"Willis McGahee is done."

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

That's what was heard last year in a disappointing season for # 23. LeRon McClain stepped-it-up and was the leading rusher for the Ravens in 2008. The thought for many was Ray Rice would take over in 2009 and handle most of the carries. That theory seemed relevant as Rice is now listed as #1 on the depth chart and has started in all of the Ravens games in 2009.

Ray Rice could very well be the future but what is also for sure is the Ravens, like a lot of other NFL teams, are using a committee running back system. A lot of the top rushing teams seem to mix-it-up with a blend of old and new, or strong and agile, or both into their running games. The Ravens for example, who are the #4 team in rushing, mix it up with McGahee, Rice, and McClain. McGahee and Rice both have 190 rushing yards on the year. Every ball carrier has a score. McGahee has 6 TDs, which leads the NFL. The Saints, who are #1 in rushing, have done so with 4 ball carriers: Mike Bell, Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Lynell Hamilton. Each have at least a TD. The first two have shared 75 of the team's carries. The Dolphins split-it-up with Ronnie Brown and Rickey Williams. The Broncos do it with Correll Buckhalter, Knowshon Moreno, and LaMont Jordan.

The exceptions (teams that seem to use the 'every down' back system so far) are the Titans, Vikings, and Bills. Chris Johnson, Adrien Peterson, and Fred Jackson seem to handle most of the load for their teams. But those exceptions all have great spell backs who will most likely see more carries as the feature back will defiantly need to rest later on.

The running back committee system allows for more players to get their second chance and for older players to last longer. Don't expect the Ravens to part with McGahee any time soon or even slow his role.

Another rusher called, "done" is LaDainian Tomlinson who was out last week with an ankle injury. The Chargers, who are second to last in rushing, will desperately need L.T. to get their team back in their regular form. When L.T. is back, start him. If he is somehow in your free agent pool, text the guy who dropped him, "you're an idiot," pick him up and at least start him against the Broncos in week 6 for sure.