Welcome to the Divisional Round edition of the Brew Crew Corner. During the postseason I go back over the season and analyze how it went. I like to look at the value that each position gave -- both positive or negative -- which I use to help prepare for next season. Players that finish with a big positive number can be great picks next season if their draft stock is still a good value, while players with a negative number might fall hard in drafts which will be another type of value pick. Beware as sometimes players that have a big season can sometimes be overvalued in drafts, making their draft position too high. Sometimes players who finished with a negative value will be players you would want to avoid next season. Each situation should be looked at on case by case. When looking at these values, you should question. Did the player suffer an injury, and how likely are they to return healthy? Did this player have a breakout season or did he benefit from an injury to other players? We will take a look at the running back value for the 2011. I determine the value by taking the Average Draft Position (ADP) from this year's draft and comparing it to the final rankings of a player based on fantasy points. For example, if a running back was going in drafts as the 10th running back and finished the season fifth overall among running backs, his value would be +5. Top 20 Running Backs with Good Value in 2011 RANK Player +/- 7 Darren Sproles, New Orleans +38 41 Toby Gerhart, Minnesota +37 34 Dexter McCluster, Kansas City +35 42 Kevin Smith, Detroit +34 47 Jackie Battle, Kansas City +32 11 Michael Bush, Oakland +29 52 Lance Ball, Denver +28 53 Chris Ogbonnaya, Cleveland +28 29 DeMarco Murray, Dallas +26 56 Kahlil Bell, Chicago +26 37 Donald Brown, Indianapolis +26 5 Marshawn Lynch, Seattle +24 59 Marcel Reece, Oakland +24 26 Roy Helu, Washington +23 51 Maurice Morris, Detroit +23 12 Reggie Bush, Miami +21 50 Isaac Redman, Pittsburgh +20 23 Willis McGahee, Denver +19 30 Ben Tate, Houston +18 20 Mike Tolbert, San Diego +15 Top 20 Running Backs with Poor Value in 2011 RANK Player +/- 98 Jamaal Charles, Kansas City -98 138 Jerome Harrison, Detroit -82 134 Bilal Powell, New York Jets -68 109 Ronnie Brown, Philadelphia -63 118 Shane Vereen, New England -60 80 Knowshon Moreno, Denver -59 83 Ryan Torain, Washington -39 114 Jamie Harper, Tenessee -39 ...

The Washington Redskins have released running back Ryan Torain.

Let's begin with a review of how accurate Vinnie has been against the spread ten weeks in: 24-24-2 Now for Week 11. At the risk of watering down his picks, Vinnie is uncharacteristically throwing his opinion down on every game Sunday. You'll find that most of 'em are one-star picks, of course. But with a lack of strong inclinations one way or the other this week, Vinnie's going in a slightly different direction. Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins (-1): Sort of hard to fathom that the the team that was trounced by a combined 53 points the last two weeks, is the same one from Buffalo that won five of its first seven. With Ryan Fitzpatrick in a slump, Stevie Johnson hurt, and some injuries to key offensive linemen, Fred Jackson is struggling to carry the offense. Matt Moore, Brandon Marshall, and Reggie Bush have had much to do with Miami's resurgence, most of whom should keep it going this weekend. Gimme the Dolphins minus the points. Jacksonville Jaguars @ Cleveland Browns (+1): In a battle of two unpredictable teams, such as we have here, opt for the home team unless you have really good reason not to. The over/under is a joke; is Vinnie the only one who cannot imagine these guys coming up with 34 points between them? Don't expect much from Colt McCoy or Blaine Gabbert in the way of passing stats. Maurice Jones-Drew will do something with his touches, but ultimately it won't be enough. Gimme the Browns plus the points. Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Redskins (+8): Although the Redskins host this division rivalry game, we're talking about a team whose slide following its 3-1 start was so precipitous that five consecutive losses later, things cannot get much worse. Running backs Roy Helu and Ryan Torain, for example, don't scare anyone. When the Cowboys defense isn't having a field day against Rex Grossman & co, Tony Romo and DeMarco Murray will be rekindling the playoff hopes of fans who'd been prone to worry back in October. Gimme the Cowboys minus the points. Carolina Panthers @ Detroit Lions (-7.5): The basic problem with the Lions right now is that with Jahvid Best out, Matthew Stafford is forced to pass way too often. Calvin Johnson showed how dominant he can be, over the first half of the season, but desperately needs Detroit's other wide receivers and tight ends to shoulder some of the load. Fortunately, the Panthers' defense is so bad that any number of Detroit's offensive skill players can perform at a high level, including ordinary running backs ...

