Head coaches in the National Football League have but one supreme goal in mind from year to year: job retention.

The easiest way to keep a job is by winning, and winning teams predominantly implement diverse offensive strategies so complicated and intricate that some players take weeks to absorb all of the terminology. Chad Johnson has openly admitted that he was never able to fully grasp the playbook during his time in New England, though should you label him an outlier among the general public in terms of mental capacity, I promise that you will be met with few objections.

Not a single head coach in the NFL is concerned with the odor of stigma malevolently drifting toward him from the fantasy football community should he send a fullback into the end zone at the goal line. One of the paramount tasks of the sages with the Motorola headsets is to try to burn defenses, which occasionally employs the art of surprise. Seems innocent enough.

The truth is that every time a fullback or backup running back takes a hand off from one yard out and scores, somebody’s fantasy team is iniquitously sabotaged. Roto injustice will exist as long as there are stat geeks with access to NFL Sunday Ticket.

Some instances may seem egregious, but you must realize that Mike Shanahan could not have known on Sunday afternoon that all you needed to win your Week 9 matchup was a touchdown from Alfred Morris. While the Redskins were knocking on the door late in the fourth quarter against the Panthers, ultimately opting to call upon backup running back and glory thief, Evan Royster, Shanahan was only trying to mount the beginnings of a comeback en route to winning a game.

A real game.

It would be selfish to resent him for ruining your hopes of fake victory.

Regardless, we must resist feelings of indignation and incredulity when spurned by the fantasy football man upstairs. In cases of full-blown platoons, as with Ahmad Bradshaw/Andre Brown and C.J. Spiller/Fred Jackson, the only prudent thing to do is to start both players for insurance purposes. Otherwise, you’re tempting fate.

Beware the platoon, though. While it can still lead to fantasy prosperity when used effectively, it’s important to understand that any running back carrying half of the split or less is more often than not an unnecessary headache in 12-team leagues with normal settings. Starting a shareholder can usually be avoided, anyway.

It seems that each season there are always a few glaring disappointments at running backs. Raiders’ heartbreaker Darren McFadden serves as the paradigm for 2012. The explanation is simple. At no position is it more evident than tailback that the NFL is a young man’s league.

There’s no need to elaborate on the brevity of shelf lives for NFL running backs. You already know that they don’t stick around for very long, relative to other positions on the field. An elite quarterback may be elite for a decade or more. A running back? Maybe six years. Eight, tops. The trend continues blatantly. It’s the most difficult position to forecast.

There’s been no shortage of frustration for fantasy footballers since the dawn of the hobby in 1962 (look it up if you don’t believe it). While quarterbacks seem to be the safest investments, top rushers will always be the most highly valued commodities on draft day, essential to formulas for success.

You should always be aware of the likelihood of reduced stardom from year to year when considering running backs. It seems that each season there is a new “muscle hamster” who emerges as the new guard. Minimizing the risks relative to the success of your team is imperative, though it’s difficult to win without taking at least a few.