Has this been the worst overall year for running backs?

[Kent 228]

Its Chris Johnson, a few other solid performing RBs, and everyone else just languishing in mediocrity. So many former respectable RBs having down years.

 

I can't think of a worse year.

 

With RBBC, is this the trend or just a fluke year.

[Boston Three Party 6]

Because no one has answered (and shocker - everyone loves to view and not post) I'll respond:

 

At first glance, I was like "**** why did I go WR heavy" aka QB round 1 (Brees/Brady) and WR/RB/WR

 

But then - as the season progresses - those ELITE WR's are priceless.

 

You have your Austin/Meachem etc. pickups - but for RB's - you're taking a HUGE hit on production no matter what if you lose one - like Turner, Brown, Slaton, etc. and unless you're running a flex - you're in trouble.

 

Makes me happy I went WR heavy - as long as they panned out. I didn't draft Portis, Westy, etc. but I did draft Slaton, Turner etc. You're virutally living off WR's come playoff time in some formats.

[bonkbonk 5]

i love this trend...

 

wr love

 

qb love

 

sh it even te love

 

 

go ahead and take those guys.... im sticking and winning with RB/RB

[davidbostonisgood 2]

Because only two people have answered (and shocker - everyone loves to view and not post) I'll respond:

 

At first glance, I was like "**** why did I go RB heavy" aka RB first 3 rounds (MJD or Chris Johnson rd1, and then Addai or Rice rd2) then some combination of WR/WR/QB/RB/TE.....

 

But then - as the season progresses - those ELITE RB's are priceless.

 

You have your Forsett/J.Charles etc. pickups - but for WR's - you're taking a HUGE hit on production no matter what if you lose one - like Calvin, Smith (Car), Bowe, etc. and unless you're running a flex - you're in trouble.

 

Makes me happy I went RB heavy - as long as they panned out. I didn't draft Smith, Bowe, Jennings, etc. but I did draft Roy, Braylon, Evans, Berrian etc. You're virutally living off RB's come playoff time in some formats.

 

But I am glad I went RB early!!!!!

2 teams:

 

QB Schaub

RB MJD

RB Rice

WR M.Austin

WR S. Rice

Flex Moreno or P. Harvin or Meachem

TE Celek

Def Broncos

 

 

QB Schaub

RB C.Johnson

RB Addai

WR Sims-Walker

WR Driver

Flex Pierre or S.Smith (NYG) or Driver

TE Davis

Def Jets

[ff07 2]

I have MJD and Rice in my big money league... 1st round playoff bye...I would say this has been a GREAT year for RBs

[Ondawa 0]

Your leagues scoring must be factored in. I play in a PPR 12 player league and drafted in the 10th slot: My first two picks were Moss and Wayne. My Rb's are Grant and Addai. I know Addai gets blasted on this board, but he has been $ for me as I picked him up in the 5th round. No one wins their league after you draft, you must manage your team so whatever theories about drafting are only theories! Last year my first three picks were Moss, Brees and MJD, I cam in second b/c of playing the waiver wire and some trades. So far this year: 9-4 and in the big prize money for my team.....

 

With that said: the rb's taken in the first round in my league: ADP, MJD, Turner, Forte, S Jax, D Will, Gore, LT, Slaton......I would some there are some disappointed owners!

[Ramrock 13]

Rbbc is destroying ff with that being said i made sure of two things

1 -I drafted them so heavy that I wouldn't have to worry about it

2 - I don't trade my backs

 

Here my backs

Lt-number 11 overall (was a reach)

Jacobs - 14 overall (biggest disappointment)

Rice -4th round

Cj was my keeper 12th ROUND

 

Now I don't have any great wr's ,Mason is my best but we play wr's and Te's the same and I have Gates but he's just starting to come on. My best move this year was my ww move's. After the first week I picked up undrafted V.Davis and after week three B.Celek. FyI and to close out the season ww i just picked up Finley.

