Preseason Kick-off: 47 Reasons to Tune in Tonight

Sure, the NFL season technically got underway with the Saints defeating the Cardinals 17-10 last Sunday in the 2012 Hall of Fame game. But that doesn't even officially count as a preseason game, it's just a simple exhibition game.

Tonight–Thursday August 9–is the official official start to the preseason, and I can barely contain my excitement as we are just under an hour away from the first kickoff.

Most fair-weather fans or occasional fans will tune out as soon as the starters are out of the game, which will likely come before the first quarter is in the books. But there are plenty of reasons to continue watching.

With six games on tonight's slate, there is no shortage of reasons to watch your beloved team in an exhibition-type atmosphere. Below I've created a cheat-sheet for you to follow as you flip through channels:

Washington @ Buffalo–7 PM ET

*Do you really need me to spell it out for you? No. 2 overall pick Robert Griffin III makes his NFL debut at quarterback for the rebuilding Skins.

*Aside from RGIII, Mike Shanahan's offense will be displaying its new weapon Pierre Garcon, who signed a five-year deal with the team in March

*We'll get a closer look at the running back position battle for WAS. Evan Royster, the sixth rounder out of Penn State in the 2011 draft (328 yards on 56 carries as a rookie), will get the nod as starter against Buffalo but Tim Hightower and Roy Helu are jostling with Royster for the opening day starting role.

*RGIII's fellow rookie signal caller, Kirk Cousins from Michigan State (third round selection), will get plenty of playing time as well.

*Is Ryan Fitzpatrick the long-term answer in Buffalo? They sure gave him the money last season.

*Fred Jackson vs. C.J. Spiller. Will Spiller bounce-back and win the starting role? Doubtful, but he will be battling it out with Jackson all preseason anyways.

*First look at DE/LB Mario Williams in the Bills' debut, likely forcing RGIII out of the pocket a couple of times.

*Vince Young era in Buffalo officially begins! If Fitzpatrick struggles early on this season, VY could get the nod from Coach Gailey, so all eyes will be on Young tonight.

Baltimore @ Atlanta–7:30 PM ET

*It's time for Flacco to back up his big talk this offseason. Obviously he will be out of the game after a series or two, but it'll be interesting to see if he's ready for the season already.

*I'm interested to see how Jacoby Jones' debut goes. I, personally, loved the addition of Jones, who will be a viable deep threat and a play a huge role on special teams.

*Dean Pees takes over as defensive coordinator for Chuck Pagano, who left the team to take over as Indy's head coach. Will there be major changes made this offseason?

*No Suggs for at least half of the season, probably more. So who will step up this season? Rookie Courtney Upshaw, Paul Kruger, Sergio Kindle? Someone's gotta take over in Suggs' absence and this is our first chance to take a closer look.

*Reed says he'll play this season, but Christian Thompson (rookie fourth rounder) will need to be prepared just in case, giving Thompson the spotlight tonight.

*Much like Flacco, Matt Ryan is looking to step his game up and take the Falcons to the next level. I expect Ryan to look sharp in his lone series tonight.

*With Michael Turner slowly aging, I would love to see Jacquizz Rodgers with an elevated role. Earlier today I actually learned he's expected to take some kicks. The speedster should excel as a return man in this game.

*Kelvin Hayden and Curtis Loften have departed this offseason on defense, but the incoming veterans Lofa Tatupu and Asante Samuel will be interesting to watch fill voids at linebacker and cornerback.

New Orleans @ New England–7:30 PM ET

*Drew Brees looked spectacular in the HOF game, of course. Look for him to lead just a single series again tonight though.

*Love watching the dynamic duo of little guys in the backfield–Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas.

*Former Baltimore guard Ben Grubbs will replace the departed Carl Nicks, making it an interesting transition on the offensive line in New Orleans.

*Mark Ingram, last season's first rounder who ran for 474 yards and five TDs, will be looking to have a breakout season alongside Sproles and Thomas as they create a three-headed monster coming out of the backfield for Brees.

*Tom Brady and Brees will always steal the show, despite it being just a preseason opener. But, seeing Gronk and Hernandez back in action is sure to excite Patriots' fans.

