Article:Week 8 RB Fantasy Rankings

Must Starts:

1. Clinton Portis vs. Detroit. It must’ve been Joe Gibbs holding him back these past four years because he sure does look like his old version again running for Jim Zorn. Week-in week-out he’s putting up big time numbers. Look for that to continue this week when the Skins take on the lowly Lions. Last week, vs. Houston, Detroit gave up 150 yards on the ground and 2 TDs; what do you think Clinton will do? We think he’ll easily break the 100-yard mark and score at least 2 TDs.

2. Thomas Jones vs. Kansas City. Not sure if you guys caught last Sunday’s game vs. Tennessee, but the Titans ran for over 300 yards on the Chiefs, who are playing bad football at the moment. Conversely, the Jets, who are coming off a bad 16-13 loss in Oakland, still had one lone bright spot: RB Thomas Jones. Look for that to continue and Jones to be New York’s featured player in this one. 100+ yards and a score.

3. Frank Gore vs. Seattle. The 49ers will be playing this one with new life. Head Coach Mike Nolan was fired yesterday, so for players, Gore included, it’ll be like playing with a weight off their shoulders. Seattle comes into this game on a 4-games losing streak and with little hope in sight. Their plan will be to contain Gore, but if this season is any indication of what will take place on Sunday, we like the RB’s chances. In Martz’ offense, he’s also become a more featured receiver which is adding to his overall totals. Look for a big day out of Gore and the rest of his offensive teammates and the century mark and a few scores are a definite possibility.

4. Ernest Graham vs. Dallas. The Cowboys are a mess right now. They’ve been a mess on defense the entire season and now that’s carried over to its offense. With the offense failing to sustain drives, it’s giving opposing teams the ball back and more opportunities for its (Dallas) defense to be exposed. In this one, we like Tampa Bay to exert its toughness on the Cowboys and we see Graham being a big part of that plan; he’s a tough runner with the speed to take it to the house. 100 yards and a score.

Sleepers:

1. Jonathan Stewart vs. Arizona. The Cards can be run on defensively, and that’s exactly what Fox and his Panthers will do this Sunday. Carolina doesn’t want to get into a shootout with Arizona because the Cards have the firepower on offense to keep this close, so the best formula for putting the Cards away is a healthy dose of the ground game. Look for Carolina to pound the ball with Stewart and every time they get near the goal line, for his number to be called. 75+ yards and 1 TD.

2. Willis McGahee vs. Oakland. When the Raiders invested all of that off-season money into its secondary, they protected themselves against the pass. Unfortunately, they didn’t do nearly enough in the front 7 and this team can be hurt on the ground. Last week, RB Thomas Jones of NY, rattled off over 150 yards. This week, look for more of the same. We see a commitment to the ground game by Harbaugh and the Ravens and we like McGahee to go for 100 yards and 1TD.

source: www.profootball101.org