The fantasy football season has concluded in many leagues, and will reach it’s denouement in other leagues shortly. And with that in mind, and a new year upon us, now seems like a good time to review, position-by-position, what went on this season, and compare it to what we thought would happen going into the year. (Note: All statistics are through Week 16)

QUARTERBACKS

BIGGEST BUST - Matt Cassel, Kansas City: After being traded to the Chiefs and signing a big new contract, Cassel came into this season as, at worst, a QB2, with some fantasy football owners considering him as a possible low-end starter, depending on the match-up. He hasn’t lived up to the contract he signed, and he wasn’t even on most fantasy radars after the beginning of the season. He is 21st in the NFL in passing yards with 2,717, tied for 20th in touchdown throws with 16, is tied for seventh in the league with 15 interceptions, and is 28th with a completion percentage of 55.0.

- Runners-Up: Jay Cutler, David Garrard

BEST VALUE - Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos: Orton was considered far down the totem pole of fantasy quarterbacks, and though he certainly wasn’t an every week starter, he was solid enough to play if the match-up was correct. He threw for 20 touchdowns, which was tied for 16th in the NFL, and 3,371 yards, which was 15th. Orton didn’t hurt his fantasy owners with negative points much, either, throwing only eight interceptions.

- Runners Up:  Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger

RUNNING BACKS

BIGGEST BUST - Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders: While nobody had McFadden as a first-round pick, it was generally thought that he would make a solid contribution as a RB2, or flex play on most weeks. To say that hasn’t happened is an understatement. McFadden was on most waiver wires at the end of the season with numbers that were paltry even when you consider the fact that he missed four games. The former Arkansas Razorbacks star has run for 348 yards, at 3.5 per carry, and just one touchdown, with 21 catches for 245 yards. If anybody told you before the season that McFadden would have three times the amount of lost fumbles as he did touchdowns going into the season’s final week, would you have believed it?

- Runners Up: Steve Slaton, Larry Johnson

BEST VALUE - Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh Steelers: This was a close call, as both Ray Rice and Ricky Williams were close, but they were likely drafted higher than Mendenhall. But considering that Mendenhall didn’t play much last season due to injury, and had all of 45 yards through the season’s first three games, he gets the nod. Mendenhall is 11th in the NFL in rushing with over 1,000 yards, and has scored seven touchdowns.

- Runners Up: Rice, Williams

WIDE RECEIVERS

BIGGEST BUST - T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Seattle Seahawks: Houshmandzadeh came to Seattle over Minnesota in part because he liked the team’s quarterback situation more. That turned out to be a great thing for the Vikings, who saw players like Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin emerge, while Houshmandzadeh struggled all season, ranking 29th in the NFL with 845 receiving yards, and, most disappointingly, just three touchdown catches, which ranks him tied for 66th in the league, and behind players like Louis Murphy and James Jones.

- Runners Up: Terrell Owens, Ted Ginn

BEST VALUE - Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys: If Austin was drafted at all in fantasy leagues, it was near the bottom of the draft. And through the season’s first four weeks, you saw why, as he caught just five passes for 81 yards in the first quarter of the season. But he caught 10 passes for 250 yard and two scores in Week 5 in Kansas City, and is now fifth in the NFL with 1,230 receiving yards and fourth with 11 touchdown catches.

- Runners Up: Sidney Rice, Mike Sims-Walker

TIGHT ENDS

BIGGEST BUST - Anthony Fasano, Miami Dolphins: After catching 34 passes for 454 yards and seven touchdowns last year, many fantasy owners believed Fasano was on his way to bigger and better things in his fourth season. Unfortunately, he’s gone backwards, and has just two touchdowns among his 29 receptions, along with 298 receiving yards, which is 29th in the NFL among tight ends.

- Runners Up: Martellus Bennett, Bo Scaife

BEST VALUE - Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers: Fantasy owners have been waiting for Davis to break out, but after he regressed statistically last season, many had given up hope. He was still a draftable player, but nobody believed he’d accomplish what he has so far this season. He’s more than doubled his numbers in every category from 2008 to this season, and has 72 receptions for 876 yards. More importantly, he’s caught 12 touchdown passes, which is tied for second in the NFL.

