Interesting choice of words from Mike McCarthy when asked about Dimitri Nance being back at practice and what that meant for James Starks' chance at being active on Snday.

Nance was cleared to practice yesterday after he suffered a concussion in the Atlanta game. During his Monday press conference, McCarthy had indicated that Starks "better be" ready because there would possibly be an opportunity for him to be active on Sunday with Nance's situation up in the air.

But now, with Nance back in the mix, McCarthy and his staff are apparently going to use the "practice environment" (McCarthy's phrase) to gather as much information on Starks as they can before making a decision between the two rookie running backs.

From McCarthy:

Dimitri has completed the process and practiced today, and we’ll have Dimitri and James pretty much compete throughout the week, and we’ll address that at the end of the week.

I think for James Starks to play in the game, you have to trust your practice environment because that’s all the preparation he has. That’s the facts. If James is ready to play, if we feel that he is ready to play and contribute to us winning the game, that’s when he’ll play, and that’s the bottom line.

For his part, Starks seems to believe that he'll be active on Sunday regardless of what happens with Nance. As he told reporters after practice, he has been working on special teams for the first time since coming off the physically unable to perform list. In fact, he reportedly spent an extra 30 minutes with Special Teams coach Shawn Slocum after practice on Thursday going over questions he had for Slocum.

From Starks:

Just plays, the man I’d have to cover if different situations occur, what I’m supposed to do in those situations. We went in-depth on everything, cleared my mind a little better, now I know who I have, I know my assignments a lot better.

As McCarthy often says, the best route onto the game day active roster for young players is through special teams. It would seem, regardless of Dimitri Nance's status, James Starks could finally get on the football field on Sunday.