nd they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle

They get downgraded in the draft and told their NFL lifespan rarely goes beyond their 30th birthdays.In the pass-happy pro football world, running backs sometimes become afterthoughts. Then, guys like C.J. Anderson, DeAngelo Williams, Matt Forte and Carlos Hyde go wild on the field.Yes, the Patriots and Saints have found ways to prosper chucking the ball all over the yard. But as the first 17 games this season proved -- including Fortes 100-yard, three-touchdown extravaganza for the Jets on Thursday night against Buffalo -- the ground game still matters.Bigtime.Just ask one of the NFLs top passers.With all the fantasy football and all the stuff, from a players perspective, you have to stop the run first, Arizonas Carson Palmer says. Thats what every defense wants to come in and do. You dont talk about it maybe as much, you hear so much about protecting quarterbacks, passing games ... but every team is trying to give up big chunks of yards in the run game, and every team is trying to run the football successfully. From a players standpoint, its a focal point of everything we do.From some coaches standpoint, too.Obviously, they are a huge part of what we like to do. There is not a substitute for a good runner, says Browns coach Hue Jackson, a noted offensive mind. If you have a guy who can wear the defense down a little bit and a guy who knows how to carry the ball, be physical and make those tough yards, there is no substitute for those guys.Would the Broncos have been champions without the performances of Anderson last year? In some ways, hes more valuable than Peyton Manning and his replacement at quarterback, Trevor Simian.No team has a better aerial game than the Steelers. Yet what makes it even more dangerous is what Pittsburgh gets from its backfield.With LeVeon Bell sidelined by a knee injury for much of 2015 and suspended for the first three games this season, Williams has soared. At 33, he appears in his prime -- something Washington learned Monday night when Williams scooted for 143 yards and two touchdowns . He also had six receptions, and he can handle onrushing blitzers.Its one of those things if you can carry the load, you can carry the load, says Williams, who has prospered from splitting carries in Carolina with Jonathan Stewart before landing in Pittsburgh. In this league now, youve got to have two backs if you want to be where you want to be, and thats the Super Bowl.Few teams get that far without a strong passing attack, of course. With all the rules changes favoring throwing, and the onset of fantasy football, it sometimes seems like getting down and dirty with the running game is, well, down and dirty.But one of the real pleasures of watching the NFL is how Adrian Peterson can befuddle defenses while bedazzling viewers. All-around backs such as Williams, Forte, Doug Martin, Jamaal Charles and LeSean McCoy spice up the sport.Youngsters Hyde, Todd Gurley, David Johnson and Devonta Freeman add even more juice.Maybe fans cant wrap their allegiances around running backs (except in fantasy football, of course) because many teams use several RBs each game. The wear and tear of the position warrants a rotation, something inconceivable at quarterback and unlikely at wideout -- no teams take out the top target when they go to multiple-receiver sets.Behind the QB, though, sometimes theres a committee toting the ball, catching it or blocking.No club handles depth at running back better than Kansas City. Even with its star, Charles, hobbled, Andy Reids team can send Spencer Ware , Charcandrick West and Knile Davis at opponents. When Charles gets back to full health, that makes him even more dangerous: Reid can pick and choose when and how to use the versatile Charles because his other backs are dependable.Every running back is a little different and thats the beauty of our guys, theyre all a little different, says Chiefs co-offensive coordinator and running game mastermind Matt Nagy. You have Jamaal with the speed, Spencer with the power, Charcandrick with the mix, and Knile with the power and the mix. So for us, its just a matter of us putting them in and letting them roll to their strengths.Its a matter of identifying what your backs do well, and its dictated more by the player than the team.When teams can dictate the pace of a game on the ground, they can control the clock and, often, the scoreboard.Thats not to say having a star or solid quarterback doesnt lead to winning. But ask Ben Roethlisberger or Alex Smith or whoever lines up behind center in Minnesota about the importance of running the ball.They know.---AP Sports Writers Dave Skretta, Tom Withers, Bob Baum and Will Graves contributed.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Indians Jerseys Kevin Plawecki Indians Jersey . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. https://www.cheapindiansonline.com/1158u-rick-sutcliffe-jersey-indians.html . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Brook Jacoby Indians Jersey . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Jim Thome Jersey . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. PARIS -- French President Francois Hollande treated IOC President Thomas Bach with a special gift: an Olympic flag from the 1924 Olympic games that were held in Paris.In addition to the vintage present, Hollande also had a special message for Bach: This Olympic flag dates back to nearly a century. It will be a century old when Paris will host the Games in 2024.Paris, which has not hosted the Olympics since those Games, is competing against Budapest, Rome and Los Angeles. The International Olympic Committee will choose the host city in September.After meeting with French athletes and Paris bid leaders during a two-day visit in the French capital, Bach met Hollande at the Elysee Palace on Sunday to discuss the bid.He told Hollande he was impressed by the Paris dossier and the strong support the bid is enjoying.The Paris bid is a very, very strong bid because of the unity and the large support it is sparking off, Bach said. Personally, Im very impressed by the unity among both the sporting and political worlds.Bach insisted the strong support among the general population was a key asset to the Paris bid.This has not always been the case with the previous French bids, he said.Paris failed in bids for the 1992, 2008, and 2012 Games and France also decided not to bid for 2020 after Annecy was humiliated in the race for the 2018 Winter Games.This time, bid officials have made sure their project is backed by the government, the Paris city hall, and enjoys a strong level of public support.The Paris bid is also in line with the IOCs Agenda 2020, a set of recommendations encouraging bidding cities to promote maximizing the use of existing facilities and infrastructure to save money.More than 70 percent of the proposed venues in the Paris bid are existing facilities, with a further 25 percent being temporary structures. The main construction requirements for the bid include an aquatics center close to the Stade de France, aa new indoor arena in the southern Bercy neighborhood, the Olympic village and media center.dddddddddddd Paris officials are also promising there wont be any white elephants and that 100 percent of the venues will have a real legacy.Your project is excellent and is in line with the Agenda 2020, said Bach.Despite the security threats in France, Hollande repeated that Paris has the experience needed to organize and protect major events if it gets the Games, citing the soccer European Championships France hosted last summer as an example.More than 200 people have died in France in the last 20 months in several terror attacks.I have no idea how the world will look like in 2024, but it will necessarily be dangerous, Hollande said. There is not a single country, or capital, that might think it will be immune. We have been confronted by this reality for a while, but we have what it takes to protect an event like the 2024 Olympics.Bach, who attended a soccer game between refugees and French athletes at the end of his visit, said security is a top priority for the IOC.We have to face challenges, but these challenges are not restricted to one particular city, or to one particular country, he said. Unfortunately, we are living in a world where all big events and normal citizens have to live with this threat of terrorism. This is true for every country in the world. What is important is to see how countries are dealing with this challenge. And France has shown with the recent organization of the Euro (European Championship) that they can deal with security challenges.Next week, Bach is expected to meet Italian officials, who still hope the Rome bid can be revived despite opposition from the city council, which voted in favor of scrapping the bid after Mayor Virginia Raggi rejected the candidacy. 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