- Runners Up: Jermichael Finley, Brent Celek

Fantasy football enthusiasts around the country have started battling for supremacy in their respective leagues, allowing them a chance for either eternal glory or unceasing shame and humiliation. Okay, that may be stretching things a bit, but the fact remains that these final weeks of the season are do-or-die time, and even the smallest of mistakes can flitter away your chances at taking home a championship. To help guide you on your way, here are a few things to keep in mind.

- Dance With the Girl That Brought You: In this instance, the girl that brought you is actually a large man wearing a helmet, but the point remains - your stars are the ones who got you into the fantasy playoffs in the first place - don’t abandon them now. Match-ups are important, but don’t let them completely overrule your instinct. For example, if you own both Tony Gonzalez and Dante Rosario, don’t start Rosario this week just because the Vikings have been much softer on opposing tight ends this season than the Jets have. To put it simply, don’t over-think things.

- Remember the Defense: Fantasy football owners pay plenty of attention to their quarterbacks, tight ends, wide receivers and especially running backs, but just kind of ignore their defense, or leave it as is because, well, that’s the easy thing to do, right? Yes, but in the fantasy playoffs, every point counts. And though we just said to leave well enough alone in the paragraph above, there is a big difference between individual stars and entire teams. We’re not saying go out and pick up the Chiefs’ defense just because they’re playing the Browns, but we are saying it’s not the smartest move to stick with the Cowboys’ defense against the Saints this week. Dallas, who is sixth in scoring defense so far this year, hasn’t been an upper echelon defensive unit in fantasy football this season, and they wouldn’t have been an especially significant contributor to getting you into the fantasy playoffs, but they were a defense you could win with. However, you just can’t use them this week against New Orleans and expect to win.

- Enjoy it: It is a game, remember? So have some fun, no matter what happens the next couple of weeks (But not too much fun, at least in the company of certain people. There is a little bit of etiquette involved. If you’re in a league with, say, your boss, and you beat him to win the championship, maybe you want to hold back on the gloating just, you know, a smidge. That is, unless you want to get transferred to Alaska; but we hear it’s just a wee bit nippy there this time of year).

In the preseason, everyone who plays fantasy football is a prognosticator. We have our own opinions, of course, and we scour the internet and magazine rack to see what everyone else is thinking. And like any sort of auguring, sometimes we get things right, and sometimes, well, not so much. So with the fantasy playoffs right around that proverbial corner, let’s take a look at the leader in fantasy points at each position so far, to see how the fantasy football soothsayer’s did.

Quarterback

- Overview: Aaron Rodgers leads NFL signal-callers in fantasy points despite being fourth in the league in both passing yards and touchdown passes. The reasons for his lofty status are that A) he doesn’t turn the ball over, having thrown just five interceptions, and B) rushing yards. Rodgers has run for 247 yards this season, which is already more than he had all of last year, and he also has three touchdown runs, which is just one behind his total from last season. Comparatively, the three players who have thrown for more touchdown passes than Rodgers – Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning – have a combined total of 19 rushing yards and two scores, both of which came from Brees.

- Surprise: There really aren’t many shockers at the top of the list, so the biggest surprise would probably have to be how low Jay Cutler is. After all, he threw for over 4,500 yards and 25 touchdowns last season. But 20 interceptions equal a lot of lost fantasy points.

Running Back

- Overview: Chris Johnson leads the way, and though most probably didn’t think he’d be the top fantasy running back, he was definitely among the preseason elite. As were Adrian Peterson and Maurice Jones-Drew, obviously. Ray Rice was something of a question mark because of how Baltimore utilized their running backs last season, but he was being touted as a sleeper candidate fairly early on. Michael Turner has been a bit of a disappointment after some thought there was an argument to be made that he could be the No. 1 overall pick in fantasy drafts, but he’s nearly seven full points per week off of Johnson’s pace.

