Arian Foster Injury: Are NFL Fantasy Football Owners Strung Out?

Will fantasy football owners and managers be hamstrung with the latest tweak involving Arian Foster's hamstring? A lot of managers are probably thinking about the tweaks their lineup will need in the wake of Foster’s injury.

While Gary Kubiak, Houston’s head, coach went public to say Foster isn’t that bad off and could still start in his team’s opening game on Sept. 11 against the Colts, most of Foster’s fantasy owners are probably still stressing. 

Foster was the No. 1 draft pick in the majority of leagues this season. He’s rated the No. 1 player overall on Yahoo’s draft board. 

I felt Foster was overrated in the No. 1 slot. I drafted him last year because I saw something in him during the preseason that apparently no other person in my league saw.

I took a risk on the woefully underpaid undrafted free agent. Having played running back, myself, I generally have a knack for drafting sleepers at the position. Foster rewarded me with 18 touchdowns and 1,600 plus yards rushing.

He was, of course, my best individual player by far. That’s exactly why I was leery of him this year. I believed he was sure to fall back—even if ever so slightly—from the monstrous season he had in 2010-11.

I also believed he’d wear down from all the touches last season. 

Kubiak probably felt the same way. He has Derrick Ward, Ben Tate and possibly Steve Slaton on the roster. 

Kubiak’s offensive schemes are conducive to getting the tailback untouched through the first and second wave of defenders and one-on-one with the safety. Every starting NFL running back, I believe, should be able to make a safety miss, or truck him on the way to the end zone.

Ward, Tate and Slaton all have a starting running back’s skills.

Smart owners draft solid backup runners for their starters. We realize tailback is the most volatile and injury prone position in the league.

Foolish fantasy owners caused Foster to fire up his Twitter account with brimstone, thunder and fire. For and to the media, Twitter is one of the best things ever. Professional players have to understand that the whole world is watching.

While I play fantasy football, I’d never ask a player why they did this, or didn’t do that to help or hurt my fantasy squad; probably because I actually played the game of football. A lot of fantasy football owners never strapped on a pair of shoulder pads or a chin strap in actual gridiron competition.

Fantasy owners who don’t know what it’s like to have a groin injury as a running back and be frustrated due to the fact that you can’t help your team win have no clues about how Foster truly feels. 

I feel for him. At the same time, he should have had thicker skin. He’s not a bad guy that we know of. He enjoys poetry and is poetry in motion on the gridiron of guts and glory. 

Just don’t jump in his grill and start mouthing off about how hurting his hamstring hamstrung your fantasy team, if you know what’s good for you. It’s the Sarah Palin syndrome in sports these days. Tony LaRussa and professionals of his ilk shouldn’t have rabbit ears. 

Ranting about fantasy football owners can’t do a player any good. Keeping quiet, staying focused and handling your business on the field can garner a player respect, though. So, I guess it depends on what is important to a player.

Disrespectful people, including strung out fantasy football’s loud-mouths, aren’t going anywhere any time soon. It’s almost to the point where if you don’t play, then you’re viewed as deviating from the norm. It was once, believe it or not, the other way around.

Football and gambling meet head up in fantasy football. Some leagues are worth relatively big money for the common owner. But, not all fantasy owners are strung out, and even the strung have rights. Fools are going to voice their opinions. It’s the American way.

The ultimate responsibility is on the player to not have rabbit ears. Like it or not, they set the tone for children who look up to them. Laughing idiot fans off is a much better way to handle the situation. 

Tweeting your frustrations is almost never good for an athlete because popularity wanes for truth-telling individuals. It’s often the way of a testy world.

I’ll leave you with this quote from yours truly: “The true test of a baller is he who holds his balls under pressure.”

Ball with me next time, my dear readers, on Lake’s Loud-mouth Report. Comment or contact me at [e-mail]