Top Ten Sleeper Running Backs (RBs) in Fantasy Football 2009 for Week 3

Well, week 2 is gone and over with and boy was it painful. Too many upsets in both the games and the fantasy players. For starters what was up with Chris Johnson going crazy on the Houston D and Tennessee still lost the game. Frank Gore ran like a madman to give San Fran a 2-0 start then rolled his ankle, we'll see how that goes. Darren Sproles wasn't so much a running that as he was a passing threat with RB attached to his fantasy stats.

So as far as my week two picks went I nailed both Chris Johnson and Darren Sproles. Along with those big winners I correctly picked Fred Jackson, Michael Turner, and Kevin Smith. Also Ryan Grant and Darren McFadden were decent. I did however bomb on Jamal Lewis, Willie Parker, and Brandon Jacobs. So I'm calling it a 7-3 week. Not too shabby... except that the big running backs I picked I own very little of in my leagues so I was slightly above .500 in week 2.

All in all not a bad week for my picks, now for this week's picks. Remember this is the last week before byes so be on the lookout for pickups and also remember I don't claim to have Matthew Berry's clairvoyance in predicting. Without further adieu I present the 2009 fantasy football sleeper running backs (RBs) for week 3:

1) Ray Rice - Everything has been Willis McGahee with all his touchdowns. That's nice but my guess is this game will show what Ray Rice can offer. The Cleveland run defense is absolutely terrible and I think Baltimore is going to light them up. Both in the air and on the ground. The game will probably be decided by halftime with Baltimore killing time in the second half. Look for 100+ yards and a score.

2) Tim Hightower - Beanie Wells will get some carries and Arizona will pass often. I think Hightower will get some decent redzone opportunities and some great yardage. Combined he should get a TD and over 100 yards. That's combining both his excellent receiving skills and his ball running abilities.

3) Matt Forte - Man it sucks having drafted Forte in the top 4 for a decent number of my leagues. Well, here's where that strategy finally hits paydirt. Seattle will most likely be without Hassleback and the Bears defense is still pretty good. I think this is a game where Forte gets big numbers and Cutler is average.

4) LeSean McCoy - Westbrook tweaked his surgically repaired ankle and he says it's nothing. Right. Anyways I suspect the carries will be split at the very least and McCoy will be running against a shaky defense in Kansas City. Numbers should be decent and McCoy can still be found on the waiver wire if you have Westbrook (or if someone else has him...).

5) Kevin Smith - This guy is never leaving my top 10, at least not for now. He's coming up on the big bad Washington defense that as of this past weekend is ranked 17^th in the league for rushing defenses. Pretty mediocre if you ask me. I have a strong suspicion that the Detroit players are tired of losing. So look for Kevin Smith to find the end zone twice and get some great yardage. This is the game that shows the Redskins still got a ways to go to become playoff contenders.

6) ...........................

You just read my picks 1-5. I'm starting up a fantasy sports site at BabyBlueMonkey.com and to get the other picks 6-10 please click here:

http://babybluemonkey.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55:w3rb&catid=38:blogsmain&Itemid=60