The two least popular men in fantasy football right now may very well be Todd Haley and Rex Ryan. The head coaches of the Chiefs and Jets, respectively, have irritated fantasy football owners with their unwillingness to turn over the ground game completely to their reputed starting tailbacks.

Jamaal Charles in Kansas City and Shonn Greene in New York have gotten their share of carries, although their loads are not as great as most projected coming into the season.

Through two weeks, Charles has 22 carries for 141 yards. His backfield mate Thomas Jones has 33 carries for 122 yards. Charles seems to have been more productive (and has scored two touchdowns), but Jones has gotten 60 percent of the carries between the two.

Greene has 20 carries for 70 yards in two games, whereas veteran LaDainian Tomlinson has 22 carries for 138 yards. Their attempts have been nearly even with Tomlinson making more of his opportunities.

In both of the above cases, fantasy owners have begun to panic. Among backs who are healthy, Charles is the most deactivated rusher from Week 2 to Week 3. Shonn Greene is starting in less than 50 percent of leagues now and is the fourth-most traded player this season.

Commonalities exist in the situations in New York and Kansas City. Each team had a relatively unproven back that had a great finish to the 2009 season and was presumed to become the primary option in 2010. Each team had an older veteran signed with a new team, ostensibly as a second-stringer.

Jones and Tomlinson, both over 30 and with a combined 19 seasons in the NFL entering this campaign, have not played like reserves. However, at their age, they are unlikely to maintain this level of play all year. Then, the younger, fresher backs, Charles and Greene, will see more action.

Fantasy owners that have Charles and Greene will need to be patient for another month or so, for each of these backs stands to be a fantasy star in November and December. Because their value has decreased since draft day, fantasy owners needing help at running back might be able to swing a trade for either Charles or Greene in exchange for relatively little.

• In other running back news, injuries continue to mount. Knowshon Moreno of Denver was hurt in practice and will miss today's tilt with the porous Colt defense. San Diego's Ryan Mathews missed much of last week's game against Jacksonville and will sit out today in Seattle. Jerome Harrison of the Browns has not practiced all week and is at best a game-time decision at Baltimore.

The severity of these players' injuries varies, but some are likely to be out beyond today. Last week, we discussed the worth of Peyton Hillis in Cleveland and Laurence Maroney in Denver. At this point, both backs are excellent acquisitions.

Cleveland's James Davis is someone else on whom to keep an eye. He was a chic pick as a deep sleeper last season before a shoulder injury caused him to land on injured reserve after just two games. Harrison has not played particularly well thus far, and Hillis is a fullback by trade. If head coach Eric Mangini gives Davis double-digit carries against the Ravens today, the second-year back from Clemson is worth acquiring as a short-term fill-in.

Mike Tolbert appears to be the starter in the San Diego backfield with Mathews' injury, the dreaded high-ankle sprain. Clearly if Mathews sustained a normal ankle sprain, Tolbert's value would not be as great. Many owners have snagged Tolbert from the free-agent ranks, yet only half of those owners are starting Tolbert this week.

Anyone who has Tolbert on his or her roster should have him in the starting lineup today, even versus a Seattle team that has done well against the rush so far. The Chargers' Darren Sproles remains the third-down back, giving Tolbert the majority of carries.

Dan Massey's Fantasy Sports appears each Sunday. E-mail him at dmassey@lnpnews.com.