Position Profile: Running Backs

Examing the Running Back Position

A good football team is built on a good running game. Same is true for fantasy football. Running Backs are workhorses that can be Pro-Bowlers one season and Kyle Bollers the next. That's why they're the scariest position to draft early. Every year you look at the top-10 ranked preseason Running Backs; 4 had great seasons, 2 were so-so, 2 landed on IR, and 2 were thrown into a Running Back by committe.

I don't care what pick I have, drafting a RB in the 1st scares me. There's plenty of RB's I love going in rounds 3-7, that I almost feel safer drafting than some of the top-end talent. I'm going to examine the Top-Tier of RB's and than give you the names of sleepers, you must be aware of draft day.

Upper-Echelon Backs

Best Bets:

Matt Forte-I love him. I would come close to considering taking him 1st overall, and if I owned the 2nd pick, he would be my guy. He's going to catch a ton of balls this year, and has the speed and ability to make big plays. Forte doesn't have anyone looking over his shoulder, and he's probably the only player Jay Cutler won't alienate this season.

Adrian Peterson-Peterson's goal is 2000 yards this year, and I believe in him. Forget the Vikings QB Soap Opera and look at what Brett the Jet did for Thomas Jones. Adrian Peterson is the only playmaker Favre and the Vikes have to work with. All Day will do more than live up to his #1 pick status.

Steve Slaton-Slaton is available at the end of the 1st round, early 2nd. How nice would it be to get a combo of Calvin Johnson and Slaton at picks 12,13. Not a bad consolation prize for picking last. Slaton got the full-time gig in Houston and never looked back. Schaub is back, and that will open up the field even more for Slaton. Listen, are you really worried about Chris Brown vulturing TD's? It's not even a concern for me.

Buyer Beware:

Steven Jackson-When Jackson is healthy and on the field, he has one of the best per-game fantasy production of any player. That is despite playing for the league's worst team, and Marc Bulger and countless OL starters continually hurt. When S-Jax is healthy, he can be the best fantasy back. If your not someone who likes to roll the dice, stay away.

Frank Gore-Basically the same as above, but Frank Gore can never stay healthy. Even in college. The good thing for both Gore, and S-Jax they play in a pretty weak division and offer plenty of good matchups during playoff time.

Fantasy Player Consensus:
LaDanian Tomlinson-LT's best days are behind him. Darren Sproles is poised to take a lot of carries, and LT isn't worthy of a 1st round draft pick.

My Verdict-No way. LT pissed off a lot of Fantasy Owners who owned the 1st overall pick, myself included, but the fact is at the end of the day LT was the 6th best fantasy RB last year. Not too bad. He hears the grumblings, and is motivated for another good season. He may not be Adrian Peterson, but he's perfect capable of last years numbers, which despite the perception are not bad.

Chris Johnson-CJ is falling out of the Top 5 now, because Lendale White, surprisingly, is impressing his coaches. Lendale White is back to vulture Chris Johnson's TD's.

My Verdict-Who cares about Lendale White? CJ put up double-digit TDs as a rookie, even with Lendale vulturing. Tennessee has had all off-season to start designing an offense designed around Johnson's insane talent. Johnson will put up double-digit TDs, again, easily.

Mid-Round Backs

Love:

Ray Rice-He's the primary back in Baltimore. Cam Cameron is an offensive genious, and Baltimore's training camp has been full of screen plays and short passes to get the ball to Rice in space.

Leon Washington-He's going late in drafts. He may be the best offensive player in the AFC East not named Brady or Moss. The Jets will utilize his talent even more this year.

Knowshon Moreno-There isn't talent close to Moreno of Denver's roster. Don't give me the Denver RB nonsense.

Ahmad Bradshaw-Derrick Ward put up 1,000 yards last year behind Brandon Jacobs. Ahmad Bradshaw will be that guy.

Darren McFadden-The Raiders offense won't be as inept as people think. McFadden is a game-breaker and will be the guy in Oakland this year.

Lesean McCoy-He was a stud at Pittsburgh. I'm thinking Westbrooks TD vulture, and a great bench player to hold onto for the 3-4 games Westbrook misses.

Hate:

Willie Parker-Can we stop calling him 'Fast Willie'? Mendenhall and even Mewelde Moore will get looks in the redzone.

Jamal Lewis-He's hit his 30's. The Browns will be the AFC's worst team by far, and they still don't know who their QB is, except in 2o10 it'll be Sam Bradford.

Deep Sleepers

James Davis-I originally loved Jerome Harrison to take over for Jamal Lewis, but James Davis has been a beast this preseason. Unfortunately his name is getting out there, but he has big-time potential.

Jamaal Charles-His skill-set fits Todd Haley's offense much better than Larry Johnson. Larry Johnson has a ton of mileage on him, and he's a headcase. Charles might get an opportunity to become a solid Flex Play.

Rashad Jennings-He's dinged up right now and losing a valuable chance to be the backup to MJD, but I love his pedigree. He's got the size and speed to be an effective NFL running back.

