No, of course it’s not real! That’s besides the point. This was really just an excuse for a whirlwind trip through Superbowl history. Enjoy!

Is the Runningback Committee really on the rise, or are there just more doom-sayers who don’t know what they’re talking about? Is Mike Shanahan the Sith Lord of the NFL? Read on to find out just what has been going on in NFL backfields over the years, and whether Marion Barber, Willie Parker, Selvin Young, and others should be worried.

Every year a handful of runningbacks make the rookie jump into the NFL or to another team to make a big splash. In this editing of the Stat Lab, we see that success comes down to opportunity, and just who might be in the right position to deliver great value at low draft prices.

Mike Martz comes to San Francisco with quite a reputation. This time, I put Mike Martz’ career in the NCAA and NFL under the microscope to see what he might have in mind for the 49ers passing game and runningback Frank Gore.

Ryan Grant of the Green Bay Packers averaged over 90 yards per game in his rookie season. This puts him in some elite company, including the likes of Barry Sanders and Marshall Faulk, and modern marvels like LaDainian Tomlinson and Clinton Portis. If this small group of just about 20 guys is any indication, he has all but secured a starting spot on fantasy rosters for the next 3 or 4 years.

Having wowed owners with a season’s worth of solid production in half as many games, Ryan Grant is one of the most interesting prospects of this upcoming fantasy season. In this edition of the Stat Lab, we’ll take a look at how runningback careers have unfolded in recent history and consider what may be in store for him this upcoming season.

Its draft time, which means the mathemagical voodoo is in high gear. Hopefully just in time for your draft, let’s take a look at the “3rd Year Wide Receiver Breakout Hypothesis” in this second installment of the stat lab. This is the idea that wideouts are generally primed for success after two years of pro experience under their belt due to comfort, rapport, pro-grade performance enhancers, whatever. For fantasy purposes, we’re looking for guys who bust out of the far end of the depth chart into at least fantasy relevance along with breakout time from their rookie season.