As we begin to transition out of the 2011 Fantasy Season and into the next, it's never too early to start looking at some names that might be of interest to you next year. Of course, a lot can happen between now and then, and it's certainly early, but how do we define "too"? What's the harm at taking a look? I have spent a lot of time at Best Buy in my lifetime without ever buying anything, sometimes I just want to dream of what may be possible in the future.

And that's the entire introduction. Here's some names!

Stevan Ridley, Patriots

BenJarvus Green-Ellis will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, and it stands to reason that he'd be better off trying to get a starting gig on another team than remaining with the Patriots. Not that there's anything wrong with being on a perennial playoff team, and there's also plenty of reason for him to stay and New England to at least try to retain him, but the current situation leaves open the door for him to leave.

One of those reasons is that the Pats spent a 2nd and 3rd round pick on two running backs in the 2011 draft. Ridley was actually the third round pick, but he's performed better than Shane Vereen this season. He's averaging 4.8 yards per carry on 48 attempts for 231 yards and a TD. BJGE has scored 21 touchdowns over the last two seasons, so if he goes, that leaves open opportunities for Ridley and other backs.

Cons: 95% of Patriots touchdowns are required by law to go to Rob Gronkowski. He's got competition. The closest thing the Patriots have had to an elite NFL running back under Bill Belicheck and Tom Brady was Corey Dillon in 2004.

Shane Vereen, Patriots

Pretty much read everything above and apply it to Vereen. He could still win the job next year.

Danny Woodhead, Patriots

Could he be next years Darren Sproles maybe? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe the girl in the T-Mobile commercial and I will get married. There's a lot of maybe's in this world.

All the non-Patriots after the jump...

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We're closing in on the playoffs and Fake Teams is here to help you get there. Check out our Week 13 rankings, Start/Sit, and other fantasy football coverage.

Rankings

Fantasy Football Week 13 Quarterback Rankings - FakeTeams
It's almost time for the fantasy football playoffs. Check out our Week 13 quarterback rankings for your fantasy football team.

Fantasy Football Week 13 Running Back Rankings - FakeTeams
Check out which running backs figure to take advantage of nice matchups in Week 13 Running Back Rankings.

Fantasy Football Week 13 Wide Receiver Rankings - FakeTeams
Hungry for week 13 WR Ranks? FakeTeams has the best on the net.

More Rankings and other Week 13 fantasy football articles after the jump:

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"Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them."

Albert Einstein wasn't talking about running back issues in fantasy football, but it certainly applies. In every competitive league there are a handful of teams that were dealt multiple blows and now they're scrapping the waiver wire for some help. Worse yet, there's not a week that goes by in any of my competitive leagues where an owner starts the thread "I need a back" in the message board. If a deal usually gets worked out between that team and another party, it's usually the team that needed the back more gives up the more valuable assets. This certainly coincides with the way life works; people that have a need are much more vulnerable in negotiations (i.e. NBPA getting their nuts put in a vise stuck between a rock and a hard place by the NBA's owners).

The moral of the story is that fantasy owners need to prevent being in such an actionable position during the draft or even being proactive on the wire. At least half of your bench should consist of running backs in most formats. Personally, my draft strategy will be grab one elite back, fill up my other starting spots while grabbing value at running back, then go on a back bonanza in end of my draft (defense, kicker and IDP go in the last rounds). It's never fun to put a target on your back as a needy trade partner and owners that live for fantasy will usually take you to the cleaners.

Thursday afternoon updates after the jump:

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What a crazy weekend. The NFL was ravaged by injuries in all the areas that matter for fantasy teams. The biggest blow had to be Tim Hightower suffering a torn ACL, which ended his season. Hightower was playing well in the game and Sunday will mark the first game he has missed as a pro. Earnest Graham also tore his Achilles' heel and leaves the Bucs with a huge void at tailback. However, the news on LeGarrette Blount is that there's a chance he can return after their bye. Stay tuned.

There were also a slew of injuries that figure to cost some players a game or more including: Beanie Wells (knee), Willis McGahee (hand), Santana Moss (hand), Darren McFadden (foot), Matt Stafford (knee and ankle), Matt Ryan (knee), Mark Ingram (heel), Marshawn Lynch (back), and Joseph Addai (hamstring).

That's enough bad news, let's switch towards the future after the jump:

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For those of you who missed some of our Week 6 Fantasy Football coverage, we have links to the following:

• Week 6 position rankings
• Week 6 Start'em/Sit'em
• An in-depth look at who to pick up from each NFL team in our Waiver Wire Scoops
• A comprehensive IDP Guide
• A game by game review of Week 5 Action
• Week 6 Game Previews
• And other fantasy football goodness
• For all other rankings, head on over to our friends at Fantasy Rundown and Fantasy Football Librarian.

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Here are Fake Teams Week 5 fantasy football rankings, start'em/sit'em, waiver wire, IDP rankings, Week 4 Game Review, and Game 5 Previews and other stuff for those who missed them throughout the week. 

Week 5 Rankings

Fantasy Football 2011: Week 5 Quarterback Rankings - FakeTeams
Need some help for fantasy football Week 5 ? Here are fantasy football quarterback rankings that you need.

Fantasy Football 2011: Week 5 Running Back Rankings - FakeTeams
It's time for some bye weeks. Week 5 Running Back Rankings adds some news and injury notes this week. Check it out!

Fantasy Football 2011: Week 5 Wide Receiver Rankings - FakeTeams

Fake Teams has your week 5 ranks. Only the best analysis on the web.

More rankings, start'em/sit'em, waiver wire scoops and other stuff after the jump:

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Everybody loves rankings. In the spirit of the rest-of-the-season rankings for offensive guys, let's just go ahead and do the same for the guys on the other side of the ball. These rankings will basically serve as a cheat sheet for IDP owners.  I placed green arrows on the guys that entered the top 75 following strong performances last week. They would have been the main guys in the weekly IDP Waiver Wire column.

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Isn't it such a wonderful feeling that we're two days away from football? Yeah yeah, NCAA already started, but we're talking about fantasy football here. The game that makes you ignore your friends (unless you're beating them), forget anniversaries, procrastinate assignments for school or work, and/or lose hours of sleep over guys like Maurice Jones-Drew, Brian Westbrook or Peyton Manning purposely falling down at the one-yard line that costs you a win.

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