One of the hardest decisions fantasy owners have to make is whether to take the young gun or the established vet; upside versus proven production. Frank Gore and Shonn Greene are prime examples of this, but which player is the better choice for your fantasy squad? Bud and John break down each player to help you make up your mind.

Shonn Greene, RB, New York Jets

Written by Bud Stafford

Running backs are funny. You have to get them young. You have to get them when they’re getting their first full chance at being a feature back. And you have to let them go when they get in their age 26-27-28 years. Sad but true – all but the most freakish running backs have a very short shelf life, and the astute fantasy owners will comb the pre-season cheat sheets and prognosticating lists, putting down arrows next to the backs in their late 20’s and up arrows next to the young stallions; the hot rookies going into good situations, or better yet, the second-year guys who got their feet wet as backups in their rookie seasons and who have a clear path to the starting lineup in their sophomore seasons.

As we compare Frank Gore and Shonn Green, keep those things in mind.

I’m a 49ers fan, and I’ve loved Gore. His 2006 season was amazing. The problem is, it’s not 2006 any more. It’s 2010 and Frank Gore is 27. In baseball, the age 27 year is the mythical magical peak year for a player. For a running back, it’s almost always when you start to see even the most studly backs start to fade. Maybe not off-a-cliff fade, but the fade really does start now. It’s why you see teams with feature running backs at that age bring in younger backs in the draft.

With Gore, you have to factor in what happened to the 49ers in 2009 and project what’s ahead in 2010. In 2009, Gore saw more than 20 touches (rushing attempts plus receptions) only half the time – eight games. Once the team handed over the quarterback duties again to Alex Smith, the team drifted far away from coach Mike Singletary’s smash-mouth game plans to a spread offense; one that Smith was more comfortable in and one that relied less and less on the running game, and Gore.

Smith is the QB again in 2010, in what is a make or break year for the former number one overall selection. Will the 49ers rely heavily again on the spread? It wouldn’t seem to make sense, given that the coach is more of a run-first kind of guy and Gore is there to pound away as he has for the last six seasons, but with weapons like Vernon Davis and budding WR star Michael Crabtree, don’t be surprised to see the 49ers line up in the spread a lot in 2010. The spread will maximize the production from their QB and to give them a chance to win a very winnable division.

Couple that with my age 27 theory, and red flags are lining the field for Frank Gore.

On the other hand, there is Greene. He’s my guy this year; that second year guy who in his rookie season was behind both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington with the New York Jets. He wasn’t even the most heralded rookie on the Jets last year; that honor going to Mark Sanchez. In 2009, Greene made his first start in Week Seven on the road in Oakland. And all he did was put up 144 yards on 19 carries, a 7.6 yards per carry average, and tacked on two touchdowns. He relinquished the starting gig when Jones returned, but again found himself logging considerable time in the playoffs, where in three games, he went for a combined 304 yards on 54 carries and two touchdowns. In his limited time, he showed game-breaking speed with sturdy power which was enough to convince the Jets to release  Jones and let Washington and his injury rehabbing relocate to Seattle, essentially handing Greene the starting, feature role.

And let's not underestimate that role. Greene is now the feature back on the team with the best offensive line in the game. He’s the feature back on the team with the most run-heavy game plan in the league which will lead to way more than 8 games with 20+ touches. Detractors may say that Greene hasn’t shown that he can be a reliable receiver out of the backfield. While his numbers in 2009 absolutely show a dearth of receiving numbers, remember that for most of the time he was the backup, the change-of-pace back, and he wasn’t involved in many passing plays. That will change in 2010, as he will get ample opportunity to demonstrate his ball-catching ability.

Some may also point to LaDanian Tomlinson, the future Hall of Famer, lurking on the bench behind Greene. To that point, I say: don't worry about Tomlinson being any kind of threat to Greene’s playing time. LT was a good signing as a backup, change-of-pace back, but think back to the first paragraph, folks. LT is now 30 and hasn’t been very good for the last two seasons, since he was 28. Once running backs start to lose it, even the best don’t get it back. Think Shaun Alexander.... think any running back who was once considered elite.

