End Of The RB Era?

cctekguy

cctekguy

Staff member
I've read the articles calling for the priority shift from RBs to other positions due to the lack of feature running backs in the NFL. It looks good on paper but I'm afraid we can't really get away from coveting the RB position.

The league I'm in on the CBS fantasy venue offers a power ranking every week and it came to my attention that the top 3 ranked teams in my league own 6 of the top 8 ranked RBs. (rankings are based on Rotoworld's weekly rankings for week 7).

Is this the landscape in EVERY league?

When you look at your leagues best teams, aren't they blessed with 1 or 2 of fantasy's best RBs?

...or are teams winning with mediocre RBs and fielding great WRs, TEs and QBs?

I really can't imagine a powerhouse team thriving if their RBs are Lacy and CJ Anderson, even if they have Hopkins, Brown, and Calvin as their WRs, Dalton at QB, and Gronk @ TE.

I CAN imagine a team thriving if their RBs are Freeman and Gurley, their WRs Hurns, John Brown, and Travis Benjamin, and Bennett @ TE.

Just saying....It's still the elite RBs that control our fantasy destiny and am looking for arguments to the contrary.
 
jjtweeks

jjtweeks

Moderator
I have freeman,lacy,, ivory, j brown,evans,aj green in my standard espn money league and I am top scorer but 3-3 record. Lacy was a bust but I have Ivory too which has helped in being high scorer. pretty much have been starting those 3 every week when possible
Also though denvers kicker and def has boosted me in a few leagues .
The league Im in with you have Bell and AP but really it has been K Allen, S Smith Sr, J Tucker and Denver D that has pulled the load the most but yea with Bell it almost a sure thing sometimes.
Kinda of like you have Freeman and Hopkins, just those two are crazy scorers lately. Hard to beat who has just those two with whatever else thrown in.
 
jjtweeks

jjtweeks

Moderator
This is the team that is 5-0 in that league He has score 584 to my 611 so he has bascially won becasue of Julio,Olsen,Marshall,Broncos.. Hill his best scoring RB so theory not working in this case
Cam Newton, Car QB
RB Andre Ellington, Ari RB
Bal
RB Ameer Abdullah, Det RB
Min
RB/WR Antonio Andrews, Ten RB
Atl
WR Julio Jones, Atl WR
@Ten
WR Brandon Marshall, NYJ WR Q
@NE
TE Greg Olsen, Car TE
Phi
D/ST Rams D/ST D/ST
Cle
.1
K Caleb Sturgis, Phi K
@Car
BENCH WK 7 2015 SEASON WEEK 7

Bench Jeremy Hill, Cin RB *.6
Bench Sam Bradford, Phi QB
Bench Stevie Johnson, SD WR Q
Bench James Starks, GB RB **
Bench Broncos D/ST D/ST *
Bench Gary Barnidge, Cle TE P
Bench Robert Turbin, Cle
 
Phicinfan

Phicinfan

Expert on nothing, opinionated on everything
Administrator
cctekguy said:
I've read the articles calling for the priority shift from RBs to other positions due to the lack of feature running backs in the NFL. It looks good on paper but I'm afraid we can't really get away from coveting the RB position.

The league I'm in on the CBS fantasy venue offers a power ranking every week and it came to my attention that the top 3 ranked teams in my league own 6 of the top 8 ranked RBs. (rankings are based on Rotoworld's weekly rankings for week 7).

Is this the landscape in EVERY league?

When you look at your leagues best teams, aren't they blessed with 1 or 2 of fantasy's best RBs?

...or are teams winning with mediocre RBs and fielding great WRs, TEs and QBs?

I really can't imagine a powerhouse team thriving if their RBs are Lacy and CJ Anderson, even if they have Hopkins, Brown, and Calvin as their WRs, Dalton at QB, and Gronk @ TE.

I CAN imagine a team thriving if their RBs are Freeman and Gurley, their WRs Hurns, John Brown, and Travis Benjamin, and Bennett @ TE.

