Fantasy Football (NFL) 2008: Week 6 Sleepers and Keepers Running Backs (RBs)

Week five brought more of the same and brought a few surprises to the table. Probably the biggest "surprise" was Michael Turner's great game. He finally conquered an away game and a game on grass at the same time. Hopefully that squashes all disbelievers. DeAngelo Williams ran crazy on the hapless chiefs stealing some thunder from Jonathan Stewart.

Marion Barber and Marshawn Lynch had so-so games while Matt Forte did decent. For all you Larry Johnson believers out there, I think you better get ready for this kind of inconsistency the rest of the season. Joseph Addai had a strong game after the bye week and should be getting better. And on the bad to worse list, it looks like Brian Westbrook has two broken ribs.

So without further delay I'll give my top ten picks for Running Backs for week 6.

1) Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor - This could be the biggest game of the year for these two. The Detroit Lions defense is pretty much non-existent and we know Minnesota loves to run the ball. I realize that it doesn't take a genius to pick these two but I expect a monster game that will leave Lions fans shaking there heads for the rest of the season.

2) Ronnie Brown - It's official this man is back. After consecutive strong performances against somewhat decent defenses (New England and San Diego) it's time to be a believer. The funny thing is that you still might find him on someone's bench. Make a trade and grab him if you can. Brown goes up against Houston's questionable defense and should put up some big numbers.

3) Thomas Jones - The Jets face off against the 0-4 Bengals and they don't seem to be getting any better at their air game which would slow the Jet's run game down. Look for Farve to carve out a few Touchdowns to Coles and Cothery then have Jones wear down the defense and kill the clock.

4) Reggie Bush - He has yet to play this week (I'm posting early) but he was miserable last week. Against the so-so run defense of Oakland I would expect Bush to get a few carries but more importantly grab some of Drew Bree's passes to crank up the fantasy points while on the other side of the ball...

5) Darren McFAdden - Fresh from a bye week he should be closer too 100% and show us a little bit more of the brilliance he flashed us earlier in the year. Fargas still looks to be limited and Bush is the RB2. I expect the new coach in Oakland to keep the pass/run ratio at 50/50. Should be some quality carries for McFadden.

6) Clinton Portis - I bet you wished you took Portis with your second round pick. This guy is hammering the ball downfield and making opposing teams look silly. Oh and let's not forget Portis is facing the might ST. LOIUS RAMS. I hope the bold letters caught your attention, Portis should get about 350 yards and 5 touchdowns.

7) Michael Turner - This is a bold pick because looking at the Chicago line one would probably question my sanity. I think Turner is legit and I also think Matt Ryan will air the ball out to Roddy White and company then turn to the run to protect the lead. Turner should get two goal line touchdowns and about 80 yards.

8) Steve Slaton - This game will most likely turn out to be a battle of Running Backs as the Quarterbacks for both teams aren't strong. I'm an official believer in Slaton and curse the draft day when I passed him up. Actually I'm still mad that I didn't pick him up off the waiver wire in a couple of my leagues cause no one drafted him. And yes in case your wonder I saw Ahman Green back. And who cares?

9) Ryan Grant - All you Grant guys that spent your first round pick on him, this is the game you've been waiting for. The Seahawks have resorted to drafting players out of the stands to fill in for the wide receivers. The run defense is nothing spectacular and Rodgers isn't hurt but I bet once they get the lead the Packers head coach will call the run a little more often.

10) Marion Barber - I'm reluctant to put him down here but I think that Romo will keep up with Warner and the run game will become a factor. Now assuming Felix Jones isn't breaking off 60 yard touchdown runs then we can expect Barber to rack up a few goal line carries and get some decent yardage to boot.

Keep reading and I'll keep picking. Remember I have over ten leagues going at once so I know the best players to start each week. Or at least in my mind I do, my records would indicate otherwise...