*Belichick has added three new vertical weapons for Brady on offense in veteran receivers Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney and Donte' Stallworth.

*The most exciting thing about this New England team this year, to me, would have to be the added youth on the defensive side of the ball via the draft. Showing age last season, we will get to see the debuts of d-end Chandler Jones (first rounder), linebacker Dont'a Hightower (first rounder) and safety Tavon Wilson (second rounder). Excited for tonight yet?

Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia–7:30 PM ET

*Ben Roethlisberger is already beat up, so I wouldn't expect to see much of him tonight against Philly. That leaves the door open for vets Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich to see plenty of the field.

*Will he play, or won't he? The Mike Wallace contract negotiations are continuing to swirl around the league, but I believe he will be playing for Pittsburgh this season. Unfortunately he likely wont be around during preseason, I just don't see his holdout ending before the end of the month.

*Not one, but TWO rookie offensive lineman will be starting tonight (G David DeCastro, T Mike Adams). How will the line hold up in their debuts?

*The Todd Haley makeover officially begins tonight, as the new offensive coordinator looks to begin his rebuilding and re-furnishing of the Roethlisberger-led offense.

*With Mendenhall out, Isaac Redman will kickoff "Redzone Redman" tonight as he looks prepared to carry the load for Pittsburgh this season.

*With Aaron Smith, Chris Hoke, James Farrior and William Gay out of the picture on defense and James Harrison banged up, it appears as though we could see a much younger defense on the field tonight.

*Philadelphia lost a few pieces on offense, but overall it's basically the same unit as the disappointing 2011 campaign. Can Mike Vick lead his Eagles back to the playoffs? The road starts tonight.

*Fletcher Cox, 12th overall pick this season, will be added to an arsenal of pass rushers (Jason Babin, Trent Cole, etc.) and looks to make an immediate impact.

*To tell you the truth, that's all the headlines I really have for Philly tonight. Most of the headliners will be on Pittsburgh's side of the field.

Green Bay @ San Diego–8 PM ET

*Wont be seeing much of reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers, but just seeing him step foot onto the football field is bound to be a glorious sight.

*Ryan Grant wasn't brought back this season, but there's a reason for that: James Starks is expected to take over and thrive running the football out of the backfield for Rodgers. We'll get to see a little of him tonight donning the 44 jersey.

*Remember how Jeff Saturday has spent the last 13 seasons with Peyton Manning in Indianapolis? Yeah, well, tonight he makes the green and gold his new uni and snaps the ball to another All Pro quarterback.

*Nick Perry, rookie outside linebacker, will make his debut alongside fellow Trojan Clay Matthews III. Speaking of which, wouldn't it be great to see Matthews' luscious locks peering out from under his helmet, flowing in the wind. Even if for just a series or two?

*Quarterback Philip Rivers may have lost Vincent Jackson, but he has some new toys this season: Robert Meachem and Eddie Royal. Both will make viable options down the field for a quarterback with something to prove.

*Newcomer Le'Ron McClain, fullback, will block for Ryan Mathews, who is hoping to finally have a breakout campaign this season in San Diego.

*First time on the field for San Diego since losing former linebacker Junior Seau this offseason to suicide. It's bound to be an emotional night for the Bolts in San Diego, unfortunately.

Denver @ Chicago–8:30 PM ET

*FINALLY! After 19 months, Peyton Manning, the Broncos' newest quarterback and likely the best one to put on the Bronco uni since John Elway announced his retirement, will make his long-awaited return. He'll play one series at most, but it will be a feel-good moment seeing Manning with a helmet on his head for the first time since the 2011 Pro Bowl.

*Former target of Mannings' in Indy, tight end Jacob Tamme will make his Bronco debut tonight as well. He is looking to breakout out as an every down target in the passing game.

*Rookie Brock Osweiler will make his debut with Denver once Peyton leaves the field for Denver. Should be interesting.

*Von Miller, reigning AP Defensive Rookie of the Year winner, will attempt to add on to his incredibly impressive rookie campaign.

*Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall are reunited and it feels so good! Oh, and plus Matt Forte has his new deal, meaning he's as happy as he's ever been while repping the Chicago Bear uniform.

