FanHouse FrankGore

FanHouse's crack squad of savvy fantasy football personnel put our five heads together and amassed consensus rankings for non-keeper, standard scoring leagues. We'll update as the season gets closer, but this is our "incredibly early yet still fun" version.

In an otherwise jumbled mess, there is one thing we know about the running backs when it comes to fantasy football drafts: Adrian Peterson is easily the class of the position. After that, there appears to be a large clump of running backs who have a good chance to excel this season. If you think the old school fantasy football "running back-running back" draft strategy (drafting a running back in each of the first two rounds) is truly antiquated, ask yourself the difference between a Frank Gore and Marion Barber tandem in your backfield as opposed to Ronnie Brown and Jamal Lewis. Is it worth taking a wide receiver, then, before a Barber type?

---

---

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

With the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft, the San Francisco 49ers had the good fortune of having one of the best (if not the best) players fall into their laps.

There are a number of theories as to why Michael Crabtree was still available at the No. 10 spot, ranging from his lack of a 40 time, to the alleged "diva" attitude he displayed in St. Louis and Cleveland during his visits, leading to an hilarious battle of wits between Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach and Browns coach Eric Mangini.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

After the uneventful tenure of head coach Mike Nolan, the San Francisco 49ers decided to promote Mike Singletary to interim head coach during the 2008 season.

After a bizarre debut that saw Singletary address his team without pants, the 49ers finished the season on a 5-4 run under their new coach, ending the year with a 7-9 record. Had it not been for a confusing ending to a Monday night game against Arizona, the 49ers would have finished with a .500 record for the first time since 2002. So close, yet so far.

As opposed to quarterbacks, I'm definitely in favor of keeping running backs. In fact, I highly recommend keeping two runners instead of a quarterback, if you have two of my top 20. Running backs are the life-blood of your fantasy team, much like the oil in your car. Two consistent runners on your fantasy team make life so much easier, which is why it's your starting point.

As I said, I'm recommending you keep two from the list, which is why I'm ranking more than I did for quarterbacks or wide receivers.

Ladies and Gents, your top 20 keeper running backs ...

I'm just gonna be real right now: Your fantasy league should be over. It's one of those things about which we've all pretty much made an unwritten pact. When people like Peyton Manning will likely not be playing because their teams want them to rest, you shouldn't have a fantasy relevant game. That's why we don't play in the preseason.

All that being said, there are leagues out there with a championship game this week. Since we are committed to helping you win your league title no matter what, we'll still be helping you out. In lieu of positional rankings -- due to a limited audience -- we'll sift through each position and give some pointers. We'll also examine guys who need to play well, as well as those who won't factor at all.

Feel free to leave specific lineup questions in the comments section, and we'll answer. We'll also be having a shortened -- yet quite effective -- Tailgate Sunday morning.

Again, we want you to win ... even if that means supporting you when your league is mishandled.

The San Francisco 49ers have won three of their past four games under interim head coach Mike Singletary, and a week ago helped play a major role in the outcome of the AFC East by pounding the New York Jets, 24-14. On Sunday, they can continue to play the role of spoiler for the AFC East when they travel to Miami, but they'll have to do it without the services of their best offensive player, running back Frank Gore.

Adam Schefter of NFL.com reports that Gore made the trip with the intentions of testing his injured ankle in warmups, but, obviously, won't be doing that.

Gore has rushed for 978 yards on 229 carries this season, while also hauling in 42 passes (second best on the team) for 367 yards. He's scored eight touchdowns for the 49ers this year.

In Gore's absence, San Francisco will be handing the ball off to seven-year veteran DeShaun Foster and Thomas Clayton, who was signed off the practice squad late this week. Foster has only carried the ball 37 times this season for 78 yards. That's 2.1 yards per carry. Yikes. I hope, for the 49ers sake, that Shaun Hill brings his "A" game today.

It's playoff time! FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled in order to provide answers to lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

I can't say I ever thought we'd see this day.