W.9.R. -- Week 9 Reactions - I wonder how many more 100+ yard games Demarco Murray will have to post before head coach Jason Garrett tells Felix Jones to go back to being a kick returner/offensive specialist. Murray is clearly the Cowboys best running back, looks like an All-Pro with the rock, and still has major upside. - Donald Brown was the leading fantasy scorer for the Colts against the Atlanta Falcons. I know, I can't believe it either. I feel like I'm watching Nightmare on Painter Street, every time the Colts' offense tries to get past the first down marker. - Julio Jones showed how good he truly can be. Or was it that the Colts' secondary was just that bad? - Jordy Nelson's touchdown catch was an example of good hands, and excellent awareness. Nelson has caught a touchdown in five games this season, and has shown flashes of elite talent at times. The best part about the confirmed touchdown though, was the fact that knucklehead Mike Pereira was dead wrong with his analysis. - Redskins' head coach Mike Shanahan truly despises fantasy owners. The funny thing is that the hatred is only hurting his team. He coaches Washington as if they're some kind of pee-wee team, where it's okay to rotate players. How are you supposed to establish any kind of continuity with that mentality. This week Shanny will defy his words about Roy Helu and let Ryan Torain run wild. N.N. -- News Nuggets According to the San Francisco Chronicle running back Frank Gore insists that he'll be ready to play Sunday against the New York Giants. "I'll be all right," Gore assured. When asked if he'll be able to participate in Wednesday's practice, Gore said, "I think I will be. I feel all right now." Gore had a clean X-ray, after suffering a sprained ankle against the Redskins last week. Gore has rushed for 100+ yards in each of the last five games, and has found the end-zone in four of those games. He's averaging 97.7 yards, and just under 20 carries per contest this season. The Giants defense is surrendering 127.1 yards per game on the ground. Meanwhile, according to Newark Star-Ledger Giants' running back Ahmad Bradshaw will not suit up on Sunday due to the nagging stress fracture in his foot. This will be the second game in a row Bradshaw will miss. The good news here though is that he picked the right week to warm the bench. The 49ers are the best run defense in the NFL, and haven't even surrendered a rushing touchdown. DJ Ware and Brandon Jacobs will pick up the slack ...

