If you are one of the lucky ones that have Ricky Williams, he got the post-Ronnie Brown era of the season started with the week’s best running back performance. He had about 140 total yards, two rushing TDs and one reception touchdown. Mind you, the Monday night game has night game has not occurred yet, and Chris Johnson could blow that up in the first half. Regardless, Kronik Ricky could be your smokin’ best bud down the stretch, or he could simply bogart space in your line-up. His remaining playoff schedule is not RB friendly, with match-ups against New England and Tennessee, but he does get to face Houston, Buffalo and Jacksonville in there as well. You may have to play him based on match-up.
I posted last week’s column so early, that Cedric Benson was still considered likely to play. Bonehead that I am, I made him my Start of the Week. Yeah. So, how bout them Bungles? Even without Benson they should have steamrolled the Oakland Raiders. Benson’s back up, Bernard Scott, managed 151 total yards.
In other fill-in news, Jason Snelling had no problem putting up Michael Turner type numbers, with 89 yards and two scores.
For the Seattle Seahawks the Justin Forsett era began. He mauled his way to a staggering 9 yards on 9 carries, but he did score a TD. Of course he was facing the Minnesota Vikings oppressive rush defense, and he did manage 8 receptions for 80 yards receiving. But seriously, 1 yard per carry?
The one guy who should have had a big day was Ladell Betts, but an injury forced him out early and Rock Cartwright toted the rock, all afternoon for 140 total yards including 7 receptions. This week Clinton Portis is still out. so Rock should get the rock again. Betts season is over with a torn ACL/MCL.
Oddly, given how many high-scoring affairs there were this weekend, RBs weren’t a big part of the fantasy windfall. Even Adrian Peterson managed to miss the endzone. Big yards never connected with TDs. Other than Ricky, the three guys with 2 TDs, Snelling, Mike Bell and Laurence Maroney all averaged 76 yards. Of the six guys besides Ricky who rushed for over 100 yards, only Ryan Grant and Steven Jackson scored once each. Again, Chris Johnson could change all that tonight.
So on to…
–Week 12–
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Week 12 – RB Start of the Week – Ricky Williams, MIA |
 Ricky, best RB two weeks in a row? Well there are a couple of other guys with really sweet match-ups, like Cedric Benson and Michael Turner, but who knows if they’ll play this week. And other guys with nice match-ups aren’t consistent enough. So that makes Williams versus the Bills run defense my pick. Over their last 4 games they’re still giving up over 100 yards and almost 2 TDs per game. |
No joking. Ricky's da man in Miami
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A Few More Fantasy Studs Who Should Rumble to the Endzone in Week 12 |
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| Michael Turner, ATL vs. TBB | Michael Turner should be back this week, but if he’s not, Jason Snelling has shown his ability to get the job done. Tampa has been awful against the run over the last few weeks. I expect 80+ yards and 2 TDs for whichever back gets to start. |
| Justin Forsett, SEA vs. STL | No team has been worse vs. the rush the last few weeks than the Rams. This is the team that made Julius Jones look good in week one. Expect at least 100 yards and a score. |
| Cedric Benson, CIN vs. CLE | If Benson’s back, he has another nice match-up. If he’s not, like Snelling above, Bernard Scott is a worthy replacement against this porous rush defense. Hopefully this week Carson Palmer allows his RB to run the ball in. 100+ total yards and a score are there for the taking. |
| Ryan Grant, GB vs. DET | Ryan Grant had a solid week vs. the 49ers in week 11. This week he gets an even sweeter match-up against the Detroit Lions. Those no reason to think he can’t hit the century mark and score. |
| Marion Barber, DAL vs. OAK | This is a tough one, because all three RBs for Dallas have the chance for a huge day, but I’m betting when the redzone is within sniffing distance, Barber gets the call. Against the Oakland Raiders, that could be often, especially at home. |
| Maurice Jones-Drew, JAX vs. SF | Over the last three weeks the 49ers have been 8th worst versus the run, and that’s including a game where they gave the Colt’s Joseph Addai nothing. MJD should garner 100 yards and at least one score. |
