http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/3090 Recent articles about Adrian Peterson en-us Running back has been labeled the most important position in the history of fantasy football, and quite frankly, it is. Never have you seen a fantasy football squad with the likes of Travis Minor and J.J. Arrington manning the backfield. This year's running back class is stacked with both familiar and fresh talent. Here are the Top 25 Running Backs for the upcoming fantasy football season: 1. LaDainian Tomlinson SD 2. Adrian Peterson MIN 3. Brian Westbrook PHI 4. Joseph Addai IND 5. Steven Jackson STL 6. Marshawn Lynch BUF 7. Marion Barber III DAL 8. Frank Gore SF 9. Ryan Grant GB 10. Ronnie Brown MIA 11. Clinton Portis WSH 12. Larry Johnson KC 13. Maurice Jones-Drew JAX 14. Brandon Jacobs NYG 15. Willis Mcgahee BAL 16. Reggie Bush NO 17. Jamal Lewis CLE 18. Laurence Maroney NE 19. Michael Turner ATL 20. Thomas Jones NYJ 21. Willie Parker PIT 22. Earnest Graham TB 23. Darren Mcfadden OAK 24. Matt Forte CHI 25. Fred Taylor JAX Well now you know my answer to the biggest debate in fantasy football this season, LT or AP? I go with LT because of what he has done over the past few seasons and the certainty his name brings to your team. Tomlinson is probably the 2nd best receiving running back behind Westbrook, and finds the end zone more than anyone else. Heck, LT will even throw you a TD this season. AP is a great running back and if i have the number 2 pick on my fantasy draft I know that he is going to be mine. But he hasn't earned the right to take over that number 1 spot from Tomlinson, even if Peterson thinks he already has. At the end of the top 10 I have Ryan Grant and Ronnie Brown. WIth Brett Favre out of Lambeau, Aaron Rodgers will be leaning on Grant all season long, whether it be running the ball or dumping it off to him. Expect Grant to see a lot more touches near the red zone because of the lack of trust in Rodgers not to turn the ball over on that part of the field. Ronnie Brown was one of the best running backs before he got hurt last year. In fact, Brown was the number 1 ranked RB on Yahoo! for quite some time. This season, Brown says he feels healthy and he's running behind a better offensive line with 1st overall NFL Draft pick Jake Long leading the way. And if Bill Parcells has any say in it, Brown will be getting a lot of red zone carries, so that comeback story Ricky WIlliams can focus on beating down the clock late in games. (Also, can we really expect Ricky Williams to not have some sort of relapse at some point. You know, wake up late for practice once or twice, forget his helmet when going into a game, one of those could happen). At number 16 i put Saints RB Reggie Bush. This is a bit of a reach because of how loaded the Saints ground-game is this year with Deuce McAllister and Pierre Thomas. I have some Reggie Bush bias in me because of his jaw-dropping ability he displayed in college and somewhat in the pros, but i wouldn't be shocked to see Bush either have a breakout year, or be relegated to mop up duty. This may be the year Bush needs to step up on New Orleans, especially if Pierre Thomas has a solid season. Try and get your hands on 2 of these 3 running backs if you are going to take any of them. Two more players I want to talk about are Willie Parker and rookie Matt Forte. Parker has put up solid numbers throughout his career and in The Steel City, there should be more handoffs than Home Runs over at PNC Ballpark. Though Parker may be sharing with rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall. Mendenhall has really impressed Steeler coaches with his ability and combination of speed and power, perfect for the Steelers offense. Expect a dip in touches for Parker and take Mendenhall late in your draft. Matt Forte has been put into a solid situation in Chicago. The Bears have no real answer at QB and we could see another season of the Rex Grossman Show. Forte will get the touches, it's just a matter of what he can do with them. The O-Line in Chicago is solid, but aging, but an inspired Forte can rejuvenate some magic in The Windy City. Here are 3 players who may surprise you: Jonathan Stewart CAR- Carolina Panther running backs have always disappointed their fantasy owners in the past couple of years. Stewart, rated by some as the 2nd best running back of this year's draft class, brings versatilely to John Fox's offense. Stewart is a very good receiving back and can burst through a hole better than any of his predecessors in Carolina. I wouldn't be too surprised to see him finish the season as a top 20 running back on a Panthers team contending for a division title. Julius Jones SEA- Written off by many in Dallas, Jones (who was replaced by Felix Jones, who should be owned by Marion Barber owners across the world) brings very good speed as a replacement to former MVP and Madden cover model Shaun Alexander. Jones can handle a lot of carries and is playing for an offense that better suits his running style. Jones likes to run downhill and sneak through the O-linemen, unlike in Dallas where they pound the ball inside behind the guards. Jones has been complaining for the last few years that he hasn't been able to run like he wants to, and this year he will get his chance to show us what he means exactly. Kevin Smith DET- The pride of the University of Central Florida, Smith is one of the best running backs in the history of college football, statistically. He takes over in Detroit, where they have vowed to start having a more balanced offensive attack. Smith almost broke the total yards record in college with Central Florida and wowed scouts with his speed and ability to break tackles. Smith is surrounded by a lot of talent in Detroit and has been given a great chance to succeed and show his skills to the stubborn Lion's fans. Let's just hope they treat Smith better than they treat their owner. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:56:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294393 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294393 This Bruno Boys Q & A segment will focus on one thing and one thing only; and that is to get you as prepared as possible for your league 's draft. If you use this Q & A along with the Bruno Boys 2008 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets, message boards and everything else that the Bruno Boys have to offer, we have no doubt that your draft will be a winner. To read more, click below... Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:31:11 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294144 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294144 Picking an elite wide receiver like Terrell Owens in the second round is one of FOX Sports writer Roger Rotter's top-10 tips to a winning draft. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:28:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293991 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293991 Is Tom Brady worth a first-round draft choice, or should you opt for a running back instead? John Juhasz examines the decision. