RBs

1.      RB Adrian Peterson ~ Minnesota Vikings = Entering his 3^rd season, Peterson is the best tailback in football and if he can improve his blocking he will be on the field even more. One of 5 players ever to rush for 3,000+ yards in his first two seasons, expect his first 1800+ yard season this year, he’s only 24 and still has room to improve.

2.      RB Maurice Jones-Drew ~ Jacksonville Jaguars = Jones-Drew had  down year last season rushing the football but posted career bests in receptions (62) and yards (565) while posting 14 total touchdowns, all with a depleted offensive line. With the selections of OT Eugene Monroe & OT Eben Britton, the signing of LT Tra Thomas, and RB Fred Taylor leaving town now is Jones-Drew’s time to shine. Expect 1,300+ yards on the ground with another 13-15 total touchdowns.

3.      RB Matt Forte ~ Chicago Bears = Expect a lot more of the same from one of the most versatile backs in the league. As a rookie last season Forte posted 1,700+ total yards and 12 total touchdowns. With QB Jay Cutler coming in town there will be less attention on him and by all accounts these numbers will improve significantly.

4.      RB DeAngelo Williams ~ Carolina Panthers = Williams hit his 3 year mark in the league last year and showed why he was one of the most decorated college football players in NCAA history while at Memphis. He averaged an amazing 5.5 yards a carry which was Barry Sanders like. He also had 18 rushing touchdowns alone, 20 total. Don’t expect the same touchdown numbers, but something very similar from this explosive, dynamic tailback.

5.      RB Michael Turner ~ Atlanta Falcons = Atlanta’s offense and QB Matt Ryan’s success largely was credited to Turner’s consistency running the football. Matt Ryan will have more freedom in the offense this year which could take some touches away from Turner. Nonetheless, Turner had 1,600+ yards on the ground with a 4.5 average, which was very good. He isn’t a threat in the passing game what so ever (only 6 receptions last season) but will get you plenty of yardage and goal line carries.

6.      RB Marion Barber ~ Dallas Cowboys = Marion the Barbarian would be the most intimidating back in football if it weren’t for RB Brandon Jacobs in N.Y. He battled through injuries last season and if healthy this year, which he should be, could be a guy who gets 15+ touchdowns on the ground alone. His pass catching ability is very underrated as well. He needs to limit his fumbles, but I think being healthy will quell a lot of his doubters.

7.      RB Chris Johnson ~ Tennessee Titans = Johnson is blazing fast and a threat to score every time he touches the football. With his lack of size and the drafting of RB Javon Ringer, don’t expect more than 250 carries, but his average will be stellar like last year (4.9) and his touchdowns (9) should go up a couple as well.

8.      RB Clinton Portis ~ Washington Redskins = “Pops” is still one of the best all-around backs in the NFL. Last season he had 1,700+ total yards and 9 touchdowns. The TD numbers should improve significantly. He will be 28 on September 1^st, so he still has young enough legs to get another couple 1,500+ yard seasons on the ground and 10 plus touchdowns. I expect him to be the force that drives the Redskins team this season.

9.      RB LaDainian Tomlinson ~ San Diego Chargers = LT had a down year last season yet still gained 1,500+ total yards and scored 12 touchdowns. This guy hardly ever fumbles, and I’m not buying he’s fallen off. His work ethic will take him into the hall of fame one day, as well as a 1,400+ year on the ground and at least 15 touchdowns.

10.  RB Steve Slaton ~ Houston Texans = Slaton was a guy who never should’ve slipped in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was an incredible college player who is 5′9″ 203 with some of the best vision there is. He ran for 1,282 yards, caught 50 balls for 377 yards, and 10 total touchdowns in his rookie season. Expect all these numbers to go up this coming season.

Sleepers

1.      RB Rashard Mendenhall ~ Pittsburgh Steelers = This guy seems to be an afterthought for the casual fan after LB Ray Lewis broke his leg early in the year last season with an absolute kill shot. This guy was a horse in college who will get the goal line carries in Pittsburgh, as well as half the carries. At 5′10 225, “Delicious” will have every opportunity to show why he was a first round draft pick in 2008 and I expect him to come through tenfold.

2.      RB Knowshon Moreno ~ Denver Broncos = Under new Head Coach Josh McDaniels running backs will have a major role in the offense. Moreno is going to be used in every way imaginable, and with his versatility, explosiveness, hands, blocking ability, and agility he is not only my pick for OROY, but a 1,300+ total yards and 10+ touchdowns is well within reach for the rookie out of Georgia.

3.      RB Larry Johnson ~ Kansas City Chiefs = Johnson is not much of a sleeper by many accounts, I am putting him on this list just as a reminder not to forget how great of a player he is, especially when happy. He has been quiet lately in his requests for a trade, and with a new QB, Head Coach, GM, and offense, the tailback will be counted on for yards as much as anybody. The new regime in KC could ignite this former back to back 1,700 yard rusher.

4.      RB Michael Bush ~ Oakland Raiders = Bush is 6′1″ 245, and will be the primary goal line back in Oakland’s offense as well as the counterpart to RB Darren McFadden. Bush last season in spot duty had a 4.4 yard average on only 95 carries including a 27 carry 177 yd. 2 TD performance in week 17. His talent could go a long way in the NFL, and Oakland has one of the most dynamic rushing attacks in football, watch out for him and/or McFadden to burst onto the scene next season with a 1,000+ yards on the ground.