*The newly-signed Michael Bush gives Chicago an interesting option at running back on third downs this season. He's likely to see plenty of playing time tonight.

*Rookie Alshon Jeffrey, selecting in the second round, will look to prove himself as a satisfying second option for Cutler behind Marshall. Expect him to burst out of the gates in tonight's matchup.

*Once veterans such as Peppers, Urlacher, Briggs and Tillman put in their time, expect to see plenty of the young guns such as first round pick Shea McClellin and late-round corners Isaiah Frey and Greg McCoy.

Luckily for me, there is not one, not two, but THREE televised games on tonight in my area–Was/Buf, Bal/Atl and GB/SD on ESPN. Unfortunately I have not signed up for preseason live due to lack of cash for the time being. But I'm sure everyone else will enjoy the Manning debut while I'm watching the highlights.

Enjoy tonight's games!

Note: I do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

Week 16 Picks: Holiday Special!

What could be better than Christmas eve? A full day of football on Christmas eve, of course! Week 16 action kicked off with the Indianapolis Colts upsetting the AFC South champion Texans, 19-16, capturing its second win of the season.

Saturday afternoon's games consist of several great matchups, many of which play a huge role in deciding the seeding for the postseason. Not to mention the NFC East and AFC West divisions, both of which are still up for grabs in these final two weeks of the regular season.

Here are my picks for Saturday's games, and Sunday night and Monday night's games as well.

Sidenote: One last thing, if I'm unable to post again before Sunday then Happy Holidays to my readers! I fully intend to post again before then, but just in case...

Saturday December 24, 2011

Ravens over Browns...No Colt McCoy again this week, so I think it's safe to say Baltimore can rest linebacker Ray lewis if need be, and not have any trouble winning out to capture the North title. Even if Joe Flacco decides to no-show against another team with a losing record.

Broncos over Bills...A win here for Tebow, one week off the biggest loss of his career against New England, would wrap up the AFC West for the Broncos. This would be one of the biggest mid-season comebacks we've seen in years, and would make for quite a story–I can assure you.

Panthers over Bucs...Last week rookie quarterback Cam Newton took another step towards the coveted Offensive Rookie of the Year award in an upsetting victory over the Texans. I think his quest will continue against the disappointing Bucs.

Bengals over Cardinals...Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton is another great 2011 NFL storyline. A win this week, and a New York Jets' loss (I'm not banking on that happening, but anything is possible) would put them in great position to capture the sixth-seed in the AFC playoffs the following week against Baltimore.

Chiefs over Raiders...No McFadden for the eighth straight game, and Kansas City is coming off its biggest win of the season against the once-undefeated Packers.

Patriots over Dolphins...Like Baltimore, New England is looking to solidify a first round bye in the playoffs and a victory this week over Miami woud put them one step closer to that and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

Jets over Giants...This is a matchup that needs to be settled on the field, and not in the press room (*cough cough* Rex Ryan *cough cough*), although I do believe Ryan's Jets will back up that talk this week against a Giants team that has suffered a lot of injuries to key players.

Steelers over Rams...Smart move on Pittsburgh's part, resting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (high left ankle sprain) and starting veteran backup Charlie Batch instead. But, on the other sideline second-year Sam Bradford is battling injuries of his own. Kellen Clemens will be tossed in the mix against Pittsburgh, starting the game against Pittsburgh. Look out, Kellen.

Titans over Jaguars...Mike Munchak has stated that he is sticking with veteran Matt Hasselbeck in this week's must-win matchup with Jacksonville, rather than rookie Jake Locker who played half of last week's loss against Indy. If Tennessee (7-7) doesn't win this game they can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye.

Redskins over Vikings...Unfortunately this game doesn't have any sort of playoff implications, both teams are simply playing for pride these last two weeks of the season. The Skins are the hotter team (and by "hotter," I mean they are 2-8 in last 10 weeks), so I'll take them over the hapless Vikes. Looks like Minnesota's losing streak will extend to seven games.

Lions over Chargers...San Diego needs a victory and a prayer, however all the Lions need is a victory to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 1999. At 9-5, Detroit can practically smell the postseason. All they need to do is stick it to Philip Rivers and the Bolts for 60 minutes, and I think Ndamukong Suh can take care of that.