- Surprise: There are a few very clear eye-openers among this group, with Ricky Williams at the forefront. He wouldn’t be as high up if Ronnie Brown wasn’t lost for the season, but at 32 years of age, nobody believed he would be as effective as he has been in a full-time role. Thomas Jones is another surprising case. He was universally being thought of as someone whose numbers would drop off precipitously due to his age and the amount of carries he got last year, but it hasn’t happened.

Wide Receiver

- Overview: The three wideouts with the most points – Reggie Wayne, Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald – are pretty much the players most everybody believed would be at the top, even though some had believed that Wayne might take a small step backwards. And though there are many recognizable names after that, this is still a fairly interesting group with a few players seemingly coming out of nowhere.

- Surprise: Where do you really start? If you said Miles Austin was a top-five fantasy football wideout before the season, you were pretty much along. Austin getting more involved with the Cowboys’ passing game? Sure. But an explosion of huge numbers was not in the forecast. Neither was the presence of two Vikings receivers that are in the top-15 – Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin. Bernard Berrian was the Minnesota wideout most thought would see the greatest benefit from Brett Favre’s arrival, but his numbers are down from last season instead of up.

Tight End

- Overview: Of the top four tight ends in points, three of them – Dallas Clark, Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates – were certainly in the top four in the preseason rankings, and they’ve lived up to that billing. Kellen Winslow might have actually outperformed expectations for him, and if Owen Daniels hadn’t gotten injured, he might head this list. As it is, he’s still eighth, despite having not played since Week 8.

- Surprise: We all knew Vernon Davis had it in him, but most of the fantasy football world was sick of waiting for him. Godot didn’t take this long to arrive. But Davis has finally arrived, and leads tight ends in fantasy points due to his NFL co-leading nine touchdown catches (he’s tied with Larry Fitzgerald and Reggie Wayne). On the other end of the surprise spectrum, Jason Witten has about half the fantasy points that Davis has. Witten was many people’s No. 1 tight end, but he didn’t have a 100 receiving yard game until Week 12, and his only touchdown reception came in Week 2.

Installing Vince Young in your fantasy football lineup during the most critical part of the season isn’t going to make your team turn into the fantasy equivalent of the ’99 Rams or ’07 Patriots – just look at Young’s fantasy points-per-week on the graph below – but that doesn’t mean he can’t be at least somewhat beneficial.

True, he has thrown for over 175 yards just once in his last four starts, and has not thrown for multiple touchdowns in any of them, but at this point in the season, those fantasy owners who are in need of a quarterback for the fantasy playoffs have probably already made due with a lesser player at that position anyway, and instead have leaned on the strengths of their running backs and wideouts. Essentially, if you need a player like Young, you’re just looking for him not to kill you.

And any fantasy football owner who has used Young before is familiar with the pain he can cause. In 2007, for example, in his second season and with fairly big expectations after his rookie of the year campaign in 2006, he didn’t throw for 200 or more yards until Week 10, threw for multiple touchdowns in only three contests, and had more interceptions than touchdown passes in nine different games.

But the 2009 version of Vince Young is a seemingly different player, and one that needn’t be completely ignored by fantasy enthusiasts. Part of the reason for that is his match-ups the rest of the way. First of all, he has four home games over the next five weeks, including three straight at home from Weeks 14-16, which are dates that make up the fantasy playoffs in most leagues. But starting this week, really only two of his five match-ups that remain in the fantasy season could be deemed unfavorable – Week 13 against the Colts in Indy and Week 16 against the Chargers.

This week, however, he faces the Cardinals, who are just 27th in pass defense, and 18th (tied) in passing scores allowed. He follows that up with the Indianapolis game before facing St. Louis, Miami and San Diego. The Rams are 24th in the league in pass defense and 18th (tied) in passing touchdowns allowed, while the Dolphins are 22nd in pass defense and 12th in passing touchdowns given up. However, Miami and Oakland are the only two NFL teams to have given up four rushing touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks, and the Rams are one of just seven teams to have allowed at least two rushing scores to opposing signal-callers. On top of that, St. Louis and Miami are both in the bottom-half of the NFL in interceptions.

So, should you count on Young to single-handedly win you a fantasy championship? Of course not. But will he impede you in accomplishing that goal like he has in the past? Not if you use him wisely he won’t.

