This is where fantasy football has gone this season: Owners are breathlessly trying to acquire Jesse Chatman. That's right, the backup running back for the Miami Dolphins, the NFL's worst team.

It's understandable. It's Week 8, and anyone with a pulse at running back gets a look. Of course, most running backs don't have Cleo Lemon at quarterback, the team's best receiver traded (Chris Chambers) and a suspect defense.

A cagey owner in one of my leagues drafted Chatman for this exact scenario. Of course, this is the same guy I traded Brian Leonard to for a similar reason.

This owner has placed Chatman immediately on the trading block. Smart.

Take a look at the Dolphins' schedule. After the Giants at home and a bye, Chatman faces the Eagles and Steelers on the road, and has a home game against the Jets.

After that, in most leagues' playoff weeks, Miami plays at Buffalo, home against Baltimore and at New England. That tasty Bengals matchup is in Week 17, when most league winners are counting their money.

If you're truly desperate, take a chance on Chatman. There are a couple games he could rack up some yards. But don't expect Ronnie Brown-like production.

If you had Brown, your running back corps took a hit. Unless you had a deep bench (or wisely acquired Chatman earlier), you're down a man and worrying that your season will go up in smoke.

Speaking of smoke, Ricky Williams probably won't help this season, but he could resurface from his haze next year.

Some other running backs for the truly despondent:

Chicago's Adrian Peterson: No, not the good one, but the one playing behind underwhelming Cedric Benson. The Bears changed quarterbacks. Running backs could be next.

New York Jets' Leon Washington: Thomas Jones, the ex-Bear, hasn't been what the Jets hoped. While better than Benson (that's why he was the starter in Chicago), he can't find the end zone. Washington is quicker.

Green Bay's Ryan Grant: OK, so you took a chance drafting Brandon Jackson, and picking up DeShawn Wynn two weeks too late didn't work either. And now Grant is practicing with the Packers' first team. If there are no other options, why not? Buyer beware.

Miami's Patrick Cobbs: Never mind the several paragraphs above. Cobbs is now a backup to Chatman. Hey, in the NFL, it's next man up.