Willis McGahee and Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens:  McGahee is supposed to play this afternoon.  The question is will he get the 16+ touches he received in all but one of the six games he has played in.  It is especially difficult thanks to the breakout game rookie RB Ray Rice had last week against the Cleveland Browns.

The Rutgers University alum gained 176 total yards last week on 24 touches.  That effort has made Rice the most productive Ravens RB with 339 rushing yards and 188 receving ones.  In comparison, McGahee has 351 yards rushing and 104 receiving.  Le'Ron McCalin has 347 and 82 respectively - most of which were accumulated in the Ravens' first four games.

If forced, I'd prefer to start Ray Rice.  With McGahee's health still in question and Rice's burst and receiving ability, the choice is easier.

QB JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders:  Will he or won't he?  For fantasy purposes, no one cares.  Russell's super-stinker against the Falcons has permanently placed Russell in the free agent pool.

RB Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs:  With RB Larry Johnson serving a suspension, the rookie from Texas is the starter.  Early in the week, he was the undisputed starter until head coach herm Edwards rained on that parade.

Edwards publicly stated Charles wasn't big enough to withstand 20+ carries.  As a result, RB Dantrell Savage has stepped into the time share.

While the 5'8, 182 lb rookie from Oklahoma State can help the too-small 5'11, 199 lb Charles avoid being too beat-up, Charles has some proven NFL receiving ability.  Given the San Diego Chargers pass defense is ranked 29th over the past three-games, Charles should remain a viable fantasy starter thanks to the likelihood of a Chiefs' air game.

Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams:  Jackson is out.  His replacement will be Kenneth Darby.  The second-year back from Alabama has limited professional experience with just four touches in 2007.  A possible plus is half of those were receptions.  Given the Jets are stout agains the run, Darby's potential fantasy value is wrapped-up in his ability to catch some balls out of the backfield.

Q: Is this the game RB Willis McGahee or Le'Ron McClain breaks out?

A: No.  Any chance of a breakout game from either RB ended with the 22-yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne in the 1st quarter.  That made the score 14-0.  There is no way the Ravens would be able to win if forced to throw the ball.

Willis McGahee rushed eight times for 19 yards, and Le'Ron McClain failed miserably with -2 yards and two carries.  But just as one looks for those two to be productive, rookie RB Ray Rice catches seven passes for 64 yards.

Q: Tick, tock.  Will the real Peyton Manning show up?

A: "This one calls for the old Billy Barule. Oh, Billy, Billy, Billy. This is a biggie! Don't let me down, Billy! Forty thousand dollars...Billy"

Peyton, Peyton, Peyton.  271 yards and 3 TDs.  That's what I'm talking about!

Fantasy Player To Watch: RB Dominick Rhodes.  As long as Joseph Addai sits, Rhodes is a solid RB2

Q: Can the Titans be the first team in 2008 to rush for 100 yards as a team against the Ravens, and, if it does, will that equal a victory?

A: No, but even keeping the Titans' rushing attack to 47 yards was more than enough for the Titans to beat the Ravens.  Despite rookie RB Chris Johnson's acceptable efforts last week against a good Minnesota Vikings run defense, he was unable to do much of anything against an even better Ravens defense.  At one point, he had 32 yards on eight carries.  He finished with 18 and 44.

Q: Does RB Le'Ron McClain continue to produce now that he is a known fantasy football commodity?

A: Yes, and, in a  season where RBs have not been calamitously injured, McClain's 50 yards and a TD makes him one of the best non-drafted RBs of the year.  So far.

Fantasy Player To Trade:  RB Willis McGahee.  While this smacks of selling low, I suspect his overall performance will remain in the 50/50 split at RB.

Rexx from Baltimore Beatdown, the SBNation's Baltimore Ravens' blog, brings you fantasy tips from the Ravens.

Continue reading this post »

Willis McGahee is difficult to figure out.   He always ends up with great-looking stats (1207 rushing yards, 7 rushing TDs last year) but when he’s on my team I always seem to be disappointed.  If he were starting for the Cowboys or Packers he’d probably be one of the best RBs in fantasy, but since he’s stuck in Baltimore, I’m predicting a down year for him.  Again, sort of.

Last season McGahee had problems putting everything together, which contributes to the sense that he's a disappointment.  In his first five games he rushed for 464 yards (a 93 yd/game average) but zero touchdowns.   In the middle of the season he rushed for a touchdown in six straight games, but only averaged 74 rushing yards per game over that stretch.  OK, the touchdowns are great, but you’d like to see a little bit more on the yardage side.  In fact, over the past three seasons McGahee has only had a total of six games with both 100+ rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.  LaDanian Tomlinson had six games like that last year alone.

With the Ravens needing to sort out their QB situation (Kyle Boller or maybe rookie Joe Flacco) and their WR situation (paging Mark Clayton…) there’s too much uncertainty in the offense for my taste.  Did I mention that offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden retired?  And that the Ravens drafted a rookie running back in Ray Rice?  Yeah, like I said, too much uncertainty.   A few months ago I was liked him more, right now I’m down on McGahee this season.

Ray Rice (55^th overall) was NOT drafted in order to supplant a starter, or to fill a role in a new running back by committee.  And you know what?   That’s ok.

Rice was drafted by the Ravens to spell starter Willis McGahee and to be the backup who can step in and start at a minute’s notice.  Rice is a good choice for that role. He’s small (only 5’8") but powerful and has no problem pounding his way between the tackles. He’s not particulary fast, but he’s faster than McGahee so he allows the Ravens to do some things they weren’t able to do with the previous backup, Mike Anderson.

McGahee had worn down noticeably at the end of last season, averaging only 3.1 yards per carry his final three games and missing the last game of the season.  Getting Rice 5-10 carries per game should save McGahee a lot of wear and make him a better fantasy option.  As for Rice, 5-10 carries a game isn’t worthy of a spot on your fantasy team.  But if something were to happen to McGahee then Rice would be an immediate fantasy starter.  Right now McGahee is a RB1 and one of the top running backs in fantasy football.  If you draft him, seriously consider drafting Rice late as his handcuff.  Losing a RB like McGahee is enough to end your season, but have Rice to replace him will be enough to save it.

Image via cnn.net