– Kevin Smith (19 touches, 119 yards) had a nice game, but left early with a shoulder injury.
– Clinton Portis was dinged up heading into Sunday’s game, but was still surprisingly quiet (13 touches, 48 yards) against the Lions.
– Ryan Grant (26 carries, 99 yards) struggled early, but got it going a bit in the second half to finish with a decent ypc (3.8).
– Frank Gore left the game after only one carry, and Glen Coffee (25 carries, 54 yards) didn’t have much success against the Williams Wall. It looks like Gore will be out at least two weeks with a high ankle sprain.
– Michael Turner (15 carries, 56 yards, TD) never could get it going, but he did score.
– Fred Taylor (21 carries, 105 yards, TD) looked like his old self against the Falcons. No other Patriots RB had more than five carries.
– After a huge Week 2, Chris Johnson (22 carries, 97 yards) didn’t score, and he only caught one pass. The Jets are pretty stout defensively.
– With Brian Westbrook out, LeSean McCoy (20 carries, 84 yards, TD) had a productive game, but only caught one pass for nine yards.
– The Bucs’ rushing game never got going against a banged-up Giants defense. Derrick Ward (7 touches, 9 yards) had a miserable game after getting the start over Carnell Williams (3 touches, 11 yards).
– Willis McGahee (7 carries, 67 yards, 2 TD) and Ray Rice (15 touches, 75 yards, TD) continue to give the Ravens a formidable two-headed monster at RB.
– With Jamal Lewis out, everyone was expecting James Davis (6 touches, 11 yards) to take over as the starter, but it was Jerome Harrison (21 touches, 85 yards) who dominated the touches.
– Steve Slaton (18 touches, 113 yards) had a very productive game, but didn’t score. With Chris Brown’s fumble that cost the Texans the game, maybe Slaton will get some goal line work next game.
– My sincere apologies to anyone that benched Pierre Thomas (14 carries, 126 yards, 2 TD) on my recommendation, though it looked like the right call since he didn’t get his first touch until the third quarter. Lynell Hamilton (5 carries, 24 yards, TD) got the start, but didn’t touch the ball after halftime. Thomas looks like a good start going forward. He was strong on Sunday.
– Johnny Knox (1-7-1) caught a TD, but was only targeted three times compared to Devin Hester’s eight (5-76-1) and Earl Bennett’s five (4-80).
– Matt Forte (21 carries, 66 yards) had trouble running the ball (which is a bad sign since the Seahawks were torched last week against the 49ers, but he was a big factor in the passing game (6-40).
– Julius Jones (22 touches, 136 yards, TD) still looks like the man. Justin Forsett (2 carries, 4 yards) and Edgerrin James (4 carries, 7 yards) were non-factors.
– Cedric Benson’s day (17 touches, 81 yards, TD) is pretty impressive considering the Steelers have one of the best rush defenses in the league. He looks like a must-start most weeks.
– So much for that RBBC in Pittsburgh. Willie Parker (27 touches, 129 yards, TD) was far and away the most-used RB.
– Correll Buckhalter (14 carries, 108 yards) and Knowshon Moreno (21 carries, 90 yards, TD) repeatedly gashed the Raiders in the running game.
– I am really surprised that Ronnie Brown (21 touches, 115 yards) didn’t have an even bigger game against the Chargers lackluster rush defense.
Be sure to check back later today for the WR and TE positions.
