The Worst Four Letter Word In Fantasy Football – RBBC

Every year, more and more teams are splitting major playing time between their running backs. A more popular name for this approach is “running back by committee” (RBBC). It’s quite effective for NFL teams, but it gives fantasy owners headaches. There are now more than a dozen teams with a split backfield. Many potentially strong fantasy teams are thwarted by lack of quality running backs. How often have you found yourself in week eight having to scrape someone from the waiver wire because your running backs have been losing more and more playing time?

Current teams currently using RBBC or have RB concerns:
Indianapolis
Tennessee
Denver
Dallas
New Orleans
New England
N.Y. Giants
Philadelphia
Washington
Chicago
Green Bay
Baltimore
N.Y Jets

Indianapolis
RBs: Dominic Rhodes, Joseph Addai
Situation: Edgerrin James departure spawned the newest RBBC. Rhodes has been patiently waiting for a starting gig behind James and now it’s here. The only problem is the Colts drafted Louisiana State star Joseph Addai. Addai is a decisive runner and a very good blocker. He’s built to have an immediate impact in the NFL and will see a fair share of playing time this season. This should be a very close fought battle; Rhodes has never carried a full load before and might not be able to.

Bottom line: Dominic Rhodes should start the year as the main running back in Indianapolis, but Addai is very close behind.

Tennessee
RBs: Chris Brown, LenDale White
Situation: Chris Brown stole the show in Tennessee the past two years running for more than 1,900 yards. However, he is constantly injured. He has missed over 11 games in three seasons. Furthermore, there are rumors that Chris Brown wants to be traded. LenDale White, an off-season addition for the Titans, is saddled with high expectations. Known best for his bruising college days, beside superstar running back Reggie Bush, he could take over the starting job in Tennessee. He’s got the size, speed and work ethic; training camp brawls could be the only things keeping him back.

Bottom line: LenDale White might not be starting the season. If/when Chris Brown is injured, he will not disappoint.

Denver
RBs: Mike Bell, Tatum Bell, Ron Dayne
Situation: Denver has the most confusing backfield in football. This month it’s all Mike Bell. He’s been starting with the first team and running very well in preseason. Last month, it was all Ron Dayne. Over the off season, it was Tatum Bell. There is really nowhere to begin with Denver, because there is almost no way to predict what will happen. Whatever happens, Denver is probably one of the best running teams in football.

Bottom line: Mike Bell. If he keeps producing there is no reason he won’t be the starter. If history repeats itself, Tatum Bell should still get around ten carries a game. Ron Dayne has totally dropped out of the race.

Dallas
RBs: Julius Jones, Marion Barber
Situation: Julius Jones should be the man in Dallas, but Barber has shown flashes of brilliance. Bill Parcells likes Barber and has said that he wants to utilize both RBs. Jones will easily get much more playing time giving him the edge in this battle. Expect Barber to get the bulk of his action on third downs.

Bottom line: Julius Jones.

New Orleans
RBs: Reggie Bush, Deuce McAllister
Situation: Reggie Bush, the single most talked about rookie this year or possibly ever, comes into New Orleans. This mixes things up with a steady runner in the past, Deuce McAllister. A perfect scenario has McAllister playing first and second down, with Bush playing third and long. Reggie will be featured prominently in the passing game adding to his value in points per reception leagues.

Bottom line: Reggie Bush. Deuce might play more downs, but Bush’s potential to turn almost any carry into a touchdown is too good to pass up. Both running backs here should be very solid and good picks in any draft.

New England
RBs: Corey Dillon, Laurence Maroney
Situation: Maroney has looked very good in preseason action and Dillon is prone to getting hurt. Dillon is getting up there in age, so Maroney’s fresh legs could provide some much needed fireworks in New England’s running game.

Bottom line: Corey Dillon will keep the starting job, but with his injury issues and Maroney’s potential, it is almost required insurance that you draft the rookie.

New York Giants
RBs: Tiki Barber, Brandon Jacobs
Problem: Barber is the fantasy favorite here, but Jacobs could and will steal those short yardage touchdowns. Keep this in mind especially in touchdown heavy leagues.

Bottom line: Tiki Barber.

Philadelphia
RBs: Brian Westbrook, Ryan Moats
Situation: Westbrook just can’t play a full 16 game season. He’s not the type of back who can carry 25 times every game, and the Eagles know this. Philadelphia has the most lopsided pass/run ratio in football (About 70% pass, 30% run last year). Andy Reid claims he will run more this year, but how trustworthy is he? Westbrook will be the starter and will end up catching almost as many passes as he has rushing attempts. But Moats is sitting right on his heels and will certainly see playing time next season.

Bottom line: Westbrook, as long as he can stay healthy.

Washington
RBs: Clinton Portis, T.J Duckett
Situation: Clinton Portis injured his shoulder in week one of the preseason. Now the Redskins have traded for T.J Duckett, a former first round pick. Duckett showed elite running skills in 2003, racking up almost 800 yards and 11 touchdowns. Depending on Portis’ health, Duckett could start week one. Even if Portis is healthy, Duckett could end up stealing touchdowns. Portis lost short yardage touchdowns last season to fullback Mike Sellers, so Duckett’s overall impact on Portis’ fantasy value should be minimal.

Bottom line: Clinton Portis, but Duckett will steal some touchdowns.

Chicago
RBs: Thomas Jones, Cedric Benson
Situation: Thomas Jones has problems staying healthy. Cedric Benson has problems blocking. This equals a Windy City mess. As long as Thomas Jones can stay healthy, he should have the starting job. However, Cedric Benson might end up seeing more time than most think.

Bottom line: Thomas Jones.

Green Bay
RBs: Ahman Green, Samkon Gado, Najeh Davenport
Situation: There’s not much of a problem here unless Green doesn’t make a persuasive comeback. With a new system in Green Bay, he’s going to have to prove he’s ready to be the main running back. Najeh Davenport has special talent and has shown he can get the job done when healthy. Gado is also practicing as fullback, but is still a risk.

Bottom line: Ahman Green, but any one of these guys has the talent to emerge.

Baltimore
RBs: Jamal Lewis, Mike Anderson
Situation: Jamal Lewis is coming off a subpar year; he never looked 100 percent. Some said he was running tentatively because he was in a contract year. With a new contract and his off the field troubles behind him, he should return to form. The only problem is he has a former starting running back sitting right behind him. Enter Mike Anderson, the ex-marine who shocked many last season with his stellar performance. Nobody really knows how Anderson will fit in, but he shouldn’t steal too much time from Lewis. There are rumors Anderson will end up playing fullback and may not see many carries at all.

Bottom line: Jamal Lewis.

N.Y Jets
RBs: Curtis Martin, Derrick Blaylock, Kevin Barlow, Cedric Houston
Situation: Life was easy for the Jets a couple years ago, when they made the playoffs with an awesome Curtis Martin and a healthy Chad Pennington. Times sure have changed for the worse in New York. Martin is down and out with a knee injury. The Jets don’t seem to think he will be back this year, evidenced by the signing of Barlow. That makes life worse for Derrick Blaylock, who was ready to step in for Martin. Now, Blaylock might be a third down back, or get even less playing time. Either way it’s not looking good.

Bottom line: Kevin Barlow will end up with the most playing time and has great potential to be a later round sleeper at running back. If Martin comes back from this knee injury, he could be past his prime and see a reduced role this year.

This hopefully clears up some of those nagging RBBC issues. Knowing which RBBCs to target will surely give you an advantage in your draft; it will deepen your RB pool and hopefully give you enough to take home a fantasy title this season!

The Worst Four Letter Word In Fantasy Football – RBBC

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