The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got their first win of the season on Monday night football against the Miami Dolphins, but the team lost their second starting running back when Mike James fractured his ankle and with him out for the season, fantasy owners now must choose between running backs Brian Leonard and Bobby Rainey as the players to start for the Bucs in Week 11.
The Buccaneers placed Mike James on injured reserve after fracturing his ankle according to ESPN.com, making the two backs in Rainey and Leonard as the best options for players who had either Doug Martin or James, as both are now out for the season. The Buccaneers got their first win of the year against the Dolphins and both Rainey and Leonard played a big part and right now the starting nod looks like it will go to Leonard, but coach Greg Schiano has said that he has been impressed by the way Rainey has handled himself on the field and in practice with the team and that could earn him the start or at least a bunch of carries.
The Buccaneers play against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday and heading into the season that looked like a tough game, but the Falcons have just a couple more wins than the Bucs or just one rather and on top of that, they are giving up tons of yards. The Buccaneers have done a solid job running the ball since Martin went down and now they will go to a third group of backs to try and handle the load. Atlanta gives up over 120 rushing yards per game and while the Bucs are ranked just 14th in the league, they should be able to get a nice attack going for Mike Glennon on Sunday at home after earning their first win over the Dolphins.
James had played very well in the few games since coming in for Martin, as he rushed for over 150 yards against the Seattle Seahawks in the overtime loss and he even was looking good in the game on Monday night, rushing for 41 yards on five carries before getting knocked out with the ankle injury. James will not be out for the season after gaining 295 yards this season with 10 receptions for 43 yards to go along with it and he could have a bright future after the way he played.
But more pressing is the Rainey or Leonard option and going right now I'd say Leonard over Rainey at first, but only because Schiano is so loyal and he was a Rutgers guy and he also played well on Monday night coming in for James. Rainey ended up with less carries, but he had eight for 45 yards and also scored a nice touchdown and he also added one catch for 11 yards and that could be something that comes into play later down the line for the Bucs. This season he has 79 yards and this was his first action since coming to the Bucs from the Browns.
Leonard had 20 carries for 57 yards and over the years he has shown off his versatility as well, catching two balls for 16 yards in the game. Leonard is a solid option for this week and it's possible Rainey could jump ahead of him eventually, but after the game on Monday night it looks like Leonard will get the start, but both players are START options heading into Sunday with the Falcons giving up as much as they do.