I'm presently second highest scorer in the league and my record is 8-5. By the way going into week 14 i still don't have a playoff spot.

[Busted by the Feds 9]

Considering that even traditional running teams have morphed into passing teams this year ( Steelers, 49ers etc.), this has been a mediocre year for RB's. Heck, even the teams with the best records, the undefeated Colts and Saints, RBs are an afterthought. And the Vikes, who have AP, all the talk this year has been of Favre.

[RoadLizard 73]

I believe overall it has been a rough year for RBs. You have a lot of teams without true studs and their backfields are a mess.

 

Lets look at the the issues various teams have at RB fantasy-wise:

 

Philly - Westbrook goes down, McCoy loses GL carries to Weaver, a total mess

Houston - Gary Kubiak has ruined Slatons career and its a mess over there

Cleveland - Focking disaster

Steelers - Mendenhal is finally becoming the guy but it took too long

Lions - Kevin Smith is useless and has killed more owners than any other player in recent memory

Chargers - LT2 is scoring again but for weeks and weeks he was NOT. He never gets good yardage either anymore

Giants - Jacobs is a bad fantasy back, lets you down too often and loses GL carries to Bradshaw. Yuk

Pats - Maroney gets hot for 5-6 games and then promptly disappears for the rest

Bills - Lynch had promise but hes a moron off the field and the Bills dont score enough anyways

Bears - Matt "NO TDs" Forte just blows

Packers - Grant doesnt score TDs hardly ever. Unreliable running game

Saints - Bell hurts Thomas's value

Falcons - Turner went down at the worst possible time

Bucs - Caddy is trying to make it work but he is unreliable

Chiefs - Charles has emerged but its too little, too late

Skins - Awful offense and a total comittee approach. Portis sucks and is done.

Broncos - Moreno is OK but I dont trust him ofr that team in general

Ravens- Rice is great but Mcgahee is KILLING him with the vultured TDs

Seattle - Focking joke

Raiders - Good Luck with dat chit

Panthers - Williams is a certified stud but they just have to play focking Stewart...just HAVE too. Still, not too bad here.

Cowboys - Barber doesnt score at all anymore and its a 3 headed attack at best

Cardinals - Too hard to figure them out and thew throw a lot. Wells looks to be the man...but can you trust him? I think not.

 

So, lookng at this list, it appears that fantasy running games are having issues this year. Lots of teams are on my list which. Some arent as bad as others, but gone are the days of having 20-25 solid starting RBs to pick from in fantasy football. Its down to like 8-10 true monsters and a bunch of time-share clowns. Injuries have hurt some of the studs...but that counts as an issue.

[Zackattack 0]

I think you should have seen the trend. Draft a few WR's in the the first few rounds or they will be gone. I got lucky in all leagues with my Ray Rice pickup. 5th round heaven!

[American Chewy 98]

The last few seasons i've changed my strategy after years of going RB heavy early. RB's have been splitting more and are the most likely to get hurt of any position so I've made sure to lock up both my WR's and my QB within the first 4 rounds or so then just draft like 5 RB's in rounds 3-9 in hopes of hitting on a couple. This year I hit on Benson doing that, I think odds are you will hit on a pretty decent stud RB by just drafting a lot of them. I also scour the waiver wire pretty hardcore. I'm going to stick with this system, esp after getting a 1st round bye this year. I realize its easy to flame away at this strategy and maybe its a one year wonder, but I think it has some logic with the current NFL environment.

[FeelingMN 273]

I've almost always gone RB-RB....until this year when I took Wayne in the second. Projecting for next year, I might do something I've never, ever considered before and go WR in the first. Obviously a top 6 pick warrants a RB (CJ, MJD, AD, SJax, Turner, DWill)....I think you could seriously think about Benson and Rice after those backs....but after these 8 guys, I have a problem building my team around the remaining RBs. I don't trust Gore. I like Mendy, but he's not a RB1. Forte? Addai? The first round has to be a stud pick and after the top 8 RBs are gone, there are no more stud RBs left. And that's why I'll be going WR at the end of the first next year.

