How Long Can James Starks Bolster Green Bay Packers' Running Game?

As the Green Bay Packers enter their Week 7 bye, things in the backfield are looking curiously inverted. Starting running back Eddie Lacy has 67 carries, 260 yards and one touchdown.

Second-string rusher James Starks, on the other hand, has 63 attempts for 286 yards and two touchdowns (one receiving).

When the Packers re-signed Starks to a two-year contract in 2014 worth $3.25 million, per Spotrac, they made it clear that they valued his role as part of a one-two punch with Lacy in the backfield, keeping their 2013 second-round pick fresh. 

	Att.	Att./Game	Rush Yds	Avg.	Rush TD	Rec. Yds	Rec. TD
Eddie Lacy	67	11.2	260	3.9	1	83	0
James Starks	63	10.5	286	4.5	1	75	1

Indeed, in 2014, Starks had 85 carries to Lacy's 246, often alternating in on entire drives as the team became conscious of controlling Lacy's snaps after he averaged 20 carries per game in his rookie season. 

However, even if that was the strategy heading into 2015, no one expected that Starks would have more yards than Lacy and would have started a game in which Lacy was not out due to injury.

But that's exactly what happened in Week 6 against the San Diego Chargers—and Starks didn't find out he was getting the start until it was time for him to go.

"I'm ready at all times," Starks said, per Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I don't care if I'm coming in second, first, whatever. Any opportunity I get, I just try to make the most out of it." 

While Starks kept the Packers offense moving—racking up 112 yards on 10 carries, including a 65-yard touchdown that was the longest of his career—how much longer can he be expected to carry Green Bay's backfield? And what, exactly, is wrong with Lacy?

Though Lacy didn't appear on the Packers' injury report heading into Week 6, it's most likely that he's still recovering from the ankle injury he suffered in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks that caused him to leave the game. 

Per Cohen, during the team's last three games, Lacy was wearing "spatting," or heavy over-the-shoe tape that provides extra support for his ankle, but in the week of practice leading up to the matchup against the Chargers, he was wearing light tape on his ankle. 

And when asked about a possible lingering ankle issue, Lacy refused to acknowledge the possibility. 

"My ankle is all right," Lacy said when first asked, per Cohen, adding that he spatted it for "a mental thing."

When pushed a third time, Lacy simply responded, "I'm cool."

Head coach Mike McCarthy, on the other hand, seemed to indicate that injury concerns are still very real concerning Lacy, and that even after the bye week, Starks might see increased playing time.

"Eddie is pretty much like our whole football team. He's beat up, this week will help him," McCarthy said in his post-game press conference, per Weston Hodkiewicz of Press-Gazette Media. 

"Just really I like the one-two punch, and frankly if one of them gets hot in a game, then hey he may carry it 20 times," McCarthy added. 

But is Starks prepared to carry the ball 20 times in a game, or in multiple games, as the season goes on? Not to mention that the Packers offense has struggled to be explosive in the passing game with the injuries at the wide receiver position.

The last time Starks experienced an exponential increase in usage was, of course, in the 2010 season and postseason as the Packers advanced to and eventually won Super Bowl XLV. 

Playing in three games through the course of the 2010 regular season, Starks, that year's sixth-round draft pick, had 29 carries for 101 yards and no scores, averaging 3.5 yards per carry. He had been activated from the PUP list on Nov. 9.

Without running back Ryan Grant, Brandon Jackson was carrying most of the load for the team through the regular season. But the team decided to start the rookie Starks in the postseason, and he wound up starting every game from the Wild Card through to the Super Bowl. 

"I got to play in all 16 regular-season games and every playoff game, but it was tough not starting in the postseason and the Super Bowl," Jackson said, per Martin Hendricks of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

We're nearly halfway through the 2015 season, but it looks like Starks could once again take snaps and even starts away from the team's presumed starter in the backfield even though he doesn't officially appear on the injury report. 

Starks, of course, did well in his baptism by fire in the 2010 postseason. He had 81 attempts for 315 yards and a crucial touchdown in the NFC Championship Game against the Chicago Bears. He averaged 3.9 yards per carry. 

And though Starks is similar to Lacy in his bruising downhill running style, those types of backs do best as part of a one-two punch, not a one-man show. After all, that's why Starks has a spot on the roster to begin with.

If Lacy is going to continue to be as limited as he has been—in the last two games he's had 17 carries for only 30 yards—can Starks keep the offense moving on the ground?

While there's no doubt he can carry the load when asked to do so over a short period of time, it's unclear how he would fare as the featured back for half a season—whether or not the constant hits and charges up the middle would wear him down. That would, of course, be a serious problem.

And Starks isn't close to matching Lacy in elusiveness. In 2014, Lacy broke or avoided 49 tackles; Starks, 19. Lacy's elusive rating, per Pro Football Focus, was 71.6; Starks' was 55.4.

But when it comes to yards after contact, which is a crucial goal of Green Bay's zone-blocking scheme, Starks had 2.7 per attempt in 2014, just below Lacy's 2.8. Both were good enough to put the two in the top 10 among all halfbacks.

There's no question that Starks can do the job alone. But for how long can he be expected to do it?