With each team at 7-0, the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints are everyone’s midseason picks to represent their respective conferences in the Super Bowl.  People are even talking about one or both of them going undefeated.  While this is nothing new for the Colts, the Saints are experiencing this type of media coverage and scrutiny for the first time.  But underneath all the hoopla, there are serious problems that both teams face in terms of upcoming schedules and on-field production-problems that may keep both of these teams from even getting to the Super Bowl.

Joseph Addai continues to be a major disappointment in terms of fantasy and reality.  His rushing average is a career low and that is the continuation of a downward trend.  His yards per carry have gone from 4.8 in 2006 to 4.1 in 2007 to 3.8 in 2008 to 3.3 this year.  You would think that he hit 30 years old during that time but he is far from it; he just turned 26 earlier this year.   He has zero big play potential as he hasn’t had a 30 yard run in the Colts last 47 games!  Individually, there are 44 players with a higher rushing average than Addai and as a team, Indianapolis ranks 30th in rushing yards.

Through the first eight weeks of the season, Indianapolis has yet to face a team with a winning record at the time of their matchup.  Because of the four-year rotation, the AFC South gets to play the NFC West this season.  The NFC West has the fewest combined wins out of any division in the league and the Colts have certainly taken advantage of that by beating those four teams with a combined score of 125-47.  The Colts true tests will come in the next six weeks because sandwiched in between two games with Houston are games vs. New England and Baltimore.  Then they face the Titans who have beaten the Colts 2 out of the last 3 times they’ve played with Vince Young at QB, and in Week 14 the Colts play the Broncos.

The Saints schedule has been a cupcake so far, as well.  The true test to see if you are a good team is to beat another good team in their home stadium.  The only road game New Orleans has played against a team with a winning record was at Philadelphia in Week 2.  But the Eagles were hardly at full strength in that game as Donovan McNabb sat out with his rib injury and Brian Westbrook left the game with an ankle injury, one that would force him to miss the next game.  For the remainder of the season, the Saints will likely only play one more road game against a team with a winning record-Week 14 at Atlanta.  New Orleans may have been given the most convenient road schedule in NFL history.  Of their eight road games: two are in domes, two are played in Florida, and the two vs. northeast teams were played in September when the temperature was in the 60s.  Thus, I think the Saints’ biggest road tests will come at Washington in Week 13 and at Carolina in Week 17.  Those will be the only games the entire season where the prolific Saints offense has to battle the elements as well as battle history (During Payton-Brees era, Saints are 25-15 through Week 12, 8-9 afterwards).

A major question mark heading into this season was how the defense would fare under new coordinator, Gregg Williams.  Despite leading the league in turnovers, New Orleans is still average at best on defense.  Their best statistical ranking is 11th (rushing yards allowed) but they rank only 15th in passing yards allowed and are 20th in points allowed.  They have given up at least 22 points in five out of their seven games.  Where the New Orleans D makes its mark is by forcing turnovers, where their 16 INTs and 5 pick-sixes lead the NFL, many of which have come by Darren Sharper.  But if you look at the inexperience of the QBs the Saints have played, you could see why New Orleans and Sharper are having so much success.  What do Matt Stafford, Kevin Kolb, Mark Sanchez, Chad Henne, and Matt Ryan have in common?  They have all been picked off by Sharper.  What else do they all have in common?  None of them had thrown a pass in the NFL before 2008.  In fact the Saints have played only ONE QB over the age of 25 which was Eli Manning.  Come playoff time, the Saints will be facing teams with QBs named Favre, or Warner, or McNabb, or Manning(s).  Youth and inexperience are words associated with those guys so the Saints need to improve their overall defense if they want to get to Super Sunday.