On the final play of Sunday’s game between the Chargers and Steelers, Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu returned a loose ball 12 yards for a defensive touchdown.

After an instant replay review and crew conference, the on-field ruling of touchdown was incorrectly reversed to no touchdown due to an illegal forward pass by San Diego.

There were three passes on the play. The first was a completed forward pass from San Diego’s Philip Rivers to LaDainian Tomlinson. The second, from Tomlinson to Chris Chambers, was initially ruled a legal backward pass but then reversed in replay to an illegal forward pass. The third, from Chambers, was a legal backward pass that hit the ground and was returned for the touchdown by Pittsburgh’s Polamalu.

The incorrect reversal of the on-field ruling of touchdown was acknowledged immediately following the game by referee Scott Green in the pool report interview with a representative of the media.

If any forward pass, legal or illegal, hits the ground, the play is dead immediately. The officiating crew mistakenly determined that the backward pass that Polamalu legally recovered and returned for the touchdown was the pass that was reversed in replay to being forward and illegal. Therefore, the crew ruled that the ball was dead when it hit the ground and the play was over. (The actual illegal forward pass – Tomlinson to Chambers – did not hit the ground and therefore the play is allowed to continue.)

If the situation had been handled properly, the defense (Pittsburgh) would have declined the penalty for an illegal forward pass from Tomlinson to Chambers and taken the touchdown.

The rules relevant to this particular play are as follows…
Rule 8, Section 1, Article 1 (b) states “When any illegal forward pass is caught or intercepted, the ball may be advanced and the penalty declined.” (page 49 of 2008 Official Playing Rules of the National Football League)

Rule 8, Section 1, Article 5 states “Any forward pass (legal or illegal) becomes incomplete and the ball is dead immediately if the pass strikes the ground or goes out of bounds.” (page 50 of 2008 Official Playing Rules of the National Football League)

Rule 8, Section 4, Article 1 (b) states “A defensive player may catch a backward pass or recover it after the pass touches the ground and advance.” (page 58 of 2008 Official Playing Rules of the National Football League)

The final score will remain Steelers 11, Chargers 10.

# # #

The Wall Street Journal gathered a panel of five sports scientists and exercise physiologist to make a list and rank the worlds top male athletes on a plethora of categories (ladies, the article said they will rank the female athletes in the future, so stay tuned).  The panel graded the athletes based on their individual performances, the difficulty and competitiveness of the sport, along with the athlete’s speed, reflexes, stamina, coordination, as well as power, strength and size.

The article was extremely interesting, as it talked about the abilities and qualities needed to excel in each particular sport by the athletes and how each sport ranked along those qualities.  In order to be put on the list, the athletes had to be not only dominant at their particular sport, but they had to be athletic enough to have the qualities to dominate other sports as well.  A truly great athlete must be in good enough shape and have the ability to dominate in other areas as well.  This is why LeBron James was not only a sick basketball player, but also he was also an amazing wide receiver in high school as well, and with some of the dunks I’ve seen from him in the NBA I bet he could participate in the long jump or high jump and excel easily.

The sports scientists and physiologists seemed to have agreed with me when making some of the decisions on the list.  LeBron James was the number two pick on the list, followed by boxer Floyd Mayweather and Charger great LaDainian Tomlinson.  The surprising number one choice was Czech decathlete Roman Sebrle.  Those of you who know who Roman is might not think he was such a long shot as he can apparently throw a 16-pound ball the length of a 53-foot yacht and leap over a two-lane highway.  The five experts believe Roman has the speed and agility of an NFL player with the leaping ability of an NBA player matched with much much more.

Many of our favorite athletes did not even crack the top ten.  Some sports were too one dimensional like swimming and golf and those athletes would not excel at more physical sports, according to the panelists. To find out who cracked the top ten or to hear what these experts thought about particular sports check out (Who is the greatest Athlete?).

Wait I thought LT was a Nike athlete? Darren (not Heitner) Rovell of CNBC posted an interesting article on whether consumers are feeling conflicted by the current Nike and Under Armour war. His main case being that LaDainian Tomlinson is a Nike endorser while his trainer, Todd Durkin is sponsored by Under Armour. This case is unique because LT is a part of an overall training system marketing campaign rather than just footwear or apparel. This conflict can cause cognitive dissonance in a consumer that knows LT uses Nike gear but finds out LT uses Under Armour gear while training with Durkin. Under Armour’s vice president of marketing Steve Battista points out, “Everyone knows this guy trains L.T.” “We’ve seen it first hand. When we bring him to speak to kids, we don’t announce who he trains, they all know it and that’s the best way to do it.”

Darren poses an interesting question about the ongoing fight for the cross training “turf,” an issue which will be discussed heavily in the coming weeks and months.

Do you go out and buy Nike SPARQ shoes because the athlete doing the workouts is sponsoring them–or do you buy the new Under Armour cross trainers because the trainer devising the workouts for that high profile athlete is sponsored by Under Armour?