Fantasy Football 2011: Week 3 Running Back Rankings

The fantasy regular season is 15 percent over for most of us. While this might sound scary, there is still a lot of football to be played. The running backs, as per usual, have not produced what many of us have foreseen. A lot of guys were just handed bad matchups and some guys just didn't have it one game. The bottom line is an owner that is panicking is an owner that is easiest to rip off in a trade.

If you're sitting there at 0-2 and think you're already dead money, you're not. Chris Johnson isn't going to finish the season outside of the top 40 for backs and Darren Sproles isn't going to be a must-start RB in shallow leagues. Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make.

Shonn Greene- Greene has been a bust at this early point in the season. What's more, if two weeks ago someone told Rex Ryan that his team ranked 28th in rushing after two weeks he might go on a hunger strike until that problem was rectified. The Jets are also just 27th in YPC (3.0). The Jets' rushing attack gets the right medicine as they head to Oakland. The Raiders currently rank 27th in rushing defense this season and were 29th over the course of last season. I'm expecting him to shine like C3PO (I've seen that Star Wars commercial too many times). If Greene doesn't have flirt with 100 yards on Sunday, it'll be close to panic time.

Mike Tolbert and Ryan Mathews- The Chiefs have allowed 44.5 PPG. What's not to like about playing these two? The Chargers should have this game locked up by half and it should lead to over 35 touches between them and close to 200 yards as well.

Guys I Don't Like

Cedric Benson- While the Niners arguably had the least active offseason, they are currently the league's best defense against the run. Yes, they played the inept Seahawks and the pass-happy Cowboys, but they have some great personnel in stopping the run. Their middle linebackers in the 3-4 scheme, Patrick Willis and NoVarro Bowman, are two of the best in the NFC and have a solid group of linemen in front of them. Benson is coming off a bad outing against the Broncos with only 59 yards (Denver allowed 150 to Run DMC in the opener). His value is on the rise with the Andy Dalton learning at a very quick pace. However, he's not a guy worth starting in most formats this week.

Marshawn Lynch- Have you seen the Seattle offense? They have 383 total yards of offense on the season. Cam Newton has surpassed that total by 50 yards for each week.

Knowshon Moreno- Moreno is falling flat on his face so far this year. He missed last week with a hammy, he has coughed it up, missed pass protections and isn't running the ball effectively. Plus the Titans were able to hold Ray Rice in check on the ground and Denver will likely struggle to move the ball.

Mark Ingram- The former Heisman winner hasn't done anything to prove he is worthy of starting on your team just yet. He does have an intriguing game with the Texans. Houston is 26th in YPC (4.8) allowed and Ingram could be able to put up some nice runs. He won't get more than 20 carries though.

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