Faceoff - RB LenDale White, Tennessee Titans

Posted 8/26, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Colin Dowling

Point: "Lendale White is FAT and SLOW!"

Counterpoint: White has run for 1883 yards and 22 touchdowns in the last two seasons.

Point: "Chris Johnson is the better running back on the roster!"

Counterpoint: White has run for 1883 yards and 22 touchdowns in the last two seasons.

Point: "Jeff Fisher doesn't like LenDale White which is why he spent a 2nd round pick on Chris Henry and then a 1st round pick on Chris Johnson. Fisher wants someone other then White running the ball!"

Counterpoint: White has run for 1883 yards and 22 touchdowns in the last two seasons.

Honestly, I don't know how much clearer it should be to fantasy owners. White is an easy target for non-Titans fans (and even some Titans fans) because he has been fat, slid on draft day, he has been fat, he spit on a teammate, and -- oh yeah -- he's fat.

Well, how about this: White has lost 30 pounds coming in to this season. And White continues to get the Titans' goal-line carries (as he did last season) in practice and in the preseason games. White doesn't appear to be in any risk of losing his carries -- in fact the Titans may increase his carries as they work to get Johnson more touches in the receiving game. There doesn't appear to be ANY evidence that the Titans are going to phase out White other then the fact that Chris Johnson fans "want" it to be so. In the Titans run-heavy offense, the need for multiple running backs is a necessity.

For those critics who would call White's production an anomaly, did you know that White's 1883 rush yards and 22 touchdowns in the last two seasons is nearly equivalent production to top-20 pick Marion Barber (1860 yards and 23 total touchdowns)? Did you know that his 21 goalline carries resulted in 12 touchdowns last season compared to Johnson's 4 goalline carries? Did you know that his conversion rate at the goalline (57%) compares favorably to Adrian Peterson (56%), Maurice Jones-Drew (58%), and Michael Turner (63%)?

The downside of LenDale White comes down to people thinking Chris Johnson is going to get more work (including the precious goalline carries) and thinking White is not that good. There is no evidence to the former and even less to the latter.

Downside - by Sigmund Bloom

Last year was a dream season for the Tennessee Titans. They were the last undefeated team in the regular season, and generally dominated their competition with a superior defense and running game. It was a good enough effort to earn them the #1 seed in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. LenDale White had a dream season, too.

He ran for 15 touchdowns, tied with Brandon Jacobs for third in the league behind DeAngelo Williams and Michael Turner, including a truly unbelievable 80 yard romp against Kansas City. A brilliant campaign like the 2008 one is unlikely to happen again for the Titans or LenDale, and fantasy owners would be wise to stay away from White this year.

First and foremost, it's important to look at the game situations that saw White flourish. Even a cursory glance confirms that White was the finisher last year. White had about half of his yards (387), a third of his TDs (5), and a 5.0 yard-per-carry average when the Titans were up by more than a score. Most of the rest of his production (195/8 TDs) came when the Titans were ahead by a score or less. He had very little production when the Titans tied or behind. If the game was close to the end, you often got a stinker:

• Baltimore (13-10 win, 3 carries for 4 yards)
• 2nd meeting with Houston (13-12 loss, 8 carries, 26 yards)
• NY Jets (34-13 loss, 1 carry -1 yards).

The Titans are likely to be tied or behind a lot more in 2009 than they were in 2008 simply because of the loss of Albert Haynesworth. The entire defense keyed off of the huge disruptions he would create against the run and pass alike. There are going to be more game situations that favor Chris Johnson, not LenDale White.

Even if the Titans defense digs down deep and makes up for the loss of Haynesworth, a bevy of Titans coaches have let us know this offseason that Chris Johnson will get more work this year. RB coach Earnest Byner said to look at the playoff game vs. the Ravens as an indication of where Johnson could go (Johnson had 12 touches for 100 yards before getting hurt, White had two touches for zero yards during that quarter and a half). Offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger said they "held (Johnson) back last year". Head coach Jeff Fisher said "We're going to expand on what we did with him."

LenDale White had his day in the sun, but he was in the right place at the right time. Anyone spending anything near White's current ADP of 70th overall and RB30 will be sorry that they did.