Starks Out of Oakland

CB Duane Starks should be happy that he's out of Oakland after learning of his release this week. A mere shadow of his former self, Starks needs to find a job with a winning team even if it's only for the veteran minimum. The 10th pick overall in the 1998 NFL Draft by the Ravens, Starks was a crafty and scrappy defensive back who stole 20 passes away from his opponents over the course of his four seasons in Baltimore. He even picked off a pass in the Ravens' Super Bowl victory over the New York Giants and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown.

But for the past two years, he's been a struggling veteran player attempting to resurrect his career with a struggling team. That rarely works. If he wants to be successful in this league again, he needs to find a defensive backs coach with a winning program who has the talent to spot what's gone awry with Stark's approach to the game both mentally and physically. And he has to surround himself with players who have a winning attitude and who won't accept anything from him but his best effort every day. I hope he finds that opportunity, because when his game was on he was great fun to watch.

(scout.miami.com)