Look at all the stud running backs, or even the quality running backs who don't split carries. Heading into this season, would anyone have ever thought the top running back in a week of the fantasy football playoffs was DeAngelo Williams? The same Williams who many thought would lose his job completely to Jonathan Stewart by now, or at least be splitting carries with him -- which he still kind of is.

He's just emerged as too much of a stud. The strength of the run defense doesn't matter, DeAngelo shredded the Tampa Bay Bucs, and he made it look easy.

The Denver Broncos have a terrible defense, and the Panthers are especially tough running the ball at home. There is not one player I'd start over Williams this week. Not a single one.

More notes after the rankings.

1. DeAngelo Williams, vs. DEN
2. Adrian Peterson, at ARI
3. Brian Westbrook, vs. CLE
4. Matt Forte, vs. NO
5. Chris Johnson, at HOU

Et tu, Brute?

It's one of the most famous phrases in the history of literature, and it's appropriate in this fantasy football playoff season.

Much like Brutus was a loyal friend to Caesar, helping him all way the to the top, he conspired to stab his former-friend in the back when it mattered most (kind of, just stick with me).

In fantasy football, you've likely had the pleasure of riding some studs to the playoffs. Some of them are primed to pull a Brutus on you and handcuff your team in the playoffs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Brutus Boys:

Brandon Jacobs, Giants - My fantasy football affection for Jacobs hasn't been a secret, but ever since he tweaked his knee he's been unreliable. The Giants could easily hold him out of the rest of the regular season, as they'll easily walk to the top overall playoff seed.

Marion Barber, Cowboys - He hurt his calf favoring his injured toe. All of a sudden Tashard Choice is coveted in fantasy circles. Even if Barber plays, he won't be 100 percent -- which is really bad in light of his punishing run-style -- and faces the stout Giants and Ravens defenses.

Just in time for the fantasy playoffs, Week 14 provided fantasy owners with plenty of heart palpitations and an awful lot to think about. Going into Week 15, the most nerve-racking of all fantasy weeks in my opinion, we have no less than five superstar running backs with totally uncertain futures after suffering injuries.

At this point, we at Fantasy FanHouse do not know much more than you about these situations, but we will attempt to shed some light on how to approach them (with more definitive updates coming later this week).

Broncos: Peyton Hillis / Tatum Bell - You can't paint a turd. Sure, Peyton Hillis is officially on the injured reserve, which will inevitably lead many fantasy players to jump all over Tatum Bell, but the problem with this situation is you are still talking about Tatum Bell -- the same guy who got cut by the Detroit Lions. It is conceivable that cutting Bell was another event in a long line of boneheaded moves by the Lions, but I wouldn't stake my fantasy playoffs on Bell if I were you. He may have looked decent against the Chiefs, but temper the expectations against better run defenses in Carolina and Buffalo. In fact, if you insist on starting Bell, I have a red hot investment portfolio for you that includes sub-prime mortgages and Lehman Brothers stock that I'd like you talk to you about as well.

If San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary wants to have the "interim" label removed from his title, winning more games like this would certainly help the cause. The 49ers won their second straight on Sunday, and third in the past four games, handing the New York Jets a huge 24-14 loss.

Shaun Hill had himself a day for the 49ers, completing 28-of-39 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns, while offensive lineman Joe Staley fell on a loose ball in the end zone in the first quarter, to help lead San Francisco to the win. Hill completed passes to ten different receivers in the win, and has been rock-solid for the 49ers since taking over as the team's starting quarterback. This, of course, brings up the obvious question of: what the hell were the 49ers thinking back in training camp?

Isaac Bruce and Bryant Johnson each hauled in six passes for the 49ers, while Bruce finished with a game-high 70 yards. Frank Gore rushed for 52 yards on 14 carries, and also caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Hill late in the second quarter, giving the 49ers a 14-7 lead heading into the half.

So, while the 49ers are starting to play some actual football late in the season, the Jets, on the other hand, appear to be heading in the exact opposite direction.