LestersLegends.com

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1. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers
The Baltimore Ravens ranked 20th (122.8 yards per game, 15 rushing touchdowns allowed) in run defense during the regular season. Ray Lewis’ return has helped turn things around defensively, but the continue to struggle against the run. The Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots combined for 128.3 rushing yards per game. They have buckled down when it matters though, as they have not allowed a playoff rushing score. Frank Gore had 1448 total yards and nine touchdowns (eight rushing, one receiving) during the regular season. He had continued to shine during the playoffs, combining for 257 total yards and three touchdowns in wins over the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Falcons. His performances are even more impressive considering the record-setting performance Colin Kaepernick had against the Packers and were playing from behind for most of the NFC Championship game. The Niners have a massive, mauling offensive line, which gives them an edge in the Super Bowl.
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2. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens
It has been a long time since the Super Bowl featured two running backs of this caliber. Rice finished with 1621 total yards and 10 touchdowns. He had 316 total yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Ravens’ three playoff wins. The 49ers finished the year ranked 4th in rushing defense (94.2 yards per game, seven touchdowns). They held the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons to 92.5 yards per game. Even if the Niners slow Rice on the ground, he’s still capable of getting his through the air.
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3. Bernard Pierce, Baltimore Ravens
Pierce has emerged, averaging 59 total yards per game during the playoffs. He 216 yards in the final two games of the season. He runs with a great deal of power and is a nice complement to Rice’s style. The Ravens have confidence in the rookie and he’ll likely play a solid amount of meaningful snaps.
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4. LaMichael James, San Francisco 49ers
James is an electric runner that is a great change-of-pace to Gore. That said, he had just 66 total yards in the two playoff wins. Between Gore and Kaepernick, there just isn’t enough to go around for James.
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5. Anthony Dixon, San Francisco 49ers
Dixon hardly gets any carries, but he is a threat for a short vulture touchdown.
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Also check out:

• Super Bowl XLVII Fantasy Football QB Rankings
• Super Bowl XLVII Fantasy Football WR Rankings
• Super Bowl XLVII Fantasy Football TE Rankings
• Super Bowl XLVII Fantasy Football K Rankings
• Super Bowl XLVII Fantasy Football DEF Rankings
• Super Bowl XLVII Pick
• Early Fantasy Baseball Rankings

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Here are the Lester’s Legends running back rankings for the  the AFC & NFC Conference Championship Games of the 2012-13 NFL Playoffs.
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1. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers
The Atlanta Falcons had the worst run defense (123.2, 16 rushing touchdowns) of the remaining playoff teams. They allowed 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns to a similarly constructed Seattle Seahawks team. Gore ran for 119 yards and a touchdown last week to go with 48 receiving yards. I give him a slight edge over Ray Rice in the top spot.
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2. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens
Rice was a workhorse last week, dropping 131 yards and a touchdown on the Denver Broncos. The Ravens will try to give him another heavy workload against the New England Patriots. Rice didn’t catch a pass last week. I expect he’ll be more active this week. Arian Foster had seven receptions last week against the Pats. Baltimore will try to exploit that as well. Rice had 150 total yards and a touchdown in the first meeting with New England.
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3. Stevan Ridley, New England Patriots
Shane Vereen stole the show with three touchdowns, but Ridley was still the leading runner with 82 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. The Pats mix it up better than anybody, but Ridley has been consistent. The Ravens allowed 122.8 rushing yards per game and 15 scores on the ground.
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4. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
Turner is easily the starting back that I have the least amount of confidence in despite running for 98 yards on 14 carries against the Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers have the best run defense (94.2 yards, seven rushing touchdowns) of the playoff teams.
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5. Shane Vereen, New England Patriots
Vereen scored a trio of touchdowns last week, but Bill Belichick loves to mix and match. It’s hard to imagine that Vereen won’t see double-digit touches, but you never know.
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6. Jacquizz Rodgers, Atlanta Falcons
Rodgers had a 45-yard run, which made his final numbers look respectable (10 carries, 64 yards), but was pretty much bottled up the rest of the day. It was only his fourth time topping 70 total yards. I don’t have a lot of faith going up against San Francisco’s defense.
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Also check out:

