Alex Green

It looked to me like the Texans were pretty good open field tacklers and kept one safety close to the LOS.

Against some other teams he probably has 100+ yards and a TD.

Only going to get better. That line needs to open some holes.

That was by far the best Green has looked since coming back from the knee injury. It didn't hurt that Cushing was out for the Texans, but overall Green gave a solid effort and did enough to keep the Texans from going full bore after Rodgers. He's a work in progress as an inside runner. I think his strength is if you can get him out on the edge where he can use his above average acceleration.

No fumbles, sure hands, falls forward, keeps the D honest, just what we need.

Liked what I saw. I want to see a few more receptions for him though. Utilize his strength as an excellent receiver out of the backfield with great hands. Get him in open space and let him do his thing

Excited to see more of him this year as the starter

quote:

Originally posted by LarseeBear:
No fumbles, sure hands, falls forward, keeps the D honest, just what we need.

Plus, if he does get in space, he is a homerun threat.

The difference between Green and Starks is vast... Green is patient for the play to develop. Starks was running into the backs of blockers. In 2010 Starks seemed to find the openings better, not sure what has changed with him.

Green did look good, no doubt. Will get better and hopefully be included more in the passing game. The Pack right now needs to find another so called "Starks". The one currently on the roster shows little. Is Saines seriously hurt? If so a couple of backups will be needed.

Last night was Starks' first game action this year since the first exhibition game. I doubt he's seen much in the way of practice snaps either, given the need to fast-forward Benson and then get Green ready for Houston.

The kid frustrates me as much as anybody, but he needs some reps to knock off the rust.

As for Green, kudos. Very encouraged by what I saw. Hopefully MM and company will spend some time figuring out how to get him the ball in space. Most impressed by his sticking his nose in there on pass protection -- that will get him game time, to be sure.

quote:

Originally posted by Hungry5:
The difference between Green and Starks is vast... Green is patient for the play to develop. Starks was running into the backs of blockers. In 2010 Starks seemed to find the openings better, not sure what has changed with him.

Agreed that Starks just never looked right this year from day 1 and coming back from a serious turf toe injury, he looks a notch below his previous level of play. His previous level of play was never great, but at times was pretty good. Now he doesn't even look like he's at that level anymore. That said, he's rusty so maybe in a couple more weeks we'll see him get a little stronger.

Green ran hard and burst through holes. His speed showed and the OLine did a good job opening holes. His opportunities will be there a lot more if Rodgers continues with his hot hand.

When Jennings is back, I imagine you will see Cobb and Green lined up along #12 in the shotgun..

That is going to open up the middle of the field.

One thing I noticed is that we used the inverted Wishbone with Kuhn and Crabby more than we had all season. And it worked. Get a regular Wishbone going with Green/Starks, Green/Cobb, etc. and that's a wrinkle I think would make D Coordinators sweat!

quote:

Originally posted by Grave Digger: Get a regular Wishbone going with Green/Starks, Green/Cobb, etc. and that's a wrinkle I think would make D Coordinators sweat!

Cobb at QB! CobbCat!

I never want to see anyone other than #12 at QB. No gimmick plays. This team is good enough to score when they want to. No need to put gimmick plays out there.

Chris Collinsworth said something to the effect that if Alex Green can catch the ball, he will become a weapon for the Packers. Apparently Collinsworth is unaware that pass receptions were a big part of what Green did at Hawaii.

Overall Green did well. He missed some open holes, but did display good instincts. I am hoping he continues to improve.

quote:

Originally posted by Floridarob:
I never want to see anyone other than #12 at QB. No gimmick plays. This team is good enough to score when they want to. No need to put gimmick plays out there.

Agreed! Just like saying "CobbCat."

quote:

Originally posted by chickenboy:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Grave Digger: Get a regular Wishbone going with Green/Starks, Green/Cobb, etc. and that's a wrinkle I think would make D Coordinators sweat![/QUOTE

Cobb at QB! CobbCat!

C-boy at posting! Chicken****!

Sorry.

quote:

Originally posted by Hungry5:
The difference between Green and Starks is vast... Green is patient for the play to develop. Starks was running into the backs of blockers. In 2010 Starks seemed to find the openings better, not sure what has changed with him.

I agree. I noticed Green was very patient last night, waited for the pulls to get there, waited for cutback lanes to open and when they did, one cut and go.

Patience really pays off in the screen game. I'd like to see more of that with Green.

I mentioned this in the game thread, but I think Green left some yards out there. Seemed to me like he was always trying to break the big one instead of putting his head down and getting the extra 1-2 yards.

On one play specifically, he had a huge hole in the middle with only the safety there. He didn't have room for a juke, so probably would only have gotten 5-6 yard. Still, a pretty solid play on first down. But instead he broke the play right, trying to sneak through the RG and RT to get outside and possible break a bigger gain, only to get tripped up and go for 3 yards. I like how he's going for the big play, but he needs to be smart about it. But Green has the size, speed and receiving ability that could make him a real weapon in this offense. I really hope he develops.