Quarterbacks and receivers can stay elite for many years. Not running backs. Four or five years is usually all you can count on for consistent, fantasy production. Then it’s time to move one, to get younger. Frank Gore has had his four to five years. He may still have two to three good years ahead of him. As a 49ers fan, I hope that Coach Singeltary figures out a way to maximize Gore’s abilities to help them win the division and get back to the post-season. But that’s real life. We’re talking fantasy here, and the cold hard fact is if you want to win, you have to have big production from the running back position. And if you want big production from the running back position and you’re choosing between Gore and Greene, give yourself a chance to win and draft Greene.

Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Written by John Locklear

Proven vs. unproven. Constant 1,000+ yard rusher, or virtual unknown who, at least leading into this season, is all hype and no substance. I don’t think there’s much to debate when it comes to Frank Gore and Shonn Greene -- Gore is clearly the choice.

There’s so much to love about the 49er tailback. Every year, minus his rookie campaign, Gore has rushed for 1,000+ yards, recorded 400+ receiving yards in three of his last four seasons and remains one of the few true workhorse backs left in the NFL. Gore also recorded a career high in touchdowns last season (13), had eight games of 100+ yards from scrimmage and did so missing two games to injury.

Despite early talks out of San Francisco that suggest Gore could lose carries to rookie Anthony Dixon, Gore appears destined for his biggest season since 2006. Those same rumors were rampant last year with Glen Coffee and, well, Coffee had 83 carries all year. What owners should focus on are the changes the 49ers made to the offensive line this offseason -- drafting tackle Anthony Davis and guard Mike Iupati to open up even more and bigger holes for Gore to run through. Mainstay tackle, Joe Staley is set to anchor the other tackle spot on the line likely giving the 49ers one of the better young offensive lines in football. Combine that with an improving passing game led by a resurgent Alex Smith, stud TE Vernon Davis and a young superstar in the making, WR Michael Crabtree and you have all the ingredients to keep defenses from stacking the line against Gore. Translation -- big statistics.

Frank Gore does come with some risk. Injuries have dampened his overall production for the last three years and while it is frustrating to deal with, Gore’s fantasy output is too great to ignore. If you wish to get a look at Gore’s true potential look no further than the last time he did play 16 games. Not only did he record a career high in rushing yards -- 1,695 -- but he also had a career high catching the ball with 485 yards -- numbers Gore is still fully capable of putting up should he stay healthy. Has the former Hurricane shown a propensity for staying off the bench? No, but at least you know despite him missing a game or two, in the end, Gore doesn’t miss significant time and produces numbers that help win fantasy owners games.

The same can’t be said for Mr. Hype himself, Shonn Greene. Minus a solid postseason and one game against the Raiders (a defense I could run on), Greene has done very little to suggest he is worthy of being picked over Gore. Sure, the Jets do feature one of, if not the best, offensive lines in football. But even that has some question marks with the possible holdout of Nick Mangold and the replacing of Alan Faneca with yet another unproven -- Vladimir Ducasse. Also, don’t forget about LaDainian Tomlinson who was brought to New York for a purpose. At the very least Tomlinson could end up stealing goal-line carries (an area Greene struggled with last year) and come in on passing downs. Last, but certainly not least, there’s no telling how Greene’s body holds up to the physical abuse of the NFL. While Gore has been dinged up in years past, he has still proven he can shoulder the load in the NFL; Greene has not.

Both running backs have a ton of upside going into the 2010 season. Not only are both Gore and Greene on improving offenses, but they are both the key cog for those offenses. However, it is Gore’s proven ability to score and score well for fantasy owners that make him the obvious pick of the two. As if owners needed another reason to pick the San Francisco Treat (sorry I had to do it once), Gore’s cake walk schedule makes him even more appealing come playoff time (Greene’s schedule, however, is one of the harder ones among fantasy RB’s). After the likes of Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew and Ray Rice are gone, Gore looks to be near the top of the list of RB’s to go right after. Draft the 49er RB and enjoy another season of 1,500+ yards from scrimmage and 8-13 touchdowns. It’s a lock barring major injury.

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PHOTO CREDITS: Jets Cheerleader, Ed Yourdon

Frank Gore, Derek Kaczmarczyk