LHUCKS' 2006 RB Rankings (1 Viewer)

[LHUCKS]

That said, you have Ronnie Brown quite a bit lower than what I have been seeing from most other places and I am curious as to why? You do not have him so low that it would make one question your judgement, but for instance having him below McGahee seems intriguing to me and I am curious about your reasoning.

a) I think McGahee is a better RB than Brownb) I'm not convinced Brown can handle a full load for an entire yearc) McGahee's receptions will increase this yearI rate McGahee as a very safe play with good upside. I rate Brown as riskier play with similar upside.

 

[LHUCKS]

Good stuff LHUCKS.Question...in a non-PPR league. How would your rankings shake out? Which guys would move into the top 15 and which would drop out?

Interestingly enough my top 15 remains the exact same which goes to show how much emphasis I put on my risk factors. Westbrook takes the biggest hit downwards...I'd probably put him at #12 without the numbers in front of me.

 

[MDSkinner]

a) I think McGahee is a better RB than Brownb) I'm not convinced Brown can handle a full load for an entire yearc) McGahee's receptions will increase this yearI rate McGahee as a very safe play with good upside. I rate Brown as riskier play with similar upside.

Thanks for the response. I suppose all along I have considered this one from more of the surrounding team theory than from the talent theory. McGahee should be about the only offense for Buffalo this year, but he should see a lot of 8+ in the box defenses, where Ronnie should have a decent offense around him to share some of the load, and in theory give him more chances with less scary defenses in his face. But certainly no disagreement from me that McGahee is a more talented back.Good stuff, thanks for sharing.

 

[LHUCKS]

Good job and keep it coming!

This is nice to hear. I'm not trying to win a MB popularity contest and I'm not stroking my ego. I do this because I enjoy the discussion and because I don't have enough time to reply to all the requests for my rankings individually. I don't know why that's so hard to believe but the haters can have a mod check out my PM box for verification if it helps people sleep at night.

 

[Wally Cleaver]

Other than Westbrook being this high, I have no issues. And with Westbrook, I am not in any PPR leagues, so his value I think goes down significantly when not in one of those leagues.That said, you have Ronnie Brown quite a bit lower than what I have been seeing from most other places and I am curious as to why? You do not have him so low that it would make one question your judgement, but for instance having him below McGahee seems intriguing to me and I am curious about your reasoning.

Can't speak for LHucks, but I love Westbrook this year in any league... I think he has a good chance to finish top 5 in yardage leagues as well....Edit: Great job on the rankings... What I respect the most about your rankings is that you have solid reasoning behind each placement... I dont agree with them all but I like that you look at the big picture...

 

[LHUCKS]

Thanks for the response. I suppose all along I have considered this one from more of the surrounding team theory than from the talent theory. McGahee should be about the only offense for Buffalo this year, but he should see a lot of 8+ in the box defenses, where Ronnie should have a decent offense around him to share some of the load, and in theory give him more chances with less scary defenses in his face.

Don't underestimate Evans' and Price's ability to stretch the field...Losman has already connected with both on long strikes in the preseason. Also remember that the OC is a Martz disciple. I don't like Losman particularly but I don't think 8 in the box will necessarily be the norm this year.

 

[(HULK)]

I take it you disagree with all of the people who think Reggie Bush will get a lot of receptions?

Certainly there is a fair ammount of risk there, but in a PPR, I can't see him finishing 22nd unless he gets injured.

 

[(HULK)]

Thanks for the response. I suppose all along I have considered this one from more of the surrounding team theory than from the talent theory. McGahee should be about the only offense for Buffalo this year, but he should see a lot of 8+ in the box defenses, where Ronnie should have a decent offense around him to share some of the load, and in theory give him more chances with less scary defenses in his face.

Don't underestimate Evans' and Price's ability to stretch the field...Losman has already connected with both on long strikes in the preseason. Also remember that the OC is a Martz disciple. I don't like Losman particularly but I don't think 8 in the box will necessarily be the norm this year.

I have McGahee and Evans in several leagues. I think both with outdo their ADP this year.

 

[Hue G]

I like the rankings, thanks for the contribution, one question;

Why do you have Kevin Jones at the top of those second tier RBs? He was absolute crap last year, I understand that the situation is different with Martz but I'm just kind of weary of him after last year.

 

[LHUCKS]

I take it you disagree with all of the people who think Reggie Bush will get a lot of receptions?Certainly there is a fair ammount of risk there, but in a PPR, I can't see him finishing 22nd unless he gets injured.