[We Tigers 71]

Lots of injuries and transitions this year, and very effective timeshares. Fewer elite options overall. I actually don't think there's that big a gulf between this year and last year and especially not this year and 2007, if you're looking at recent history, but a balanced team is more important than ever. Even in small leagues, the odds of you winning just by having a megastar RB are very low.

 

I think part of this sense is the recency of this year's big problems. In the past 4 weeks we've seen Brown and Slaton go to IR, Turner miss several games, Benson miss games...injuries are really stacking up and taking out a lot of top producers right when it counts.

[DBZFan2K 0]

RBBC is definitely rampant these days. Here are teams that are using 3+ RB rotations:

 

Patriots: Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, Fred Taylor (injured)

Texans: Steve Slaton (IR), Chris Brown, Ryan Moats

Raiders: Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas, Michael Bush

Cowboys: Marion Barber, Felix Jones, Tashard Choice

Redskins: Quinton Ganther, Rock Cartwright, Marcus Mason

Saints: Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, Reggie Bush

Buccaneers: Carnell Williams, Derrick Ward, Earnest Graham

Falcons: Michael Turner (injured), Jason Snelling, Jerious Norwood

 

Most teams have a two-headed attack that make it harder to predict

 

Bills: Fred Jackson, Marshawn Lynch

Dolphins: Ronnie Brown (IR), Ricky Williams

Ravens: Ray Rice, Willis McGahee

Browns: Jerome Harrison, Chris Jennings

Broncos: Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter

Chargers: LaDainian Tomlinson, Darrell Sproles

Giants: Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw

Vikings: Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor

Panthers: DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart

Cardinals: Tim Hightower, Beanie Wells

Seahawks: Justin Forsett, Julius Jones

[Phurfur 70]

Because only two people have answered (and shocker - everyone loves to view and not post) I'll respond:

 

At first glance, I was like "**** why did I go RB heavy" aka RB first 3 rounds (MJD or Chris Johnson rd1, and then Addai or Rice rd2) then some combination of WR/WR/QB/RB/TE.....

 

But then - as the season progresses - those ELITE RB's are priceless.

 

You have your Forsett/J.Charles etc. pickups - but for WR's - you're taking a HUGE hit on production no matter what if you lose one - like Calvin, Smith (Car), Bowe, etc. and unless you're running a flex - you're in trouble.

 

Makes me happy I went RB heavy - as long as they panned out. I didn't draft Smith, Bowe, Jennings, etc. but I did draft Roy, Braylon, Evans, Berrian etc. You're virutally living off RB's come playoff time in some formats.

 

But I am glad I went RB early!!!!!

2 teams:

 

QB Schaub

RB MJD

RB Rice

WR M.Austin

WR S. Rice

Flex Moreno or P. Harvin or Meachem

TE Celek

Def Broncos

QB Schaub

RB C.Johnson

RB Addai

WR Sims-Walker

WR Driver

Flex Pierre or S.Smith (NYG) or Driver

TE Davis

Def Jets

 

[kfl8 0]

It depends on what type of league you are in. PPR leagues I think WR take a hit since there are lot more out there. Yes you have the elite and its great to have them but elite RB's compared to the drop off of the other tier backs is significant enough to warrant taking RB early.

[jocstrap 8]

Wr's are still a dime a dozen. Any one of them can come out of nowhere to be a top 15er by the end of the year ala....

 

Vincent Jackson

Steve Smith

Sidney Rice

Miles Austin

MSW

Ocho Cinco is no stinko this year

Hines Ward

Donald Driver

Etc..

 

Then you have your true studs in Wayne, Moss, Welker, Fitz, AJ and so on. There are so many options in the WR department, you still have to cover your azzs by grabbing those running backs.

