This article references A, Adrian Peterson, Ahmad Bradshaw, Alfred Morris, Arian Foster, Benjarvus Green-ellis, Brandon Jacobs, C, C.j. Spiller, Chris Johnson, Darren Mcfadden, DeAngelo Williams, DeMarco Murray, Doug Martin, Eddie Lacy, Frank Gore, Fred Jackson, Jamaal Charles, Jonathan Stewart, Knowshon Moreno, LeGarrette Blount, LeSean McCoy, Marshawn Lynch, Matt Forte, Maurice Jones-Drew, Michael Bush, Mikel Leshoure, OF, Peyton Hillis, Rashard Mendenhall, Ray Rice, RB, Reggie Bush, Ronnie Brown, Ryan Grant, Ryan Mathews, Shonn Greene, SP, SS, Stevan Ridley, Steven Jackson, TE, Trent Richardson, Vick Ballard, Zac Stacy and more! One of the ideas that's been in the minds of impressionable fantasy owners for who-knows-how-long is that running backs have a breaking point after a certain amount of carries. It's a tiring argument that stems from some very high profile cases including Terrell Davis, Clinton Portis, and Shaun Alexander, who all managed to hit the big 350+ and then fall off the earth the following year. Editor’s Note: If you’re looking for a new, awesome, highly customizable and free option for year-ro[...]Keep on reading: Running Backs with 350+ Carries, the Myth Surrounding Them, and the Lies.

This article references Alshon Jeffery, Antone Smith, Antonio Brown, Antonio Gates, Bobby Rainey, Branden Oliver, Brandon Marshall, C.J. Anderson, Chris Ivory, DEF, Demaryius Thomas, Doug Martin, Eddie Royal, Emmanuel Sanders, Eric Decker, Geno Smith, Jay Cutler, Jeremy Maclin, Joe Flacco, Jordy Nelson, Julio Jones, Julius Thomas, Justin Forsett, Keenan Allen, Martellus Bennett, Matt Ryan, Mike Glennon, Montee Ball, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Roddy White, Ronnie Brown, Ronnie Hillman, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Tannehill, SP, Steve Smith, Steven Jackson, Tom Brady, Vincent Jackson, WR and more! Welcome to Week 6 of NFL and fantasy football action, RotoBallers. Each week of the NFL season, we will be breaking down each of the NFL matchups and providing you with some fantasy football advice and lineup recommendations based on matchups that we love, matchups that we hate, and some high-risk/high-reward players, as well.Below, you will find our Week 5 NFL matchups & fantasy football start/sit analysis, which should help you prepare your lineups to win this week. It's essent[...] Keep on reading: Week 6 NFL Matchups Analysis: Start/Sit for Fantasy Football (Part 2)

Week 1 was filled with disappointing performances, including a surprising number of first round picks like Marshawn Lynch , Calvin Johnson and CJ Spiller . It would be foolhardy to call any of these studs busts, especially after Week 1. These guys have proven their worth over a large sample of games and deserve second, third and many more chances. Owners have to exercise patience and not hit the panic button, even if they're staring at 0-1. On the other hand, there were some players in Week 1, who I think it's fair to call B.O.A., Bust on Arrival. These players are immediate busts based on where they were drafted and what owners' expectations were of them. While some of these players may turn things around by midseason, if they were drafted as starters, it'll probably be too little, too late for owners. Giovani Bernard We talked about it a couple of weeks ago how Bernard was still somehow being drafted as a RB2 but he wasn't even the starter for the Bengals. Last Sunday Bernard's owners were deeply dismayed to see Giovani only get four carries for 22 yards and one measly eight-yard catch. No goal line work either. He's a total bust and a massive liability in any owner's lineup. This was never about Bernard. It was only about the fact that he's not the starter, for better or worse the Law Firm, BenJarvus Green Ellis , still is the top dog. Until Bernard gets a ton more touches and takes over the starting job, he's not worth starting and he's certainly not going to perform like a RB2. Danny Woodhead When the Chargers released their depth chart a couple weeks ago, they had Ronnie Brown as the second running back behind Ryan Mathews , not Danny Woodhead . Despite the fact that Woodhead was listed 3rd on the depth chart, analysts still said that Woodhead would be the 3rd down back and be there when the Chargers were playing from behind or during the two-minute drill. After watching his two catch, 16 receiving yards performance Monday night, he's not worthy of starting in a deep PPR league or just about any league. The Chargers weren't kidding, Woodhead really is the 3rd running back on the depth chart. In fact, Ronnie Brown got the most snaps of any of the Chargers running backs at 25, compared to Woodhead's 10. If Woodhead lays another egg next Sunday, feel free to drop him in all formats. He was a popular deep sleeper over the summer, with talk of him being the new Darren Sproles in the Chargers' offense, but now he's just B.O.A. Chris Ivory Chris ...

