(AP) It happens too early every year in fantasy drafts: Somebody breaks up the first-round run on running backs and takes Peyton Manning. This, of course, elicits knowing smirks from the wiser members of the fantasy league. There might even be eye-rolling and looks of disgust, as if the person just butchered the pronunciation of Houshmandzadeh.

The more experienced fantasy players know the poor sap just took Manning too early. There were still good running backs available, after all, and everybody knows you never take a quarterback until the best backs are gone.

This year, however, that sap just might be right. While running backs remain at the heart of any respectable draft strategy, the annual reach for Manning may not be a reach after all. In fact, you could argue he’s worth taking as early as third. Read more at http://cbs4denver.com/broncos/local_story_227185349.html

With two more co-defendants distancing themselves from Michael Vick, the embattled Falcons quarterback was considering on Monday whether to accept a plea agreement for his alleged role in a dogfighting operation.

Sources told ESPN’s Kelly Naqi that Vick attorneys Larry Woodward and Billy Martin met with federal prosecutor Michael Gill and the investigators on Monday afternoon. The attorneys planned to speak with the quarterback in the evening to see what direction he wants to go in.

That comes on the heels of news that co-defendants Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips are scheduled to appear in federal court in Richmond at the end of the week and are expected to accept their own plea agreements. Peace’s hearing is at 9 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, while Phillips will appear on Friday at the same time. Plea agreements would clear them to testify against Vick. Read the rest at http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2972161

Entering the 2007 fantasy football season, many owners are piecing together their rankings and projections. To help with the RB evaluation process, here is a study of “RB Studs,” and how they perform the year after carrying a heavy workload the previous season. What percentage of these “bell cow backs,” continue to put up big numbers? Shaun Alexander, Tiki Barber, Edgerrin James were all big RB producers two years ago, and for the most part dropped off in ‘06.

What can we expect from ‘06 studs like Larry Johnson, Steven Jackson, or Ladainian Tomlinson in ‘07?

We also need to define what constitutes a “Heavy Workload,” for a RB. I tried several different numbers for this formula and settled on 370 f/carries as the benchmark. It netted 30 RBs who reached 370 f/carries a grand total of 45 times over past 27 years. The following are an update of last season, the results of data, my own conclusions, and which RBs could be impacted in ‘07.

Recent Seasons
There weren’t many players who reach this benchmark, but for those that did saw a decrease in fantasy production. Each player had a decrease in carries/receptions, a decreased ff production, or missed time. This is actually quite indicative of the overall historical trend and data for backs after attaining at least 370-f/carries in a season. Check out more on this at FFtoday.com