 

 

I have to disagree that this has been the worst overall year for running backs though. We still have 4 weeks left on the season and there are going to be several rb's over the 10td mark. No crazy td amounts like SA, Priest, LT2, Faulk, LJ and so on, but very very solid numbers non the less.

 

CJ - 1800 total yards and 10 tds

MJD - 1300 total yards and 13 td's

AD - 1300 total yards and 12 td's

Ray Rice - 1400 total yards and 7 td's

Ricky Williams - 1000 total yards and 11 td's

Thomas Jones - 1100 total yards and 9 td's

Addai - 900 total yards and 12 td's

Turner - 900 total yards and 10 td's

Gore - 950 total yards and 9 td's

 

Then you have the guys either getting the yards but not the td's or getting the td's and not the yards

SJ - 1500 total yards

DWilly - 1250 total yards

Mendy - 1100 total yards

LT2 - 9 td's

Maroney - 8 td's

McGahee - 9 td's

Ronnie - 8 td's

 

Then you have a whole plethera of 700-900 total yard guys in the 5-7 td range

 

I would say we are on course for a pretty standard year with 4 games still to go. No 20+ td guys this year obviously, but overall pretty solid.

[Kent 228]

I think you should have seen the trend. Draft a few WR's in the the first few rounds or they will be gone. I got lucky in all leagues with my Ray Rice pickup. 5th round heaven!

 

Oh, I did. I went Brady/Calvin Johnson/Grant/Welker in rounds 1-4. Never taken my second back in the 5th. I usually go RB/RB. But it didn't matter this year.

 

Calvin killed me but I made the playoffs...barely.

 

Brady/Welker has saved me.

[Laurence Maroney's Nuts 2]

I believe overall it has been a rough year for RBs. You have a lot of teams without true studs and their backfields are a mess.

 

Lets look at the the issues various teams have at RB fantasy-wise:

 

 

Lions - Kevin Smith is useless and has killed more owners than any other player in recent memory

 

 

Really? 'Cos Kevin Smith was a 2nd or 3rd round pick and is averaging 11.4 ppg (per FFtoday). Meanwhile, Steve Slaton was a top 10 pick and is averaging 11.6 ppg. But Kevin Smith killed more owneres than any other player in recent memory???

[enis_44 0]

Anyone that drafted D-Will or Sjax in the middle first round and is now dissapointed needs to re-evaluate their expectation of what a middle first round pick gets you. 10 points every week with the upside of 20+ some weeks is exactly what you want in the middle first.

 

And the other thing is, the lack of stud Rb's means you have to draft MORE of them not less. Every year you have to just pound the 2nd-5th tier of Rb's in the middle rounds because that's where you win titles. You discard the 3 or 4 backs that are worthless in there and then ride Ray Rice and Jamal Charles deep into the playoffs. (that's also where we all drafted CJ and Slaton last season)

[RoadLizard 73]

Really? 'Cos Kevin Smith was a 2nd or 3rd round pick and is averaging 11.4 ppg (per FFtoday). Meanwhile, Steve Slaton was a top 10 pick and is averaging 11.6 ppg. But Kevin Smith killed more owneres than any other player in recent memory???

 

11.4 ppg? In what scoring system? One where you get points for having a pulse? Fock pinball leagues. The dude is covered with end-zone repellant and the Lions suck anyways. He was drafted fairly high in most leagues or was at least held onto in most keeper leagues.

 

I suppose in these leagues where you get a point per catch and a point per yard gained hes great.