I've had some heated discussion with staffers and others concerning Bush. My stance all along is that I wont touch him until my top 21 RBs are gone and my top WRs are gone which puts him at the end of the third in most leagues.The NO offense is going to struggle this year.

 

[Lemmiwinks]

a) I think McGahee is a better RB than Brownb) I'm not convinced Brown can handle a full load for an entire yearc) McGahee's receptions will increase this yearI rate McGahee as a very safe play with good upside. I rate Brown as riskier play with similar upside.

Thanks for the response. I suppose all along I have considered this one from more of the surrounding team theory than from the talent theory. McGahee should be about the only offense for Buffalo this year, but he should see a lot of 8+ in the box defenses, where Ronnie should have a decent offense around him to share some of the load, and in theory give him more chances with less scary defenses in his face. But certainly no disagreement from me that McGahee is a more talented back.Good stuff, thanks for sharing.

I definetly disagree that McGahee is more talented than Ronnie Brown. Brown is faster, stronger and has not previously destroyed his knee in an horrific way.We will see about Brown's ability to "carry the load" but assuming he can and gets the touches he will finish top 5 in any league, IMO. I actually like his chances better than most backs at not wearing down. He doesn't have the physical toll on his body that all of the other RB's in the top 10 do. It will keep him fresher down the stretch.

 

[LHUCKS]

I like the rankings, thanks for the contribution, one question;Why do you have Kevin Jones at the top of those second tier RBs? He was absolute crap last year, I understand that the situation is different with Martz but I'm just kind of weary of him after last year.

Because I think he's a very safe total yardage back.a) nobody beating down his door for PTb) Offense WILL be improved with Kitna and Martzc) Has shown glimpses of brillianceDecent upside, yet safe to get top 20 numbers IMHO.

 

[duaneok66]

I take it you disagree with all of the people who think Reggie Bush will get a lot of receptions?Certainly there is a fair ammount of risk there, but in a PPR, I can't see him finishing 22nd unless he gets injured.

I've had some heated discussion with staffers and others concerning Bush. My stance all along is that I wont touch him until my top 21 RBs are gone and my top WRs are gone which puts him at the end of the third in most leagues.The NO offense is going to struggle this year.

HUCKS, you don't have Bush's mug ready for Canton???you know that line of thinking doesn't play around here . . .

 

[LHUCKS]

I take it you disagree with all of the people who think Reggie Bush will get a lot of receptions?Certainly there is a fair ammount of risk there, but in a PPR, I can't see him finishing 22nd unless he gets injured.

I've had some heated discussion with staffers and others concerning Bush. My stance all along is that I wont touch him until my top 21 RBs are gone and my top WRs are gone which puts him at the end of the third in most leagues.The NO offense is going to struggle this year.

HUCKS, you don't have Bush's mug ready for Canton???you know that line of thinking doesn't play around here . . .

Tell me about it.

 

[hammerd]

LHUCKS, how come Ronnie Brown is not in your top 10???

 

[LHUCKS]

LHUCKS, how come Ronnie Brown is not in your top 10???

Basically because I penalize RBs that have not proven they can handle a full load for an entire year. I believe the 11 RBs ranked ahead of him are better plays.Most fantasy "experts" disagree with me on this one...then again, most of them disagreed with me on S. Moss and Galloway last year.

 

[Happy]

Nice post LHUCKS ! I respect your rankings and opinions and you are consistently one of the better posters on this message board. Keep it up.

I may be in the minority, but I'd put Willie Parker higher up in the rankings. His floor is higher, on a running team with a great defense, and now Bettis is gone, so he may see more time in the red zone. The passing attack is enough of a threat that they can't stack the box, and the Offensive line is top 3....lots to like here.

On the other hand, there's a few guys above him with question marks

10. McGahee (could be the worst offense in the NFL, he'll get 60 tough yards a game, but won't crack 100 yards more than 3 times this season)

11. R. Brown $$ (huge risk, can he hold up? He's never carried the load before, and he may hit a wall around week 10)

12. Portis $$ (shoulder injuries are tough to recover from. He'll be feeling it all season)

13. Edge (his OL is horrible, and he didn't impress in the preseason)

I'd move Parker all the way up to #10

 

[LHUCKS]

