We should all listen more to our teachers. That was definitely the case at the running backs position in the Fantasy Index Open. Chris Durham – a teacher in Yuma, Ariz. – not only won this position, he blew away all of the other 191 entries by almost 2,000 points.
Hardly seems possible, but it’s true. Durham wanted no part of LeVeon Bell, who was starting the season with a two-game suspension, ranking him only 16th on his board. All but two of the other entries had Bell in at least their top 13, and Bell’s average slot was 4th. He ended up playing in only six games, and created a huge chunk of relative value for Durham.
But that wasn’t Durham’s only smart pick. Attorney Brad Freeman, after all, didn’t rank Bell at all. Durham also put Chris Ivory and Doug Martin in his top 10, and was one of the few who at least mentioned the No. 1 overall back, Devonta Freeman. He took everyone to school at this position, you might say.
Jason Howe, a regional manager in Oakland, finished 2nd, but just 63 points ahead of Michael McAninch, a network engineer in Naperville, Ill. This position was Durham’s all the way.
| FANTASY INDEX OPEN (Running backs) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Name | State | Occupation | Points |
| 1. | Chris Durham | Ariz. | Teacher | 44,641 |
| 2. | Jason Howe | Calif. | Regional Manager | 42,784 |
| 3. | Michael McAninch | Ill. | Network Engineer | 42,720 |
| 4. | Paul Owers | Fla. | writer | 42,669 |
| 5. | John Broadbent | Pa. | Implementation Analyst | 42,368 |
| 6. | Rob Dammers | N.J. | Senior Tech Analyst | 42,354 |
| 7. | Jon Hansen | Nev. | Casino Dealer | 42,320 |
| 8. | Daniel MacDonald | Calif. | Transportation Manager | 42,117 |
| 9. | Richard Meyers | Ala. | Quality Engineer | 41,978 |
| 10. | Andrew Leahy | N.J. | Sales Director | 41,903 |
| 11. | Owen Kennedy | Ont. | Student | 41,837 |
| 12. | John D. Smith | Pa. | Warehouse Manager | 41,710 |
| 13. | Pete Collins | Ill. | Product Architect | 41,658 |
| 14. | Chris Winder | Calif. | Teacher | 41,551 |
| 15. | Stephen McKenzie | Wis. | Books Are Fun Salesman | 41,550 |
| 16. | Brett Watts | S.C. | Product Manager | 41,543 |
| 17. | Miguel Tames | Fla. | Retail Manager | 41,511 |
| 18. | Matt Weight | Minn. | Football Enthusiast | 41,498 |
| 19. | Cliff Shannon | B.C. | City Worker | 41,366 |
| 20. | Henry Gong | Pa. | Chemist | 41,365 |
Durham’s big win, however, wasn’t enough to get him into the current top 20. He’s sitting in the No. 21 spot, with now only one position left to go.
Pete Collins (Illinois) is the current leader, with Dave Pizzica (Pa.) dropping to the 2nd and Zach Leavitt (Colo.) and Jason Howe (Calif.) also right there.
The overall winner of this competition wins a humongous trophy from the team at click here." target=_new>Affordable Trophies. They’ve been partnering with us on this venture for the past four years.
The top 2 finishers earn berths in the Experts Poll competition in the 2016 edition of Fantasy Football Index magazine.
