List Crazy
Matthew Berry [ARCHIVE]
ESPN.com
August 22, 2012
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You know what the people like? The people, they like the lists.

Rankings, sleepers, best-dressed, whatever. If it's a list, people want to see it. And apparently, if it has to take you tons of clicks to flip through one list, people like that even more. Sigh. I can't help you there, as this is all on one page and there are no cheerleader pictures here to prompt you to get all the way through the column. But lists? Lists I got. Ten of them, in fact.

List One: 10 additional facts that I couldn't fit in my "100 Facts You Need To Know Before You Draft

1. According to FootballOutsiders.com, in 32 career games, Ryan Mathews has been on the injury report 15 times, or almost half his games.

2. That includes two games when he was listed as "questionable" and didn't play, and one game (Week 13, 2010) where he was actually listed as "probable," was active for the game but didn't get on the field.

3. This season, the Chargers have just four games that start at 1 p.m. ET.

4. As my colleague AJ Mass points out, over the past three years, no rookie running back has averaged at least 80 yards in a minimum of 10 games.

5. Trent Richardson has had two surgeries on his left knee since the start of the year.

6. The Browns are scheduled to play seven games against teams that were top 10 in rushing defense last season, including two each against the Ravens, the Steelers and the Bengals. They also have games against the Chargers (top 12 in fewest points allowed to opposing backs) and what should be a vastly improved Buffalo defense.

7. Last season, Darren Sproles tied for seventh in red zone targets. Among all players.

8. Last season, when DeMarco Murray got 20-plus carries, the Cowboys were 5-0. When he got fewer or didn't play? They were 3-8.

9. Calvin Johnson had 16 touchdowns last season. As Peter Newmann of ESPN Stats & Information points out, in the history of the NFL there have been only four other wideouts who have scored 16 touchdowns in a season. None of them scored more than 13 the following season.

10. More from Newmann: Last season, Megatron had over 1,600 receiving yards. In the history of the NFL, there have been only five other wide receivers to catch over 1,600 yards' worth of passes in a season, and none of them got to 1,600 the next year, and only Marvin Harrison (in 2000) had more than 1,400.

List Two: 10 "what if?" scenarios to consider, or, as I like to call it, 'playing fast and loose with simple math'

1. Last season, only Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford and Drew Brees attempted more passes to tight ends than Cam Newton. So what if Greg Olsen (89 targets, 45 receptions, 540 yards, five TDs) inherits the bulk of targets from Jeremy Shockey (62 targets, 37 receptions, 455 yards, four scores last season)?

2. Ron Rivera and Rob Chudzinski were with the Chargers in 2009 and 2010. As J.B. Kritz of ESPN Stats & Information points out, in those two years combined Mike Tolbert had 12 red zone rushing touchdowns, which tied him for 13th in the NFL. And in just 2010, Tolbert tied for the fifth-most red zone touchdowns. Rivera and Chudzinski are now in Carolina, as is Tolbert and the recently paid Jonathan Stewart. What if Newton doesn't get all those goal-line rushing plays they called for him last year?

3. More Cam. What if Cam's passing is more like the second half (when he had more than 212 yards passing in a game only twice in his final eight games) than the first eight (seven such games)?

4. And just to bring everything full circle, what if Le'Ron McClain gets Tolbert's goal-line carries in San Diego?

5. Last year, Mario Manningham had 12 red zone targets. And Jake Ballard had 13 red zone targets, tied for the team lead with Hakeem Nicks. What if a majority of those red zone targets go to Martellus Bennett?

6. Over the past four years with Brady (not counting 2008), Wes Welker has averaged 150 targets. What if, instead of the 173 he got last year, Welker gets only 150, his career average with Brady? So what if we take the leftover 23 targets and add them to the 122 targets that Deion Branch and Chad Johnson got last year, and what if all 145 targets went to Brandon Lloyd, Josh McDaniels' favorite wide receiver?

7. What if Brian Hartline (15.7 yards per catch, 12.8 yards at catch last year) gets healthy and gets at least 75 percent of Brandon Marshall's 141 targets last season?

8. In 2010, with Peyton Manning calling the plays, there were only seven teams in the NFL that ran the ball more inside an opponent's 9-yard line than the Indianapolis Colts. They had 38 such carries split among many players. Among individual players in 2010, Michael Turner led the NFL with 41 such carries and Arian Foster was second with 39. What if Willis McGahee gets almost 38 of them?

9. What if Chiefs offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who got 16 games out of Peyton Hillis in 2010 and got 15 games out of Reggie Bush in 2011, manages to get 16 games out of both Jamaal Charles and Hillis this season?

10. What if Michael Vick and Darren McFadden each play all 16 games?

List Three: 10 highest-upside running backs that are going later than the 12th round on ESPN.com

1. Ryan Williams, Cardinals (15th round): If healthy, could very easily be the guy. As I wrote in Love/Hate: "Tore his patellar tendon last year. Still healthier than Beanie Wells."

2. Daniel Thomas, Dolphins (13th): Sorry, Reggie, but one season does not an iron man make. Post-hype sleeper?

3. Rashad Jennings, Jaguars (15th round): You realize Maurice Jones-Drew still hasn't reported yet, right?

4. Mike Goodson, Raiders (16th round): As of this writing, the guy I feel gets the first shot if something happens to McFadden. Which is not a bad gamble in Round 16.

5. Phillip Tanner, Cowboys (not drafted): If something happens to Murray (entirely possible), I'd rather have Tanner than Felix Jones.

6. Kendall Hunter, 49ers (not drafted): I think I've made my feelings on Frank Gore this year fairly clear.

7. Jacquizz Rodgers, Falcons (16th round): Not like I'm real fond of Michael Turner, either.

8. Jonathan Dwyer, Steelers (16th round): Mendenhall is out, Redman is banged up and the Steelers will still run some.

9. Bilal Powell, Jets (not drafted): What has Shonn Greene ever proved, exactly? Tim Tebow won't take every red zone carry.

10. Evan Royster, Redskins (16th round): At some point this year, he will start. The questions is ... will you have the guts to start him, too? By the way, don't be shocked if Alfred Morris gets a start. It's Mike Shanahan.

List Four: Best fantasy football team names as suggested to me on Twitter, Part I

Not surprisingly, many names involving Rams rookie Isaiah Pead, Falcons running back...
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