What do these rankings and numbers mean?
For the Record
| RUNNING
BACK RANKINGS |
| RB |
Opp |
Projected |
Actual |
Deduction |
Value |
Total |
| Priest Holmes (KC) |
at MIN |
1 |
5 |
4 |
20 |
16 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson (SD) |
at PIT |
2 |
8 |
6 |
19 |
13 |
| Ahman Green (GB) |
at OAK |
3 |
11 |
8 |
18 |
10 |
| Jamal Lewis (BAL) |
at CLE |
4 |
2 |
2 |
17 |
15 |
| Edgerrin James (IND) |
vs DEN |
5 |
DNA |
21 |
16 |
-16 |
| Marshall Faulk (STL) |
vs CIN |
6 |
6 |
0 |
15 |
15 |
| Thomas Jones (TAM) |
vs ATL |
7 |
DNA |
21 |
14 |
-14 |
| Deuce McAllister (NO) |
at JAC |
8 |
19 |
11 |
13 |
2 |
| Fred Taylor (JAC) |
vs NO |
9 |
4 |
5 |
12 |
7 |
| Shaun Alexander (SEA) |
vs ARI |
10 |
7 |
3 |
11 |
8 |
| Anthony Thomas (CHI) |
vs WAS |
11 |
9 |
2 |
10 |
8 |
| Kevan Barlow (SF) |
at PHI |
12 |
3 |
9 |
9 |
0 |
| DeShaun Foster (CAR) |
vs DET |
13 |
13 |
0 |
8 |
8 |
| Travis Henry (BUF) |
vs MIA |
14 |
DNA |
21 |
7 |
-7 |
| Ricky Williams (MIA) |
at BUF |
15 |
18 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
| Domanick Davis (HOU) |
vs TEN |
16 |
16 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
| Troy Hambrick (DAL) |
vs NYG |
17 |
DNA |
21 |
4 |
-4 |
| Eddie George (TEN) |
at HOU |
18 |
DNA |
21 |
3 |
-3 |
| Brian Westbrook (PHI) |
vs SF |
19 |
DNA |
21 |
2 |
-2 |
| Antowain Smith (NE) |
at NYJ |
20 |
15 |
5 |
1 |
-4 |
|
Ahman Green at OAK
OK, playtime for Favre is over. He had his fun last week tossing
four TDs against the hapless Chargers. Now that it's crunch time
for the Packers, expect them to get back to their running game
which has yielded great benefits this season. If the Green Bay
coaches need any incentive, the Raiders have the worst run defense
in the league, giving up 149 yds per game and have allowed 18
rushing TDs thus far. This is the Monday night game this week,
so the Raiders may have a little more fight than usual, but it
just won't matter in the end. Green Bay has more at stake and
has the offensive personnel to exploit the Raiders weakness on
defense. I'll be shocked if Green doesn't find the endzone or
falls short of 150 combined yards.
Denver RBs at IND
Officially Clinton Portis is listed as Questionable but the smart
money is on him not playing this week against the Colts. Yes,
Denver is still battling for a playoff spot but find themselves
in a great position at 9-5 with 8-3 record in the conference.
Portis is not expected to practice this week and with Denver playing
on Sunday night, do you really want to take the chance of getting
a zero in your Superbowl? Look for Mike Anderson and Quentin Griffin
to share the load with Anderson getting slighltly more touches.
Thomas Jones vs ATL
Jones has been the primary runner for the Bucs the last two weeks
with modest success... 103 total yds against the Saints, and 151
total yds, 1 TD against the suspect Houston-D. Hell get a crack
at another suspect defense this week as the Atlanta Falcons come
over to for a visit. The Falcons have allowed a seven 100-yd rushers
this season and in their last meeting, gave up 164 total yds and
1 TD to Michael Pittman.
Antowain Smith at NYJ
One of things that makes Bill Belichick a great coach is his use
of personnel. The running back position is no doubt a committee
in New England but each member can be a "featured" back
giving the right circumstances. For instance, Antowain Smith was
deactivated for New England's game at Indy a couple weeks ago,
not because he was injured, but because Belichick wanted to utilized
the speed and quickness of Mike Cloud. On days when the passing
attack is heavily favored in the gameplan, you'll see Kevin Faulk
get the majority of work. But when December comes, and the weather
gets a little more frightening and the running game becomes a
priority, Belichick utilizes the bigger back, in this case Antowain
Smith. Antowain got 17 carries last week, 27 two weeks ago against
Miami, and should land somewhere in between this week against
the Jets, who by the way, scrape the bottom of the barrel on run
defense.
Recap - 12/24
This is the 3rd straight week that I've gone above the 60% mark
in the RB category.... whoo hooo! I was bailed out by Priest Holmes
and his 3 second half TDs after laying an egg early in the game
against the Vikes. There were 3 direct hits with Faulk(#6), DeShaun
Foster(#13), Dominack Davis(#16), and I was particularly happy
with my Antowain Smith selection this week. I advised a few to
play him over the likes of T.J. Duckett, Eddie George, and Rudi
Johnson/Corey Dillon. Hope that helped, guys. The downer of the
week was Thomas Jones. He only accounted for 87 total yards as
the Bucs used Michael Pittman in the passing game while making
their failed comeback attempt. Edgerrin James disappointed a lot
of fantasy owners Sunday night, costing some a Superbowl victory,
I'm sure.
Accuracy = 64.29%
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