More RB rankings

[VaTerp 0]

In my initial RB rankings I came up with 6 elite RB's followed by a group of 9 Rb's who I feel are the unquestioned feature backs in their offenses. There are 7 other Rb's who should enter the season as the true feature back but who IMO have bigger question marks than the top 15.

 

That left me with 10 RB tandems or RBBC's or whatever you want to call them. Its hard to rank RBBC's b/c you could have two very good Rb's whose FF value is severly diminshed b/c you never know who to start. Ala Den. last year. But I went ahead and made my list according to which situations I think have the best FF value given the right circumstances and FF mgmt.

 

List is in ascending order. All comments appreciated.

 

10. GB- A. Green, Davenport, Gado, etc.

 

The more I look at this situation the more I realize I want ZERO part of it. There is some intigue here w/ A. Green having one great FF season under his belt, and Gado and Davenport both showing the potential to put up decent #'s. But who's gonna start? When will Green or Davenport be healthy and how healthy will they be? How much better is GB really gonna be this year? New coaching staff? Not to mention that none of these guys is even running with the first team right now. For me all this = stay away from GB running unless absolutely desperate.

 

9. SF- Barlow, Gore

 

To think that i actually thought Barlow was good just 2 short years ago. Another situation I really want no part of. Both of these guys have some talent and Norvell Turner is decent as an OC but do I really want to be spending my Direct TV $$ and time watching the 49ers QB'd by A. Smith or Dilfer. I'll pass.

 

8. JAX- F. Taylor, G. Jones, M. Drew

 

You would think Jax would be a better situation for fantasy points for Rb's. Solid team. Good D. Coaching staff that likes the run the ball, good talent at RB position. But Taylor is infamous not only for his lack of durability but also for helping get his team insided the 10 only to be pulled for a glorified Fb or any other random player to get the TD. Reportedly he is having some issues with mgmt and who knows how it will play out. I like Jones but see him mainly as a TD vulture and I am not high on Drew. I can easily see him have a few big games, getting lots of FF hype, and then be out of the league in 4 or 5 years. I think the JAx running gm will be solid this year but I dont see any consistency from a FF perspective.

 

*This is where it gets interesting as many of us will have our competitve spirits and $$$$ riding on how the situations play out and the success or lack thereof of the following RBBC's.*

 

7. TENN- C. Brown, L. White

 

Brown has shown that he can put up above avg fantasy #'s for short stretches but who really wants to go into a season relying on him, I dont. And White has the look of a RB who could be a TD machine if giving enough opportunities. But there are still a lot of ????'s here. Brown is involved in trade rumors and seems to be Fragile Freedy part II. White has had ?'s about his conditioning and attitue. Never good for a rookie. And how consistently will Tenn be able to move the ball? Lots of potential here but too many ?'s to be ranked higher.

 

6. CHI- Benson, Jones

 

Another interesting one. Jones put up very respectable #'s last year while Benson was playing catching up after his hold out. Now the shoe appears to be on the other foot as Jones is the one missing time and Benson looking to become the starter. I think if Jones gets his head right this could end up being a true RBBC, severley reducing the fantasy value of both. However, injury or $$$$ factors could very well turn one of these guys into a feature back who could easily crack the top 15.

 

The top 5 are very close and I see a lot of potential in all of them. Most likely injuries will be the key to these situations.

 

5. IND-D. Rhodes, Addai

 

These guys have big shoes to fill as Edge was one of the most consistent FF backs throughout the season last year. But with Manning and that offense they will have plenty of opportunities for points. The problem I am having with this tandem is that I dont trust either guy right now. Rhodes played well when Edge was out for the season but I dont know if he is talented enough to be the guy. And Addai always seemed to have something holding him back at LSU. Maybe he will be able to fully shine now that he is in the NFL but Im not confident of that. Still, they are in the top 5 based purely on the great situation they are in. D's will have to play the pass and you know the Colts are going to score points.

 

4. CAR- Foster, Williams

 

Based on pure talent, I like both of these backs a lot. Car is similar to Jax in that they have a solid team, good D, committment to the run. But they also have an explosive threat at WR is Smith and an overall better team. Even Meshaun will help the running gm w/ his physicality and blocking ability. Without injury, this could bve another true RBBC with both backs splitting carries fairly evenly. If one of these guys does go down, see CHI. especially if its Williams who gets the carries.

