FanHouse RyanGrant

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?

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With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

I don't have to go out on a limb to say that 6-10 wasn't a goal for the Green Bay Packers in 2008. Yes, they lost Brett Favre to retirement/unretirement/trade. Yes, many thought the Packers would fall off from a 13-3 mark in 2007, even before Favre became a New York Jet. But last year was close to disastrous for the Packers, as a leaky defense blew numerous fourth-quarter leads, and the team slipped to third in the NFC North. Expectations are higher than that, and now there will be pressure on management, making its job even harder.

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

On its surface, the 2008 season appears to have been an unmitigated disaster for the Green Bay Packers. After the Packers made the NFC Championship Game the season before, fans painfully watched the Brett Favre retirement/unretirement/stick-it-to-Ted saga play out, and then got to see new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers play well before the team fell apart around him.

It's been a pleasure watching one of my favorite fantasy players make a national name for himself in these playoffs, as Larry Fitzgerald has gone absolutely bonkers in three games. In fact, his last two regular season weeks were huge as well, so he's on a five-game run during which he's caught 31 passes for 650 yards and 10 touchdowns.

It's worth pointing out that sometimes postseason success can carry over into the next season -- in the form of causing him to get routinely drafted far too high in fantasy football.

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 ...

No, it isn't really a controversy, but it probably isn't making Ryan Grant sleep that well.

The running back for the Packers has had a mediocre year by his accounts yet still had a chance to trigger bonuses in his contract for finishing top-five in yards for all NFC running backs, as well as for going over 1,250 for the season. Grant had it, but a challenge and subsequent instant replay (by Ed Hochuli, nonetheless) brought the 80-yard touchdown back and left Grant 35 yards short of Matt Forte.

The bonus in his contract would have been worth $1.35 million, but Grant finished sixth in rushing, with 1,203 yards on the season.

Grant sounded pretty understanding about the play after the game, even though it cost him more than a million bucks.

"Yeah, that's the way the ball bounces," Grant said. "I told (running backs coach Edgar Bennett), 'If we were playing in your day, that's a touchdown. No replay.'"

It really was never a play you thought might stand. Grant rolled over a defender but was clearly down and the call came back as a 21-yard gain. No matter, it must be fairly frustrating to know that without that little red flag, Grant could probably send a few kiddos to college (or buy a pink Escalade, one of the two).

Last year Grant ran for 956 yards, so 1,203 was an upgrade. If he wants to secure that bonus for next season, he could probably improve on his 100-yard games. Grant only had four all season.

via MDS at PFT

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.

Man, I hate being wrong. Throughout the entire Sunday Morning Tailgate, I told people not to bother with Tashard Choice, and he ends up compiling 166 total yards against the stout Steelers defense. It doesn't get much tougher on a running back than playing in Pittsburgh, so you'd think it's clear sailing for Choice from here on out.

I, however, will not be so hasty.

The Cowboys were surprised that Marion Barber couldn't play this week, so he won't be out much longer. Plus, the schedule doesn't get any easier. The Giants and Ravens are on the docket. The Cowboys will find much more success throwing the football against those teams at home than they did in Pittsburgh, so the reliance on Choice will go way down -- even if he plays.

If you own Marion Barber and Choice is on the waiver wire, you have to grab him. I'm just not expecting anything even remotely resembling the yardage/touch output again this season, or next, for that matter.

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.

The 1s

Minnesota (7-5) at Detroit (0-12): I'm a huge fan of the "Well, if the Lions are going to win, this is the game to do it" theory. But they're going to stop Adrian Peterson? Really? Sure, it might be their best shot to win, but how does AP not go for 200 yards and three touchdowns in this game?

Also, I'd like to bring up this point we FanHousers discussed the other day. If you had to start your team around one player, who would it be? I initially thought Peterson until I realized that, as good as he is, running backs can go down with any injury (see Tomlinson, LaDainian) and never be the same. I heard a few names go around, like Justin Tuck and Albert Haynesworth. I really believe I'd go with either Matt Ryan or Mario Williams. You'd never go receiver because there are too many out there (unless you were Matt Millen). You want a young defensive player, like Williams, or a quarterback that can win, like Ryan. What are your thoughts?

Pick: Minnesota

Entering the season, it likely wouldn't have shocked people if you told them the Patriots quarterback would throw for 400 yards and three touchdowns against the Jets in Week 11. Of course, that was when golden boy Tom Brady was at the helm.

But Matt Cassel?

Seriously? He even threw in 62 rushing yards for good measure.

He's coming around, but he's not a weekly fantasy starter. He's most certainly not a stud. The Patriots were forced to throw the football all game because of their lackluster backfield talent teamed with the Jets ferocious run defense. Cassel attempted 51 passes, which was 13 higher than his previous season high. He's usually in the low 30s when it comes to passing attempts.

With Sammy Morris regaining his health, I expect the Patriots to play more ball control football in the next few weeks. Don't get me wrong, Cassel's a fine start in good matchups -- like Week 14 in Seattle. It's just that when he plays the Steelers in Week 13 you don't want to use him. When he plays the Raiders in Week 15, the Pats will be tearing up the silver and black on the ground instead of passing. Etc.

Don't get overzealous, because he's still not Tom Brady.