Fantasy Football

While there is an excess of serviceable to good running backs, there is a shortage of great ones. Going into the 2008 season the top five running backs seems pretty straight forward, and has been covered by about a couple hundred thousand other online sites, so this post is somewhat redundant. But, maybe you’ll be taken aback by my witticisms and prose…I’m just kidding, this is going to be like everything else you’ve ever read.

1) LaDanian Tomlinson
Like virtually every other NFL team, I don’t have any particular like or dislike for the Chargers. But good lord am I sick of hearing about this guy. And it pains me to rank him as the top running back. What are you going to do, though? When you factor in all the attributes one looks for in a fantasy running back (performance, consistency & health), he is the best culmination of the three. Whatever decline he experienced last season was…well, it was considerable. But his production was still good enough to lead the league in rushing.

Did anyone see the 60 Minutes profile on him? They wouldn’t let the cameras videotape most of his training program. Probably because he does steroids, but either way its like the fucking Manhattan Project. I’m like that as well, but I prefer my seclusion when I’m eating donuts. I only eat them alone. In the dark. And if anyone calls me while I’m digging into a baker’s dozen, I pick up the phone and scream, “You’re interrupting my quiet time!”

That, my friends, is a pro.

2) Brian Westbrook
He has the reputation of being injury prone, but outside of one season three years ago it is mostly a myth (though we won’t lie, yahoo constantly having him listed as questionable in2007 was quite nerve-racking). He has missed one game in each of the past two seasons, about as good as you can expect from any running back in the physically unforgiving NFL. Also, Westbrook is something of an anomaly in the NFL these days: much like Tomlinson, he sees probably 80% of the carries for his team (and also like Tomlinson, contends for leading receiver coming out of the backfield).

3) Adrian Peterson
We know by week six his body will be mangled like something out of Planet Terror, but we can’t help it. The potential on this guy is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. When watching highlights or talking about the day that was in the NFL or whatever, I just want to be able to say, “he’s on my fantasy team” about Peterson. I am unabashedly smitten with AP as a fantasy football prospect. I just wish he would return some of my letters. Also, we’ll be over drafting Chester Taylor this season.

4) Joseph Addai
As reliable (maybe even more so) as Tomlinson, but he’s like the anti-Peterson. In other words, he is the conservative pick. He’ll probably get you twenty points a week and its about a 95% chance that he stays healthy, but he’ll never get you forty. We mentioned the acquisition of Rhodes, but if he is getting more than 15% of the carries by week five we’d be surprised. Anyhow, why his production will be steady, we kind of expect the Colts to slip a bit this season, and we have no idea how his stats will be effected.

Ooh, wow. Look at him go for fifteen touchdowns in just his sophomore season. Did he break the single game rushing record in his rookie season?...Didn't think so.

5) Laurence Maroney
With the deadly passing game and the improvement he showed towards the end of last season and in the playoffs (the passing game carried the team for the first 12 weeks while he got healthy), we like his chances for a breakout season. Also, we like him splitting time with LaMont Jordan & Kevin Faulk, as he should see a considerable majority of the carries. I hope. Assuming I have him on my team. Otherwise we are fully on the Kyle Eckel bandwagon.

Rest of the top ten:
6) Marion Barber: We need no more justification than this clip.
7) Maurice Jones Drew: Runs, catches and returns…a true multi-tasker.
Ryan Grant: Only for the beastly line, impressive numbers last season and absence of competitive second running back. We are a little worried about the morale in Green Bay right now.
9) Brandon Jacobs: Seems to be healthy though we are worried about it. Also worried about? The plethora of running backs lined up behind him.
10) Marshawn Lynch: Fairly uninspiring and we are not much more confident in him than we are in the next ten guys, but we need to fill this spot.

Today will follow the same format as yesterday with the receivers. Stay tuned.