Running Wild You can never really trust a Mike Shanahan backfield, but it's starting to look like Roy Helu may have a lock on the starting running back spot in Washington, for now. Ryan Torain has fallen out of good graces with the coaching staff so it could be Helu's show now. Helu is coming off a very intriguing Week 9 where he only rushed 10 times for 41 yards, but had 14 catches for 105 yards. Fourteen receptions in one game for any player is incredible, let alone a running back, so Helu will definitely be a hot play come Sunday. He is going up against a solid run defense in Miami, but the pass defense is very soft. I see him contributing very similar to last week's effort. It's almost a certainty that Helu won't crack 14 receptions again, but look for him to get around 20 touches. This kind of workload out of a running back is plenty reason to get him in your starting lineups for Week 10. It looks like the New York Jets are finally back to their ground-and-pound ways and this bodes very well for Shonn Greene and his fantasy owners. In his last four games, Greene has received a total of 81 carries and has run for 345 yards. He doesn't offer you much in the receiving area, but getting 20 carries a week is very solid for a running back these days. Take advantage of that and keep him in your lineup. The Jets have done a great job in the last month of spreading the ball around and opening up running lanes, so he should continue to have success as the season progresses. Greene gets the slumping New England Patriots this weekend that just cut nose guard Albert Haynesworth, so there should be some holes to run through. The offensive line is getting stronger and stronger and this only adds to the notion that Greene is a must start in fantasy every week. A few weeks into the season it appeared that Daniel Thomas was going to be the premier running back for Miami, but a nagging hamstring injury has forced him to play sparingly over the last month. With that, Reggie Bush has taken full advantage. Bush is averaging close to 18 touches a game the last two weeks and is coming off his best performance of the year in Week 9 where he ran for 92 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 50 yards. Perhaps the most impressive stat of all for Bush is that he has been getting seven yards per carry during this two game span and 4.9 yards per carry for the season. Thomas has practiced fully this week, but Bush will still be starting for the Dolphins against ...

Running Wild Knowshon Moreno gets his starting job back for at least a week with the broken hand suffered by Willis McGahee. Even though it's by default, Moreno will be in the backfield and get most of the carries for Denver on Sunday. He does go up against a fairly tough run defense in Detroit, but his pass catching abilities will help counter that. Remember he did score his first and only touchdown of the season on a nice 28-yard screen play. The big question for Moreno's value in Week 8 has to do with new starting quarterback Tim Tebow. With his running skills, it's almost a certainty that Tebow will take some carries away from Moreno so this might hamper his fantasy output. He will still see double-digit carries and a handful of receiving targets, which makes him a nice play. Nonetheless, Moreno should be seen as a decent RB2 or strong flex option for the weekend. The Dallas Cowboys may have found a gem in rookie DeMarco Murray, who rushed his way into the Dallas record books in his first game as the feature back. Murray exploded for 253 yards on 25 carries, which included a 91-yard touchdown scamper on his first carry of the game. This performance broke the single-game rushing record set by some guy named Emmitt Smith, so clearly Murray has been the fantasy buzz all week. Chances are he's not available in your league. If you own him, he is a must start in Week 8 against Philadelphia. Murray will get almost all the work out of the backfield against a defense that has given up the most fantasy points to running backs this season. That sounds like a dream matchup to me. The only thing the rookie out of Oklahoma doesn't contribute much of is receptions, but if he runs for 250 yards again then that won't matter. Expect a solid follow up game out of Murray with close to 100 yards and a score. Injuries to starting running backs are happening all over the league lately and a potential midseason fantasy star could be born in Washington. With news that starting rusher Tim Hightower is done for the season with a torn ACL Ryan Torain now steps back into the spotlight for the Washington Redskins as the primary back. He has shown flashes of greatness this season when given the work. This was evident in Week 4 when he went off for 135 yards and a score on 19 carries. Now that he is the starter, Torain should see a more consistent workload and get into a comfort zone. Although owners should be weary because coach Mike Shanahan has a strange way of dealing with ...