If you have been scratching your head lately about why your fantasy teams have been under performing, You may need to look no further than the coaching staff to find the answer. In order to understand, you may have to look at a whole seasons data to finally get the picture. Nothing irritates me more than to watch games of teams in absolute turmoil. When a coach loses the clubhouse, teams commit penalties, lose the sync, and drive to be winners. Rex Ryan certainly looks the part of a coach that has not only lost the clubhouse, but his mind as well. Ryan kept feeding the media the hogwash that Mark Sanchez gave the Jets the best chance to win. I can understand that in the first few games of the season, but in the last six games a TD/INT ratio of three TD's to nine INT is ridiculous. Add four fumbles as well during that span. I am no mathematician, but the obvious is 13 turnovers which equates to more than two a week. Sanchez isn't getting unlucky, he locks onto a target and will force the ball into double and triple coverage. However, you are so dead set against letting Tim Tebow get a shot, that you play anyone instead of Tebow. I don't think Tebow is the answer either, but what could it hurt to give him a shot. The powers that be in New York brought him there for some reason. Now Ryan looks like a stooge. I don't care about the defensive plans that you brought from your dad's glory days because, You Sir are Fired. You can take the guy that you defended to the end with you because he can't hold a clip board without fumbling it. Norv Turner's run in San Diego is at the end. This is the team that fired Marty Shottenheimer because he couldn't win a playoff game. Shottenheimer posted a .588 record in four seasons as head coach, but had a dismal playoff record of 5-13. The 12th and 13th games with the Chargers which both ended up in losses. Turner has been on the slide since 2010 and currently sits at 5-9, a .357 win percentage. Turner has never figured out how to use Ryan Mathews, who in my opinion is the poster child for fantasy bust this year. It's not all Mathews' fault, ownership did a number on the young back's confidence by making him compete for the starting job with Jackie Battle. Mathews had some ball security issues early on that didn't help his cause. The end result was Ronnie Brown taking over inside the red zone. A guy who had lost his burst is your red zone threat? How many times did Brown cross the stripe this year being that red zone ...

undefinedundefined There are times during a season when you look at the waiver wire or list of free agents and end up telling yourself, "They might be in three-receiver sets a lot and he could make a few catches," or "He caught four touchdowns of three or fewer yards last season, and one of them was against this team," or "If the injury-prone guy ahead of him on the depth chart gets hurt, he's a lock for five points." In situations like this, fantasy owners will look for a diamond in the rough. When they don't find it, they go back looking for a name they recognize. When they don't find that, they end up rationalizing ridiculous situations. Because, if six things break perfectly, they're golden. I've been there. I've done that. I've picked guys up in a 10-team league that shouldn't be owned in a 16-team league. In fact, years ago, in my first ever preseason draft, I picked a dead guy. There's no amount of rationalization that will help that guy. Each week, I'll take a look at a group of guys that might typically be available who I think could provide some value to owners that are in a tight spot. It's important to note that I am not saying go pick this guy up at the expense of depth on your roster. Instead, think of them as "in case of emergency, break glass" type of guys. Jake Locker, QB , Tennessee. Locker was given the starting nod in Tennessee because there was very little to gain from starting Matt Hasselbeck. Locker is the future of the franchise. He's younger, with a stronger arm and more mobility. In Week 1, he faces a New England defense that struggled last season against the pass. While coach Bill Belichick is known as a defensive mastermind, Locker has a chance to put up decent numbers, and, if for some reason you find yourself needing a quarterback, he has the upside to provide some value. Alex Smith, QB, San Francisco. Smith impressed last year in his first season under Jim Harbaugh. He completed better than 60 percent of his passes for 3,100-plus yards, 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions. San Francisco didn't need him to be Eli Manning. The 49ers needed a game manager. They wanted to run the ball effectively, protect the football, and ask Smith to make two or three plays a game. This season it'll be more of the same. Smith shouldn't really be your go-to guy, but he should have some throwing lanes against Green Bay this week. Given the firepower on the other sideline, Smith will look to press the issue, and with his bulked up...