I may be in the minority, but I'd put Willie Parker higher up in the rankings. His floor is higher, on a running team with a great defense, and now Bettis is gone, so he may see more time in the red zone. The passing attack is enough of a threat that they can't stack the box, and the Offensive line is top 3....lots to like here.On the other hand, there's a few guys above him with question marks 10. McGahee (could be the worst offense in the NFL, he'll get 60 tough yards a game, but won't crack 100 yards more than 3 times this season)11. R. Brown $$ (huge risk, can he hold up? He's never carried the load before, and he may hit a wall around week 10)12. Portis $$ (shoulder injuries are tough to recover from. He'll be feeling it all season)13. Edge (his OL is horrible, and he didn't impress in the preseason)I'd move Parker all the way up to #10

Parker is a safe play, but I see no reason why his ceiling is any higher than what he attained last year...which is why I have him ranked where he's at. If you want to go ultra risk averse Parker is an option, but I tend to take on the higher risk/higher reward guys if the risk is bearable.

 

[Lemmiwinks]

LHUCKS, how come Ronnie Brown is not in your top 10???

Basically because I penalize RBs that have not proven they can handle a full load for an entire year. I believe the 11 RBs ranked ahead of him are better plays.Most fantasy "experts" disagree with me on this one...then again, most of them disagreed with me on S. Moss and Galloway last year.

Boy, that's convenient. Pick out the two projections you got right.I'm sure you didn't pick with 100% accuracy.Ronnie will make you pay for your pessimism and extreme risk aversion.

 

[LHUCKS]

LHUCKS, how come Ronnie Brown is not in your top 10???

Basically because I penalize RBs that have not proven they can handle a full load for an entire year. I believe the 11 RBs ranked ahead of him are better plays.Most fantasy "experts" disagree with me on this one...then again, most of them disagreed with me on S. Moss and Galloway last year.

Boy, that's convenient. Pick out the two projections you got right.I'm sure you didn't pick with 100% accuracy.Ronnie will make you pay for your pessimism and extreme risk aversion.

Of course not...just pointing out that I've gone against the grain before. I wouldn't be surprised if Ronnie finishes higher than 11th. I hope he works out for you.

 

[Steelers4Life]

People's rankings of Barlow baffle me.

On a brutal 49er offeense in 2004, he struggled to just over 1,000 total yards and 7 total TDs. He now moves to a team with a better QB, OL, and group of WRs than that team had.

The Jets paid a draft pick and took on $10 million over the next 3 years in salary because they had little faith in the guys they already have. He's now the most talented RB on the roster, and the talent that had most people drooling after the 2003 season is still in there. If Barlow doesn't see significant action in week 1, it won't be long before he does.

Ranking him that low makes very little sense to me. Not that you're the only one who has him there, but he was a steal where he's been drafted in most leagues.

 

[GiantsRule]

Nice write up, too bad 98.6% of drafts are done.

I won several thousand dollars last year because of ff...

This is essentially a prerequisite to post here, isn't it?

 

[LHUCKS]

Ranking him that low makes very little sense to me. Not that you're the only one who has him there, but he was a steal where he's been drafted in most leagues.

Maybe a second half guy...but it's going to take him a while to get assmilated to the new offense. I'm not terribly high on the offense either.

 

[LHUCKS]

Nice write up, too bad 98.6% of drafts are done.

I won several thousand dollars last year because of ff...

This is essentially a prerequisite to post here, isn't it?

That's taken out of context...just pointing out my reasoning for not posting these until after my money drafts...I'm sure many made a lot more cash than me last year. I don't like the rakes in most of the big money leagues.

 

[Gold Plated Nails]

nice job Lhucks, a fun read. My only real disagreement is with a couple others on your R Bush rating. Too low, I don't care how bad that offense is, his talent will prevail over the course of the season (barring injury of course). The best RBs will still get theirs regardless of the situation and I am a firm believer his talent is off the charts.

 

[LHUCKS]

nice job Lhucks, a fun read. My only real disagreement is with a couple others on your R Bush rating. Too low, I don't care how bad that offense is, his talent will prevail over the course of the season (barring injury of course). The best RBs will still get theirs regardless of the situation and I am a firm believer his talent is off the charts.

Two factors effecting my Bush ranking that I haven't mentioneda) I downgrade rookie RBs automatically, because of injury and wear down concernsb) Touches will be limited

 

[Horses Mouth]

35. Norwood **

what's your take on the Norwood bandwagon - for this year and next?

 

[valence]

LHUCKS could you post a couple of your $$$ league rosters and\or drafts?

