Fantasy Football Recap: 2008 Running Backs (The Bad)

At the end of every season we like to go back and recap how the players at each fantasy football position fared. And, as with every season, there’s always the good, the bad, and of the course the downright ugly ones.

In this second installment of the second part of our yearly "The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly" series, we’ll take a look at the BAD running backs from a fantasy football point of view.

Some of these running backs were burned by high expectations, others were plagued by injuries, and still others just endured too many cold spells to be considered anything better than bad. To find out who these running backs are, simply read on.

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1. Ryan Grant (Green Bay Packers)

After making a name for himself with a big second half to the season in 2007, in which Ryan Grant ran for 927 yards and 10 TDs over the final 10 games, fantasy owners expected big things from him in 2008. 

Entering the season as a top 15 running back and a low end RB1, Grant was drafted in the second round of most leagues, but he never really found his groove throughout the season.

A large part of his mediocrity has to do with his slow start, in which Grant started off the season with just 31 fantasy points in six games.

Despite finishing with 1,203 rushing yards, Grant averaged just 3.9 yards per carry and could only muster double-digit fantasy football points in five of 16 games.

When it was all said and done, Grant finished ranked 22nd at the RB position and performed as a low end RB2, thus failing to produce at the level many projected for '08.  
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2. Marshawn Lynch (Buffalo Bills)

To say Marshawn Lynch had a bad season is a bit of a stretch, but the second year running back failed to make progress from his rookie season and surely didn't produce like the top 10 running back we projected of him. Drafted towards the end of the 1st round in the majority of leagues, Lynch started the season with a bang, going for 48 fantasy points in three games and scoring four TD's during that span. However, over the next six games Lynch scored double-digit fantasy points just twice and his yard per carry total dipped to just 3.4 per rushing attempt. After his slide in production, Lynch finished the season with at least 10 fantasy points in four of his last six games, but he never did turn the corner and solidify himself as the true RB1 his owners had hoped for. His 173 fantasy points was good for 14th at the position, but his owners will remember the lackluster showing (25 fantasy points) in the fantasy football playoffs.
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3. Frank Gore (San Francisco 49ers)

For the second consecutive season, Frank Gore failed to live up to his fantasy potential and fell short of his lofty projection we gave him in our 2008 Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet magazine.

With pass-first offensive coordinator Mike Martz running the show in San Francisco, Gore had somewhat of a roller coaster season and he finished ranked tied for 14th at the RB position, which was his worst showing since 2005.

His 283 touches and 1,409 total yards was his lowest output since his rookie season and his measly 25 fantasy points over the final six weeks just about ruined any championship hopes for the majority of his owners.

With Martz fired in San Francisco and the 49ers expected to be a run-first team next year, we expect Gore to bounce back, but the question remains: Can he ever repeat his 2006 season?

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Fantasy Football Recap: 2008 Running Backs (The Bad)