Week 7: RB Fantasy Rankings

Must Starts:

1. Marion Barber vs. St. Louis. The Cowboys are going to be playing this game without star QB Tony Romo. Barber should be the beneficiary of an altered game plan. Typically, Dallas likes to pass 1st, run 2nd, and who can blame them when they have so many talented stars at the skill positions, but in this one, with 40-year old Brad Johnson making his 1st appearance in a few years, we see Dallas relying heavily on the ground game vs. the lowly Rams. In last week’s victory over the Redskins, Clinton Portis still managed to rattle off 129 on the ground and put two balls in the end zone. We see similar results here. Look for Barber to eclipse the 100-yard mark and score at least twice.

2. Steve Slaton vs. Detroit. By placing Jon Kitna on IR yesterday and giving away Roy Williams to Dallas, the Lions officially bowed out for the 2008 season. There was little hope to begin with; now there’s none. In this contest, we see Houston taking an early lead and then allowing the ground game to take over from that point on. Although Slaton was a 3rd pick in the NFL Draft, and slated by many to be no more than a 3rd-down back, he’s shown the speed and toughness to be an every down back and coach Kubiak has put him in that role. Look for him to run big in this one and break the 90 yard mark with at least one TD.

3. Ernest Graham vs. Seattle. After watching the Seahawks play this season, and amass a terrible 1-4 record, one thing has become very apparent: this team can’t stop anyone on defense, particularly on the ground. Without QB Matt Hasselback to lead this offense, we see Tampa’s D forcing a lot of three-and-outs, which, with the ball control offense the Bucs employ, should provide ample opportunity for Graham to have a big day on the ground. Look for Tampa to take a commanding lead somewhere in the 2nd quarter and for Graham to excel in the 2nd half and easily go over 100.

4. Willie Parker vs. Cincinnati. This is Parker’s 1st action in nearly a month, so he’s fresh. So are some of the big bodies that lead the way for him after last weekend’s bye. Cincy has played its hated rival close in year’s past, but that was with QB Palmer at the helm. He’s already been ruled out for the 2nd consecutive week as they look for what’s wrong with his throwing elbow. With Fitzpatrick running the shwo, we see a poor day from the Bengals offense, and as mentioned in the Bucs game, this should bode well for Pittsburgh’s running attack. We see the Steelers getting back to playing Steelers football and that means 20-25 carries for Parker who should have a huge game on the ground.

Sleepers:

1. Ryan Grant vs. Indianapolis. Grant hasn’t really gotten it going this year and much of that can be blamed on an injured hamstring and his holdout. He finally looks to be getting healthy. The Colts, aside from last weekend’s blowout vs. Baltimore, haven’t stopped anyone on the ground and in what should be a high scoring affair, we like Grant to top the 100-yard mark for the 1st time this season and put up a solid fantasy performance.

2. MarShawn Lynch vs. San Diego. The Chargers make the dreaded cross country trip to face the Bills in Orchard Park and catch a well-rested team coming off its bye. Lynch has scored in 4 out of the 5 games this season but he has yet to get it going yardage wise, with 83 being his best. We see SD running into the same trouble it did two-weeks ago in Miami, when the team appeared to be sleepwalking through the 1st three quarters (perhaps from jet lag), and Buffalo getting a jump on them early . Even if Edwards is out, and Losman is forced to play, they should be able to move the ball with ease against this Chargers’ secondary which will open up big holes for Lynch to run through all day.