Each summer fantasy fanatics pore over depth charts and cheat sheets to determine which running backs they most want and in the back of their mind always looms the fear of that four letter word (acronym actually but stick with me here) - RBBC. The old running-back-by-committee which takes your perfectly good starting runner and has him trot off the field so another back can get the fantasy points (preferably not your opponent's).

The reality with runners sharing carries is twofold really. Running backs split the load because that is the offensive scheme employed or because there simply is no known "best" runner for the team. In many cases, the lack of that dominant runner is not yet known due to injury or the team has a new set of runners. No coach yanks a hot player from a game just to satisfy a game plan. They will use what works and what wins. For some teams, that means more than one runner.

Every team will, given the option, use their running backs to win the game. There is simply far lesser risk handing the ball off than executing a pass play; the old Woody Hayes adage that "only three things can happen when you put the ball in the air, and two of them are bad" still holds true and doesn't even take into account the potential for a quarterback sack. If a team is ahead on the scoreboard, they want to run the clock out. Passing often kills the clock, running usually doesn't. This is why running backs are the most consistent and productive fantasy scorers. Beyond Coach-speak, reporters stretching a story or the endless speculation or mind games, remember this single truth:

The best players play. Guaranteed. Period. It's about winning.

This time of the season is rife with speculation and innuendo. Let's look at facts, changes and best probability. The greatest factor on a RBBC situation is if that offense is designed to use "specialists". Just because the #1 RB for a team is not yet know does not necessarily mean the team will take 16 games to make a choice if they prefer a primary back instead of RBBC.

The statistics you will see show who the primary ball carrier was for each team in each game the last two years. The stats are computed by each game played and which runner had the most carries in that game. Sum it up and you get how many games each player was the primary ball carrier for his team and the averages of all runs and catches of all team rushers in that game. Reviewing this from a per game perspective is much more accurate than merely doing math to total season numbers. For our purposes, I am defining a team to be RBBC if the lead carrier does not receive at least 75% of the rushing plays considering all runners used in a game, including fullbacks.

Let's take a look at what we are likely to see with how running backs are used this season:

Team By Team Review of 2007 and 2008 Primary Carrier Stats and How they Apply to 2009

The Cardinals had Edgerrin James phased out last year with Tim Hightower replacing him in many games and the sharing ratio went up between the two players. But a better key for what to expect from the rookie Chris Wells would be 2007 when a younger James had 88% of the runs and nearly 40% of the catches. This is not an offense that used the running backs that much for receptions and has shown remarkable consistency from year to year of with completing just a couple of passes per game to the primary back. James averaged around 20 carries per game in 2007 for a total of over 300 carries on the year. The Cardinals were far less effective rushing last year and the rushing attempts were way down. Expect more of a return to 2007 levels as long as Wells remains healthy. That could mean 1200+ rushing yards and eight to ten touchdowns. Hightower was never effective as a runner other than goal line duty which Wells could be even better at anyway.

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