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Lynch is an interesting one, as he may be available for cheaper, after his recent up and downs, but I don't see the starter that he is displacing and I feel that he would be too expensive for this exercise; Tate is starting to stand out here, though.
You continue to change your criteria for this thread. YOU said "let's not look at injuries;" YOU said "I stay away from players on bad teams;" then you subsequently re-introduced injuries and teams out of contention into the mix. If YOU continue to change the parameters of what you want to discuss, then don't get upset when other's don't "stay within those parameters."If you are looking for what RBs are going to have the opportunity to do well during the playoff stretch, use the USSOS, read the depth charts, look at injury reports. The parameters that currently want to use have been addressed in countless other threads/articles/features, etc.
I concede, YOU win; please collect your prize at the door on your way out.
On the contrary, they are MAKING this thread. I agree that Bayhawks arguing semantics is getting quite old, but both are bringing excellent points and discussion to the thread.My take, I paid a mid-1st round 2012 rookie pick for Tate and Lance Moore in dynasty on a front-running team for exactly this reason. Top of the division, both RBs producing, one goes down, the other is not gold, but platinum with large diamond inlays. If both healthy, you could still get 100 & a score from the #2 with that schedule! Tate is the playoff surge target RB if there ever was one. Cost, a decent player or late-mid 1st rookie pick.Ryan Grant can be had VERY cheap, and could be a nice prize if Starks were to go down, or the Pack have things clinched early and are in some bad weather, big lead games. I don't know that Starks is good enough to be "rested" if "dinged/injured," or that either would be uber valuable even if they were the main RB due to the passing game being center stage. Raiders, Chiefs, Bears weeks 14-16. Cost, a bag of Doritos. Even competing teams want to dump him.Taiwan Jones - McFadden is down, we don't know how serious, and he seems more likely than most star RBs to get injured. Bush is banging away, but has been bitten by the injury bug quite a bit himself. Packers, Lions, Chiefs weeks 14-16. Granted, you NEED at least one of those two to be injured to have ANY value, but stars have aligned in the past, and Jones will likely only cost a waiver pick and a roster spot.Jason Snelling has always gotten goal line love and receptions. If Turner were to be on his perrenial late season inactive list, I would think he would be the go to guy before Quizz. Not to say Rodgers wouldn't get his in the mix, but Atlanta has gone to that well before with good results. Panther, Jags, Saints weeks 14-16. Again, waiver-wire material.Smokin' Ricky - despite being 57 years old, his time off has left him pretty fresh. He has looked pretty decent when given the ball, and has plenty left in the tank. I think he's every bit as good as McGahee, if not better and Cam Cameron has made RBs VERY valuable in his days. Ricky is intimately familiar with Cam's playbook and could put up nearly similar numbers to Rice, who is killing it this year. The Ravens may not be playing for a seed at all if Pittsburgh stumbles at all (and we all know the Bengals can't help but doing the same). Ray Rice is a stud that deserves a rest going into the playoffs, and if Baltimore has nothing to win or lose for OR if Rice gets "dinged," Ricky could step right in and carry a team through the playoffs putting up mid RB1 numbers. Colts, Chargers & Browns weeks 14-16. Cost, waiver pick. Hell, he's so cheap you may even be granted and additional roster spot just for sentimental reasons.Ricky's former counterpart, Ronnie Brown - People like to point to Dion Lewis, but Ronnie is much more qualified to be a lead back. He can block, he can catch with the best of them, he can do goal line with the best of them, and is fresh and healthy although a step slower than he used to be... but he used to be able to outrun DBs. So now instead of being able to take it 60 yards to the house, he gets tracked down after 40. With the holes that Maclin, Jackson and Vick provide a RB, I could see that. Would require injury. Dolphis, Jets, Cowboys isn't so tasty for the playoffs, but in this offense I don't think opponent matters as much. Cost, see Ricky Williams.The Barbarian - Quietly putting up 8 PPG during the last 5 and 4 TDs. He's getting healthier and staying fresh. Would be a monster if Forte were to go down, and the Bears will likely not lessen Barber's goal line looks whether they are out of it or fighting like mad. Broncos, Seahawks, Packers weeks 14-16. Cost - next to nothing if he is rostered by anyone except the Forte owner.Kevin Smith - Likely nothing, possibly everything. If this guy could put up 1200 when this team sucked, imagine what he could do if Best stays out and he beats out Morris/Williams (shouldn't be too difficult). Finishes with Vikings, Raiders, Chargers. Cost - waiver pick & roster spot.Battle has been mentioned, but you need a 1st round bye. Prolly costs a bit now as anybody who needed to pick him up is probably starting him weekly.Mike Sellers - Because he is the only Redskins RB that hasn't gotten a carry, and you know two Shanahans are better than one!
