Dr. Duran Duran's Top 40 RB's

[lmcjaho]

Dunn is too low - below Bell??? He's not even the starter yet...

[UNDEFEATED]

i would put Deuce ahead of Jamal...

TRIPLE D....i like the list...currently printing for my other draft.

[tanner]

Kevin Jones should be even higher! he's going to be a monster..anyone who's looked at Detroit's schedule can see that he'll compete for the rushing title this year, with ease.

Rudi's rankin I love. I have him, so I'm partial I guess..that offense put up 28 pts per game over last 3 games of 2004..including 1 on the road in NE, where they nearly won..Cincy has arrived...House is a big, strong, hugely underated WR opposite Chad Johnson...both will cause defenses to sit back on their heels and allow Rudi to run wild underneath..1454 yards and 12 Tds last year with a first year starter at QB was impressive!!
he had games of 98 and 56 yards v. Baltimore's stingly rush D, an avg. of 77 per contest.
He torched Buffalo's supposedly good run D for 130 yards on 23 carries ( 5.7 per carry) in week 15..he avg'd 92.5 per game v. Pitt..

As for Jamal Lewis: we all know how well Barber ran under Ravens OC Fassell...he won't be pulled at the goalline either..
with games against teams like Indy, Titans, Detroit, Cincy (2x), Cleveland ( 2x)Houston,GB, Minnesota he's a LOCK for
1700 yards and 12-15 tds, going AWAY!

[Cornbread Maxwell]

Boy, I really have to disagree with you about Rudi - he is not that great of a fantasy back. The majority of his totals came in a small handfull of games last yr and the rest of the time he was barely average. He still faces a brutal schedule too.

As for KJones - Im obviously a homer, but now the expectations are getting a bit too high. Unlike what Tanner thinks - I think DET has a brutal schedule just like the rest of the teams in the NFCNorth - much tougher than lst yr without a doubt.

And yeah - you need to bump up fred Taylor a good 10-15 spots.

[ironman]

This list looks pretty good. I'm not sure why Westbrook is so low. Is it because he was holding out? Or is it because Buckhalter's back and will cut in to his PT?

Also, I'm not a fan or anything but Barlow I think should be on a Top 40, even if its just in the 30's.

[Dr. Duran Duran]

Thanks for the comments, fellas. I appreciate them quite a bit. Just to comment on Rudi Johnson, I find him to be a very underappreciated fantasy back. He scored at least one touchdown in over half of his games last year and had at least 90 yards in exactly half of his games last year. Pretty solid numbers and that offense should continue to roll this year. Only once did he put up less than 50 yards rushing and that was in week 16 against New York (a game he scored in). Pretty dependable numbers from a RB. He's certain to get the bulk of the carries again. As for his tough schedule, he held his own pretty well against Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Albeit, the numbers weren't stellar, he didn't totally break down either.

vs. Balt. (combined 157 in two games)
vs. Pitt. (combined 186, 1 touchdown in two games)

I can certainly live with that, and two of those games were played before Carson Palmer started coming into his own. Given the offensive improvement with Palmer gaining confidence and Hoosh and Chad emerging, Rudi should only continue to thrive. Last year's 1,454 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns could only be the beginning.

[PSU All Day]

My concern with Kevin Jones is that there are a lot of mouths to feed in that offense and all three of the WR's are threats to take the ball out of KJ's hands in the red zone.

Add to that the lack of receptions he will most likely have and I don't think he will crack the top 10.

I like him and think he is talented but I just worry about the passing game really being the focus here pretty quickly.

[Cornbread Maxwell]

I like him and think he is talented but I just worry about the passing game really being the focus here pretty quickly.

I wouldnt worry too much about that. DET will not have a pass heavy offense. KJ will be included into the passing game more than he was last yr anyway. Be concerned he may lose TDs to all the other endzone threats, but dont be concerned that he will get fewer touches on the whole. DET will ride KJ often.

[ateam]

Here's my list with 3 Bonus answers for xtra credit!