| FANTASY INDEX OPEN (current overall) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Name | State | RB | WR | TE | PK | ST | Total |
| 1 | Pete Collins | Ill. | 13 | 34 | 2 | 8 | 112 | 187,346 |
| 2 | Dave Pizzica | Pa. | 77 | 2 | 4 | 104 | 68 | 187,070 |
| 3 | Zach Leavitt | Colo. | 73 | 3 | 3 | 101 | 40 | 187,064 |
| 4 | Jason Howe | Calif. | 2 | 23 | 132 | 7 | 52 | 186,515 |
| 5 | Gary Allen | S.C. | 102 | 7 | 32 | 75 | 17 | 185,457 |
| 6 | Michael O'Brien | Colo. | 49 | 19 | 64 | 45 | 12 | 185,151 |
| 7 | Jay Harding | Ore. | 129 | 14 | 10 | 65 | 32 | 184,469 |
| 8 | Matt Weight | Minn. | 18 | 131 | 46 | 1 | 64 | 184,463 |
| 9 | J.Brack Varnon | Tex. | 128 | 13 | 27 | 47 | 27 | 184,450 |
| 10 | Michael Kolton | Wis. | 131 | 33 | 39 | 4 | 50 | 184,349 |
| 11 | Greg Resin | Calif. | 31 | 98 | 7 | 26 | 116 | 184,318 |
| 12 | Andrew Leahy | N.J. | 10 | 56 | 43 | 130 | 6 | 184,169 |
| 13 | Zach Nizolek | Mo. | 68 | 6 | 77 | 54 | 167 | 184,160 |
| 14 | Moishe Steigmann | Wis. | 43 | 55 | 40 | 10 | 105 | 184,131 |
| 15 | Steve Blenker | N.Y. | 47 | 10 | 142 | 58 | 22 | 184,092 |
| 16 | Michael McAninch | Ill. | 3 | 80 | 130 | 87 | 13 | 183,825 |
| 17 | Keen Johnson | Mich. | 37 | 38 | 16 | 89 | 132 | 183,805 |
| 18 | Jim Coventry | Ill. | 87 | 83 | 5 | 53 | 114 | 183,767 |
| 19 | Tony Holm | Ill. | 74 | 1 | 108 | 158 | 136 | 183,730 |
| 20 | Tommy Libretti | N.Y. | 29 | 157 | 11 | 5 | 108 | 183,723 |
For running backs, this is how they ranked (with contestants in alphabetical order).
| FANTASY INDEX OPEN, Running backs (alphabetical) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Hometown | Points | Rank |
| Adam Bergeron | Salem, N.H. | 38,854 | 162 |
| Adam Locke | Lynnwood, Wash. | 39,702 | 114 |
| Adam Sheets | Santa Rosa, Calif. | 39,507 | 124 |
| Adam Taylor | Media, Pa. | 38,047 | 182 |
| Andrew Leahy | Audubon, N.J. | 41,903 | 10 |
| Andy Richardson | Port Chester, N.Y. | 40,817 | 44 |
| Ben MacLeod | Manchester, N.H. | 40,193 | 85 |
| Bill D'Allesandro | Huntington, N.Y. | 39,739 | 112 |
| Bill Mason | Huntersville, N.C. | 38,243 | 179 |
| Billy Friedrich | Raleigh, N.C. | 38,414 | 175 |
| Bob Adelman | St. Louis, Mo. | 39,059 | 151 |
| Bob Tecca | Minneapolis, Minn. | 39,109 | 147 |
| Brad Freeman | Geneva, Ill. | 41,318 | 23 |
| Brad Henderson | Louisville, Ken. | 41,088 | 33 |
| Brent Miles | Pasco, Wash. | 39,892 | 108 |
| Brenton Roberts | Kirkland, Wash. | 38,813 | 165 |
| Brett Watts | Florence, S.C. | 41,543 | 16 |
| Brian Sauber | Highlands Ranch, Colo. | 39,671 | 115 |
| Bruce Alwine | Havertown, Pa. | 39,341 | 138 |
| Charles Raifman | Short Hills, N.J. | 40,913 | 38 |
| Chris Durham | Yuma, Ariz. | 44,641 | 1 |
| Chris Henkle | Aurora, Ill. | 40,466 | 66 |
| Chris Hertzberg | Austin, Tex. | 39,560 | 120 |
| Chris Weber | Appleton, Wis. | 40,906 | 40 |
