With the release of LaDainian Tomlinson (and his remarks of refusing a pay cut), we have finally reached the end of the line for workhorse running backs. There isn’t a team in the NFL these days who don’t have more than one capable running backs (except maybe the Chiefs but that’s because of lack of talent). The two Super Bowl teams both had a platoon system working, with Addai and Brown in Indy and the three headed monster of Bush, Bell, and Thomas in New Orleans. There just isn’t any upside to having only one running back in today’s NFL.

The defense is too fast, too tough and they hit just too darn hard for one man to take the beat 300+ times per season. This past year six running backs had over 300 carries: Chris Johnson (358), Thomas Jones (331), Steven Jackson (324), Adrian Peterson (314), Maurice Jones-Drew (312), and Cedric Benson (301). All of these players except Johnson had backups that played a good amount.

In the NFL moving forward, expect more and more teams to use two or more running backs in order to keep them fresh. Not only that, expect more teams to keep two starting quality running backs. Just look at the Ravens this year. Ray Rice is a Pro Bowl player, but I think Willis McGahee will stay in Baltimore to give the Ravens a more potent running attack. It just shows that the league will start to become a defensive league again (once we get past the passing era of now). The defenses are getting more complex and fewer college quarterbacks are ready to handle them, I think the passing league is declining and the defense is on the rise again.

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