Despite all of this, there are reasons not to be discouraged as both of these teams’ issues are the same ones that previous Super Bowl participants had, and those didn’t keep them from getting to the Big Game.  Just last year the Cardinals represented the NFC despite being dead last in the league in rushing yards.  The closest comparable Super Bowl team to the 2009 Saints was the 1993 Bills.  They also had a high scoring offense and led the league in takeaways even though they were 21st in rushing yards allowed, 24th in passing yards allowed, and 27th in total yards allowed (out of 28 teams).  However, you must also remember one thing; even though the Cardinals and Bills made it to the Super Bowl, neither of those teams walked away with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

To say that Steve Slaton is off to a slow start would be an extreme understatement.  After posting 1282 rushing yards and scoring 10 touchdowns in 2008, nearly every fantasy site had Slaton as at worst, a 2nd round pick.  But things have not worked out quite as planned for Slaton, his team, or his fantasy owners.  Slaton is only averaging 46 rushing yards per game, which currently ranks 31st in the league.  He also only has two total touchdowns, or the same number as safety Darren Sharper and only has one game where he’s scored more than 10 fantasy points.  So now those who have Slaton are faced with the question, “Should I trade Slaton before he loses what little value he has left, or should I hang on to him with hopes that he can turn his season around?  Interesting question, and hopefully my analysis will make the answer a little clearer.

The biggest problem facing Slaton is that his explosiveness is not where it was last season and it’s showing in his rushing attempts.  He’s averaging 1.6 fewer yards per carry than what he did in 2008 and that could possibly be attributed to the fact that he’s gotten bigger since he was drafted.  At WVU he played at right around 200 lbs. and now he admits that he’s at 212 lbs. which is about seven more pounds than he carried as a rookie.

Besides the lack of burst, Slaton is also fumbling at a much greater rate than he did last year.  He already has four fumbles (two lost) on 89 touches after fumbling only three times in 2008 on 318 touches.  This is one of the reasons why Slaton is losing goal-line touches to Chris Brown as the Texans can’t afford him coughing the ball up in the redzone.  On the season Brown has six goal-line carries and one goal-line touchdown and Slaton has two goal-line carries and zero goal-line touchdowns.

Because of the Slaton’s inability to sustain a ground game, Coach Kubiak is losing patience with his team running the ball at all.  After the loss to the Cardinals, Kubiak said, “If we’ve got to go out there and throw it all the time, that’s what we’ll do.”  It appears that’s what they will have to do to win games as they couldn’t get any offense going against Arizona in the first half as they tried to establish the run.  But in the second half, Schaub threw the ball 32 times and Slaton only ran five times and the Texans scored TDs on three straight possessions to get back into the game.  This may be the common theme for Houston going forward which means Slaton’s touches could dwindle even more and that will make it nearly impossible for him to match last year’s total of 11 games with more than 10 fantasy points.

So when you combine Slaton’s lack of explosiveness, his fumbling problem, his lack of goal-line touches, and his coach’s affinity to throwing the ball, you should get a clearer picture as to what Slaton’s value will be going forward.  The one thing that he does have going for him is that he is being utilized more in the passing game this year (which is actually a by-product of him not being able to run the ball).  He is fifth in the league in receiving yards among running backs and is on pace for 54 receptions, which slightly increases his value in PPR-leagues.  But overall, the bad far outweighs the good and you would be best served to send him packing before the bottom completely falls out.

Are you surprised that your early-round pick has flopped so far this season, or that one of your later picks is playing past your expectations so far? You shouldn’t be, at least not if you had looked at what was taking place towards the end of the 2008 season. Let’s check out a few trends that began towards the end of last season that have continued through the beginning of the 2009 season.

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys: Romo started to falter in Week 14 last season, a trend that continued the rest of the year. Over his final four games of the 2008 campaign, Romo averaged 222 passing yards per game while completing 56 percent of his throws with five touchdowns and six interceptions. Though his big game against the Chiefs last week buoyed his numbers, Romo has still been merely average so far this season, averaging 268 passing yards per contest and tossing six touchdowns with four interceptions while completing 58 percent of his throws. Accuracy seems to be the biggest issue facing Romo. Over his last nine games, he’s completed 60 percent or more of his throws just twice.

Vincent Jackson, San Diego Chargers: Going in the opposite direction of Romo starting towards the tail end of the 2008 season was Jackson. After just one game of at least 85 receiving yards through that season’s first 13 weeks, Jackson went over that mark three times in the final four games of the year. He averaged five catches for 99 yards in that span, and caught two touchdowns. Through San Diego’s first four games of the 2009 season, Jackson has two touchdowns and twice has had at least 120 receiving yards.

Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins: Portis hasn’t crashed and burned this season, but he hasn’t performed as fantasy owners hoped he would. Through his first five games, Portis is averaging nearly 68 rushing yards per contest and has scored just one time. His delve into statistical mediocrity began last season in Week 13. After having rushed for 120 or more yards in six of the Redskins’ previous eight games, Portis finished the final five weeks of the season averaging only 56 yards per game. And though he scored twice, he also lost two fumbles in that time.

Dallas Clark, Indianapolis Colts: Already this season, Clark has had three games of at least 75 receiving yards, and just once – in Week 1 – has he not had at least 60 receiving yards. He’s averaging seven receptions for 88 yards in per game this season, and has scored two touchdowns. His surge actually started in Week 15 of 2008, against the Lions. After not having a 100-yard receiving game all year, Clark had two such contests with at least 100 yards over the season’s final three weeks, and he scored twice while averaging nearly nine receptions and 102 yards per game.

Though Week 1 is already underway, hopefully you had better options than using either Chris Johnson or Willie Parker as one of your starters at running backs. Because despite Johnson’s lofty draft status, the six points he got in standard scoring leagues was about what was expected of him. As for Parker, while he should improve on his totals from Thursday’s game (13 carries, 19 yards), don’t look for anything resembling the 2006 version of Fast Willie to reemerge. But there are plenty of good options available to you for the rest of the weekend’s games. Let’s examine those.

BEST

LaDainian Tomlinson vs. Oakland: Last season, the Raiders were 31st against the run, and 28th in rushing touchdowns allowed. They did not seemingly improve by leaps and bounds, especially if Richard Seymour does not report. And L.T. likes playing the Al Davis-led squad. In his last six games against the Raiders, Tomlinson has run for 691 yards and scored 10 times.

Julius Jones vs. St. Louis: Only three teams were worse against the run in 2008 than the Rams, and only Detroit gave up more rushing scores. They also just released starting linebacker Chris Draft, and though he was only an average player, the timing of it is poor. Jones also had success against the Rams last season. If you’ll notice on the graph to the right, the tallest line from his fantasy points last season came in Week 3, when he ran for 140 yards at home against the Rams.

Maurice Jones-Drew vs. Indianapolis: MJD should be perfectly healthy on Sunday despite having a shin contusion, so there are no worries there. The explosive UCLA product was dominating against the Colts last season. In two games, he combined for 328 rushing and receiving yards against a team that was only 24th against the run.

Worst

Larry Johnson vs. Baltimore: Facing the team that allowed the third-fewest rushing yards and fewest rushing touchdowns of any in the NFL last season with either a gimpy or back-up quarterback is not the most pleasant way for Johnson to start the season.

Jamal Lewis vs. Minnesota: With the Vikings’ beefy defensive line duo of Kevin and Pat Williams being cleared to play in the wake of their appeals of a four-game suspension for using a banned substance, there will be no break for Lewis and Co. No team allowed fewer rushing yards than Minnesota last season, who allowed just 3.3 yards per rush )tied with the Steelers for the best mark in football).

DeAngelo Williams vs. Philadelphia: The Eagles were fourth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed in 2008, and only the Ravens allowed fewer touchdowns on the ground. Aside from that, Williams is traditionally a slow starter. In his three-year career, the former Memphis back has averaged just 39.8 rushing yards per game in Weeks 1-4, and has only one rushing touchdown in that time.

Before training camps began, I gave you rankings at each position for the upcoming fantasy football campaign. A month and three preseason games later, it’s time to re-examine those rankings. I’ll show you what they were like then, followed by the current rankings. Now it’s time for the running backs.