Saturday Preseason Games Review

Saturday Preseason Games 8/15

Atlanta Falcons vs. Detroit Lions
After watching this game, the thing that I can say with the most certainty is Michael Turner is ready to match last year's performance. The stocky built back had 6 carries for 63 yards and a score. His build combined with his low center of gravity on running plays means that he is much less susceptible to injuries than someone like Adrian Peterson who runs more upright. Jerious Norwood was also solid and could have value as a Leon Washington-type change of pace players who racks up yards in a variety of different ways. Matt Ryan was not in there long, going 5/7 for 33 yards. He should be good this season, but don't buy too much into the hype. This is still very much a run first offense. Roddy White, 3 catches for 29 yards, is due for a big year now that he finally has gotten that new contract. Tony Gonzalez, 1 catch for 7 yards, is a player who will not play much in preseason but you know what you are going to get during the regular season- which is borderline top 5 tight end production (note: There are a lot of TE's this year so I would wait to draft one instead of jumping on Gonzalez early). Overall, this offense is very good, and has the potential to be great depending on how much Ryan advances in his second year.

For the Lions, the biggest thing you can take away from this game is that Matt Stafford is gonna be good. He was 7/14 for 114 yards with a TD and an INT. Overall, he displayed a strong arm with nice touch and good mobility. But what was most impressive about Stafford was his pocket presence; this key because a shaky line means he will have to watch his back early on and get the ball out quick. He should form one dynamic Duo with Calvin Johnson in the future. Kevin Smith did not play much but he seems poised build on a very solid rookie season. At this point, I would take him over other similarly ranked players like Westbrook, R. Brown, Lynch and R. Grant. With Calvin Johnson out, There were really no receiver's of any consequence. Still, Derrick Williams, an athletic rookie out of Penn State, had a nice day 2 catches for 35 yards and a score and may be able to find a role as an explosive slot receiver.

Chicago Bears vs. Buffalo Bills
Much the same way the Orton era started off shaky in Denver, the Jay Cutler era didn't exactly start off with a bang as he went 5/10 for 64 yards and an INT. One shaky preseason performance is nothing to get worried about. Still, if he continues to struggle as he deals with a receiving corp that is significantly less talented than the one he had in Denver, it's worth noting. Forte did not play, but he should be in for a big season following his dynamic rookie season. He is equally adept at running and catching the football and will face less 8-man fronts now that Cutler is at the helm. Greg Olsen didn't have any catches but he stands to be the primary benefactor from the upgrade at the QB position this year. Devin Hester (I guess you can call him Chicago's #1) had 2 catches for 22 yards.

For the Bills, Trent Edwards has been looking good so far. I am not talking about the numbers- though they were pretty good yesterday as he went 10/10 for 79 yards. I am talking about the fact that he seems to be exhibiting a much stronger arm than what we have seen his first 2 years in the league. It is unclear what improved strength will do for his fantasy prospects; but it is clear that a stronger arm means better potential numbers for both Terrell Owens and Lee Evans. Speaking of Lee Evans, he had a solid day yesterday with 3 catches for 54 yards after not factoring in at all in their first preseason game. The running game was, once again, ineffective as no running back turned in a performance of any consequence. Could it mean nothing? sure. But Keep in mind that the Bills, in the offeason, lost 3 starters, including all-pro Jason Peters, and are currently starting two rookies at center and guard.

Cleveland Browns vs. Green Bay Packers
I am becoming more and more convinced each day that the Cleveland Browns will be the worst team in the NFL this season. There QB situation is still unsettled and it is clear that neither QB has seized the moment. Expect Quinn to start by default. The running game will be abysmal this season- There only hope for respectability will be a break out rookie performance by James Davis. I have little confidence in Jamal Lewis or Jerome Harrison. Braylon Edwards was someone I was looking forward to targeting as a buy-low opportunity. But so far, it seems he is in for another season in which he drops twice as many balls as he catches touchdown passes (he should have caught a TD pass yesterday). Other than that, they have a couple of solid rookie receivers Massaquoi and Robiskie who may factor in this season- but one a bad team, rookie receivers almost never thrive.

For the Packers, this is a team that is poised to significantly improve on last year's 6-10 record. Aaron Rodgers, will put up top 5 fantasy QB numbers. Last night, he was 5/10 for 102 yards and a score; but the numbers merely confirm what we already know. Greg Jennings is due for a big year. Ryan Grant is poised to score more TD's- he found the endzone last night. And Donald Driver and Donald Lee could be solid bench options for your fantasy team. Overall, this is a good all-around offense and you would be well served to get one or two of these players on your fantasy team.

Preaseason Games 8/15

Players to Watch

Cleveland Browns vs. Green Bay Packers

Jerome Harrison-Jamal Lewis is an old 30. Through injuries, wear and tear, 6 months in federal prison, J-Lew's days as a full-time back are numbered. The problem for Harrison is the Browns have this distinct ability to completely disregard talent when building a football team. Harrison has proven that he can make plays in the NFL, but the Browns insist on burying him on depth chart. They drafted James Davis who may be the heir-apparent to Lewis; but Harrison has big play potential for a team that will sorely need big plays next season. Hopefully, Mangenious will notice his big-play ability, ala, Leon Washington, but; he is coaching the Browns.

The rumors are swirling that the Derek Anderson/Brady Quinn race is deadlocked. The belief here is that it's Quinn's job to lose. If either can set a rapport with Braylon Edwards, it would give us one reason to watch a Browns game.

Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Dwayne Bowe-What is going on in KC? For a team that lacks weapons for Matt Cassell, why is Bowe playing with the 2nd stringers. We love Bowe here (re-read our Top 10 Fantasy WR keeper ranks), he's way too talented for this to be any true concern. Cassell is going to love throwing it to Bowe, he's got the size, hands, and leaping ability. Fitzgerald and Boldin led all NFL WRs in red-zone targets, and guess who was calling the plays? Todd Haley; New Head Coach of the Chiefs.