 

3. DEN- Bell, Dayne

 

Call me a glutton for punishment but Im still attracted to the Den running gm. In one of my leagues last year, I had Bell and M. Anderson and was able to use them fairly well together althgough I did get burned once or twice. I hope that Bell will put it all together and stay healthy leaving Shanny with no choice but to make him the true feature back. But until then you still cannot deny the effectiveness of the Den running gm. Too many #'s for too many years in a row. IMO, even the great Dayne will have success running the ball in the Rockies.

 

2. NO- Duece, R. Bush

 

A lot of ?'s here as well but just too much talent for me to look pass. Two guys who could end up being elite fantasy players in any given year. I still dont have a good feel for how these 2 will be used. But with Brees at Qb and less distractions than last year, NO has to be improved. I think the offense will be able to move the ball and Payton knows that he has to get the ball in both of these guys hands A LOT. All that said, this could be the boom or bust of RBBC this year. Im going boom right now, but with a tough schedule I could also see these two disappointing. For right now though, I'll roll with em.

 

1. NE- Dillon, Maroney

 

I just have the feeling that these 2 are in for a huge year. I think Dillon will respond when he sees his job being seriously threatened for the second time in his career. I think he has one more productive year in him and despite his poor performance last year he still scored 12 TD's. The few reports I have seen on Maroney have been very positive and I really like the way he ran in college. Brady will rely more on the running gm this year while the Pats rebuild their wr corps and I think the 2 rb's push each other resulting in very good numbers for each. As with all the RBBC's you can only hope that if you own both, you get a good handle on who to play, who to sit, or when to play . . . . . both.

[Snowbound70 0]

Nice job, the only real disagreement I have is have Duece and Bush so high. With Brees being injured as well as Duece not being 100%, and more importantly the fact that Bush has never had to carry the load, but might be have to at least for the first 4-5 games, I wouldn't rank them that high, closer to #9.

[VaTerp 0]

Nice job, the only real disagreement I have is have Duece and Bush so high. With Brees being injured as well as Duece not being 100%, and more importantly the fact that Bush has never had to carry the load, but might be have to at least for the first 4-5 games, I wouldn't rank them that high, closer to #9.

 

Yeah, thats why I think they are the boom or bust of this group. Brees' shoulder problem is a BIG ?? that I failed to bring up.

[Erb047 0]

IMO You are way too high on New Orleans and Denver. I'd put Chicago at #1, and Carolina at #2, Indy at 3, and NE at 4...

[ellisonb11 0]

denver not so high? i could be the best back in the league if i was on denvers team.

[Snowbound70 0]

denver not so high? i could be the best back in the league if i was on denvers team.

 

 

Ellison > Dayne

[Guest fantasyfreak64]

will dillon be good?

[ellisonb11 0]

Ellison > Dayne

 

no but seriously im better

[xxx 0]

what about jamal lewis/mike anderson?

 

eta: I guess you would put jlew into a full starter category?

[VaTerp 0]

what about jamal lewis/mike anderson?

 

eta: I guess you would put jlew into a full starter category?

 

I counted J. Lewis as a feature back as Im on a bit of a limb thinking he will have a bounceback year. But I could certainly see he and Anderson being used that way if J. Lew does not show he is in top form early in the season.

 

At which point these two would be the most punishing, and maybe even the best, RB tandem out there.

[Nichee 0]

When analyzing RBBC, I try to find ones that I don't think are real committees but rather the starter is unclear or at least murky with the potential for 1 close-to-full-time player emerging.

 

That's why I like the Foster, Williams combo 1 and the Rhodes, Addai 2.

 

I feel the Carolina job, for 2006 at least, is Foster's to lose.

 

And I feel that while Rhodes may start the season, the job is Addai's to take. I'd feel comfortable starting Rhodes until Addai takes over.

 

I could see Benson-Jones, Deuce-Bush, Bell-Dayne being more true committes. Not sure what to make of the Dillon-Maroney combo, really. Not high on Dillon this year. Had him last year in 1 league and he looked old and tired to me.

 

The other committees look like headaches to me.