[TwentyFourSeven 23]

RBBC is definitely rampant these days. Here are teams that are using 3+ RB rotations:

 

Patriots: Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, Fred Taylor (injured)

Texans: Steve Slaton (IR), Chris Brown, Ryan Moats

Raiders: Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas, Michael Bush

Cowboys: Marion Barber, Felix Jones, Tashard Choice

Redskins: Quinton Ganther, Rock Cartwright, Marcus Mason

Saints: Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, Reggie Bush

Buccaneers: Carnell Williams, Derrick Ward, Earnest Graham

Falcons: Michael Turner (injured), Jason Snelling, Jerious Norwood

 

Most teams have a two-headed attack that make it harder to predict

 

Bills: Fred Jackson, Marshawn Lynch

Dolphins: Ronnie Brown (IR), Ricky Williams

Ravens: Ray Rice, Willis McGahee

Browns: Jerome Harrison, Chris Jennings

Broncos: Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter

Chargers: LaDainian Tomlinson, Darrell Sproles

Giants: Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw

Vikings: Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor

Panthers: DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart

Cardinals: Tim Hightower, Beanie Wells

Seahawks: Justin Forsett, Julius Jones

 

Take the Falcons off that list. They are only doing this because he is hurt.

[Daves Take 0]

A few sites actually nailed the fact that it was time to quit going heavy on taking RBs early and start looking at how it's much easier to predict which WRs will fall in the top 10 or top 20.

 

Do a search for draft strategy - maybe these guys had it right.

[We Tigers 71]

11.4 ppg? In what scoring system? One where you get points for having a pulse?

Kevin Smith is averaging 11.4 ppg in this weird format you may not have heard of: "standard" scoring. For all his struggles, the guy still has over 1000 total yards and 5 TDs.

[enis_44 0]

Listen, the best teams in all my leagues this year still have 3 solid Rb's to start every single week. The difference is that those Rb's aren't the same old cast for the most part, and they aren't the pre-season hype monsters for the most part.

 

The lesson is the same as always if you want to win more than you lose:

 

Draft Rb's early

Draft Rb's in the mid rounds

Draft Rb's late

all of the above

[RamslovaMartzhata 3]

Stud RB theory is antiquated in my opinion. There just aren't the bell cow ball carriers of years past. Evn the best guys like Johnson and Peterson still get a lot of points vultured from them.

 

I think your chance of success of picks panning out at ALL other positions are better than RB's. Unless you can get those top 1 or 2 tier RB's in the first 5-7 picks... I personally dont like wasting those 1st and 2nd rounders on 2 questionable RB's who have a very high chance at getting injured. I'll take one, because you need to start RB's and they are hard to come by, but by no means am I an RB early and often guy.

[RamslovaMartzhata 3]

I'll add that in my opinion... there really is only three true "stud-RB," in the traditional mold where the stud Rb drafting theory was more valid... MJD, SJax, and Benson. With RBBC's... it is just too up and down with exception to the big time studs like Williams, Peterson and Chris Johnson who rise above the RBBC to still put up bigger numbers.

 

The reality is... chances are if you went stud RB with your first two picks... one of those picks did not pan out.

[Laurence Maroney's Nuts 2]

11.4 ppg? In what scoring system? One where you get points for having a pulse? Fock pinball leagues. The dude is covered with end-zone repellant and the Lions suck anyways. He was drafted fairly high in most leagues or was at least held onto in most keeper leagues.

 

I suppose in these leagues where you get a point per catch and a point per yard gained hes great.

 

FAIL NOOB

 

http://fftoday.com/stats/playerprofile.php?PlayerID=2964

 

(As already pointed out by We Tigers)

 

So Slaton and his 11.6 ppg at an ADP of 13th pick overall is a much greater team destroyer than Kevin Smith and his 11.4 ppg at an ADP of 36th pick overall.

 

http://fantasyfootballcalculator.com/adp.p...s=12&pos=rb

[FrankRizzo 0]

Looking at the 2009 RB/WR Fantasy Scoring Leaders through Week 13 ...