RUNNING BACKS - BEFORE

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Michael Turner
3. Maurice Jones-Drew
4. Matt Forte
5. Steven Jackson
6. Chris Johnson
7. DeAngelo Williams
8. LaDainian Tomlinson
9. Marion Barber
10. Steve Slaton
11. Clinton Portis
12. Brandon Jacobs
13. Frank Gore
14. Brian Westbrook
15. Ryan Grant
16. Pierre Thomas
17. Joseph Addai
18. Ronnie Brown
19. Marshawn Lynch
20. Darren McFadden
21. Jonathan Stewart
22. LenDale White
23. Larry Johnson
24. Thomas Jones
25. Derrick Ward
26. Reggie Bush
27. Kevin Smith
28. Le’Ron McClain
29. Chris Wells
30. Jamal Lewis
31. Cedric Benson
32. Willie Parker
33. Earnest Graham
34. Donald Brown
35. Julius Jones
36. Knowshon Moreno
37. Ahmad Bradshaw
38. Tim Hightower
39. LeSean McCoy
40. Maurice Morris
41. Rashard Mendenhall
42. Darren Sproles
43. Sammy Morris
44. Willis McGahee
45. Fred Jackson
46. Felix Jones
47. Chester Taylor
48. Fred Taylor
49. Ricky Williams
50. Shonn Greene

RUNNING BACKS - AFTER

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Michael Turner
3. Maurice Jones-Drew
4. Steven Jackson
5. Matt Forte
6. Chris Johnson
7. LaDainian Tomlinson
8. DeAngelo Williams
9. Marion Barber
10. Frank Gore
11. Brandon Jacobs
12. Steve Slaton
13. Clinton Portis
14. Brian Westbrook
15. Ryan Grant
16. Pierre Thomas
17. Ronnie Brown
18. Darren McFadden
19. Kevin Smith
20. Ray Rice
21. Jonathan Stewart
22. Larry Johnson
23. Thomas Jones
24. Derrick Ward
25. Cedric Benson
26. Reggie Bush
27. Marshawn Lynch
28. Joseph Addai
29. Julius Jones
30. Chris Wells
31. Jamal Lewis
32. Willie Parker
33. LenDale White
34. Earnest Graham
35. Donald Brown
36. Le’Ron McClain
37. Knowshon Moreno
38. Ahmad Bradshaw
39. Tim Hightower
40. Fred Jackson
41. Rashard Mendenhall
42. Darren Sproles
43. Sammy Morris
44. Willis McGahee
45. LeSean McCoy
46. Felix Jones
47. Leon Washington
48. Fred Taylor
49. Shonn Greene
50. Chester Taylor

There were just a few changes at the top, but the biggest movers were in the middle. Ray Rice made the largest splash, coming in at No. 20 as he is expected to be the Ravens starting running back. Marshawn Lynch also moved down after his three-game suspension was upheld and, to a lesser degree, a preseason that has so far seen him run for 2.7 yards per carry.

In three weeks, the NFL season will have arrived in full force. Until then, however, we’ll have to deal with exhibition contests in which players that won’t even be on practice squads have a lot to do with the final score. Still, there is fantasy information to be gleaned from these games, so let’s examine the proceedings that took place over the weekend.

Cincinnati 7, New England 6: A particularly meaningless contest that left fantasy owners in the cold about the progress of Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, who did not play due to his injury, most people probably only know that Chad Ochocinco kicked off once and also kicked an extra point. From a fantasy perspective, if looking for a runner to handcuff to Bengals starter Cedric Benson, Dede Dorsey ran four times for 60 yards while Brian Leonard carried the rock seven times for 34 yards, and is considered the favorite for the backup job.

Indianapolis 23, Philadelphia 15: Not very encouraging numbers running the ball for either team, as Eagles rookie LeSean McCoy managed just four yards on five carries, and Colts rookie Donald Brown posting similar numbers with five yards on three carries. Still, McCoy is an absolute necessity as a handcuff to Brian Westbrook, though you may have to take him earlier than you like in order to ensure a spot for him on your roster. As for Brown, he’s a popular pick to become the Colts’ full-time back this season, even with the presence of Joseph Addai. That may be pushing it, but 700-800 yards and five or so scores are realistic expectations.

