The Fantasy Football Empire.com Running Back Report

The Running Back Report

The Running Back report is very similar to "The Closer Report" on www.fantasybaseballempire.com. You need to know who is the starter, along with which backup to "handcuff" with your starter, what type of system the team runs (example: running back by committee), and any general comments about the players in question.

Legend

Feature Back - 90% + of the carries

Splitting carries - 50% - 90% of the carries

RBBC - Running back by committee - 50% or less of the carries

Last updated: September 4, 2008

Team	Starting Running Back	Handcuff	Type	Comments
Arizona Cardinals	Edgerrin James	Marcel Shipp	Feature Back	Now 30 years old, James may be at risk of a severe falloff.
Atlanta Falcons	Michael Turner	Jerious Norwood	Splitting Carries	Michael Turner is a strong candidate for 300 touches, but Norwood could cut into that total.
Baltimore Ravens	Willis McGahee	Ray Rice	Feature Back	Ray Rice is a must add in all fantasy formats.
Buffalo Bills	Marshawn Lynch	Fred Jackson	Feature Back	A safe bet for 300 carries and no league suspension!
Carolina Panthers	Jonathan Stewart	DeAngelo Williams	Splitting Carries	DeAngelo Williams has been named the starting RB for week 1.
Chicago Bears	Matt Forte	Adrian Peterson Kevin Jones	Splitting Carries	The Chicago Sun Times expects Matt Forte to face "plenty" of eight-man fronts this season.
Cincinnati Bengals	Chris Perry	Kenny Watson	Splitting Carries	With Rudi Johnson out of Cincy and in Detroit, it is now Chris Perry's job to lose.
Cleveland Browns	Jamal Lewis	Jason Wright	Feature Back	Jamal Lewis reported to training camp in excellent shape at 235 pounds. That's 10 pounds less than year's 245 pounds.
Dallas Cowboys	Marion Barber	Felix Jones	Feature Back	Barber is the man at Dallas now that Julius Jones is off to Seattle.
Denver Broncos	Selvin Young	Ryan Torain Michael Pittman	Splitting Carries	Ryan Torain out 6-8 weeks with an elbow injury. Selvin Young is now the clear starter. Pittman may move to fullback.
Detroit Lions	Rudi Johnson	Kevin Smith	Splitting Carries	Rudi is now the man in Detroit, but this could be a RBBC situation.
Green Bay Packers	Ryan Grant	Brandon Jackson	Feature Back	The Packers may be without running back Ryan Grant for a long time due to contract disputes.
Houston Texans	Ahman Green	Steve Slaton Chris Brown	Splitting Carries	Slaton is the back to get late in your drafts.
Indianapolis Colts	Joseph Addai	Dominic Rhodes Mike Hart	Feature Back	Addai is a great runner and receiver, worthy of a top 5 pick in this year's drafts.
Jacksonville Jaguars	Fred Taylor	Maurice Jones-Drew	Splitting Carries	Taylor could be suspended 1-2 games by the NFL due to his altercation with the local police.
Kansas City Chiefs	Larry Johnson	Jamaal Charles	Feature Back	SI.com's Mike Lombardi believes that Larry Johnson "will see every eight-man front in existence this season."
Miami Dolphins	Ricky Williams	Ronnie Brown	Splitting Carries	Ricky is now the starting RB, but Brown has shown some fresh legs this week in practice and could steal some carries.
Minnesota Vikings	Adrian Peterson	Chester Taylor	Feature Back	In 2007, AP had 2 games with more than 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Vikings coach Brad Childress says Chester Taylor "knows there are going to be plenty of carries in there for him" this season.
New England Patriots	Laurence Maroney	Kevin Faulk	Splitting Carries	Maroney could be upgraded to "Feature Back" if he can stay healthy. Faulk is suspended for week 1.
New Orleans Saints	Reggie Bush	Pierre Thomas Deuce McAllister	Splitting Carries	With McAllister's knees still hurting, Pierre Thomas is the pick to click. Cedric Benson could be added by the Saints this week.
New York Giants	Brandon Jacobs	Ahmad Bradshaw Derrick Ward	Splitting Carries	Jacobs-Bradshaw could be splitting carries all season.
New York Jets	Thomas Jones	Leon Washington	Feature Back	If Jones can stay healthy, he will see more carries. He still won't be as productive as other feature backs.
Oakland Raiders	Darren McFadden	Justin Fargas	Splitting Carries	Fargas and McFadden will split carries this season, but look for McFadden to overtake Fargas as the premiere RB later in the season.
Philadelphia Eagles	Brian Westbrook	Correll Buckhalter	Feature Back	Westbrook signed an new contract on 8/8.
Pittsburgh Steelers	Willie Parker	Rashard Mendenhall	Splitting Carries	Parker is fully recovered from his broken leg. Mendenhall was Pittsburgh's first round pick. Willie Parker should continue to be Pittsburgh's feature back. Mendenhall's should vulture goal-line carries, decreasing Parker's scoring potential. Ben Roethlisberger also showed he could throw in the red zone last year.
San Diego Chargers	LaDainian Tomlinson	Marcus Thomas	Feature Back	Chargers coach Norv Turner said that LaDainian Tomlinson will not see any action in the preseason. LT should still be drafted #1 overall in all drafts in 2008, period.
San Francisco 49ers	Frank Gore	DeShaun Foster	Feature Back	Fumbles sometimes can be a problem for Gore, but he is still a middle of the first round draft pick.
Seattle Seahawks	Julius Jones	Maurice Morris	RBBC	Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren met with Julius Jones and Maurice Morris to inform them of his plan to have them split carries this season.
St. Louis Rams	Steven Jackson	Antonio Pittman	Feature Back	Steven Jackson says he is "100 percent" healthy after nursing minor groin and ankle injuries during OTA season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Earnest Graham	Warrick Dunn	Splitting Carries	Look for Graham to lose carries to Warrick Dunn during the season.
Tennessee Titans	LenDale White	Chris Johnson	Splitting Carries	Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger expects to use rookie RB Chris Johnson as a tailback, meaning he will be in the offense on 1st and 2nd downs.
Washington Redskins	Clinton Portis	Ladell Betts	Feature Back	The Washington Times expects Clinton Portis to "carry the offense" in Redskins coach Jim Zorn's first season. Betts is on the injured list.

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