• 2012-13 Conference Championship Fantasy Football QB Rankings
• 2012-13 Conference Championship Fantasy Football WR Rankings
• 2012-13 Conference Championship Fantasy Football TE Rankings
• 2012-13 Conference Championship Fantasy Football K Rankings
• 2012-13 Conference Championship Fantasy Football DEF Rankings
• 2012-13 Conference Championship NFL Picks

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Here are the Lester’s Legends running back rankings for the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs.
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1. Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
The Atlanta Falcons had the worst run defense of all the remaining playoff teams. They gave up 123.2 yards and a touchdown per game on the ground. Beast Mode has averaged 123 total yards with eight touchdowns in his past six games.
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2. Arian Foster, Houston Texans
Foster has averaged 170 total yards with four touchdowns in his three career playoff games. Foster was “held” to 85 total yards in the first meeting with the New England Patriots, but he scored a touchdown.
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3. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens
The Denver Broncos have the third-rank run defense, but Ray Rice is more versatile than most backs. If you slow him in the running game, he can still get his in the passing game.
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4. Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos
Moreno averaged 110.8 with three touchdowns in the six games in which he assumed the starting gig. The Ravens ranked 20th in run defense, allowing 122.8 yards per game and 15 rushing scores.
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5. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers
The Green Bay Packers had the 17th-ranked run defense, but if you take away Adrian Peterson’s dominance, they were a little more respectable. Gore had a solid season and with Colin Kaepernick making his first playoff start, the Niners will likely lean on the veteran running back.
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6. Stevan Ridley, New England Patriots
Ridley had 72 yards and a touchdown in Week 14 against the Texans, but that was one of five rushing scores allowed for the league’s seventh-ranked run defense.
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7. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
Turner scored 11 touchdowns this year, but he is all or nothing. If he doesn’t get in the end zone, he doesn’t provide enough yardage to make up for it. I particularly don’t like him against the Seahawks.
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8. DuJuan Harris, Green Bay Packers
Harris scored, but only averaged 2.8 yards per carry. Ryan Grant took seven carries away and John Kuhn had a short touchdown run to go along with his short touchdown pass. Harris is the most reliable play among the Packers’ running backs, but I’d go elsewhere.
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Also check out:

• 2012-13 Divisional Round Fantasy Football QB Rankings
• 2012-13 Divisional Round Fantasy Football WR Rankings
• 2012-13 Divisional Round Fantasy Football TE Rankings
• 2012-13 Divisional Round Fantasy Football DEF Rankings
• 2012-13 Divisional Round Fantasy Football K Rankings
• 2012-13 NFL Divisional Round Picks
• 2013 NFL Mock Draft: Top Ten Picks

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Here are the Lester’s Legends fantasy football running back rankings for the Wild Card Round.
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1. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Peterson fell just nine yards short of the NFL record with 2097 yards. The Green Bay Packers rank 17th in run defense, thanks to Peterson’s 409 rushing yards. The Vikings are committed to running the football and they clearly have success against the Pack.
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2.  Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks
Beast Mode finished the year off with four straight 100-yard games. The Washington Redskins rank fifth against the run, but they did allow 11 rushing touchdowns.
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3.  Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens
Rice was able to get some rest last week. He faces the worst run defense in the NFL Playoffs. The Indianapolis Colts rank 29th in the league with 137.5 rushing yards allowed per game. They also allowed 14 scores on the ground. Rice’s yardage was virtually the same at home as it was on the road, but he scored eight of his 10 touchdowns at M&T Bank Stadium.
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4.  Arian Foster, Houston Texans
Foster led the NFL with 17 touchdowns. It was his second time in three years leading the league in touchdowns. The Cincinnati Bengals have the 12th ranked run defense, but they did allow 13 rushing touchdowns.
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5.  Alfred Morris, Washington Redskins
Morris rallied to finish second in the league in rushing with 1613 yards. He also finished second with 13 rushing touchdowns. The ranking is not a slight on Morris. It just so happens that five of the top six fantasy backs, along with Doug Martin, are playing in the Wild Card Round. Plus, the Seahawks have the 10th ranked run defense. They were also one of five teams to allow eight or fewer rushing scores.
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6.  Vick Ballard, Indianapolis Colts
Ballard averaged 91.3 total yards in the last four games of the year. The Ravens have the second-worst run defense of the Wild Card teams. They were one of ten teams to have allowed 15 or more rushing scores.
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7.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Cincinnati Bengals
The Law Firm is banged up and had a rough finish to the season. He missed the finale with a hamstring injury and had 14 yards on 15 carries in Week 16. The Houston Texans allowed the fewest (five) rushing touchdowns and had the seventh-ranked run defense.
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8. DuJuan Harris, Green Bay Packers
The Packers turned to Harris in the season finale against the Vikings. He had 70 yards on 14 carries. He also caught a pair of passes for 17 yards. The Vikings rank 11th in run defense and Ryan Grant and/or Alex Green could eat into Harris’ touches depending on how the game unfolds. This is easily the most fluid of the running back situations.
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Also check out:

