Running Back

Start’em

Peyton Hillis will have a great Sunday this week against the Bengals, who aren’t very good against the run and didn’t really improve much this offseason. Hillis is the best weapon the Browns have once again this year, he will get his touches whether it’s rushing or receiving and he will find the endzone.

Beanie Wells is the best option in the backfield for the Cardinals against the Carolina Panthers, who had the 23^rd worst run defense in the league last year. After the injury to rookie Ryan Williams, the carries won’t be going to anyone else, at least until Chester Taylor gets comfortable with the offense.

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The Colts have more to worry about than Peyton Manning’s neck when they go to Houston to play the Texans for the season opener on September 11. Plenty of problems face the Colts, not only at the quarterback position but also on the defensive side of the ball, where the Colts allowed 125 rushing yards a game last season.

Even with a busy off-season that saw the arrivals of tackle Tommie Harris, linebacker Ernie Sims and end Jamaal Anderson, the defense still has struggled against preseason opponents. Oh, and apparently the Colts grew tired of Harris, releasing him Friday.   Sims was hurt for a good part of training camp, but he’s still one player I’m excited to see play alongside Gary Brackett and the rest of the Colts D.

During the preseason, the Colts allowed less than 150 yards rushing in just one game, and that was against the pass-first Packers. Even though it’s only the preseason, this is still concerning since the Colts do start the year off in Houston,  where last season Arian Foster had his coming-out party and rushed for over 230 yards and 3 touchdowns against Indy.

It’s not like the Texans are one-dimensional, either, with wide receiver Andre Johnson running wild and Matt Schaub behind center.  In addition, the Texans now have a healthy Owen Daniels, who was recovering from a torn ACL in 2010 and had an overall slow year.

Week 1 in Houston should be very interesting given that there are so many ways for the Texans to attack the Colts defense, and  I’m really curious to see how the boys in white and blue will respond. With our franchise quarterback most likely out for this game, it’s going to take a lot more from the defense to notch a win.