| Chris Whitney | San Jose, Calif. | 39,079 | 149 |
| Chris Winder | San Ramon, Calif. | 41,551 | 14 |
| Cliff Shannon | Maple Ridge, B.C. | 41,366 | 19 |
| Cory Bonini | San Diego, Calif. | 40,388 | 72 |
| Craig Leedy | Sacramento, Calif. | 40,645 | 56 |
| Curt Goldgrabe | Boise, Idaho | 40,067 | 96 |
| Dale Gander | Sun Prairie, Wis. | 39,858 | 110 |
| Dana Duffield | Rochester, Minn. | 40,308 | 79 |
| Daniel Bowman | Liberty, Mo. | 40,467 | 65 |
| Daniel MacDonald | Torrance, Calif. | 42,117 | 8 |
| Dave Cohen | Brooklyn, N.Y. | 41,225 | 26 |
| Dave Pizzica | Springfield, Pa. | 40,355 | 77 |
| Dave Wilde | Mukwonago, Wis. | 39,398 | 132 |
| David Bouchard | Fort Kent, Maine | 40,557 | 61 |
| Dennis Lyons | Elk Grove, Calif. | 41,324 | 22 |
| Derek Irelan | Round Hill, Va. | 39,609 | 118 |
| Don Pavelka | Plainview, Minn. | 40,458 | 70 |
| Doug Brown | Fort Gratiot, Mich. | 40,754 | 48 |
| Doug Pacey | Tempe, Ariz. | 38,869 | 160 |
| Drew Englebright | London, U.K. | 41,169 | 27 |
| Duke Davis | Merchantville, N.J. | 40,028 | 101 |
| Ed Burke | Philadelphia, Pa. | 39,435 | 130 |
| Ed Weiss | Parsippany, N.J. | 40,443 | 71 |
| Eric Goetz | Shoreline, Wash. | 39,206 | 144 |
| Eric Gustitus | Exeter, Pa. | 38,528 | 172 |
| Eric Scolnick | Redmond, Wash. | 38,850 | 163 |
| Fabrizio Danova | Los Angeles, Calif. | 38,572 | 169 |
| Frank Rotella | Sewell, N.J. | 41,356 | 21 |
| Frank Shinnick | Milford, Mass. | 40,113 | 91 |
| Gary Allen | Charleston, S.C. | 40,020 | 102 |
| Geoff Greggs | Roy, Wash. | 38,962 | 154 |
| Glen Williams | Columbus, Ohio | 37,675 | 187 |
| Greg Heminway | Sacramento, Calif. | 40,678 | 54 |
| Greg Resin | Hermosa Beach, Calif. | 41,124 | 31 |
| Henry Goers | Bartlett, Ill. | 41,104 | 32 |
| Henry Gong | State College, Pa. | 41,365 | 20 |
| Ian Allan | Seattle, Wash. | 39,657 | 116 |
| Ian MacEwen | Seven Hills, Ohio | 39,282 | 141 |
| J.Brack Varnon | Houston, Tex. | 39,441 | 128 |
| Jacques Dugger | Taylor, Mich. | 39,174 | 145 |
| James Wimmers | Lincolnton, N.C. | 40,885 | 42 |
| Jamie Alberts | Sturgeon Bay, Wis. | 39,530 | 121 |
| Jared Ross | Champaign, Ill. | 40,569 | 59 |
| Jason Howe | Oakland, Calif. | 42,784 | 2 |
| Jason Howes | Stewartville, Minn. | 41,164 | 28 |
| Jason Pilon | Roseville, Minn. | 40,774 | 46 |
| Jay Harding | Portland, Ore. | 39,440 | 129 |
| Jeff Alberts | Sturgeon Bay, Wis. | 39,093 | 148 |
| Jeff Fossett | Newburgh, Ind. | 38,016 | 183 |
| Jeff Friedrich | Greenville, N.C. | 40,080 | 94 |
| Jeff Noordhoff | Indialantic, Fla. | 39,997 | 104 |
| Jeff Ross | Lake Villa, Ill. | 39,074 | 150 |
| Jeffery Lebeouf | Crowley, La. | 39,353 | 136 |
| Jeremy Schwartz | Edison, N.J. | 40,610 | 58 |
| Jesse McGuigan | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 41,249 | 24 |
| Jim Coventry | Chicago, Ill. | 40,184 | 87 |