 

265.4 Chris Johnson, Ten RB  P

230.7 Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac RB  P

218.4 Adrian Peterson, Min RB  P

213.5 Ray Rice, Bal RB

193.5 Larry Fitzgerald, Ari WR

192 Randy Moss, NE WR

191.5 Reggie Wayne, Ind WR  P

188.2 Steven Jackson, StL RB  P

185.7 Joseph Addai, Ind RB

180.7 Ricky Williams, Mia RB

178.2 DeAngelo Williams, Car RB  P

175.6 Wes Welker, NE WR

173.1 Miles Austin, Dal WR

172 Andre Johnson, Hou WR

170.3 Thomas Jones, NYJ RB

165.3 Frank Gore, SF RB

164.7 Roddy White, Atl WR  P

162 Steve Smith, NYG WR

158 Hines Ward, Pit WR  P

155.1 Brandon Marshall, Den WR

153.5 Sidney Rice, Min WR

152.6 Marques Colston, NO WR

151.5 DeSean Jackson, Phi WR  P

150.9 Matt Forte, Chi RB

150.3 Vincent Jackson, SD WR

149.9 Michael Turner, Atl RB  Q

149.8 Chad Ochocinco, Cin WR

148.8 Kevin Smith, Det RB

148.6 Ryan Grant, GB RB

148.3 Donald Driver, GB WR

 

I disagree with your statement. The Top 10 scorers include 7 RBs (and then Fitz, Moss and Wayne ... which is expected).

 

So what is the deal? The only thing out of the ordinary is .....

Ricky Williams (revitalized)

Miles Austin (someone had to fill TO's shoes)

Ray Rice (pleasant surprise? Ahhh ... we kinda knew if given the 100% chance he could be PPR money)

Forte (who done it? yep, the cutler done it)

 

Other than that no real surprises ... to me, NORMAL year. Am I wrong???

[Busted by the Feds 9]

The reality is... chances are if you went stud RB with your first two picks... one of those picks did not pan out.

 

I had the last pick in round 1, so I went WR heavy with 2 of my top 3 picks, and one of them didn't pan out either with Steve Smith of the hapless Delhommes.

[We Tigers 71]

I had the last pick in round 1, so I went WR heavy with 2 of my top 3 picks, and one of them didn't pan out either with Steve Smith of the hapless Delhommes.

That's another good point. Not a ton of stability in this year's WRs, either. Steve Smith, Calvin, Boldin, Jennings, TO, Housh, and Bowe have all underperformed and were all among the top 14 picks at their position (I chose 14 because I counted 14 first-or-second round RBs this year). The cost wasn't as high, but there's plenty of variance at this position as well just like there always is.

[FrankRizzo 0]

That's another good point. Not a ton of stability in this year's WRs, either. Steve Smith, Calvin, Boldin, Jennings, TO, Housh, and Bowe have all underperformed and were all among the top 14 picks at their position (I chose 14 because I counted 14 first-or-second round RBs this year). The cost wasn't as high, but there's plenty of variance at this position as well just like there always is.

 

I must be missing something .... because EVERY YEAR usually pans out the same. Where you pick a player in the draft doesn't end up at the same spot when the season ends. If you look at the top 20 scorers this year for RB/WR players, they are scoring where they should be .... there are only a few surprises:

 

TOP 5

Chris Johnson, Ten RB P

Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac RB P

Adrian Peterson, Min RB P

Ray Rice, Bal RB

Larry Fitzgerald, Ari WR

 

6-10

Randy Moss, NE WR

Reggie Wayne, Ind WR P

Steven Jackson, StL RB P

Joseph Addai, Ind RB

Ricky Williams, Mia RB

 

11-15

DeAngelo Williams, Car RB P

Wes Welker, NE WR

Miles Austin, Dal WR

Andre Johnson, Hou WR

Thomas Jones, NYJ RB

 

16-20

Frank Gore, SF RB

Roddy White, Atl WR P

Steve Smith, NYG WR

Hines Ward, Pit WR P

Brandon Marshall, Den WR

 

That seems NORMAL to me ... about 1 player in each group that has blown up unexpectantly. 80% of the draft picks have panned out relatively where they were supposed to be ... unless I'm still drunk from Monday Night and I have no clue what the fock I'm talking about.