• 2012-13 Wild Card Round Fantasy Football QB Rankings
• 2012-13 Wild Card Round Fantasy Football WR Rankings
• 2012-13 Wild Card Round Fantasy Football TE Rankings
• 2012-13 Wild Card Round Fantasy Football DEF Rankings
• 2012-13 Wild Card Round Fantasy Football K Rankings
• 2012-13 NFL Wild Card Round Picks

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This isn’t a Super Bowl that features elite running backs.  That’s nothing new though. There really hasn’t been an elite RB in the Super Bowl since Marshall Faulk. Rashard Mendenhall had good numbers last year, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call him elite.
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There isn’t a running back with at least 700 yards in Super Bowl XLVI. While they didn’t pile up a ton of yards, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Brandon Jacobs have 27 touchdowns between them.
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To me the top running back in this game is Ahmad Bradshaw. The Giants are a different team when he’s playing his game. He had 126 total yards in the NFC Championship as the G-Men knocked off the Niners. While he didn’t reach double-digit rushing TDs this year, he did finish with 11 total in 12 games. He has the ability to get yards both running the ball and catching it out of the backfield.
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I’ll go with BenJarvus Green-Ellis at number two, but despite 28 carries in the past two games and never having lost a fumble, you never know what Bill Belichick will do. Stevan Ridley could easily get more work. The Firm will likely get the ball at the stripe though so that gives him the edge over the remaining backs.
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At number three I like Brandon Jacobs. He is definitely going to get his touches. He will likely get a shot at the goal line. If the Giants do get a lead, his power running could help grind it out.
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At four I like Stevan Ridley. Fumbling issues cost him the chance to play during the AFC Championship, but Belichick could want him in the big game. He’ll obviously have to hold onto the ball though.
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At five I’ll rank Danny Woodhead. He could see a few carries, as well as some passes out of the backfield. If Gronk isn’t at 100 percent, the Patriots may have to use different looks.
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Also check out:

• Super Bowl XLVI Fantasy Football QB Rankings
• Super Bowl XLVI Fantasy Football WR Rankings
• Super Bowl XLVI Fantasy Football TE Rankings
• Super Bowl XLVI Fantasy Football DEF Rankings
• Super Bowl XLVI  Fantasy Football K Rankings
• Super Bowl XLVI Pick