| Ladainian Tomlinson, SD vs. KC | L.T. didn’t do much vs. the Chiefs in their previous match-up, and while I’m still not expecting big yardage, I’m confident he’ll score at least once this week. Each week he’s gotten his old pep back, and this is a weak match-up on the ground. |
| Thomas Jones, NYJ vs. CAR | Over the last three weeks only the Rams have been worse against the rush than the Panthers. Jones should get 70+ yards and a score. |
| DeAngelo Williams, CAR vs. NYJ |  The Jets gave up two TDs last week to Boney Maroney, and Williams has been getting about 90 yards a week. This week, I think he gets at least one score too. Though Jonathon Stewart could ruin everyone’s day. |
| Adrian Peterson, MIN vs. CHI | You have to go back to last season to find back to back weeks without a score from A.P. His last two games vs. the Bears, 252 yards rushing and 3 TDs. |
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A few guys you have to play with regardless of Match-ups |
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| Ray Rice, BAL vs. PIT | The Steelers are still best in the league against the run. Rice is a guy who defies the odds, but it’s not an optimal match. |
| Frank Gore, SF vs. JAX | What? Yeah, that right. Over the last 3 weeks, Jacksonville has been second against the run, wedged in between the Steelers and the Vikings |
| Beanie Wells, ARI vs. TEN | Beanie’s been solid lately, but so has the Titans rush defense. With Warner testing their weak pass defense, Wells could be a poor play. |
| Pierre Thomas, NOS vs. NEP | The RBBC in New Orleans is killing all their value, but this week is a tough match up for Thomas, Mike Bell and Reggie Bush. |
| Rashard Mendenhall, PIT vs. BAL | This game looks to be a defense battle, and both teams are stout vs. the run. You have to play him, but… |
| Chris Johnson, TEN vs. ARI | The Titans are likely to be behind early, forcing an air game. This could hurt Johnson’s fantasy value this week. However, CJ has been very effective as a pass receiver in 2009, so I think he’ll have a solid day regardless. |
| Steven Jackson, STL vs. SEA | This is actually a fairly decent match-up for S-Jax. He should have a decent day, but without Marc Bulger at QB, it’s hard to say how the offense will do overall. |
| LeSean McCoy, PHI vs. WAS | On paper this is a good match-up for the rookie, but I still don’t entirely trust him, and Weaver is still in the picture. |
| Joseph Addai, IND vs. HOU | Addai is always sort of hit or miss. He has a good opportunity here though. |
| Laurence Maroney, NEP vs. NOS | The Saints have struggled lately vs. the run. This is a decent opportunity for him to show he can be reliable. |
| Matt Forte, CHI vs. MIN | Forte has struggled all season and he faces one of the league’s toughest rush defenses this week, but Forte’s forte this year has been as a pass catcher, and he could do well. |
A reminder of what we're all really thankful for...
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Week 12 – RB Sit of the Week – Kevin Smith |
 Hard to imagine Smith as a sit any week, but he hasn’t been putting up monster numbers lately and this week he faces a brutal Green Bay run defense. Over the last three games the Packers defense is limiting opposing runners to a 55 yard average. In Week 11, GB held 49ers RB, Frank Gore to 59 yards rushing. Smith is a similar back to Gore on a lesser team. |
–This Week’s Coin Flip Kids–
Jamaal Charles, KC vs. SD – Surprisingly the Chargers have been solid against the run lately, but Charles is still an unknown quantity, just ask the Steelers. Heads
Justin Fargas/Michael Bush/Darren McFadden, OAK vs. DAL – Nuff said. Tails
Brandon Jacobs, NYG vs. DEN – Over the last four weeks the Denver rush defense has disappeared, but Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are both battling injuries, making them both questionable. Tails
Knowshon Moreno, DEN vs. NYG – Not a great match-up, but Moreno could get 60 yards and maybe a score. Heads
Steve Slaton, HOU vs. IND – The last time these two faced off Slaton scored once and that was it. His role is really sketchy right now. Tails
Marshawn Lynch, BUF vs. MIA – Not a great match-up and he’s hurt. Hard to say how he’ll fair this week. Tails
Jamal Lewis, CLE vs. CIN – Stick a fork in him, career over. Tails
Cadillac Williams, TB vs. ATL – Great opportunity, he just hasn’t been getting it done even against poor rush defenses like the Falcons. Heads
Rock Cartwright, WAS vs. PHI – The last man standing in Washington. Something tells me he’ll have a decent day. Heads
LMAO!! Ricky really is the man.. I wonder if he still puffs??