Just saying....It's still the elite RBs that control our fantasy destiny and am looking for arguments to the contrary.
Click to expand...
You hit it pretty well. Its a specialty league now, and each team does it differently. You don't have Forte's or Marshall Faulks or Steven Davis' or Terrell Daviss, they use mutiple backs to give multiple sets to try and confuse the defense and get mismatches. That is the game now, and the fact most teams are pass happy.
 
MongerKhan

MongerKhan

TXL: Pimp Hand Strong
Staff member
Moderator
Get your WRs early while I nab up top tier RBs. 3 starting WRS on each team vs one Rb...I cement my RBs long before WR.

Plus running backs are more consistent than wide receivers. With wide receivers they could have gotten into an argument with the quarterback then in the next game the QB could ignore them for a game to get back at them or an offensive coordinator isn't happy with a wide receiver so he doesn't call that many plays directed at that wide receiver.

Vs

A rb is play dependent as well but it is highly more likely that the running back will deliver consistent numbers versus a ball being snapped to a quarterback and then depending on that quarterback to get the ball to the wide receiver without getting intercepted or making a bad throw. My example would be Matt Stafford not being able to get the ball to Calvin Johnson or Golden Tate.
 
bodey24

bodey24

Staff member
This all depends on your league settings. If we are talking about a redraft league I would grab a stud rb like Bell to build around. If we are talking about a keeper or dynasty league I'm building around stud wrs since they don't take the beating rbs do and will be producing solid numbers longer. If you only have to start 1 rb you could build around your stud wrs and then if you grab a rb like Gurley or Freeman later you are set.

Rb's can be just as inconsistent whether it be because of their offensive line, the passing game not helping prevent teams from stacking the box, or nagging injuries. Just look at some of the top rbs this year (Charles, Lynch, Hill, Cj Anderson, etc)
 
cctekguy

cctekguy

Staff member
Seriously guys, I'm not challenging philosophies but asking for facts.

Are the best teams in your league stacked at RB or not?
 
Remote Controller

Remote Controller

Well-Known Member
I do best when I have two backs to play. The age of PPR enhances the back in my estimation. I am right with you in old style regular leagues. Give me 2 wr's , 2 rb's, a Te and a flex of any of the three and I will start theback over the Wr if I have him.
 
Phicinfan

Phicinfan

Expert on nothing, opinionated on everything
Administrator
It depends soley on scoring in the league. Best teams in my ppr dynasty leagues are solid at both Rb and Wr. In my local leagues, the better wrs have been winning it for them.

In general, you really have to have one solid Rb, and build around that. And to get that one solid Rb you almost have to draft him early.
 
hikeNbike

hikeNbike

Well-Known Member
For what it's worth I am 4-2 in the league I went receiver - receiver and 2-4 in the leagues I drafted rbs early. League I am 4-2 it's been Demarco and Latavius at RB with Ellington and fill in waiver wire pickup of the week, Karlos williams, Denard Robinson, charles sims as options. One of them has got me enough to get me to the win column. Not sure I can keep it up but will see. We have a freeman Hopkins juggernaut team in this league that is going to be tough to beat.

In fairness bad luck in one of the two 2-4 as I have put up a ton of points but played the wrong team each week. Hope for that team went Antonio Brown - Jeremy Hill there. Dalton and Gurley keeping me afloat. The other one I went Lacy -Odell and I am pretty much sunk. Thought Tevin would be my late round rb steal and I think he might have been. But injury led way to the Freeman unstoppable train. Also got Gordon and Spiller neither have helped. Christin Michael hello. Desperation plug and play for me this week. Close to just out and out dropping Lacy.

Part of it is my own drafting issues. I never seem to pick the right rb when I draft late first early second. Thought Hill and Lacy would be great this year and hasn't panned out. In the case I drafted Lacy I could have had Forte, so screwed that one up. For hill was between him and CJ or Calvin that I was thinking of. At least I didn't choose cj. Hill on the right matchup has been good for tds.