Cowboys over Eagles...Ah, yes, the game of the week. This game not only effects Philly and Dallas, but also the Giants as well. If Dallas wins, which I believe will happen because I don't believe in the Tony Romo/December curse, then we will be set-up to witness a NY/DAL showdown the following week for all the marbles: the NFC East crown. What a great two weeks of football.

'Hawks over Niners...One of the top defenses in the game, in fact I would go as far as saying that I believe the Niners own the best all-around defense in the league, but I am going to go on a limb and call the upset. Seattle has quietly crept up to .500, winning three straight and five out of the last six. At 3-1 in the division (just like SF) I think they have a shot as long as they protect the football. Lose and they are out of playoff contention, though. Win or die time in Seattle.

Sunday December 25, 2011

Packers over Bears...Once you're done unwrapping all your presents and eating dinner with the family you can turn your attention to the Sunday night game. Prior to the season this matchup was sure to be a great one, although looking at it now it's not nearly as exciting. Green Bay has already lost the perfect season and Chicago, without Cutler, has benched Caleb Hanie and will be starting Josh McCown. But we do, however, have a great "win or go home" scenario for the 7-7 Bears.

Monday December 26, 2011

Saints over Falcons...THIS is the prime-time matchup we'll all be waiting for this weekend. Drew Brees is just 305 yards shy of surpassing Dan Marino's single-season passing yards record of 5,084 (1984 season). Brees will likely be coming out and throwing right away, so I expect New Orleans to jump ahead early, handing Atlanta its sixth loss of the year and putting its playoff hopes on hold another week.

Photo credit

A.J. Green: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

DeMarcus Ware: Rob Carr/Getty Images

Week 14: Teams on Brink of Playoff Berths

Two teams–Green Bay and San Francisco–clinched their respective divisions with victories last weekend. This week's slate of games play a huge role in the playoff hunt.

Scenarios for Week 14:

*New Orleans can clinch the NFC South with a win and an Atlanta loss.

*Houston can clinch the AFC South with a win and a Tennessee loss.

*New England can hold a three-game lead in the AFC East with a win and a New York loss.

*Baltimore can re-gain the AFC North lead (due to tiebreaker over Pittsburgh) with a win.

*Denver can take sole possession of the AFC West with a win and an Oakland loss...and vice versa.

*Even if New York, Cincinnati, Tennessee and Oakland (all currently 7-5 and in the Wild Card hunt) pull off a victory tomorrow, the Steelers (10-3 after Thursday night's hard-fought victory over Cleveland) would still hold a strong two-game lead in the AFC Wild Card race.

*In the NFC, Detroit, Chicago and Atlanta are in a dog fight for the Wild Card spots. All sitting at 7-5, things could get interesting this weekend.

Here are my picks for tomorrow's games:

Ravens over Colts...Even without Ray Lewis on the field, Baltimore's smash-mouth defense are likely to tear Indy's offensive attack apart.

Falcons over Panthers...I'd love to see Cam Newton continue his strong case for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award, but against a playoff-hungry Falcons in town that doesn't seem likely.

Texans over Bengals...Having T.J. Yates start just his second career game against a scrappy Bengals squad scares me a little, but as long as Yates protects the football like last week his running game should do the heavy lifting.

Lions over Vikings...Even if Adrian Peterson ends up playing tomorrow, he wont be 100%. Detroit's defense–even without Ndamukong Suh on the field–can contain a banged up Peterson long enough for Matt Stafford to put up some points on Jared Allen & Co.

Bucs over Jags...Josh Freeman's shoulder seems to be slowly healing and he could suit up for Tampa Bay tomorrow. I think it's about time for them to snap that nasty six-game losing streak against a rebuilding Jaguars franchise.

Dolphins over Eagles...Vick is back for Philly but Miami (4-8) is one of the hottest teams in the league right now, winning four out of the last five weeks (the loss was a one-point defeat to Dallas on Thanksgiving). Over that span, Matt Moore has helped the offense put up 30 or more points on three different occasions.

