Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

As you probably know by now, I love talking numbers when it comes to fantasy football analysis. I’m always wondering which players are on top of the rankings and if they’re the players that we all drafted highly, or if unexpected awesomeness has emerged. Earlier this season I talked about the Top 10 Running Backs at the midseason point and today I’m taking a closer look at the Top 10 RBs for the second half of the season in hopes of finding guys who are trending up as we hit the playoffs.

Thanks to FFToday, I was able to pull stats for the Top 10 RBs over the course of the season, but also the past five weeks (Weeks 9-13), and the past three weeks (Weeks 11-13). By looking at the players who are showing up in those more recent Top 10 lists, but not in the season-long Top 10 list, we can really focus in on guys who have been lighting it up lately – and figure out if they’re primed for big numbers in the final weeks of the fantasy football season.

If you compare these lists, the players that are showing Top 10 caliber over the past few weeks, but who haven’t broken into the season Top 10 yet are: Justin Forsett, Frank Gore, LaDainian Tomlinson, Rashard Mendenhall, Laurence Maroney, Knowshon Moreno, and Kevin Smith. So let’s take a closer look at those guys and see who has a chance of helping you out big time as the season ends.

Justin Forsett and Laurence Maroney are basically in the same boat – what was once a pretty sweet gig as starting back for their respective teams is now changing. With Julius Jones and Sammy Morris coming back on the scene and disrupting the number of carries each of these guys will be getting, don’t expect huge numbers out of Forsett and Maroney to continue. In Forsett’s case when you add in his injured quad, things don’t look too rosy in Seattle. That said, if Forsett gets healthy quickly and the Seahawks can see how much more effective he is than Jones, he could be primed for a great end of the fantasy football season against opponents like the Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

And to make matters worse in New England, Maroney and Morris owners better hope that Fred Taylor’s impending return doesn’t cut too much into their backs’ carries. I say feel free to play each (Maroney and Morris) with caution at the flex spot thanks to the matchups, which are unbelievably good on the ground – Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans. If only there was one king of the backfield in New England…oh, the numbers that could be posted!

Kevin Smith likely has his massive performance in Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns to thank for his placement in the top T0 for Weeks 11-13 – and he will be facing some pretty tough rush defenses in the Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals, and San Francisco 49ers over the next three weeks. Don’t count on Smith for anything more than a flex spot during the playoffs. 

Meanwhile there are two backs that will provide great numbers if your playoffs last through Week 17. While Frank Gore continues to drive his owners nuts with his up and down performances, you’d be crazy not to be psyched for his back-to-back potential for Week 16 (against the Detroit Lions) and Week 17 (against the St. Louis Rams). And along those same lines, Knowshon Moreno meets the Oakland Raiders in Week 15 and the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17. Droolfest going on over here, sorry, but that’s just too awesome. 

How about LT? Is he someone you can lean on in these final weeks? His YPC (yards per carry) has steadily dropped down to 3.2 after peaking at 4.0 during Week 10. That said, he’s still putting up a solid number of touchdowns and those six pointers can add up fast. I think Tomlinson can be a reliable flex performer but probably not someone you want to count on for even your RB2 slot.

Finally, Rashard Mendenhall is someone who has truly been on the up-and-up during the past few weeks. He’ll get the ball a ton on a snowy day against the Cleveland Browns, so expect huge numbers from Mendy this week. Then the going gets a bit tougher for Mendenhall, but fortunately he’s shown he can put up decent rushing against the Baltimore Ravens and he should absolutely be a serviceable RB2. 

Good Luck!

To see other articles written by the Fantasy Football Librarian click here…. A Librarian’s Touch Archives

The Bruno Boys are pleased to once again welcome guest columnist, Sara Holladay, back for her feature,A Librarian’s Touch, for the 2009 season. The woman behind the web-site, Fantasy Football Librarian, Holladay is someone all fantasy owners should be well familiar with if they want to win their league’s title as she provides some of the best fantasy football insight and resources found around the web!