I'm just curious how some of those played out for you.

 

[LHUCKS]

35. Norwood **

what's your take on the Norwood bandwagon - for this year and next?

He's obviously looked good this preseason but he hasn't seen much contact. I need to see him carry the ball 15 times in traffic against a tough Run D before I'm totally sold. Reminds me of Chris Brown but faster. Great handcuff for Dunn, but I don't think he'll be a fantasy force until Dunn is out of the way.

 

[LHUCKS]

LHUCKS could you post a couple of your $$$ league rosters and\or drafts? I'm just curious how some of those played out for you.

I'll post some teams from my main leagues with their corresponding scoring format tonight.

 

[SouthJersey]

LHUCKS, how come Ronnie Brown is not in your top 10???

Basically because I penalize RBs that have not proven they can handle a full load for an entire year. I believe the 11 RBs ranked ahead of him are better plays.

Most fantasy "experts" disagree with me on this one...then again, most of them disagreed with me on S. Moss and Galloway last year.

You think Caddy has proven this? He was hurt for 2 weeks last year. And a string of a few other weeks when he didn't even score 5 fantasy points.

 

[LHUCKS]

LHUCKS, how come Ronnie Brown is not in your top 10???

Basically because I penalize RBs that have not proven they can handle a full load for an entire year. I believe the 11 RBs ranked ahead of him are better plays.

Most fantasy "experts" disagree with me on this one...then again, most of them disagreed with me on S. Moss and Galloway last year.

You think Caddy has proven this? He was hurt for 2 weeks last year. And a string of a few other weeks when he didn't even score 5 fantasy points.

His rookie carry totals are very impressive.One of the better rookie rushing seasons in the history of the NFL...

 

[SouthJersey]

Why do you have Ahman so low? Don't see any upside in his play this year?

 

[LHUCKS]

Why do you have Ahman so low? Don't see any upside in his play this year?

Yep...mostly an upside issue.

 

[Frenchy Fuqua]

Good stuff L-Hucks. I'm always baffled by those that put Willie Parker and Cadillac Williams into two different buckets/tiers. To me these RBs are strikingly similar in the eyes of the FF world. Cadillac has more on-field talent but Parker has a better supporting cast (O-line). Parker may also have more chances at paydirt, Caddy is still battling Alstott for that role. Both rely on big plays to accumulate TDs. Neither is likely to be on the field on third downs (Haynes/Pittman) but both are likely to be more involved in the passing attack this year...so why such a gap between the two?

 

[LHUCKS]

Good stuff L-Hucks. I'm always baffled by those that put Willie Parker and Cadillac Williams into two different buckets/tiers. To me these RBs are strikingly similar in the eyes of the FF world. Cadillac has more on-field talent but Parker has a better supporting cast (O-line). Parker may also have more chances at paydirt, Caddy is still battling Alstott for that role. Both rely on big plays to accumulate TDs. Neither is likely to be on the field on third downs (Haynes/Pittman) but both are likely to be more involved in the passing attack this year...so why such a gap between the two?

I believe Caddy will get significantly more touches.

 

[Two Deep]

good stuff but i see duckett out scoring 39-55

 

[Black Label Society]

Thanks for the response. I suppose all along I have considered this one from more of the surrounding team theory than from the talent theory. McGahee should be about the only offense for Buffalo this year, but he should see a lot of 8+ in the box defenses, where Ronnie should have a decent offense around him to share some of the load, and in theory give him more chances with less scary defenses in his face.

Don't underestimate Evans' and Price's ability to stretch the field...Losman has already connected with both on long strikes in the preseason. Also remember that the OC is a Martz disciple. I don't like Losman particularly but I don't think 8 in the box will necessarily be the norm this year.

EXACTLY my thoughts. Losman has a rapport already with Evans, and although I'm still a bit skeptical of Price, they could be a legitimate enough WR corps to keep the safeties from stacking the box, and McGahee could very well be back to his 'rookie' campaign (statistically).

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

Beside the PAC 10 posts over and over again I really enjoy what LHUCK's contributes to footballguys. Thanks for the time and hard work.

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

I wish I had a better read on Cadillac. I picked him at the turn in a 12 team PPR league and am not sure how to feel about it.

If he stays healthy you're going to love him. You know Gruden will play him all game. With Simms improving and having more good targets, opposing Ds won't be able to completely focus on Caddy.Can you tell I have him?

 

[ConstruxBoy]

Good stuff LHUCKS, thanks.