Jets over Chiefs...Battling injury all season long, Kansas City has virtually been knocked out of playoff contention at 5-7, needing a miracle to end the season with four victories to get in the postseason. New York is trying to catch New Enland in the East and is in need of a victory here.

Saints over Titans...This loss would pretty much ruin Tennessee's chances at capturing the division title if Houston also wins (like I'm predicting). I just don't think the defense has what it takes to stop NO's Drew Brees, and Matt Hasselbeck doesn't have the firepower to keep up in a shootout.

Patriots over Skins...Inconsistent play at the quarterback position has been the Achilles heal of the Washington Redskins all season. Tom Brady is bound to have a big game against Washington's defense with targets such as Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski.

Niners over Cardinals...Alex Smith's revitalized career after five disappointing seasons in San Fran has been one of 2011's nicest surprises. Smith's campaign for 2011 Comeback Player of the Year award will continue against the Cards. If they get a big lead early on it wouldn't surprise me if coach Harbaugh sat the starters in the second half.

Broncos over Bears...I'm a believer in Tim Tebow's ability to win. He's obviously not a pocket passer, or even much of a passer at all. His accuracy is lacking and his ability to see down the field has shown weaknesses. But he's the leader Denver has been missing for years now, and they finally have a winner in Tebow.

Packers over Raiders...Carson Palmer seems to think he's going to be able to go out and keep up with Aaron Rodgers in a possible shootout. Sorry, Carson, but I don't think so. Not only is Rodgers the best signal caller in the game right now, but he also has one of the strongest supporting casts in the league.

Chargers over Bills...San Diego has suffered some heartbreaking losses over the last few weeks, and Buffalo has lost five straight games now. Both at 5-7, SD and Buffalo are both fighting for pride right now and San Diego seems the more liklier team to pull out a much-needed W.

Giants over Cowboys...The G-men have won four of their last five and the 'Boys are in their usual December free-fall–1-4 over that span. A Giants victory would put them at first place in the East with a 7-6 record...Dallas would be a close second (also 7-6, but NY owns tiebreaker).

Monday night game: Seahawks over Rams...Possibly one of the most boring primetime match-ups of the season, these two teams were fighting for the division around this time last year. This year? Seattle finds themselves at 5-7 (3-3 at home) and St. Louis at 2-10 and the very bottom of the West. Marshawn Lynch has been one of the few bright spots in Seattle, and I am suspecting an outstanding performance from him in the run game.

Photo credit

Matt Moore: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Julius Peppers: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Steelers, Falcons Solidify First Round Byes; Other News from Early Game Action

With Mike Tomlin's Pittsburgh Steelers easily handling AFC North rival Cleveland Browns, 41-9, in their 1:00 P.M. match-up, the Steelers clinched both the second seed in the AFC playoffs and a first round bye. Atlanta, on the NFC side of things, took care of Carolina, 31-10, to take the top seed and of course the first round bye.

Despite coming out with the victory over Cincinnati and finishing the season with a 12-4 record, the Baltimore Ravens had to settle for the fifth seed in the playoffs while Rex Ryan's Jets hold the sixth seed.

Other headline-making news in the football world today:

*With their loss to Oakland and Indy's recent 23-20 victory over Tennessee--thanks to a game-winning field goal by veteran Adam Vinateri--the Kansas City Chiefs were bumped down to the fourth seed. Peyton's win awarded him Kansas City's third seed.

*AFC Wild Card Match-ups for next week:

Baltimore @ Kansas City

New York @ Indianapolis

(Note: The Colts have tied an NFL record with their ninth consecutive playoff appearance)

*Jacksonville, needing both a win and a Colts loss, were doubled up by Houston, 34-17, and subsequently eliminated from contention.

*The Bucs, needing a win to have a shot at making the "Second Season" A.K.A. the postseason, defeated the already playoff-bound New Orleans Saints. New Orleans, whether they won or lost, basically already had the fifth seed wrapped up.

*Unfortunately for Tampa, they needed both the Packers and Giants to lose for them to move on. That didn't happen after Green Bay defeated Jay Cutler's Bears 10-3, putting the Pack in as the sixth seed. Which also means that despite New York's 17-14 victory over the Skins, they will miss the playoffs this season.