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Here are the Lester’s Legends running back rankings for the Conference Championship Round of the NFL Playoffs.
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1.  Ray Rice @ New England Patriots:  Ball control will be the name of the game for the Ravens as they try to keep Brady, Gronk, and Welker on the sidelines. Rice was held in check (60 rushing yards, 20 receiving yards) by the Texans, but the Patriots aren’t as sound defensively.
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2.  Frank Gore vs. New York Giants:  Gore had an impressive game, running for 89 yards on 13 carries (6.8 ypc). His 42-yard dash was a thing of beauty. He added seven catches for 38 yards. Gore is fresh and he’s running well heading into the NFC title game.
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3.  Ahmad Bradshaw @ San Francisco 49ers:  The Niners are hard to run on. They ranked first with 77.3 yards, three rushing TDs allowed, and a 3.5 ypc allowed. Bradshaw has been running well in recent weeks and adding production through the passing game.
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4.  Brandon Jacobs @ San Francisco 49ers:  This figures to be a physical game so the Giants are going to need Jacobs’ bruising style. He had 92 yards in the first playoff game and scored a TD in the second. He should get a solid share of carries in this one.
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5.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis vs. Baltimore:  The Firm got his chances (13 carries). He just didn’t do much with them (28 yards). He has never lost a fumble so Belichick trusts him. With 24 touchdowns in two seasons, Bill won’t be afraid to give him the ball at the stripe.
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6.  Stevan Ridley vs. Baltimore Ravens:  Despite running well down the stretch Ridley had just four carries against the Broncos. Tight End Aaron Hernandez led the way with 61 yards and BenJarvus Green-Ellis led the team with 13 carries. Ridley made the most of his carriers going for 21 yards. He lost a fumble in this one, which could keep him from getting extensive work.
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7.  Kendall Hunter vs. New York Giants:  Hunter got six carries last week and managed 23 yards (3.8 ypg). He added a 13 yards catch.
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8. Ricky Williams @ New England Patriots:  Ricky ran for 27 yards on six carries (4.5 ypc). I don’t see him being much of a factor this week.
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9.  Danny Woodhead vs. Baltimore Ravens:  Woodhead ran for 25 yards on four carries. He isn’t used very frequently, but you never know with Belichick.
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Also check out:

• Conference Championship Round Fantasy Football QB Rankings
• Conference Championship Round Fantasy Football WR Rankings
• Conference Championship Round Fantasy Football TE Rankings
• Conference Championship Round Fantasy Football DEF Rankings
• Conference Championship Round Fantasy Football K Rankings
• Conference Championship Round NFL Picks

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Here are the Lester’s Legends running back rankings for the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs.
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1.  Arian Foster @ Baltimore Ravens:  This is going to be a physical battle. Arian Foster is the best back remaining and he can produce running and catching the ball.
2.  Ray Rice vs. Houston Texans:  Rice is a special back as well. He can get a ton of total yards and has a good nose for the end zone. This game is going to be about running the ball and defense.
3.  Darren Sproles @ San Francisco 49ers:  Sproles is the perfect fit for the Saints offense and it shows each and every week. He’s too quick and powerful to be contained.
4.  Frank Gore vs. New Orleans Saints:  The Niners are going to have to use ball control to slow the Saints. At the end of the day, Alex Smith will have to make some throws, but the Niners will try to rely on Gore and the defense.
5.  Ahmad Bradshaw @ Green Bay Packers:  Brandon Jacobs was the guy last week. This week they’ll need Bradshaw’s more upbeat style.
6.  Willis McGahee @ New England Patriots:  He was barely used last time.  The Pats’ offense could easily make that the case again this week.
7.  Ryan Grant vs. New York Giants:  The Pack will look for a balanced attack to keep the G-Men honest. Grant closed the season strong averaging 101.3 total yards in his last four games.
8.  Brandon Jacobs @ Green Bay Packers:  He was solid in the first meeting with eight carries for 59 yards and a score. Bradshaw will be the feature back, but Jacobs will definitely play a big role.
9.  Stevan Ridley vs. Denver Broncos:  Averaged 70 yards in his last three games. The Patriots back most likely to succeed.
10.  Pierre Thomas @ San Francisco 49ers:  Hard to roll with a backup RB, especially against a team that doesn’t give up many rushing TDs (three on the year).
11.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis vs. Denver Broncos:  It’s always a tough call to know which Patriots RB will have the best game. The Firm is a risky option.
12.  Ben Tate @ Baltimore Ravens:  Definitely second fiddle to Foster, but he is very capable of breaking a big play.
13.  Kendall Hunter vs. New Orleans Saints:  Gore had time to rest. Hunter will only spell him provide Gore stays healthy.
14.  James Starks vs. New York Giants:   He hasn’t played since Christmas so he’s a risk.
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Also check out:

• Divisional Round Fantasy Football QB Rankings
• Divisional Round Fantasy Football WR Rankings
• Divisional Round Fantasy Football TE Rankings
• Divisional Round Fantasy Football DEF Rankings
• Divisional Round Fantasy Football K Rankings
• Divisional Round NFL Picks