Justin Fargas LaMont Jordan Marcus Allen

Juke right, juke left, spin move...speed burst...Justin Fargas is one heck of a running back.Time for supper; shut the video game off and get back to reality.If this is the guy that prevented Al Davis from taking a running back in the latter rounds of last weekend's draft, there could be a problem. Fargas is the Marques Tuiasasopo of running backs--potentially great, but greatly unproductive.Fargas was a third-round, last-choice selection in the 2003 NFL Draft. In three years with the team, the USC alumnus has carried the ball 80 times for 357 yards and one touchdown. Last season, he took just five handoffs for 28 yards--that's one-third of one carry per game.Most of the reason why the 6-1, 220-pound back has been so unproductive is due to constant injuries..."You put your left knee in, you take your right toe out, you put your hamstring in and you take the running back out--yep, that's what Justin Fargas is all about."But even with just five carries, Fargas received the third-most touches by a Raider-runner in 2006. As a matter of fact, he was the only true running back on the depth chart behind starter LaMont Jordan. The bulk of the backup running, however, was done by fullback Zack Crockett, who took a season sum of 60 carries for 208 total yards.The rest went to LaMont Jordan, who was regarded as a "workhorse" before the season, and found out really what it meant by the end. Of the 361 carries that Oakland parceled out last year, 272 were between the hands of Jordan. Individually, he covered 1,025 of the 29th ranked 1,369 yards that team accumulated--that's just over the length of ten football fields. On the other hand, the oft-injured Fargas carried the ball for just about a touchback and a half.But, by hook or by crook, he is still the holder of the number 20--for reasons hard to explain. One has to think that team owner Al Davis has something to do with the sustained tenure of Fargas. Perhaps he sees a bit of Marcus Allen in the runner. Yes, that Marcus Allen. Their body frames are almost identical, as Allen measures 6-2, 210 pounds and Fargas is listed at 6-1, 220 pounds; and, at face value, their running styles are very similar. All the more, both made a transition from the University of Southern California into the professional ranks of the NFL.The difference: Marcus Allen could see a hole when it was there and make one when it wasn't; Fargas can't see one or make one.From the aerial viewpoint of a video game though, he's a weapon.Juke left, spin right, hurdle...speed burst...Justin Fargas is one heck of a running back.In fantasyland.