Just when it looked like Michael Bennett had reclaimed the Vike’s starting gig at RB he comes up with a 19 rush/16 yard Meadowlands flop. Bennett had gone off for 106 yards on 18 carries in Week 9. But that was at home, indoors, and, most importantly, against Detroit.

Bennett has starter’s speed, but he lacks the patience to pick his holes between the tackles. Maybe he’d look good on the Bucs, because he runs like he’s been shot out of a cannon. He’s so damn fast you can’t help but think he’ll eventually turn into something special. But he’s been in the league for 5 years. His 1,296 yard season came in ‘02/’03. And the only thing he’s done since has been get injured.

So what about Mewelde Moore? He was sidelined last week with a wrist injury that kept him shackled to special-teams duty. He returned a punt for a TD, but wasn’t strong enough to protect the ball on carries. He’s practiced all week with a brace on his wrist and is going to start Monday night in Green Bay. The Packers’ defense is so bad he’s almost guaranteed to score a TD. But what about long-term prospects?

Mewelde has 362 yards this season on 92 carries. That’s a 4.0 average. The Vikings don’t really have a passing offense, so 4.0 isn’t so bad. Last year he hit 5.8 (379 in 65 carries). That’s excellent. But yards won’t come easy to a Vikings club with their franchise QB out until the snow falls on 2006.

Daunte’s absence could end up working out well for Mewelde. With Brad Johnson at QB the Vikings are going with a lot of runs, screens, and short-yardage plays. At least he’s going to get carries. But the more rushes you give Mewelde the more you expose him. He’s really shown this year that he’s a good 3rd down back. But it doesn’t look like he has the speed or toughness to be a #1. Neither does Bennett. Onterrio Smith had the talent, but he’s out of the picture. As long as you’ve got Bennett and Moore, two RBs with pretty similar potential, you’re going to have a backfield by committee.

Mewelde hasn’t looked shifty enough this year to inspire any great fantasy faith. He actually looks a lot like a 2005 Marshall Faulk. Let me stress that point for a second: I mean the worn out, declining Marshall Faulk. Not the 20+ TD Faulk from the Rams’ Superbowl season. At 5′11, 209, he could be Marshall’s stand-in. The Rams’ RB is 5′11, 211. But Marshall went 2nd overall. Moore was a 4th round pick. He’s got some moves, but lacks that power and explosiveness. He just seems easy to bring down.

London Fletcher used to say tackling Travis Henry was like tackling a greased barrel. With Mewelde it’s more like an ironing board.

Still, he’s only 23. With Moe Williams out it’s just Moore and Bennett vying for carries. If Moore can just shake Bennett this week he should have decent value in garbage time for a Vikings team with games against Cleveland, Detroit, and St. Louis up next on the schedule. After that it’s Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Chicago. So proceed with caution.

Mewelde Moore Profile and Statistics