He also missed a few holes, but nothing that film study and more experience can't fix. He looks much better than Starks so far. Starks seems lost on every run play, hitting the wrong hole consistently.

quote:

Originally posted by Floridarob:
I never want to see anyone other than #12 at QB. No gimmick plays. This team is good enough to score when they want to. No need to put gimmick plays out there.

The Bears agree.

If the last run Starks had didn't knock the rust of him nothing will. I was surprised he got up from that collision but I liked how he decided he really didn't have anything so he decided to smack it in there for all he was worth. Unfortunately he met a brick wall.

Starks' career has been crazy. Carries the Packers' running game during their Super Bowl stretch as a rookie. Then he apparently goes soft and disappears. Maybe he is really trying to get healthy. Hope so.

Yeah, I'm guessing Starks hasn't transformed from Brockington to Darrell Thompson. Hoping his health has been the issue!

quote:

Originally posted by Point Brewmaster:
Chris Collinsworth said something to the effect that if Alex Green can catch the ball, he will become a weapon for the Packers. Apparently Collinsworth is unaware that pass receptions were a big part of what Green did at Hawaii.

This is the only reason I can think of for not getting more screen/dump off/swing out plays to Green. There isn't much game film on him in the pros so D's probably see his production at HI and may be accounting for those kinds of plays. They'll come though once he establishes himself as a threat between and off the tackles.

First, Starks would have had to been half as good as Brockington...

If Starks never plays another meaningful down for this team, he can still hang his hat on single handedly winning the Eagles WC game.

quote:

Originally posted by IL_Pack_Fan:
If Starks never plays another meaningful down for this team, he can still hang his hat on single handedly winning the Eagles WC game.

I seem to remember a shoe string tackle in the open field on the last drive of the game.. Oh.. and some INT in the left corner of the end zone.

Both a result of the respect garnered by #44 in that game.

When Starks is healthy & on the field he always seems "give his all" to me. I think he's a hellva player that needs reps to improve.

One thing I noticed about Green. He does not go down easily. There are backs that when they're about to get tackled will go down fairly quickly. Then there are guys like Marshawn Lynch who keep their legs churning like their lives depended on it. Green is one of those guys. I've got to say it's the little things about running backs that won't appear in the box score that most often impress me. Picking up blitzes, putting your head down and fighting for an extra half yard. I'm a big fan of effort guys, and coming off the injury he had, for Green to be giving it 110%, churning his legs when he really can't go anywhere-that's the kind of guy you want carrying the ball for your team. That kind of effort is infectious, and eventually, he's going to break free for a big gain because he just doesn't quit.

With Benson on the shelf indefinitely and Saine gone for the season, I think the Packers are gonna need James Starks to be a productive option....especially as the season grinds on. Green looked good, but I don't think he'll be able to carry the load by himself.

I said something earlier on here about Marc Tyler. I did not know they had released him from the PS a while ago.

What I like about Green is he seems to be the first every down back the Packers have had in a while. He played 51 of 73 offensive snaps against Houston, including 19 in pass protection. I think that shows how much McCarthy trusts Green. He only allowed 1 QB pressure so I suppose the trust is warranted. While he didn't have a great night, it's nice to see a back who can chew away at a tough defense (22 carries), and hold on to the ball.

quote:

Originally posted by CAPackfan:
...I want to see a few more receptions for him though. Utilize his strength as an excellent receiver out of the backfield with great hands. Get him in open space and let him do his thing...

Ditto that, CAP!
Benson was excelling at this before his injury, and I'd like to see it continue with Green.

Green left some yards on the field Sunday night, missed some cutback opportunities (I think even AR saw one & told him after the play, but hopefully get better with more experience. Starks looks good physically, seems leaner to me? Has always seemed to be a guy who can fall forward & gain positive yards, but runs standing up & thus doesn't cut that quickly. Seems more suited for more traditional blocking schemes, not the ZBS, which relies on the cut back. Starks also has had difficulty picking up blitz blocking assignments in the past.

I thought Green played very well. It appears that MM has plugged him in for Benson and I don't see Starks having a significant role.

I was high on Starks initially because I liked the way he hit the hole and made himself small on contact. But that was gone last year and I haven't seen that yet this year in his limited carries. In 2010 he looked very natural, no so much anymore.

quote:

Originally posted by Geaux-Packers:
I'm just glad to see a promsing rookie come back from a ACL injury. If I recall last year on a punt return, his knee bent in a totally un-natural angle that made me turn my head away from the TV.

Can't recall the Green injury, but you might as well be thinking of Quarless. A Giant jumped on his back when his leg was extended as he was covering a punt. Like you said and as someone who has suffered many knee injuries, I turned away from the TV and my stomach lurched. At the time I also thought, I wonder if he'll be able to come back from this. Football injuries can be so ugly.