Just like clockwork, a new week brings with it another major injury. First it was Jamaal Charles then it was Kenny Britt that broke the hearts of fantasy owners. This time it was Andre Johnson. Then there were the breakout players like Ryan Torain, who went off after not seeing the field for the Washington Redskins in their first three games. It's just another crazy week in the world of fantasy football. Now let's look at some hot waiver wire targets for this week and whether you should go after them or take a pass. Ryan Torain, RB, Washington -- Coach Mike Shanahan does it again. After not receiving a carry all year long, Torain led the way for the Redskins on Sunday with 19 carries for 135 yards and a score. Torain's big day just muddies up an already murky Washington backfield. Tim Hightower has been struggling, while rookie Roy Helu has shown flashes as a change-of-pace back. Still, Shanahan seems weary of handing the keys over to Helu just yet, making Torain the man, at least for now. I liked Hightower coming into the year but no one can deny that he's spent more time dancing over the first four games than actually hitting the holes hard. While all three players are likely still in the mix, it's hard to imagine that Torain won't get most of the carries once the Redskins return from their bye week. It's an ever-changing situation when talking about Washington's running backs, but right now Torain is the guy to target. The Final Call: Torain should be one of your top waiver wire targets this week, but remember he has a bye coming up and things will likely change again in the Redskins backfield down the road. Isaac Redman, RB, Pittsburgh -- Rashard Mendenhall hurt his hamstring in Sunday's game and considering that Mendenhall had been struggling all season anyway, the door has opened for Redman to start getting some carries. Redman and Mewelde Moore split carries once Mendenhall departed but should the Steelers starter not be able to go against the Tennessee Titans, expect Redman to get the bulk of the touches. Redman has done well in limited opportunities, but keep in mind the Titans have one of the top rush defenses in the NFL. Mendenhall is averaging less than three yards per carry on the season. While the line hasn't been blocking anyone, Mendenhall is running with his head down and hasn't hit the few holes that open up very hard. Redman may get his shot and if he plays well, he could be a factor even when Mendenhall returns. The Final Call: ...

Ryan Torain's breakout performance over the weekend has given the Washington Redskins a three-headed rushing monster - and that's exactly how the club plans to proceed, at least for now.

With the Packers Ryan Grant going to miss Week 4 with an injury it's time to take a look at Packers' running back Alex Green. Although Green has yet to see any action this season he remains a low-risk/high-upside pickup. Grant has shown again this season that he can't stay healthy and James Starks, who has trouble stayting healthy himself, has been inconsistent. I'll bet that Green is a free agent in most redraft leagues and if he's available in your dynasty league he should be owned inmmediately. With Peyton Hillis listed as probably for Week 4 it's imperative that Montario Hardesty be owned. Not only did Hillis wear down during the second half of the 2010 season but he's only averaging 3.4 yards per carry on 44 carries this season. Meanwhile, Montario Hardesty who averaged 4.8 yards per carry on 14 carries last week versus Miami has earned the trust of the Cleveland coaching staff and is expected to see a bigger workload according to Browns' coach Pat Shurmur. Rams' wide receiver Danny Amendola, who is expected to miss this week's game, is a great buy-low candidate. After catching 85 balls last season Amendola was expected to take on the Wes Welker role in the Rams' offense this season. But a dislocaed elbow in Week 1 has put that plan on hold and the Rams' offense has suffered. The Rams have a bye next week so now is the time to approach Amendola's current owner. According to MFL(MyFantasyLeague.com), Ravens' wide receiver Torrey Smith was the most added player this week being added in 66.14% of MFL leagues. Smith had a great game last week, but remember, Lee Evans is due back after their Week 5 bye and should Smith have another great game it wouldn't be the dumbest move to sell-high before Evans returns. After what Giants' wide receiver Victor Cruz did to the Eagles' secondary last week I wouldn't blame you if you decided to play 49ers' wide receiver Michael Crabtree this week. With Bears' wide receiver Earl Bennett expected to miss today's game, rookie Dane Sanzenbacher will become the Bears primary slot receiver. Sanzenbacher has caught a TD in each of the Bears last two games and should have some upside today especially in PPR leagues. Now is the time to stash Redskins' running back Ryan Torain if you have some dead weight on your bench. Redskins' coach Mike Shanahan stated during the week that he nearly benched starter Tim Hightower in favor of Ryan Torain during last week's game. Was this a motivational ploy or was Shanahan serious? Who really ...

Updated up until game time. Out Marion Barber, Kevin Boss, Jerricho Cotchery, Arian Foster, Peyton Manning, Louis Murphy Active Matt Cassel,Austin Collie, Maurice Jones-Drew, Steve Smith (Phi), Ben Watson Watching Chris Cooley, Sidney Rice, Ryan Torain