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:56:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293976 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293976 The Minnesota Vikings may have made a big splash in the offseason by acquiring defensive lineman Jared Allen from Kansas City, but the team's biggest asset is on the offensive side of the ball. See where they rank among the lines in the NFC North. Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:28:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292529 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292529 Ouija Boards, magic eight balls, tarot cards. For centuries, man has looked for supernatural ways to try and get answers. We here at Bruno Boys Fantasy Football are no different. Always looking for an edge for the upcoming fantasy season, we look to higher powers and turn to our magical crystal ball. The article below is the fifth of many that will reveal what we have seen. This time our look into the future is focused on the likes of Minnesota Vikings running back, Adrian Peterson. To read what's in store for Peterson's 2008 fantasy football season, be sure to click below. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:18:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292443 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292443 Top 10 running backs in the NFL. What do you all think? Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:57:04 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292384 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292384 Who should you pick as your first pick in your fantasy football draft? LaDainian Tomlinson says it should be him and not Tom Brady (or anybody else) and he is going on the campaign trail for Foxsports.com to let you know. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:44:21 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292314 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292314 If you're looking for a change of pace from the usual standard leagues, why not try points per reception leagues. Tim Williams gives you his draft strategies for each position in PPR leagues. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:58:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292273 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292273 Whats your favorite fantasy football line up? Okay all you BARKERS in the YARD....This is your KEEPER League Team, You've been in this league for 4 years now... Needless to say, you can only keep 10 of your 20 players. You've won the Championship Game 3 of the last 4 years, so everyone is out to get your this year. So all you YARDBARKERS, you are the owners and can only keep 10 players from the team below who would you keep? And who does the YARD cut and why? Can the YARD put a competitive team together? Can you win it all? As teams of the league let their players go, we will ask the YARD what player they want to fill the positions players that the YARD cut. We will then post the updated team with the new player the YARD's team picked up. We will continue this until the YARD's team is complete. Here is the YARDBARKERS KEEPER TEAM: QB: Donovan McNabb, David Garrard and Trent Edwards RB: Adrian Peterson (both AP's - Minn and Chicago), Maurice Jones-Drew, Edgerrin James, Earnest Graham WR: Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald, Dwayne Bowe , Bernard Berrian, Anthony Gonzalez, Amani Toomer TE: Kellen Winslow and Vernon Davis K: Mason Crosby and Josh Scobee D/ST: Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:03:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292191 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292191 Need fantasy football help? Want that edge over your competition? Want it all for FREE? Then make sure to check out the Bruno Boys 2008 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet Webazine... ...With over 100 pages of in-depth fantasy football analysis, 250+ player write-ups, cheat sheet rankings, tiered rankings, positional rankings from all 6 Bruno Boys writers, expert articles to help prepare one for draft day and more, it is something to be admired. Fantasy football owners everywhere need to be put on notice because this is their key to victory! Bruno Boys Fantasy Football "A Fresh New Voice in Fantasy Football" Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:05:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292020 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292020 Split between drafting Adrian Peterson and LaDainian Tomlinson first overall? This article breaks down the pros and cons of each running back in a very extensive post. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:10:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291429 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291429 So, part of the beauty of being a fantasy football website owner, is the fact that we get to partake in Mock Drafts with other publications out there. In large part we do this in attempt to help you, the fantasy football fans, prepare for your upcoming fantasy football drafts. Below you can see the 1st round results for "The Hazean's" Mock Draft, which is currently taking place over email, as well as the different publications which are partaking in the draft. The scoring is standard scoring, but all touchdowns are worth 6 points (passing included): 2008 Experts Mock Draft - Round 1 1. Curveballs 4 Jesus: LaDainian Tomlinson 2. Football Outsiders: Adrian Peterson 3. Football Burrito: Joseph. Addai To see who the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football staff took in the 1st round, as well as expert analysis, make sure to click the link below... Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:29:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291398 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291398 On Draft Day you have to know when to draft the right RUNNING BACK. This TIER list helps you break down each running back and where you took take them in your 2008 Fantasy Football Draft. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:44:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291389 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291389 When we talk about players as being RB1 or RB2 caliber, we are not trying to confuse you. Okay. Okay. Well, maybe we are just a tiny bit, but that's a small satisfaction of mine. I have to compensate for all the spammy emails I get from Russia that make me feel "small," okay? There exists in the fantasy football lexicon a set of definitions that helps in classifying your expectation for players. These definitions break down the projected performance of a player over the course of a season. "RB2" is just one of many. Associating these tags with players on your cheat sheet -- maybe by tiering them off into RB1 and RB2 categories -- you can better prepare for the kind of team you want to build and better evaluate potential trades. Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:24:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291286 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291286