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The Shot Caller's Report - RBs
Your Weekly Guide To Fantasy Lineups
10/19/07
Positions: QBs | RBs | WRs

Running Backs

Must Start:

LaMont Jordan LaMont Jordan v. KC: There are two concerns when it comes to Jordan. First, is he healthy? Second, how many touches will he lose to Dominic Rhodes? Even though Jordan was listed as doubtful last week, he touched the ball 24 times versus San Diego. If he can, he will play and carry the load against Kansas City. Rhodes is already whining about not getting opportunities. I doubt that will endear him to the coaching staff or make him a bigger part of the game plan.

Thomas Jones @ CIN: Twenty-five touches for 141 yards is nice. Know what would be even better? A touchdown. Still scoreless this season, Jones gets to face the lowly Concinnati Bengals defense. Everyone else has ripped them up; Jones might as well too. He looked excellent last week, Leon Washington still isn’t vulturing any carries, and Cincinnati is a sieve. If Jones is going to score this year, the table is set for it to happen this week.

Willis McGahee @ BUF: He got 25 carries last week against St. Louis and even managed his first rushing touchdown of the season. This week the Ravens will travel to Buffalo and things will look eerily similar. Kyle Boller will still be starting at quarterback so McGahee will get a ton of touches. The Bills’ defense, like the Rams’, can’t stop anyone. McGahee will still run like he is wearing 20 pound cleats and will bang and plod his way to a touchdown and some yardage. Against Buffalo, a running back just has to show up to get decent numbers.

Maurice Jones-Drew v. IND: The outlook for MJD was dismal going into Jacksonville’s Week Four bye. He wasn’t getting anything going on the ground or through the air with a high of 60 combined yards. Something changed over that week off because MJD has returned with a vengeance, posting back to back good games. The match up with Indy is better than you might expect. The Jaguars will eventually be down by double digits and MJD will be in for these obvious passing situations.

Going Out On a Limb:

Kevin Faulk @ MIA: Faulk has been around for a while and always seems to get 30 to 50 receiving yards with the occasional draw play mixed in. Laurence Maroney’s status for Sunday’s game is still up in the air and Sammy Morris will be missing a couple weeks minimum. Running backs are tough to find seven weeks into the season so, if Maroney can’t go, Faulk will suffice to fill in for a week.

Grab A Gatorade:

Marion Barber v. MIN: There is something wrong with having a guy named “Marion” on my team. It annoys me. The Vikings are holding opposing offenses to 66 yards per game on the ground while allowing billions of yards through the air. Everyone knows how to play them. Another area of concern: over the last three weeks Ms. Marion Barber has gotten 10, 14, and 10 touches.

Kevin Jones v. TB: No one is questioning if he’s healthy. The real problem is the Detroit offense. Mad Mike Martz has indoctrinated the team into his pass-first mentality and the running backs are bearing the brunt of the fantasy damage. KJ has regained his starting job now that their bye is over, but wait another week or two before plugging him into your starting lineup. Maybe having a better back than Tatum Bell will inspire Martz to present a more balanced attack.

Earnest Graham @ DET: Sure, he is the clear cut starter in Tampa for another week or two until Bennett gets up to speed. Unfortunately, it is also clear that he isn’t very good. A match up with Detroit is usually good news, but owners must be truly desperate to turn over their team to Graham. In the last two games he has averaged 2.1 yards per carry and has no touchdowns.

Marshawn LynchMarshawn Lynch v. BAL: Lynch continues to toil in the shadow of fellow rookie Adrian Peterson. Trent Edwards starting at quarterback hasn’t hurt him too much considering how ineffective J.P. Losman was. Neither quarterback is yet good enough to force defenses to respect the pass. Lynch will see a steady diet of eight man fronts all day and Baltimore is pretty good at stopping runners, even on good teams. They have allowed only a single rushing touchdown this year.

Cedric Benson @ PHI: Chicago is certainly committed to giving Benson every opportunity to show the world he belongs in the NFL. He hasn’t done anything this season to justify their confidence in him, but the Bears management keeps feeding Benson the ball. In two weeks he may find a little more running room against Detroit but first he has to travel to Philadelphia, where they know how to stop the run.

Wide Receivers