Rashard Mendenhall or McCoy.. or Garson.. that's my options this week in a do or die match up for me. WIN OR GO HOME. Of course I'm ppr
I'm thinking if Haynsworth is out I'm starting McCoy.. but they could feed Mendenhall more this week after Bens KO…
My choice is between Ray Rice, the steady performer, at PIT… or:
LeSean McCoy the new stud at WAS…
Obviously McCoy has the much better matchup, but hear me here. Pittsburgh is #1 versus the rush, and they allow on average about 70YPG to running backs, which means a little less to the worse ones, a little more to the better ones. But Rice, one of the better ones, only makes about 70 of his yards from rushing in a game anyway. The rest come from catching the ball.
I think Ray Rice’s strength is that he is not predictable in that sense. His best game is against a very hard Minnesota run D.
I don't have enough faith in McCoy yet, and Rice , as I said above tends to buck the odds. Most of Flacco's passes go to him or Mason, so in a PPR league, he's an even better bet. Add to that, Troy Polamalu is out this week.
help me out, rock cartwright or maroney this week?
Addai isn't hit or miss. He's been one of the most consistant fantasy backs this season, with 11 total touchdowns, about 1 td per week. He puts up 20 points on a consistant basis, and is heavily uttilized in the passing game. Donald Brown won't receive any goal line carries, and should get only about 5-10 carries a week.
You give the stupidest stats. Over the past three weeks, this team has been the worst against the rush. Or this team gives up x points to running backs. Fantasy is about looking at the individual (player) matchups, O line vs. D lines, time of possession, weather conditions, defensive schemes (heavy blitz, zone etc), so many other factors. Certain players will play good against certain teams, depending on their unique combinations of size/strength/agility/etc. You thought MDJ was going to tear up buffalo? He averaged like 2.5 yards per carry on 25 attempts. Buffalo struggles with speed and agility backs like Chris Johnson, Deangello Williams, etc.
Addai has 10 TDs, 5 of which came in his last three games. He is 23rd in rushing yards. His real value has been more as a pass catching back, and not everyone plays in a PPR league. He's averaging 13.6 points per game in most leagues. Obviously scoring varies by league set up. I like Addai as a number 2 back in PPR leagues, number 3 in standard leagues.
Smith is no where near a simliar back to Gore. Do you watch football bro? Smith is a decent play this week against a GB defense that's one of the best against the run, but they actually play much better D at home. Expect GB to take an early lead, and with Stafford possibly out, GB will blitz Culpepper, and we all know Culpepper loves to throw to his backs when he's in trouble. Look for lots of catches in the screen game from Smith this week, but not much on the ground. He liks to take the outside, but with Charles Woodson and Harris on the edges, don't expect his speed to help him much. Should find the end zone though, as he's Detroit's second best offensive player.
By the way: Gore is a finess, tough lower-your shoulder kind of back who you can hand the ball off to 30 times a game if you needed to. SMITH IS NOTHING LIKE GORE! Smith is a quick agile back that likes to get to the outside and take unique angles. Gore is also agile and fast, but is an in-between the tackles runner. You got to get your facts straight bro
We'll see how the games shake out. If I'm wrong, I'm happy to own up to it.
Would you go with:
Ray Rice, Forsett, or Bernard Scott this week (pick one)? Thanks.
Rice even though he faces a tough defense because he has proved he can produce consistently.. THe other two have better matchups, but Forsett would be my #2 only because it appears that Scott will only get about half of the carries due to Benson coming back.
what will be the split between forsett and julius jones?
I have Justin Forsett, Jamaal Charles, Pierre Thomas, Jason Snelling, Steve Slaton, Bernard Scott, and Rock Cartwright. I am in a normal league and can start 2 rb’s plus the flex spot, who should I start??