FanHouse RashardMendenhall

Not gonna lie: I'm a sucker for anything Michael Jackson related, pedophilia and creepy, stardust-covered jungle gyms aside. Music-wise, though, he really is tough to beat. It's why I loved Donovan McNabb's "Thriller" touchdown dance, and it's also why I watched the following video -- which, as PSAMP notes with the find, is allegedly Rashard Mendenhall -- like eight times. And frankly, whether it's him or not, I think Mendenhall should come out and claim that he's got moves like that anyway.

A year ago, the Cowboys used their two first-round picks on running back Felix Jones and cornerback Mike Jenkins. Neither contributed much as a rookie; Jenkins played in 14 games (starting three) and had 19 tackles, but the one he didn't make sticks out most in my mind (of course it does).

Jones, who was something of a surprise pick with Rashard Mendenhall still available, played in just six games before landing on injured reserve with a big toe and hamstring injury.

Well, not only is fantasy football long over, but, sadly, now too is the NFL season. However, that sure doesn't mean us diehards have nothing left to do but wait for next season. Nope, now more than ever, it's time to fine-tune those skills that got you a fantasy football trophy, or brought you darn near close to one. Yes, let your opponents settle into comfort, while you do your homework all offseason.

A bit drastic? Quite possibly, but during the slow stretch (a.k.a. the waiting game) we'll be here to give you little tidbits to take to heart and make note of for next season. The first order of business is evaluating the players who "elevated" their games in the NFL playoffs. Year in and year out, there are always guys who breakout in a way you could dream of, had it been the regular "fantasy" football season.

The Steelers really didn't have a choice. When Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall was still on the board 22 picks into the 2008 NFL draft, Pittsburgh pretty much had to take him. Not because they needed a running back, but because Mendenhall had game-changing ability and was too good to pass up at that point in the proceedings.

Sure, Pittsburgh had gaping chasms along the offensive line -- the Sean Mahan experiment flopped and Alan Faneca took the money and ran to New York -- and they still had said gaping chasms when they selected wideout Limas Sweed a round later.

Let's face it, this year was all about the Rookie RB when talking about fantasy football. Depending on the scoring system for your league, three rookies most likely finished in the Top 10 RB producers. This made for arguably the single greatest rookie RB class in recent memory, not only from a realistic perspective, but also for fantasy purposes.

Is this the new trend and will we lust over the rookie class next season as we prepare for our drafts? Well, let's not jump the gun just yet. However, what we can depend on will be the spiked draft day values of the returning sophomore class. Many of these talents have already become mainstays on the fantasy football horizon.

And so today, we take a quick look back at the season that was, but more importantly gage the values of this heralded class moving forward. Follow along and in order...

I think it's fair to say that when running back Chris Johnson went down during the second quarter of last Saturday's game against the Ravens, so too did the Titans' playoff hopes. In those first 30 minutes, Johnson rushed for 72 yards on 11 carries, and added another 28 yards on his lone reception.

After he made his way to the sidelines, Tennessee's running game became much more predictable (LenDale plods right, LenDale plods right, etc...), and Baltimore promptly made the Titans one-dimensional.

And while the Ravens' defense personifies bone-crushing, helmet-removing football, the New York Times' Fifth Down blog raises an interesting question: Did Baltimore's defense "take out" Johnson?

Back in October -- coincidentally, after Hines Ward ended Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers' season with a vicious (but legal) block -- the Steelers' all-time career receptions leader learned that the division-rival Ravens had put a bounty on him for their Week 15 get-together. Which, if you don't have access to a calendar, is this Sunday's game.

Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs, who originally admitted to the bounty on an Atlanta radio station, later claimed that he "misspoke," presumably to avoid the iron fist of Commissar Goodell.

Ward, for his part, made light of the situation, but just in case there's any remaining doubt, Ray Lewis would like to reiterate the Ravens' strict "no bounty" policy.

Here we do again. The Pittsburgh Steelers have re-re-signed running back Najeh Davenport.

This will be Dookie's third stint with the Steelers this year. He was cut in June ... re-signed in October ... then cut again three weeks ago. In his four games played this season, he has carried the ball just twice for five yards.

Despite Pittsburgh's record, they are having a tough time running the football this year. They are the NFL's fourth-worst rushing team in terms of yards-per-carry. Willie Parker has missed a lot of time this year with knee and shoulder issues and Rashard Mendenhall has been lost for the season.

The Steelers need the help as they face some stout rush defenses. They have a huge game in New England on Sunday, host Dallas then travel to Baltimore and Tennessee.

There was much gnashing and rending when the Cowboys selected Arkansas running back Felix Jones 22nd overall with Rashard Mendenhall still on the board.

In fact, the complaints started rolling in approximately 30 seconds after commissioner Roger Goodell announced the pick. The Dallas Morning News' Jean-Jacques Taylor wrote that, "You don't draft a complementary player in the first round when you have an opportunity to select a franchise back. Ever. But that's what the Cowboys did Saturday."

And Taylor's then-colleague, Albert Breer, added this: "Remember, none of this is anything against Felix Jones. I'm guessing he'll be a good addition to the Cowboys offense. But Rashard Mendenhall will be better. Much better."

Of course, Mendenhall played in four games, and rushed for just 58 yards on 19 carries before landing on injured reserve with a broken collar bone. Jones, on the other hand, scored on his very first carry of the season, and prior to being hobbled by a balky hamstring, he was averaging almost nine yards a carry.

Now, though, Jones has gone the way of Mendenhall: he's done for the year.

With Ray Rice and Tim Hightower announcing their presence with authority this weekend, we are continuing to witness easily the best draft class of running backs in NFL history. No class even comes remotely close to this one, should even half of the guys continue to make good on the potential we've seen through just a half season.

You know what that means in fantasy football ... lots of possible horses to lock up for their entire career on your keeper league team. You know there are people out there who drafted LaDanian Tomlinson his rookie year and have enjoyed every single season of his production since. Does this year's draft class sport one of those?