*With the Eagles' loss to Dallas, Chicago was given the No. 2 seed, Philly now holds the No. 3 seed.

*The NFC Wild Card match-ups are still up in the air. We know the Eagles will be hosting the Packers, but it's unclear who the Saints will be playing. The winner of the St. Louis/Seattle prime-time matchup will host New Orleans next week. Either way, I do think it's safe to say the Saints will be moving on to the second round, but you just never know. Anything could happen.

*Coaching changes: both Minnesota's and Dallas' interim coaches, Leslie Frazier and Jason Garrett respectively, are expected to be named their team's head coaches.

The games that didn't matter:

Patriots(#) 38, Dolphins 7

Jets (#) 38, Bills 7

Lions 20, Vikings 13

Chargers 33, Broncos 28

Niners 38, Cardinals 7

# already clinched a playoff spot

Photo Credit

Ray Lewis: AP Photo/Rob Carr

Thursday Night Football (On NFL Network) Kicks off with Heavyweight Matchup

Aside from the first week of the season in which the Vikings and Saints kicked off the season on a Thursday night, tonight is the first of several Thursday night games that will be aired on NFL Network.

The matchup between the two conferences' top teams, Baltimore Ravens (6-2; first in AFC North) and Atlanta Falcons (6-2; first in NFC South), has been anticipated for a while now. Matt Ryan vs. Joe Flacco, two third-year quarterbacks whose careers have gotten off to a quick start and have great weapons at their disposal on the offensive side of the ball. Both offenses are very similar. Baltimore has a great run game combination of the short, quick Ray Rice and the red zone presence of Willis McGahee while Atlanta has the explosive Michael Turner, a TD machine.

Baltimore clearly has the defensive advantage with Ed Reed roaming the defensive secondary. Reed, in his two games this season, has three interceptions and one forced fumble. I wouldn't expect anything less than a INT or two tonight, despite playing against the elite Matt Ryan and Roddy White.

Baltimore also has the coaching advantage with coach John Harbaugh, who is 26-14 in his third season in Baltimore. But, I think one of the biggest reasons why I have picked Baltimore to beat Atlanta tonight is because of the fact that Pro Bowl receiver Roddy White (ankle) is listed as questionable. Yes, it's very likely that he will still play, but nonetheless he will not be 100% no matter what he tells the press. Because of this, Atlanta's pass game will be exposed and Baltimore's defense is likely to take advantage of this.

Prediction: Baltimore 28, Atlanta 24

Photo Credit

Willis McGahee: AP Photo/Nick Wass

NFL Fantasy Breakdown: Preview Of Top RBs in 2010

Never too early to preview the upcoming fantasy football season.

Coming off a record-breaking season--in just his second season in the league--Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson seems to be the premier back in a majority of leagues, taking the reins from former No. 1 fantasy player Adrian Peterson.

Obviously this is a matter of opinion, but in my eyes Johnson's 2,000-yard campaign is enough to gain him the title.

Johnson was well in the running for Rookie of the Year back in 2008 after racking up 1,228 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.

Before the 2009 season many networks/magazines projected Johnson as a first-round fantasy pick.  His 2,000 yards and 14 TDs may put him over top of AP, who struggled early on (only ran for 100+ yards three times during season) and finished with 1,383 rushing yards.

Peterson still has the TD numbers--led league with 18 in 2009--to keep him in the top two or three picks.  But Peterson has also hurt his stock with fumbles in key moments, which may not sound like it affects him fantasy-wise too much (unless your league loses points for fumbles), but it does take away yards and TDs.
Tennessee and Minnesota's current situations play a big impact in this discussion as well.  Obviously who knows what will happen with Favre in Minnesota, but my gut says he returns.  Favre took carries away from Peterson last year and, if he returns, will take more away from him this year.

As for Johnson, I would expect Jeff Fisher to continue to give the ball to Johnson, keeping the ball out of Vince Young's hands as often as possible.

In his 10 starts last season, the Titans were 7-1 when Young attempted 30 or less passes.  He threw 40+ passes twice, going 1-1 in those two games.  As you can see, Vince Young is more affective when he has less control over the offense.