Funny year if you had asked me to rate my drafts I would have rated them in reverse of what I think of them now.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
 
freyguy

freyguy

Pick to Click
In one of my redraft PPR leagues we have 1 RB, 2 WR and 2 flex rosters. We made the flex change this season just for this reason. The top scorer has AP and Shady as starters and L. Murray on his bench. But he also has Hopkins as his top receiver. Not sure who he was starting earlier when shady was out but since we had the flex spot he wasn't stuck with just plugging in a scrub.

I do want to say that our scoring system is VERY QB heavy. 0.1 per 10 yds, 6pts for TDs, 0.1 per completion. I ended up taking Rodgers in the first round at #7 and ended up with Forsett/Cobb as my #1 RB/WR and I am 3-3. So take that for what it's worth.
 
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Deacon

Deacon

Bacon=greatest of all!
In one of my leagues I think I have the best team because I so strong at RB. I am 4-3 in this league but that is by design. My RB's are/were Leveon Bell, Todd Gurley, Lesean McCoy, and Arian Foster. The reason why I say 'by design' is cause Bell was suspended for the first 2, Gurley didn't start playing until the 4th game, same with Foster and McCoy opened the season with a bum hammy.

As I figured I would I opened the season 0-3 but now that my horses are running I have been 4-0 since. With 2 starting RB's and a flex I would have the luxury of playing matchup with 4 studs but alas Foster goes down for the season. So now I only have to negotiate bye weeks but they will be plug and play every week.

The guy in first place so far has/had Jamal Charles and Devonta Freeman so I am in the process of walking him down as Freeman is the only stud he has left.

btw- my WR's are D. Hopkins and K. Allen, and QB is Brees and Palmer. My only real weakness is TE.
 
jjtweeks

jjtweeks

Moderator
discoverecology said:
I'm beginning to think the elite QB's are at least as important.
Click to expand...
thats becasue none of them are putting up elite points this year except maybe Brady. Dalton was a nice steal for people who picked him up. Qb's that went in the first rd this year are not winning games for people
 
bodey24

bodey24

Staff member
Deacon said:
In one of my leagues I think I have the best team because I so strong at RB. I am 4-3 in this league but that is by design. My RB's are/were Leveon Bell, Todd Gurley, Lesean McCoy, and Arian Foster. The reason why I say 'by design' is cause Bell was suspended for the first 2, Gurley didn't start playing until the 4th game, same with Foster and McCoy opened the season with a bum hammy.

As I figured I would I opened the season 0-3 but now that my horses are running I have been 4-0 since. With 2 starting RB's and a flex I would have the luxury of playing matchup with 4 studs but alas Foster goes down for the season. So now I only have to negotiate bye weeks but they will be plug and play every week.

The guy in first place so far has/had Jamal Charles and Devonta Freeman so I am in the process of walking him down as Freeman is the only stud he has left.

btw- my WR's are D. Hopkins and K. Allen, and QB is Brees and Palmer. My only real weakness is TE.
Click to expand...
I think it could be argued that your wrs have been just as big if not a bigger part of your success. Hopkins and Allen have played lights out this year.
 
Deacon

Deacon

Bacon=greatest of all!
Yes they have and that was my point. My RBs are just now getting up to speed, but I have 3 'no-brainers' so at 4-3 I may be the best team in this league. Hopkins and Allen have been ballin all year yet I started out 0-3 because of low production from RB.
 
bodey24

bodey24

Staff member
Deacon said:
Yes they have and that was my point. My RBs are just now getting up to speed, but I have 3 'no-brainers' so at 4-3 I may be the best team in this league. Hopkins and Allen have been ballin all year yet I started out 0-3 because of low production from RB.
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Any team with its top 4 players at Rb or wr missing a few games aren't going to fare well which is why you went 0-3. If the rolls were reversed and your best wrs were out and your top two rbs were dominating you would still be 0-3. Whether you build around your rbs or wrs if you are only getting mediocre production from the other position you aren't going to do well.
 
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