Rotoword reporting Dunn "the man" in Atlanta

[Buckychudd]

Warrick Dunn started for the Falcons at RB in their preseason opener.
No surprise here. It's not a competition in Atlanta, Dunn will be the man if healthy. Dunn carried the ball 5 times for 12 yards.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=NFL&show=SKILL&id=3893

For those of you thinking Duckett was going to be the main ball carrier in Atlanta.....think again. He will still get some 3rd down and goal-line, but looks like Dunn is securing the RB position.

[Cornbread Maxwell]

Rotoworld huh? OK.

I think Im gonna have to see to believe on this one. Neither is much more than a #4 fantasy RB anyway because of the RBBC, but I do still think Duckett will emerge as the better fantasy back out of this situation.

[Buckychudd]

Hang on to that thought CBM.....

I'll just point a couple things out....
1) Dunn is listed #1 on the depth chart.
http://www.atlantafalcons.com/team/001/287/
2) Dunn was the starter in the first preseason game....and unless he gets injured, he'll be the starter in all of them.

I'm not saying that either is a particularly desirable fantasy option....but Dunn seems to have solidified the starting position.

[34=Sweetness]

Wait how did he win the job after a spectacular 2.4 YPC? In preseason? Doesn't sound like hes going to win the job with that. We will see if Rotoworld is right on this.

[Buckychudd]

Wait how did he win the job after a spectacular 2.4 YPC? In preseason? Doesn't sound like hes going to win the job with that. We will see if Rotoworld is right on this.

Since he already had the job Duckett needs to unseat him, not the other way around. Plus he was running against perhaps the toughest run D in the NFL. Duckett ran for an equally unspectacular 3.0 YPC against the second string D. I mean Jamal Lewis only averaged 2.3 YPC....does that mean he's going to lose the starting job to Chester Taylor who had 6.7 YPC???


On five carries you can't say much about how well Dunn performed.....but the fact is he started the game, and Duckett only came in after Dunn sat down for the night. All this after Dunn could barely run a month ago.....
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/sports/9237227.htm

[Turnip]

I've always thought Dunn would be the starter, and Duckett would come in for the dirty work. I think fantasy-wise their values will be similar (low). I would be surprised if Dunn does not start this year because his receiving skills compliment Mora's WC offensive plan better.

[atvjerryrice80]

i also thought that dunn would be starting, but i wouldnt draft him as a #2 back maybe 3 or 4

[citti34]

Dunn will get a lot more receptions because of the west coast offense, which is probably why he's the starter. Dunn has better hands then Duckett. My league gives a point for each reception thus Dunn value goes up.

[DraftDodger]

Yeah I've always looked at Dunn as the starter too but have Duckett higher on my draft list (okay, Dunn isn't even ON my draft list) because Duckett will get the TDs. And if anything happens to Dunn, Duckett becomes solid gold. Duckett is a much better fantasy bench warmer than some guy who's listed at #2 on a depth chart but in reality is more like #3 or #4. Remember when Faulk went down and Canidate was #2 on the depth chart? Canidate barely saw playing time behind Gordon. Then the situation was repeated in Green Bay when Green went out. Their supposed #2 (Hollings?) sat on the bench and watched Davenport play.

Duckett, though #2, is a SOLID #2 who will get lots of goal line work. Depth is often debatable--with Duckett there's no debate, if Dunn goes down he's the main man. Even with Dunn healthy, Duckett is fine to plug a bye week hole or fill a flex position.

[georgiadawg]

As someone who lives in Atlanta and has been following the Falcons my whole life (yes, feel sorry for me) I am here to tell you that Dunn's best days are behind him. Whether Duckett breaks out remains to be seen. Both the Mora and Reeves regimes love(d) Duckett's running ability but he absolutley refuses to block anyone, ever. That does not endear him to the coaches and subsequently keeps him off the field.