Johnson, 24, has opened the gates for many other young speedsters and, with his open-field ability, is a huge boost in the passing game as well (10.1 Y/R on 50 receptions).

Luckily for fantasy owners, the RB class past Johnson and Peterson is nothing to shake a stick at.
Just this past season we witnessed 15 runners break 1,000 yards on the ground and 12 runners post double-digit touchdown totals.

One back by the name of Ray Rice had a huge breakout season with the Baltimore Ravens, making plays in both the ground game and pass game.

Rice was the ninth-leading rusher with 1,339 yards (5.3 YCP) while leading all running backs with 78 receptions (ninth-best among all skill players) and 702 receiving yards.  This type of versatility is a major blessing for fantasy owners.

Rice will no doubt be a first round pick in all leagues this season, but may see his receiving numbers take a hit considering Flacco now has new targets in Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth. But on the flip-side, Rice should see his 254 carries go up a little bit.

Best of the Rest:

Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars
Much like Rice, MJD (another little guy) is a huge threat in both offensive aspects, the ground and air.  His play-making ability and toughness has easily gotten him double-digit TD totals in three of his four NFL seasons.  Expect another 1,200-1,400 yard, 15-16 TD season from this guy.

Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams
St. Louis' leading rusher (and leader in receptions), has the ability to put up double-digit TD totals despite his four touchdown performance last year.  With rookie Sam Bradford under center, no doubt Jackson will see the ball enough to break 1,400 yards as long as he's healthy.

Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers
Gore finally broke double-digit TDs last season with 10, and completed his fourth consecutive 1,000 yard season.  With a quarterback controversy continuing to linger in San Fran, Gore will continue to get his carries.  This will also means quite a few red zone touches, possibly bringing in even more TDs for him this season.  Consistency has been the 27-year old's biggest upside

On the Rise:

Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens
If you don't know my reasons by now then you obviously haven't been reading the article very closely...see above.

Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals
He's approaching 30, but Benson's somewhat questionable career took a major turn for the good when he rolled in to Cincinnati in 2008.  Breaking 300 carries for the first time in his career, Benson ran for a career-high 1,251 yards and six TDs last season.  Benson has taken the pressure off the offense, especially since quarterback Carson Palmer hasn't always been 100% healthy.

Look for a second 1,000 yard season and possibly double-digit TD figures this season.

On the Decline:

Thomas Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
Because of this off-season acquisition, Kansas City has one of the top backfield tandems with Jones and Jamaal Charles.  But this doesn't take away the fact that Jones' production will never be quite the same because of his combination of age and downgrade in offensive support, going from New York to Kansas City.  I would expect him to be a solid addition and a third down back but nothing more.

Joseph Addai, Indianapolis Colts
With Donald Brown's presence, I expect Indy to look towards the second-year back a little bit more than his 78 attempts last season.  This just puts more pressure on Addai to perform (3.8 YPC last season), who has really only been a force in the red zone (10 TD runs).

Best Backfield tandems:

Carolina, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart
Both backs averaged more than 5.0 yards per carry last season (1,100+ rushing yards each), and Stewart put up 10 TDs..Williams totaled seven on the ground.  Possibly by far the best tandem in the league and the only reason why Carolina was somewhat of a contender.

Miami, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams
 Slick Rick rejuvenated his career with his first 1,000 yard season since 2003.  He stepped up and ran for 1,121 yards and 11 TDs in just seven starts, stepping his game up when Ronnie Brown battled with injury.  Despite missing time, Brown did add in 8 TD runs and played a prominent role in the team's wildcat formation.

Kansas City, Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles
In just his second season, Charles ran for a team-high 1,120 yards and became the only player in league history to rush for 1,100 yards in 200 carries or less (league-high 5.9 YPC in his 10 starts).  Jones' 1,400 yards on the ground with the New York Jets is a huge addition and will give Kansas City a solid third down back.

In the NFL, anything can happen.  So who knows, maybe we will witness another 2,000 yard rushing season.  Or maybe guys like Matt Forte and Steve Slaton will return to their 2008 form.  Time will only tell.
Next Edition: quarterbacks