It has been a very slow sports news day the last few days.  So I had to go out and find a topic to write a blog about, and I got it.  Even though the NFL season is 2 months away, fantasy football mania has already started.  (I have 3 leagues.)  So I decided to do a little fantasy football preview guide, today, the running back.

Now in fantasy football, the running back is the key to successful teams, running backs score the most points, and a low tier back is often better to have then a good wide reciever.  Without further adu, here is the top 50 running backs in the NFL.
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50. Kevan Barlow.  Plays with a weak offense, probably won't put up very good numbers. 

49. Mike Alstott.  Won't get you many yards, but will get touchdowns. 

48. Verron Haynes.  May fit into the Jerome Bettis role for the Steelers and take up those short yard situations. 

47. Marion Barber.  Will probably get some short yardage for the Cowboys.  And Julius Jones is injury prone..  

46. Cedric Benson.  The Bears will run a lot, and this guy will probably get at least some carries. 

45. Cedric Houston.  The Jets lack passing, and will run a lot.  Houston will get a lot of short yardage, and other carries to spell the flimsy Curtis Martin. 

44. Ron Dayne.  Might become the power, short yard back for the Broncos.  And everyone gets yards in Denver. 

43. Dominic Rhodes.  Will get some carries in Indy, and probably some receptions as well.  The question is, will the Colts run? 

42. Greg Jones.  Likely to split some time with Fred Taylor, and get the short yardage touchdowns. 

41. DeAngelo Williams.  If Foster gets hurt as normal, he will probably take up a lot of yardage for the Panthers. 

40. Frank Gore.  Will probably get the running job for the 49ers, and without a passing game, will get a lot of carries. 

39. Brandon Jacobs.  He won't get you many yards, but will fill the Jerome Bettis role for the Giants, and get a lot of short yardage touchdowns. 

38. Mewelde Moore.  Will likely share time with Taylor in Minnesota to figure out that running game.  Plus, Moore can catch some passes for extra numbers. 

37. T.J. Duckett.  Will probably take the short yardage and touchdowns for the Falcons. 

36. Lawrence Maroney.  He will likely split some carries with Dillon to get some yardage.  Plus, if Dillon gets hurt like normal, the chances will soar for this guy. 

35. Chester Taylor.  He's been waiting to break out for a while, and the Vikings running job is up for the taking.  A new coach may start running with the bad passing, and Taylor could be a sleeper. 

34. Priest Holmes.  If he retires, he's useless.  But if he's healthy, he'll split some carries with LJ and put up decent numbers, and probably get some touchdowns. 

33. Joseph Addai.  If the Colts actually run the ball, Addai would be better then Rhodes.  The passing game should free up the run. 

32. LenDale White.  If Chris Brown gets hurt as usual, he could get a lot of carries.  Plus, even if Brown is healthy, White should get short yardage. 

31. Jamal Lewis.  The Ravens passing should improve because of McNair coming in.  Jamal Lewis may get some short yardage, but I expect him to be the backup quickly. 

30. DeShaun Foster.  Also injury problems.  If he could stay healthy, he could put up great numbers, but with Goings and Williams waiting, the starter spot could be lost quickly. 

29. Chris Brown.  Could be very good, but he is injured always.  When healthy, can put up good yardage. 

28. Fred Taylor.  Always seems to be injured, but can put up decent numbers if he can stay healthy.

27. Mike Anderson.  Should eventually take over Jamal Lewis's starting job and make solid production.  The Ravens offensive should be able to pass, and should help the running numbers.

26. Corey Dillon.  Lots of injuries lately, so questions on if he can still go.  Plus Maroney drafted to take away some of Dillon's carries.   

25. Deuce McAllister.  Coming off of injury, and now likely to split carries with Reggie Bush.  Take Deuce with caution,  If he stays healthy, he will likely have more short yardage runs, and get some touchdowns. 

24. Curtis Martin.  Had injury problems last year and was unimpressive.  With a lackluster set of QBs, expect the Jets to run often, but Martin to lose close carries to Cedric Houston.

23. Reggie Bush.  Deuce is coming off injury, so is in question a bit.  Bush should give you a lot of yards, as well as solid recieving numbers 

22.  Tatum Bell.  Everybody gets yards in Denver, and this speedster will probably have a lot of yards this year.  But Ron Dayne may take touchdowns in the short-yardage situations.

21.  Warrick Dunn.  Will get you lots of yards and recpetions, but will likely lose touchdowns to T.J. Duckett if Duckett remains in Atlanta.  Also, Vick will take away from Dunn's numbers, but he will get lots of yards.