Dallas 30, Tennessee 10: Most of the news surrounding this game is the hilarious fact that the brand-spankin’ new $1 billion stadium the Cowboys play in has a $40 million scoreboard that punters can shell with the ball when booting it away because it sits too low. Nice attention to detail there. As for game action, there was a lot for fantasy owners to like about what Cowboys gunslinger Tony Romo did, connecting on 18-of-24 passes for 192 yards. On the other side, Vince Young’s encouraging performance in the Titans’ first preseason game gave way to a performance that saw him go 3-for-9 for 33 yards and an interception.

Atlanta 20, St. Louis 13: Michael Turner was in 2008 form, running for 65 yards and one touchdown on the first series of the game before having a seat the rest of the night, so no worries there (except for the Rams defense, which nobody in their right mind would use in fantasy). For St. Louis, wideout Laurent Robinson continues what has been an impressive showing throughout camp with five catches for 65 yards. He’s a decent sleeper choice, and certainly someone to pay attention to.

Minnesota 17, Kansas City 13: So, Brett Favre is back (see his 2008 week-by-week fantasy points in the graph below), and he really showed, well, nothing, completing one of his four throws for four yards. He should get better, obviously, but he’s still a QB2 right now. For the Chiefs, Matt Cassel’s 99 passing yards and one touchdown pass were encouraging considering some have speculated that former Patriot is losing his grip on the starting job.

Cleveland 27, Detroit 10: Matthew Stafford struggled mightily, completing just five of his 13 passes for 34 yards and an interception, taking a step back in the race for a starting gig. Even if he improves mightily the rest of the way, drafting him is a risk not worth taking. The Browns’ quarterback job is still up for grabs, and Derek Anderson showed pretty well, completing 10 of his 13 throws, but also tossing a pick. In the sleeper category, rookie running back James Davis ran the ball 12 times for 116 yards and a score, including one run for 81 yards. Jamal Lewis’s best days are behind him, and Davis is someone who has the potential to eventually get a chance to contribute.

Miami 27, Carolina 17: Chad Pennington was steady as usual, and Ronnie Brown had a nice all-around game, with 74 total yards and a touchdown on 10 touches. Many believe he’s overrated, but with his ability to both run the ball and catch it, he offers a lot of value.

Washington 17, Pittsburgh 13: Two disappointing rookies from last season were notable here. For Pittsburgh, running back Rashard Mendenhall, ran for 5.2 yards a pop, amassing 26 yards on five carries, and is someone that has the potential to unseat Willie Parker. For Washington, tight end Fred Davis was on the receiving end of two passes, hauling them in for 31 yards and a score.

Tampa Bay 24, Jacksonville 23: Running back Chauncey Washington ran the ball four times for 32 yards, making his case to be the backup to starter Maurice Jones-Drew for the Jaguars. Luke McCown threw two scores for the Buccaneers, possibly gaining some ground in the race for the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback job.

New Orleans 38, Houston 14: A solid backup for Steve Slaton has yet to emerge, as Chris Brown ran for just five yards on four carries, and Ryan Moats ran for 25 yards on nine carries.

Green Bay 31, Buffalo 21: It was a so-so performance by Trent Edwards, even though he completed seven of his 11 passes. He only amassed a paltry 45 yards on those throws, and also threw an interception.

Chicago 17, NY Giants 3: Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw, a viable RB3, showed his explosiveness with a six-carry, 54-yard performance. Meanwhile, it was a much better showing for Bears signal-caller Jay Cutler, who was 8-of-13 for 121 yards and a score.

San Francisco 21, Oakland 20: Rookie running back Glen Coffee ran for 129 yards, and has quickly established himself as the necessary handcuff to Frank Gore. Coffee leads all players in rushing this preseason with nearly 200 yards.

San Diego 17, Arizona 6: Cardinals first-round pick Beanie Wells has yet to play in a preseason contest, giving Tim Hightower an opportunity to win the starting job. He didn’t hurt himself in this game, running for 42 yards on nine carries.

Seattle 27, Denver 13: The panic surrounding Kyle Orton should have ceased, or at least lowered somewhat after he completed 18 of his 26 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown, though he also threw a pick. Matt Hasselbeck also looked very good, reminding fantasy owners of what he did two years ago by slinging the ball 23 times with 16 completions for 171 yards and two scores.