RADIO
Houston Texans Running Back Arian Foster was involved in a non-contact achilles tendon rupture in Week 7 and will be out for the remainder of the season. Earlier this season, Foster was coming back from groin surgery and missed the first 3 games. Alfred Blue and Chris Polk were carrying the brunt of the load with Foster out then, and also will now. The question is, who can you start in your line up and which running back will be more successful?
Coming into the season, Alfred Blue was the expected starter and looked to be the number one guy until Arian came back. In the first two games he was very unimpressive and only carried the ball 14 times for 48 yards combined. However, in the third game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Blue had a monster outing with 31 carries for 139 yards and 1 touchdown.
On the other hand, Chris Polk is also slated to receive a share of the load in Foster's absence. In the first two games of the season, Polk looked like a slightly better running back with 19 carries for 60 yards. However, in the third game against the Buccaneers, Blue ran wild and Polk had next to nothing.
Since we have already had a taste of the Texans running back situation with Foster out, how do we proceed going forward with starting or sitting these two running backs? It seems Blue will be getting the lead role for now.
In the immediate future, the Texans are home to play the Tennessee Titans in Week 8. Although this may look like a favorable match-up for Blue, owners should beware of starting him until he can prove he will get the carries and yardage to be worthy. Only start Blue in emergency situations such as bye week or injury trouble for Week 8. After the Texans Bye in Week 9 they have a few tough games as they are on the road in Week 10 at Cincinnati, and then home against the New York Jets in week 11.
At this point it is a wait-and-see situation, but with the Texans tough schedule following a bye it seems like Alfred Blue and Chris Polk might not be giving you any good numbers any time in the immediate future. If you have roster space, they are worthy of stashing on your bench and seeing who will emerge (if at all) as the lead back.
