Running backs under review

Though quarterbacks and wide receivers were the focus of most coaches' offensive game plans this season, fantasy managers still had to make the right calls for the backfield.

While Maurice Jones-Drew and Ray Rice maintained their elite level of performance, several running backs fell flat, while others outperformed expectations.

The best running back: Ray Rice, Ravens

Honorable mentions: Maurice Jones-Drew, Arian Foster and Michael Turner

There are many reasons to like Rice. He is the best NFL player from Rutgers. He's small in size, but large in heart and effort. He was the best running back in the NFL this season.

In a season that saw NFL teams air the ball at an unprecedented rate, Rice allowed the Ravens to put the ball in the air, while also giving teams reason to fear their rushing attack. Rice rushed for a career-best 1,339 yards on a healthy 4.7 yards per carry. He was also one of Joe Flacco's top targets, hauling in 76 receptions for a career-best 704 yards. Finally, Rice had a nose for the end zone with a career-best 15 touchdowns.

Don't let Rice's struggles in the post-season lead you to forget his incredible regular season. He racked up 100-plus total yards of offence in 10 of the 16 games. What's most impressive with that statistic is that the Ravens' coaching staff ditched the rushing attack in three games, providing Rice with 10 rushes or less.

At just 25 years old, Rice is in his prime and should continue his dominance from the Ravens backfield for the next few years. Expect Rice to be a top three pick in this year's fantasy draft, and don't be surprised if he is the first one off the board. In a league that now consists of quarterbacks looking to pass before handoff, it's nice to have a running back that will get the ball either way.

The best fantasy running back: LeSean McCoy, Eagles

Honorable mention: Darren Sproles

He was a late first-round pick at best and still led the NFL with 17 rushing touchdowns. Everyone expected the Eagles to be a high-flying offence this season with playmakers DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin in the receiving corps, but really it was McCoy who shined brightest with 1,624 yards and 20 total touchdowns.

Just 23 years old entering the season, the former second-round pick had made a name for himself in previous seasons as one of the elite receiving threats in the backfield. To most fantasy managers' surprise, McCoy was used in a different role this season, mostly as a traditional running back receiving handoffs from his quarterback. McCoy received 30 fewer receptions this season, but also picked up 67 more carries.

Despite the increased workload, McCoy managed a solid 4.8 yards per carry and scored 10 more rushing touchdowns than his previous high of 10 established the previous year. While the Eagles dealt with injuries and suspensions in the receiving corps and Vick missed time due to injuries, McCoy was a source of consistency and while the Eagles fell short of the post-season, many of his fantasy managers had better luck.

The surprise running back: Marshawn Lynch, Seahawks

Honorable mention: Reggie Bush, Willis McGahee and Fred Jackson

After surpassing 1,000 rushing yards in each of his first two seasons, Lynch regressed the ensuing two failing to surpass even 750 rushing yards. He went more than two years between 100-plus rushing-yard performances, which was a shocking turn of events for a player who met that benchmark on six occasions through his first two seasons.

Though Lynch did show some signs of life in the 2010 playoffs, dazzling with 131 rushing yards in a surprise win over the Saints, expectations were tempered entering the season. It did not help when Lynch opened with a combined 44 rushing yards through the first two games (both losses).

I actually dropped Lynch in my fantasy league early in the season, when through three games he had yet to score a touchdown and had 117 yards of rushing. From that point forward, the Seahawks playmaker scored 13 touchdowns in the next 13 games and racked up 1,087 rushing yards.

Lynch was not just decent, he was one of the best running backs in the NFL and you could have swiped him off the waiver wire early in the season in many fantasy leagues.

The bust fantasy running back: Peyton Hillis, Browns

Honorable mention: Darren McFadden, LeGarrette Blount and Jahvid Best

The Madden curse definitely unfolded for Peyton Hillis, as he could not muster half as many rushing yards or touchdowns as he had in the previous season. It was a complete role reversal for Hillis, one of the feel-good stories in the 2010 season when he came out of nowhere to surpass Jerome Harrison in the backfield and made the transition from the Broncos' fullback to the Browns' lead running back.

In 2010, Hillis was a bruiser, who at 6-foot-2, 250 pounds plowed his way to 1,177 yards on 270 carries with 11 touchdowns. The sharp ascent from the former seventh-round pick out of Arkansas convinced fantasy managers to draft him early, often in the first or second rounds.

All was well very early in the season, as Hillis scored twice with 94 rushing yards against the Colts. However, he then missed the next game with an injury and controversy ensued. Hillis hinted that he would have played had he had the security of a new contract and this did not sit well with the Browns faithful nor his teammates.

More injuries and controversy followed Hillis for the remainder of the season, though he did offer a last hurrah at the end of the year with 211 rushing yards gathered over week 15 and 16. Now a free agent, Hillis loses out on a lot of money this off-season, while fantasy managers have to deal with the remnants of a lost season.