20. Rueben Droughns.  Off-field problems have been getting to him, but if he can shake it off, he could have solid yardage.  He had trouble with touchdowns last year, and probably much the same this year.  But with a weak passing game, the Browns will probably try to run. 

19. Ahman Green.  Injuries made the Packers offensive look worse then it was.  Before injury, Ahman had very good numbers, and if healthy could be great.

18.  Thomas Jones.  Da Bears, have a lackluster passing game outside of Muhammad.  But Thomas Jones quietly puts up solid yardage each year.  And if Grossman gets hurt as usual, expect more running.

17.  Willie Parker.  Bettis is gone, so that means more carries, and probably more chances at touchdowns.  But after losing Randle El and Ben's injury, they may decide to run EVEN MORE.

16.  Brian Westbrook.  He'll get you touchdowns, and a lot of receptions, but I'm not sure how much I trust the Eagles to run the ball.  If they do run the ball, he could have solid numbers.  Injury is a small concern here.

15.  Kevin Jones.  The Lions really don't have a lot from the passing game, so they will need the run to have success.  Plus, with Martz in Detroit, expect Jones to become a large part of the passing game as well.

14.  Willis McGahee.  The passing game in Buffalo is still pretty questionable.  How the passing goes will affect Willis, but either way, expect a lot of carries, and solid production.  Probably will get a solid amount of TDs. 

13. Cadillac Williams.  Chris Simms is still young, and the passing game is young, so a lot of carries will be due.  But can he hold up through an entire season? 

12. Domanick Davis.  He is the best running back you have never heard of.  He has put up solid numbers each year in Houston.  If that offensive line can improve, he will have more productions not only because of blocking for him, but for blocking Carr, so that the passing game stretches D's out. 

11. Julius Jones.  T.O. should stretch offenses out so that Jones can have more success running the ball.  However, he's been injured both years he's played.  If healthy, he could put up scary numbers. 

10. Ronnie Brown.  Ricky the Pothead is gone, so Brown will get the most of the carries.  Plus, questions about Culpeppers health will lead to more running.  I think that Ronnie could be a sleeper that might surprise everyone. 

9. LaMont Jordan.  Aaron Brooks is the new quarterback in Oakland, for whats that worth.  Either way, Jordan should get more carries this year, and have more yards if Randy Moss can stay healthy.  Plus Jordan can also catch passes. 

8. Steven Jackson.  Marshall Faulk looks to be retiring, so thats more carries.  Plus a new coach will likely remove the "Pass always" offensive system in St Louis.  Jackson could put up big numbers if given carries.

7. Edgerrin James.  The Cardinals Offensive line is still questionable, but Edge still puts up solid numbers every year.  The passing game could be successful to free him up, and it looks like injury issues are a thing of the past. 

6. Rudi Johnson.  Solid powerhouse back who's been forgotten by many people.  He consistantly puts up solid yardage and touchdowns.  And with Carson Palmer possibly still injured come season start, that will add more carries. 

5. Tiki Barber.  The Giants offense looks like it could be a complete juggernaut, if Eli develops, and if Burress/Shockey/Toomer can be successful.  Even aging, Tiki has gotten better almost every year.  However, with big tank Brandon Jacobs on that team, Tiki may lose a few touchdown points, but expect lots of yards. 

4. Larry Johnson.  I know I ranking him low compared to everyone else, but I'm not sold on Priest Holmes retiring, and I think they will likely split some carries.  LJ had crazy stats last year, but still a lot of questions with me, maybe it was a fluke?  But they have a great O-Line. 

3. Clinton Portis.  The Redskins offense looks like it is improved on all fronts, which should lead to a great year out of Clinton Portis.  Last year, lack of a passing game caused D's to crack down on the running, but he should have a lot more good carries this year.   

2. Shaun Alexander.  Alexander has been one of the most consistant backs for a couple years, and also a touchdown machine, with a record breaking 28 last year.  The Seahawks have a decent passing game, so it should free him up, and he usually gets the short-yardage carries.  He has yet to face injury problems, but be warned of the Madden Curse.

1, LaDainian Tomlinson.   LDT is the number one back not only for his running.  Tomlinson also catches a lot of passes during a season, giving an added boost to his already high point totals.  Not to mention the occasionally thrown touchdown.  His production may go down just a little bit this year, because if Phillip Rivers struggles, the D's will start cracking down on the running game.  Also, he's stayed injury free his entire career, so he's not supposed to be a risk on that front.

THATS ALL I GOT.  More previews in the future.