Here’s how to get off on the right foot

  • By Victor Balta / Herald Columnist
  • Thursday, August 26, 2004 9:00pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

The summer heat is starting to fade and men ages 18 to 55 are spending every minute of free time reading.

It must be fantasy football season.

If you:

* Just can’t get enough, snapping up $8 magazines looking for the inside scoop.

* Pay a couple of dollars to this Web site, and a few more to that one for the one solution to your backup running back dilemma.

* Diving head-first into the box scores on Monday morning.

Then this is the place for you.

Every Friday, I’ll be pointing out what to look for, spotting trends to give you a leg up on the poor saps who don’t subscribe to The Herald or read it online, and generally helping you ride your fantasy squad to glory.

It all works best with interaction. Let me know if you have questions and I’ll be ready to answer them. Let’s get started.

The ground(ed) game

Every year, unless you’re playing in some crazy scoring league, running backs will lead you to victory. This is true more now than ever.

Last year, it would not have been a stretch to see every first-round pick used on a running back. The field was deep. There were few question marks.

That’s all changed now.

Thanks to Ricky Williams’ pot-induced retirement, Marshall Faulk getting another year older, Clinton Portis going to Washington, Jamal Lewis’ days in court, and running backs whining in Buffalo, things are far less predictable now then ever.

This makes getting an elite running back all the more important, and it makes being flexible on draft day crucial.

There are truly only about six very solid running back choices before the drop-off begins.

San Diego’s LaDanian Tomlinson and Kansas City’s Priest Holmes continue to duke it out for the top choice. After that, you’ve got Seattle’s own Shaun Alexander, New Orleans’ Deuce McAllister, Green Bay’s Ahman Green and Portis trying to hang with the elite.

Sure, Portis has gone to the Redskins and returning head coach Joe Gibbs likes to run the ball. But Portis benefited greatly from Denver’s offensive line and scheme and he won’t have that same luxury back east.

From there, there’s questions all over the place.

Will Lewis miss time because of his cocaine peddling trial? Is San Francisco’s Kevan Barlow the real deal? Can Faulk make it through a full season? Can Jacksonville’s Fred Taylor?

There will come a point in the first round of your draft where you’ll have to ask yourself, How badly do I want Corey Dillon as my running back?

When drafting, you need to think less about names and more about points.

Do not take a receiver in the first round – even Moss, Harrison or Holt.

Quarterbacks have the second-highest potential, even when compared to the likes of the mighty receiving trio.

Last year, Moss was the highest scoring receiver and he was outscored over the year by QBs Daunte Culpepper, Peyton Manning, Matt Hasselbeck, Trent Green, Aaron Brooks and Marc Bulger in traditional scoring leagues. Holt was the second-highest scoring receiver and eight other QBs outscored him.

And that list doesn’t include Atlanta’s Michael Vick or the Jets’ Chad Pennington who missed most of last season and are ready for comebacks this year.

If you miss on an elite running back, secure a solid passer and jump on the second-tier rushers like Dillon, Stephen Davis, Edgerrin James, Domanick Davis, Taylor and Faulk.

That’s all for now. Next week, we’ll look deeper into draft strategy and look forward to Week 1 matchups.

Columnist Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.

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