After Ronnie Hillman's 72-yard touchdown run in week four, it looked as if Hillman had earned himself more touches with the upside of outproducing C.J. Anderson. Well not only did Anderson receive more carries than Hillman against the Raiders on Sunday, but both guys went right back to being completely ineffective. The two of them combined for just 43 yards on 18 attempts, proving once again this backfield can't be trusted. In short, there aren't any real signs that this is going to improve anytime soon...
...Except for the fact that they play a league-worst Cleveland Browns rush defense this week. The Browns have allowed 747 yards and six touchdowns on the ground this year, so if there was ever a game for one of the Denver running backs to put up big numbers, now would be the time. Your guess is as good as mine as far as figuring out which guy is more likely to end up having a big game.
Presumably, the team still prefers Anderson given their respective workloads - so he'd be the back I'd start if I owned both guys. As someone who only owns Hillman in a league with some injuries and bye week blues, I'm still willing to take the gamble on starting him. If it doesn't happen for either guy this week, there's a slim chance it happens at all this season. It's a real shame given the expectations of this offense, but you can only hang on for so long. I wouldn't go as far as dropping either player, though. A permanent benching would definitely be in order should both guys fail to produce against an atrocious Cleveland defense.