| Jim Kangas | Viroqua, Wis. | 39,372 | 135 |
| Jim Kovac | Tucson, Ariz. | 38,223 | 181 |
| John Broadbent | Philadelphia, Pa. | 42,368 | 5 |
| John D. Smith | Willow Grove, Pa. | 41,710 | 12 |
| John Dent | Ann Arbor, Mich. | 39,386 | 133 |
| John Duggins | Greenville, S.C. | 40,562 | 60 |
| John Lapertosa | Bethpage, N.Y. | 39,126 | 146 |
| John Moore | Sea Isle City, N.J. | 39,519 | 122 |
| John Ruppe | Fort Myers, Fla. | 40,061 | 98 |
| John Smulowitz | Wilkes-Barre, Pa. | 38,997 | 153 |
| John Stolzmann | Las Vegas, Nev. | 39,915 | 106 |
| Johnny Bazzano | Santa Rosa, Calif. | 39,602 | 119 |
| Johnny Pullen | Tampa, Fla. | 38,900 | 157 |
| Jon Hansen | Reno, Nev. | 42,320 | 7 |
| Jon Rodningen | Omaha, Neb. | 37,151 | 191 |
| Jonathan Mora | Chicago, Ill. | 40,207 | 83 |
| Joseph Michelangelo | Oceanside, N.Y. | 38,407 | 176 |
| Keen Johnson | Dearborn, Mich. | 40,945 | 37 |
| Ken Norman | Chanhassen, Minn. | 40,257 | 81 |
| Ken Valis | Gaithersburg, Md. | 38,842 | 164 |
| Kenneth Jones | Aurora, Colo. | 40,319 | 78 |
| Kenneth Yuen | Arlington Heights, Ill. | 40,890 | 41 |
| Kevin Cuozzo | Concord, Mass. | 38,533 | 171 |
| Kevin E. Smith | Philadelphia, Pa. | 39,951 | 105 |
| Kevin Hall | Allen, Tex. | 39,881 | 109 |
| Kyle Soppe | Rochester, N.Y. | 39,223 | 143 |
| Larry Weinhauer | Andover, N.Y. | 38,879 | 159 |
| Mark Burns | Runnemede, N.J. | 40,146 | 89 |
| Mark Kundrotas | Waterford, N.J. | 39,495 | 125 |
| Mark Stoecker | Dallas, Tex. | 39,905 | 107 |
| Matt Weight | Minneapolis, Minn. | 41,498 | 18 |
| Michael DeSario | Las Vegas, Nev. | 41,068 | 34 |
| Michael Kolton | Green Bay, Wis. | 39,425 | 131 |
| Michael Livengood | Ward, Ark. | 38,892 | 158 |
| Michael McAninch | Naperville, Ill. | 42,720 | 3 |
| Michael McIlraith | North Hollywood, Calif. | 40,063 | 97 |
| Michael O'Brien | Brighton, Colo. | 40,751 | 49 |
| Michael Stoltz | Great Falls, Va. | 40,118 | 90 |
| Miguel Tames | Miami, Fla. | 41,511 | 17 |
| Mike Balliet | Milton, Pa. | 39,441 | 127 |
| Mike Clay | Blandon, Pa. | 40,807 | 45 |
| Mike Craig | Kokoko, Ind. | 40,194 | 84 |
| Mike Knorowski | Wesley Chapel, Fla. | 40,061 | 99 |
| Mike Kovacev | Lynnfield, Mass. | 39,455 | 126 |
| Mike McIlraith | Fort Worth, Tex. | 37,457 | 190 |
| Mike Nease | West Chicago, Ill. | 39,795 | 111 |
| Mike Rickel | Ira twp, Mich. | 40,053 | 100 |
| Mike Taylor | Meridian, Idaho | 40,461 | 67 |
| Mike Wells | Good Thunder, Minn. | 40,458 | 69 |
| Moishe Steigmann | Milwaukee, Wis. | 40,884 | 43 |
| Nathan Kline | Topton, Pa. | 38,336 | 178 |
| Nathan Priest | Waynesboro, Pa. | 38,648 | 167 |
| Nathan Roberts | Lucasville, Ohio | 37,458 | 189 |
| Nathan Zanon | San Jose, Calif. | 40,546 | 64 |
| Nick Petrevski | El Segundo, Calif. | 40,305 | 80 |
| Norm Shirk | Rockford, Ill. | 37,662 | 188 |
| Owen Kennedy | Midhurst, Ont. | 41,837 | 11 |