1. LaDanian Tomilinson
2. Shaun Alexander
3. Priest Holmes
4. Edgerrin James
5. Willis McGahee
6. Deuce McAllister
7. Clinton Portis
8. Kevin Jones
9. Julius Jones
10. Tiki Barber
11. Domanick Davis
12. Rudi Johnson
13. Jamal Lewis
14. Corey Dillon
15. Ahman Green
16. LaMont Jordan
17.Curtis Martin
18. Brian Westbrook
19. Fred Taylor
20. Tatum Bell
21. Steven Jackson
22. Warrick Dunn
23. DeShaun Foster
24. J.J. Arrington
25. Lee Suggs
26. Cadillac Williams
27. Cedric Benson
28. Duce Staley
29. Kevan Barlow
30. Michael Bennett
31. Thomas Jones
32. Chris Brown
33. Ronnie Brown
34. T.J. Duckett
35. Jerome Bettis
36. Michael Pittman
37. Marshall Faulk
38. Ricky Williams
39. Travis Henry Mewelde Moore
40. Mike Anderson
41. Correll Buckhalter
42. Larry Johnson
43. Mewelde Moore

In the grand scheme very subtle differences. For example, my league gives 1 point per reception, so JLewis drops, and Westbrook/Tiki/DD climb...

I'm a tad offended by KJ's TD's (or lack thereof) so I may be gun shy on him...though I pick 10th and he may be a tough call for me....

Anyways nice thread, thought I'd add my $.02

[agchris02]

Here's my list with 3 Bonus answers for xtra credit!

1. LaDanian Tomilinson
2. Shaun Alexander
3. Priest Holmes
4. Edgerrin James
5. Willis McGahee
6. Deuce McAllister
7. Clinton Portis
8. Kevin Jones
9. Julius Jones
10. Tiki Barber
11. Domanick Davis
12. Rudi Johnson
13. Jamal Lewis
14. Corey Dillon
15. Ahman Green
16. LaMont Jordan
17.Curtis Martin
18. Brian Westbrook
19. Fred Taylor
20. Tatum Bell
21. Steven Jackson
22. Warrick Dunn
23. DeShaun Foster
24. J.J. Arrington
25. Lee Suggs
26. Cadillac Williams
27. Cedric Benson
28. Duce Staley
29. Kevan Barlow
30. Michael Bennett
31. Thomas Jones
32. Chris Brown
33. Ronnie Brown
34. T.J. Duckett
35. Jerome Bettis
36. Michael Pittman
37. Marshall Faulk
38. Ricky Williams
39. Travis Henry Mewelde Moore
40. Mike Anderson
41. Correll Buckhalter
42. Larry Johnson
43. Mewelde Moore

In the grand scheme very subtle differences. For example, my league gives 1 point per reception, so JLewis drops, and Westbrook/Tiki/DD climb...

I'm a tad offended by KJ's TD's (or lack thereof) so I may be gun shy on him...though I pick 10th and he may be a tough call for me....

Anyways nice thread, thought I'd add my $.02

Especially in leagues that count pts for receptions -- there is no way you should have JJ or KJ in the top 10, D Davis (just look at the num of receptions he gets), and B Westbrook should all be up. B Westbrook is easily a top 10, if not higher, if you get pts for receptions, as is DD.

Using your scoring format:

LaDainian Tomlinson
Priest Holmes
Edgerrin James
Shaun Alexander
Brian Westbrook
Tiki Barber
Deuce McAllister
Domanick Davis
Clinton Portis
Willis McGahee


last yr westbrook would have been top 5 -- just something to think about .

(A great tool to use is footballs guy spreadsheet you can get for free, you can enter in your own scoring system and use thier predictions to get a ranking, OR enter your own predictions for each player, or use last yrs numbers to see where they would be in each scoring system).

http://footballguys.com/2005app2005_D1.xls

Simply input your scoring system, and it spits out rankings. If you want to look at the numbers projected, click on the tabs at the bottom -- theyre customizable- - i know ive changed quite a few of them.