Paralleling itself to the NFL, fantasy football can be a heartbreaking game of opportunity. Recently, San Diego Chargers' running back Ryan Mathews became the latest topic of heartbreak for owners who truly believed in his top ten overall potential. On Thursday night Mathews suffered a broken clavicle, placing veteran runner Ronnie Brown at the top of the Chargers' depth chart for the time being. Even more importantly, Mathews' injury just opened the door for those behind his former Top 6 ADP (average draft position) to essentially move up. The timing of this couldn't be any better for Dallas Cowboys' running back DeMarco Murray, who, according to CBSSports.com, is hungry to build off the positives from last season. "I think we always have something to prove," Murray said. "You could be in your 10th season and you've got to show them you've still got it. If you're a young guy, you have to show you're for real. I'm still trying to get better. I have a long way to go. I am still trying to work hard and get the plays down, the blocking assignments down, but I am heading in the right direction. ... The sky's the limit, and I'm excited to see how I do this year." Murray also received high marks from si.com's Don Banks, who called Murray "a man among (Cow)boys," at camp and said, "if I played (fantasy football), I'd find room for him on my roster." Murray suffered a fractured ankle late last season, which may be the driving force behind fantasy owners selecting him at an ADP of 22.64 in redraft formats. However, it is worth noting that the Cowboys did rebuild the interior of their offensive line and moved Doug Free to the outside permanently to play opposite of rising left tackle Tyron Smith. And, according to the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, Smith is drawing rave reviews from his coaches and teammates. "You can't say enough about his poise and his temperament," offensive line coach Bill Callahan said. "He's even-keeled, but he's highly competitive. He doesn't want to get beat. When he wins, he doesn't get over-exuberant. He's steady. And that's what I like about him. Good, bad or indifferent, he's the same guy. You can count on that, day in and day out. You like that from a coach's standpoint." DeMarcus Ware added: "He has all the athleticism in the world, but when you stop and clean up the little mistakes that you have, you know, you just start playing really well like he's been doing. I think the sky's the limit for a guy like him. He's going to be ...

When reviewing the Top 100 non-points per reception league average draft positions (ADP), I can't help but to find arguments both for and against certain players. I feel as though some players are being horrifically undervalued while others don't deserve their positioning. These players mentioned are some of the most highly debated in terms of value in 2012. Some I think deserve the green light acceleration up the board while others need to come to a complete stop and back up. Ryan Mathews (ADP = 11) -- Green Light The San Diego Chargers' running back represents almost unlimited potential in 2012. Keep your injury forecast at a medium since any running back can go down at any time as proven by Adrian Peterson. The Chargers are going to be getting back to doing what they used to do best: run the ball well and pass to Antonio Gates. Mathews will be filling the role of LaDainian Tomlinson, being used as a three-down back and seeing ample opportunity in the passing game. With Mike Tolbert now with Carolina, Mathews will see a big bump in touchdowns as well. I'd strongly consider him as early as the fifth pick. Trent Richardson (ADP = 17) -- Red Light Please don't go all in on him just yet. Take a look at two former rookies in Ronnie Brown and Carnell ‘Cadillac' Williams. Both were very successful their rookie seasons but their stats don't outweigh the potential of other available players left on the board. Brown finished with 1,139 total yards and five scores while Williams rolled for 1,259 and six scores. Again, I don't want to take away from the great year they both had. But think of it this way -- how many people were upset last year when Chris Johnson finished with 1,465 yards and four scores? His numbers are right on par with Brown and Williams, so what's the difference? The difference is we expect far more out of our early picks than these kinds of numbers. Finding rookie steals like Brown and Williams aren't the same as planning your entire season around rookie production. Andre Johnson (ADP = 19) -- Red Light Sometimes you have to call a spade a spade. Sudden injuries, like those endured by running backs due to big hits, happen unpredictably. Chronic noncontact injuries, suffered by aging players, are a different story. Johnson has become a large injury concern thanks to back-to-back injury riddled seasons. Last year Johnson went down untouched twice with two different hamstring tears. He has become too much of a risk to select this ...

