I can’t remember a season riddled with more running back disasters & injuries than this one. Fantasy lands first lost the services of
Steven Jackson (groin) and
Deuce McAllister (ACL), and while
Jackson is finally back and rushing well, fantasy football has fallen victim to a plethora of running back disasters, an some are more bust-related than injury-related.
Ronnie Brown was this year’s biggest surprise and was on his way to becoming fantasy football’s 2007 MVP… then injury struck.
Brown suffered a torn ACL in his seventh game, leaving fantasy owners to sit in complete frustration.
The two most recent runners to go down have been
Larry Johnson and
Adrian Peterson.
Johnson is quite possibly done for the year, but the team appears to have some hope that the runner’s injury isn’t quite as severe as initially thought. Obviously we will keep you posted on this issue.
As for
Peterson, he is likely to sit at least 1-2 weeks with a “two-plus” LCL tear, but given that the Vikes are 3-6 (and face the Giants in Week 12), I think that the team will elect to give
Peterson some extra time to heal once they are forced to make a decision. This is pure speculation, but I believe
Peterson will sit out at least three full fantasy weeks.
Frank Gore was a top 5 pick this year in almost every league, but like almost every elite runner, he has failed to meet expectations. Even
LaDainian Tomlinson has failed to produce as expected. Other top 15 disappointments include
Rudi Johnson,
Shaun Alexander and
Laurence Maroney… even
Travis Henry is on the verge of total fantasy destruction. This year has been a total running back disaster, and we haven’t even touched on second-tier injuries/busts like
Brandon Jacobs,
Kevin Jones and
LaMont Jordan… some, like
Jacobs, are doing well now, but all in all, this year has been abusive to fantasy owners… and these are just the rushers!
So what do you do? Do you give up? Do you still have a shot at grabbing that last playoff spot? If you’re in a keeper/dynasty league, do you sell your studs to build for the future?
To help get the answers to those questions, get on our
Fantasy Football Forums, where our dedicated forum moderators (Tavaner/Craphonso) can help you salvage your fantasy seasons. Get trade ideas, toss around current offers, or just vent!
Before you give up on your fantasy season, remember that everyone is getting hit by these injuries and busts. Take a look at your standings and those teams within reach… if they are hurting like you, make some trades and get after that last playoff spot!