| Paul McCann | Hopewell Twp., Pa. | 37,725 | 186 |
| Paul Owers | Lake Worth , Fla. | 42,669 | 4 |
| Paul Staas | Pompano Beach, Fla. | 39,281 | 142 |
| Pete Collins | Orland Park, Ill. | 41,658 | 13 |
| Pete Owers | West Palm Beach, Fla. | 41,127 | 30 |
| Pete Richmond | Alexandria, Va. | 39,289 | 139 |
| Peter Johnson | Fullerton, Calif. | 40,983 | 36 |
| Rich Mays | The Dalles, Ore. | 41,040 | 35 |
| Richard Fechter | Coral Gables, Fla. | 38,862 | 161 |
| Richard Jackson | San Francisco, Calif. | 41,243 | 25 |
| Richard Loppnow | Ephrata, Wash. | 40,554 | 63 |
| Richard Meadors | Seymour , Ind. | 40,096 | 93 |
| Richard Meyers | Gurley, Ala. | 41,978 | 9 |
| Rob Dammers | Ringwood, N.J. | 42,354 | 6 |
| Robert Milelli | Cherry Hill, N.J. | 38,915 | 155 |
| Rocky Petrella | Philadelphia, Pa. | 40,702 | 53 |
| Rudy Flores | Chicago, Ill. | 38,238 | 180 |
| Rustin Paul | New York, N.Y. | 36,226 | 192 |
| Rusty Stephens | Atlanta, Ga. | 40,244 | 82 |
| Sam Wood | Boston, Mass. | 40,150 | 88 |
| Scott Anderson | Lakewood, Colo. | 40,702 | 52 |
| Scott Kopischke | Menomonee Falls, Wis. | 39,623 | 117 |
| Scott Liles | Russellville, Ark. | 40,556 | 62 |
| Scott Sachs | Canton, Ohio | 38,360 | 177 |
| Seamus McGuigan | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 39,716 | 113 |
| Sean Chi | Flushing, N.Y. | 40,672 | 55 |
| Sebastian Falsone | Philadelphia, Pa. | 40,612 | 57 |
| Sergio Garcia | Lake Elsinore, Calif. | 38,912 | 156 |
| Shane Scott | Toronto, Ont. | 39,341 | 137 |
| Stephen McKenzie | New Richmond, Wis. | 41,550 | 15 |
| Steve Blenker | Sloan, N.Y. | 40,760 | 47 |
| Steve Clark | Las Vegas, Nev. | 38,006 | 184 |
| Steve Horne | Novi, Mich. | 37,754 | 185 |
| Steve Hoyt | Buffalo Grove, Ill. | 38,618 | 168 |
| Steve Math | Austin, Tex. | 38,564 | 170 |
| Steve Moyer | Oakland, Calif. | 40,746 | 50 |
| Steve Tortora | Wallingford, Conn. | 40,017 | 103 |
| Steven Alessandrini | Flanders, N.J. | 39,380 | 134 |
| Thomas Alexander | Bristow, Va. | 38,458 | 173 |
| Tim Smith | Hayward, Calif. | 40,185 | 86 |
| Tim Wandling | Rohnert Park, Calif. | 40,718 | 51 |
| Todd Voorhees | Chula Vista, Calif. | 40,110 | 92 |
| Tom Deskovitz | South Lyon, Mich. | 40,911 | 39 |
| Tom Morande | Tinley Park, Ill. | 39,283 | 140 |
| Tommy Libretti | Long Island, N.Y. | 41,142 | 29 |
| Tony Holm | Chicago, Ill. | 40,384 | 74 |
| Tony Zeller | Dundalk, Md. | 40,382 | 75 |
| Travis Perry | Coeburn, Va. | 38,442 | 174 |
| Trevor Ross | Edmonton, Alberta | 40,076 | 95 |
| Trey Quinn | Annapolis, Md. | 40,365 | 76 |
| Victor Kitzes | Maple Valley, Wash. | 38,700 | 166 |
| Will Carpenter | Seven Lakes, N.C. | 39,015 | 152 |
| William Rehor | Culver City, Calif. | 39,514 | 123 |
| Zach Leavitt | Highlands Ranch, Colo. | 40,387 | 73 |
| Zach Nizolek | Kansas City, Mo. | 40,460 | 68 |
—Ian Allan