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 ...

Oakland Raiders vs. Miami Dolphins Reggie Bush -- The Dolphins made it extremely clear that they were not satisfied with last year's running game in the 2011 offseason. Ricky Williams was sent packing to Baltimore and Ronnie Brown moved on to the "Super Team" in Philadelphia. The Dolphins brought in new, young blood via free agency and through the draft. Once the Dolphins secured Bush and drafted Daniel Thomas, the new personnel was in place and the new strategy was ready to roll. Bush was going to be used as the complimentary back to Thomas. Isn't it funny how things work out sometimes? Instead of Bush becoming a third-down specialist he's become more or less the featured back in Miami. As a matter of fact, he's just a few carries away from amassing the most rushing yardage he's ever had in one season. Not bad for a change-of-pace back. The question becomes how will Bush's 2011 production impact the Dolphins' purposed game plan moving forward? Thomas has been slowed by hamstring injuries all through the season, and one would think that wouldn't be the case next year. What is going to happen to the Miami running back situation in the long run? This is entirely up to Bush. If he continues on the pace he's on and proves that he was right in saying that the New Orleans Saints underused him, then he would deserve the featured back role. It could be more a lightning-and-thunder situation and less of a thunder-and-lightning formula. As long as coach Tony Sparano continues to use Bush in the" right way" then there is no reason to think that the stats wouldn't continue to come in. If Bush can keep up this pace for the rest of the season and earn the role again in 2012 then dynasty owners of Thomas would lose a ton of value, especially if Bush continues to see goal line touches and even worse, succeeds. I'd look for Bush to continue rolling with about 75 yards rushing and 50 yards receiving with a touchdown and further his already expanded role. Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills C.J. Spiller -- Not exactly a great showing last week from Spiller. Being a former first-round pick we know the kind of ability and talent that Spiller must have. Neither talent nor ability was demonstrated in way, shape or form in Week, 12, though. Spiller received the best chance he's had to put up big numbers since he was drafted and was stuck on the depth chart behind both Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. Here and now in 2011, Lynch is playing on the opposite side of the country...

Oakland Raiders vs. Miami Dolphins Reggie Bush -- The Dolphins made it extremely clear that they were not satisfied with last year's running game in the 2011 offseason. Ricky Williams was sent packing to Baltimore and Ronnie Brown moved on to the "Super Team" in Philadelphia. The Dolphins brought in new, young blood via free agency and through the draft. Once the Dolphins secured Bush and drafted Daniel Thomas, the new personnel was in place and the new strategy was ready to roll. Bush was going to be used as the complimentary back to Thomas. Isn't it funny how things work out sometimes? Instead of Bush becoming a third-down specialist he's become more or less the featured back in Miami. As a matter of fact, he's just a few carries away from amassing the most rushing yardage he's ever had in one season. Not bad for a change-of-pace back. The question becomes how will Bush's 2011 production impact the Dolphins' purposed game plan moving forward? Thomas has been slowed by hamstring injuries all through the season, and one would think that wouldn't be the case next year. What is going to happen to the Miami running back situation in the long run? This is entirely up to Bush. If he continues on the pace he's on and proves that he was right in saying that the New Orleans Saints underused him, then he would deserve the featured back role. It could be more a lightning-and-thunder situation and less of a thunder-and-lightning formula. As long as coach Tony Sparano continues to use Bush in the" right way" then there is no reason to think that the stats wouldn't continue to come in. If Bush can keep up this pace for the rest of the season and earn the role again in 2012 then dynasty owners of Thomas would lose a ton of value, especially if Bush continues to see goal line touches and even worse, succeeds. I'd look for Bush to continue rolling with about 75 yards rushing and 50 yards receiving with a touchdown and further his already expanded role. Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills C.J. Spiller -- Not exactly a great showing last week from Spiller. Being a former first-round pick we know the kind of ability and talent that Spiller must have. Neither talent nor ability was demonstrated in way, shape or form in Week, 12, though. Spiller received the best chance he's had to put up big numbers since he was drafted and was stuck on the depth chart behind both Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. Here and now in 2011, Lynch is playing on the opposite side of the country ...