By Vidur Malik

notjustagame23@gmail.com

As the playoff time begins, it’s important to solidify your backups in case your starters get some late-season rest. This will probably be the case for those of you who have Frank Gore on your team, as he hasn’t been at full-strength for a while.

Fortunately, his backup Kendall Hunter should provide some production, and you should consider picking him up. The Niners already locked up the NFC West and are now playing for playoff seeding, so even though their games are still meaningful, Gore doesn’t necessarily need to have big days these last few weeks. He’s been the team’s workhorse for several seasons now, but Hunter showed he is a capable runner himself this season.

Hunter’s stats aren’t impressive (82 carries for 322 yards and two touchdowns), but he has made the most of his chances during his rookie season, and when Gore was struggling early this year, there was even talk of Hunter cutting into Gore’s carries. Gore ultimately proved he could handle a starter’s workload, but Hunter has still gotten consistent reps and has caught 11 passes for 149 yards, demonstrating that he can use his quickness as a receiver as well.

Hunter has probably not made many headlines on the national scene, but you should capitalize on that and pick him up if he is available in your league. Chances are Gore will not receive 20 carries a game, and any reps he doesn’t get should go to Hunter. He’s solidified himself as the No. 2 running back in San Francisco, and his value should be at its peak now that the 49er starters could rest in preparation for the playoffs.

One of the most challenging aspects of the fantasy playoffs is figuring out which starters to bench. If Gore is on your team, read up on his updates and pick up Hunter as insurance. If Gore looks like he’ll play, you’ve still got one of the league’s best on your team. If he doesn’t play, you’ll put yourself in the best position to get points he would normally pick up by starting Hunter.

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

Fantasy owners that pointed at their bench to their buddies and said, “see, see, if I would of started Dwayne Bowe I would of won this week,”. You’ve got to love the owners that hype their teams up through their bench than the win/loss column. Dwayne Bowe has had plenty of opportunities this season to emerge as he did a few years ago. Being a disappointment thus far in 2010 is a huge understatement.

Bowe’s had issues abound this year. Matt Cassel’s looked his way and Bowe has not been able to deliver as a number one receiver. Nothing was worse than his play against the Colts. Indianapolis ranks right up there with poor pass defenses, and Bowe could not thrive. He was able to get open and then the football was reminded of Bowe’s hands. Laying the pigskin on the turf happened on wide open routes, including an actual nice throw by Cassel in the end zone. His play in that game basically cost the Chiefs as they eventually got into a fourth quarter hole against the Colts.

Seeing Bowe become a fantasy impact player week six was not surprising. Houston’s pass defense is what might prevent them from making the playoffs. They’ve giving up an incredible amount of yards and points as a unit. It’s the type of game though that could break Bowe out of his funk.

He will never be considered a fantasy every week starter with Matt Cassel at quarterback. He can though be an injury/bye week/first off the bench at receiver position athlete. Kansas City has their style of play down pat for the rest of the year. With Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles they have two backs that can split the load at a high number of carries each. The team knows that counting on Cassel to be their number one option offensively is not a key to winning. He just hasn’t grasped the teams playbook and has struggled overall.

If you are forced to start Bowe, it’s always going to be a high risk. Look around the league and you’ll see that the majority of quarterbacks are throwing 25, 30, or even higher pass attempts a game. Don’t be fooled that Cassel has actually thrown the ball for an average of 6.2 yards per completion. An insanely poor statistic. Cassel’s play of checking down is exactly what the Cardinals passed on with Matt Leinart in preseason.

Chances of Cassel getting benched likely won’t happen at this point. The only way you’d start Bowe is for reasons mentioned in the last paragraph, or if you’re extremely strong with your fantasy running backs. Even if Bowe goes out and has a string of solid games to parlay last weeks, we don’t see him getting far beyond last years numbers. Trading him to a desperate owner is your best bet of getting any long term value out of him.

Joe Lopat, Zack Cimini, and Jabbar Harris return once again to talk football hot topics, as well as their usual fantasy football segments. They’ll tell you who to start/sit and provide spread picks for week seven.

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

Rankings are always needed to see where players fall for trade purposes. It’s also not too bad to see some steals that you landed rise well above anticipated predictions. Here’s our latest fantasy running back rankings.

1. Chris Johnson
2. Arian Foster
3. Adrian Peterson
4. Ahmad Bradshaw
5. Rashard Mendenhall
6. MJD
7. Ray Rice
8. Matt Forte
9. Steven Jackson
10. Frank Gore
11. Jamaal Charles
12. Michael Turner
13. LeSean McCoy
14. LT
15. Joseph Addai
16. Thomas Jones
17. Pierre Thomas
18. Cedric Benson
19. Peyton Hillis
20. Ryan Torain
21. Jahvid Best
22. Ryan Matthews
23. DeAngelo Williams
24. Ronnie Brown
25. Brandon Jackson
26. Shonn Greene
27. Michael Bush
28. Beanie Wells
29. Darren McFadden
30. Felix Jones
31. Reggie Bush
32. Ricky Williams
33. Marshawn Lynch
34. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
35. Fred Jackson
36. Knowshown Moreno
37. Tim Hightower
38. Jonathan Stewart
39. Marion Barber
40. Brandon Jacobs
41. Chris Ivory
42. Jason Snelling
43. Danny Woodhead
44. Cadillac Williams
45. Derrick Ward
46. Jerome Harrison
47. Javon Ringer
48. CJ Spiller
49. Justin Forsett
50. Mike Tolbert
51. Donald Brown
52. Chester Taylor
53. Willis McGahee
54. John Kuhn
55. LeGarrette Blount
56. Laurence Maroney
57. Kenneth Darby
58. James Starks
59. Fred Taylor
60. Darren Sproles
61. Mike Hart