Fantasy Football Running Backs: The Three Back Attack

 "He doesn't belong to a union. Anyway, the ball doesn't weigh that much."

John McKay on feeding OJ Simpson the pigskin 47 times in a game.

NFL offensive coordinators have fallen far and away from old John McKay.

Dominant back attacks are over.

Almost, except in a few lonely, lucky outposts like LaDainian Land.

Its a two, sometimes, three, maybe four or more, back attack with Mike Martz along the Bay shore.

The three back NFL attack.

That's two backs too many; it is for fantasy owners anyway.

The two step is tearing apart fantasy football.

What happened to the days of the one step?

The one big back taking all the steps for the entire game for an entire season?

Is Jim Brown right?

Are modern players run for the sidelines sissies?

Need a breather babies?

Have coaches tied themselves into such knots with speciality players and mass substitutions that its counter-productive?

When defenses see the big boy averaging 2.2 yards a carry in the game, they know the plunge is a coming.

And when the 195-pound flash with 4 receptions for every rush is in, it's pass, pass, pass.

Where did the every down man go?

Where have ya gone Walter Payton? Bear Nation turns its lonely eyes to you?

Sweetness only carried about 210 solid pounds but he hardly missed a snap and dealt out punishment to defenders. 

Ah, the eighties' backs would have inspired a fantasy football frenzy.

"The Diesel" John Riggins behind the Hogs in Redskin land.

Run happy John Robinson running Eric Dickerson 30-40 times a game.

The best back in Buccaneer history, big James Wilder running and catching hard for a long lost cause in Tampa Bay.

Roger Craig running and catching, setting records, for the 49ers.

Why is Roger out of the Hall of Fame? He would have set a fantasy team aflame.

Marcus Allen was the man in Raider land.

Atlanta could dig Riggs, Gerald that is.

The other OJ, Anderson, is still the Cardinals' leading rusher from pounding the pigskin for the red birds.

Muncie was the man in Charger Blue.

Little Joe Morris put up 21 TD's in Giant Blue. Just in 1985.

George Rogers put up 1674 yards as rookie Saint in 1981 just for fun.

Billy Simms and William Andrews, of Detroit and Atlanta respectively, were the dominant players on their teams until injuries ravaged their careers.

What dominant backs are around for your draft this year?

After that guy in San Diego not a heck of a lot.

And some are stuck  with a sorry lot of teammates.

Adrian Peterson has the potential to be the best player in the league. But even he has Chester Taylor in the bull pen and not match help in the passing game.

Steven Jackson and Larry Johnson are two with the tools to dominate but are on bad teams in which they will be targets.

Frank Gore hopes Mike Martz utilizes him more. But with Alex Smith, the chances of a breakout are poor.

Clinton Portis and Brian Westbrook are aging stars who are going to need breaks and still might break down badly.

Joseph Addai is in a great spot. A good team with an excellent passing game, but one that still likes to run. The wealth is spread around in Indy so its hard for Addai to pile up the yardage like the old backs, but he should see his share of the glory.

Edge James and Jamal Lewis are backs who had spectacular single seasons in the past. They also have more past in the pros then they have future.

Marshawn Lynch and LenDale White have the physical tools but the maturity and mental aspect might be missing.

Willis McGahee is on a rebuilding team with a left tackle void and a rookie QB.

Ouch.

Michael Turner will be lucky he's not maimed in Atlanta this year.

Double double ouch.

Reggie Bush doesn't like running between the tackles, and the Giants sub for Branden Jacobs when he has to go outside the tackles.

It creates fantasy confusion come draft day.

How bout a pair of Cowboys?

Marion Barber will be the ball bull in the Cowboys corral.

Old Cowboy Julius Jones will have a chance to juke and jive all on his own in Seattle.

Let's see what they can do.

And keep an eye on that rookie back in Carolina blue. Everyone might want Jonathan Stewart before the season is through.

Most other teams have a A lmean mixture of running back brew. A toxic stew to fantasy owners everywhere who miss the big back attack.

Maybe it will come back.

In the NFL everything old becomes new again.