New Way of Handling Aging RBs Emerging

Last season we saw a new way of handling aging Running Backs that appears to be very successful; giving them a rest. This new way of handling backs might just catch on.

Curtis Martin, Jerome Bettis, and Emmitt Smith all had much better production last year than in previous years. In fact, Martin and Bettis had great years. The one common factor for all three was a reduced workload in the pres-season or beginning of the regular season.

Martin was held out of many workouts and had a very reduced workload throughout the pre-season. He responded with 1,697 yards and the NFL rushing title. Bettis had a reduced workload for different reasons, but when Staley went down the Bus was fresh and ran for 941 yards and 13 TDs. Emmitt Smith took it easy and responded with a much better year than his previous two with the Cardinals.

Now Mike Martz has announced that Steven Jackson will be his starter next year and Marshall Faulk will be a backup and/or 3rd down back. Maybe we will see a new trend in the NFL where coaches ease up a bit on their workhorses trying to squeeze a few more years of good production out of them.

We have seen a lot of backs turn 31 and go downhill in a hurry, statistically. Perhaps coaches can change that a bit.

Of course, that won't make all those Fantasy Football guys happy when they have more and more studs sharing time with backups. Faulk's fantasy value has just dropped and Steven Jackson's has just gone up. But neither went up or down as much as if Jackson were the only RB on the team and Faulk was playing elsewhere.