Starks is useless ...Staring RB on an offensive powerhouse yet consistently puts up 13 carries for 60-70 yds 0 tds. I don't even want those stats from my weakest flex position. Benched him for Ogbonnaya who has much higher upside.
Many of the player listed in this post are going to be weak plays presently. Instead I, and others, are looking for this level of player that will become the "bell-cow" when their team's late season statuses will change their situation. The team's week 14-17 statuses are key here as it will create the viability of any of these backs being playoff studs.
I think you are looking at this situation wrong. With Schaub out, Houston will likely run the ball more. IMO, this increases Tate's value, rather than decreasing it. Will other teams focus more on the run? Probably, but at the same time, Houston isn't going to give Foster 40 carries/game. They ran the ball 41 times this week. If that trend continues, it makes sense to expect Tate to get 15 (or more) of those carries. Houston's O-line is still going to be a good run-blocking unit, so even if an added defender in the box makes the running harder, that should be evened out by the additional opportunities. This development should give him value if Foster stays healthy/isn't "rested," but he retains the added benefit of being able to capitalize on an injury/rest situation, if it should occur.
I don't disagree with any point you made, I guess I just need a little time to digest Schaub's injury so I can develop a "gut" feeling about HOU's run game moving forward. I am nervous about Leinart's play; if he plays so poorly that HOU is forced into passing the ball, because they are trailing, that will effect the overall carries. I agree that Tate is still one of the top, if not the top pick, in my exersize but if Leinart starts throwing INTs, or is so limited by the gameplan, I can't see how this wouldn't be a downgrade for Tate (and Foster). The one glimmer of hope is Tate's production compared to Foster's. I am also concerned about HOU stumbling and not playing meaningless games at the end of the season.Bayhawks, I would love to get your opinion on Harbaugh's use of Gore and of Gore's performance against NYG. I guess we can both agree that Gore is hurt; do you see Harbaugh resting him to get him well, or trotting him out there every week to see what he has? SFO is so much stronger with Gore healthy, I really feel it would behoove them to give Gore a rest while they have such a big lead in their division, maybe even ramping up his Gore's carries, late in the season, to get him back in the groove of things; this, of course, flies in the face of my theory, which would dictate that Hunter would be used late to rest Gore.
I realize that Thomas isn't the sexy pick here but when you combine his carries with his receptions he is putting up serviceable numbers. Thomas fulfilled my criteria of: not being the starter, not needing an injury to see playing time, and playing on a team that would probably win their division by a couple of game allowing them to rest their starters. Thomas has his own issues in my rankings, such as how Ivory and Ingram are used; a logical argument, considering PT's injury history, could be made that NOR "rests" Thomas. I do agree with you on Gore/Hunter but FF playoff weeks (14-17) are what I am mostly concentrating on; what is your opinion there?
I honestly think this week will be telling. Gore got "dinged," and he tried to come back and play (or the coaches tried to get him to play-I don't know which is more accurate). All reports I've read suggest that it's nothing major. I expect Harbaugh to ride Gore as much as he normally would. If he doesn't, and he gives Hunter more work, then I'd be inclined to place more value on Hunter as a (FF) playoff contributor.It's interesting to note that the 49ers were passing more BEFORE Gore's injury last week, so any decrease in work by Gore would have to be accompanied by an increase in work by Hunter (not just more SF passing) for me to value Hunter higher.That being said, if you wait until you see something in FF, you might miss out on a valuable pick-up. If it doesn't cost you anything (& you wouldn't have to cut a player of value), picking Hunter up as a speculative add makes sense.
