's clearly a guy that Rodgers has a lot of confidence in. With Driver probably in decline, Nelson will see more #2 CBs covering him. Being able to continue to excel with more defensive attention paid to him will be vital for this offense to continue to shine, but I think he can handle it.

See, I think even if Finley does grow up and stay in the fold that M3 will find a way to get Quarless involved. I think Quarless will be a talented player (maybe a Top 15 TE) someday. He isn't in Finley's class, but can you imagine the 2 TE sets M3 could contrive?? Just watch the offense get even more diverse...

I'm hoping we go to more of a 2 RB system since it will save tread on both guys, but the team will always be pass first. Neither is Ahman Green (sadly), Grant has shown somewhat more consistency (year to year not game to game), and Starks has (in my opinion) shown more ability. Neither fumble, which is HUGE.

Nelson may be no better than a #2 (and I don't disagree), but I think he could be a very good #2. He's got the speed for it, and it appears as if he's developing a knack for reading zone coverage. Now if only Jones can get his drops down (I suggest three hours a day on the JUGS machine)...

[wootah]

As do I. We thought he matured but I could easily see him becoming a locker room cancer. Time will tell, but my confidence in Finley is low.

Me too, and I think our Superbowl MVP as well. I do not think at all it's a coincidence that Arod kept mentioning the return of Finley and gave him high praise ("the best TE in football") in the post-Superbowl interviews. He also repeated that when sending a message to Finley via Twitter (to which Jermichael answered that he was extatic to have Arod throwing him the ball for the next 10 years). Why with Finley and not Grant?

It has been documented that nothing Arod does is without a plan; the funny staches in training camp, organizing parties at his place, remembering all the players' birthdays, the belt. It all served a certain purpose... This in combination with his Finley remarks made me think. I might be completely wrong here, but I think Arod wants to keep Finley close, also knowing that there's a possibility of things getting ugly in the future. To be a respected voice of reason for Finley should it be necessary. Going even further, it's has also been said in interviews that the Finleys and the Barnetts get along well. Maybe Arod wants to anticipate on a departure of Barnett and how this would piss Finley off. Or maybe Arod just want to spend some time an igloo.

Again, this is just my gut feeling. Although it's striking how many fans have a similar fear regarding Finley.

[wist43]

I don't see Starks as being able to hold up over the long haul... he simply runs too upright, and will absorb an awful lot of punishment. He is a good complimentary back, and you can ride him for stretches, but I don't ever see him being a 250-300 carry/game guy.

[Little Whiskey]

but I don't ever see him being a 250-300 carry/game guy.

holy crap that would be a lot of carries. I don't see any back (except chuck norris) being able to carry the ball that many times per game.

[Joemailman]

I don't see Starks as being able to hold up over the long haul... he simply runs too upright, and will absorb an awful lot of punishment. He is a good complimentary back, and you can ride him for stretches, but I don't ever see him being a 250-300 carry/game guy.

I'll assume you meant 250/300 carries per season. Only 7 RB's had 300+ carries last year. The trend is definitely toward having at least 2 guys sharing the load. He could be the #1 RB, but he won't be the only one. I do think he has a little more elusiveness than Grant, so he may be able to avoid some of the hard hits that Grant takes.

[wist43]

lol

No, pretty sure I meant per/game...

Imagine the ball control