Fantasy Football 2012, Week 6: Running back rankings for PPR and standard leagues

There was quite a bit of carnage this week in the running back department, so we're going to switch gears back to the news-related item. We'll have a stats-driven intro like last week soon enough.

Donald Brown had his knee scoped and could miss three weeks. The Colts already had their bye. I've covered Vick Ballard three times this season in Waiver Wire Scoops, so go pick him up right now. I'll wait.

Cedric Benson was placed on IR with his Lisfranc injury. He is designated to return, so that eight-week timeframe is still in play. He's barely worth owning though. Moving forward, Mike McCarthy said he will take a hot-hand approach in determining whether to go with Alex Green or James Starks. Green has the edge for now, but neither player is a guy I'd count on until this situation clears up.

Ben Tate is expecting to play on Sunday. There's a chance that an owner hastily cut Tate, so I'd make sure he's not sitting out on any waiver wires. The Texans are smashing on the NFL right now and it seems like they will clinch the top seed fairly early. They are second in the AFC in points and first in points allowed. They're rolling.

Andre Brown is dealing with a concussion and has not been cleared. David Wilson should see most of the backup duties behind Ahmad Bradshaw. If Wilson keeps the ball from hitting the turf, he might re-emerge as a hot pickup.

The Steelers are going to stick with a running-back-by-committee attack, so Rashard Mendenhall owners might want to take it easy on starting him a little longer.

Bilal Powell played more snaps than Shonn Greene for the second week in a row. Greene is just not talented at all. The Jets have an OK matchup against the Colts, so this might actually be a breakout game for Powell.

William Powell is expected to get most of the work for Arizona, according to Adam Schefter. He should be owned in most leagues, but he's more of a flex this week.

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