The WESTern Perspective: Rudi Johnson

Version 1.3

Take it from me, a guy who drafted Rudi Johnson early, twice, this guy has burned more people than Pizza Bites, not to mention, left a bad taste in your mouth.

I took Johnson with my second round pick in a ten team league and I thought he would be a great complement to my first round pickup of Ladanian Tomlinson. In another league, with my first pick of the first round, I called upon Rudi Johnson. In both leagues, I'd have to say that Johnson was probably not my best choice. In this second league, I'm dead in the water, spending the last weeks of the season duking it out in the Toilet Bowl, fighting for the first pick of next season (and let me assure you, it will not be Rudi Johnson).

In the first league mentioned, however, I've been a bit more fortunate. I had a good draft, picked up many studs (which isn't that difficult to do in a league with only 9 other people), lucked my way into some good free agent pickups (Derek Anderson and Earnest Graham), and despite a great many injury set backs (Andre Johnson, Javon Walker, and, yes, Rudi Johnson) I was able to keep my head above water and with a few late season wins, including a must-win situation last weekend, I was lucky enough to make the playoffs.

Now, I realize that my personal fantasy season recap is something that most all of you could do without, but I assure, I am going somewhere with this.

At the end of the season, whether you win your championship game, miss the playoffs by one game, or have a season that can only be compared to that of the Miami Dolphins, no one will care what lineup you used in doing so. No one will ask you who you started and who you benched, the only thing that matters is winning. And here, hopefully, with a little friendly advice, I'd like to help you do that.

Rudi's two touchdowns this season have come only in the last two weeks. He's gone over 100 yards rushing in a game only once this season (week 2), and in terms of total yardage, there are 43 players who have more rushing yards than Rudi. So, why play Rudi Johnson, hell, why is Rudi Johnson even on your team? There are 43 players that have been more productive that Johnson this year, surely one of them has to be on the waiver wires, why have we not dropped Rudi Johnson and moved on?

Perhaps it was his 1300 yards and 12 touchdowns last season that keeps us holding on, maybe it was the 1400 yards and 12 touchdowns in both 2004 and 2005. Or maybe, we are all convinced that Rudi Johnson is, in no way, a 500 yard runningback, nor are there 43 runningbacks better than he is.

Of course, Johnson's lack of productivity can not solely be blamed on him, nor that desimated Cincy line, fact is the man has been hurt a great deal this season. In 6 games thus far Johnson has carried the ball less than 10 times, in 3 of those games he did not play at all. Injuries are a quick way to make a good players stats look horrible.

But these things, I'm sure, are what you already know. That's the past, and in fantasy football, the past does not matter. So let's talk about the future. Let's talk about that first week of your fantasy playoffs, that first must-win of the season.

Rudi Johnson, sit or start? The easiest way to determine the answer to this is to look at the rush defense who will be attempting to shut down Johnson, the St. Louis Rams. 19th overall, 109 yards allowed per game, 12 touchdowns allowed on the season.

The only defense that Johnson has really seen worse than the Rams this season was the Browns, in which he rushed for 118 yards (the Bengals did face Buffalo, the Jets, and the Cardinals, all of which have worse rush D's than the Rams, but Johnson missed the game against the Jets, and saw limited carries against the other two). The Bengals have faced 4 teams that have allowed 10 or more rushing TDs on the season, Johnson missed two of these games, saw only 9 touches in the other, and scored in the final.

The point is this, everything seems primed and ready for Johnson to have a great game. He's coming off of two games in which he found the endzone and he's facing a team that has been less than a challenge defensively.

Now, of course, I wouldn't advise that one bench a dynamic player for Johnson (for instance, 3rd string unknowns like Earnest Graham and Ryan Grant have incredible matchups this weekend and are must starts) but if Johnson is on your bench only because you are worried about what he will do on Sunday, worry no more, for just about the first time this season, Rudi Johnson is a safe play.