BY ADAM CONN

The could-be stud, yet oft-troubled, RB Marshawn Lynch is returning from a three-game suspension stemming from a misdemeanor gun charge in February, but not before paying a fine for a hit-and-run accident in 2008. After the suspension was announced it was well known that backup Fred Jackson would hold down the fort for the Buffalo Bills. Lynch, who has back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in his brief two-year career, was expected to light a fire under Buffalo’s offense in Week 4 and all would be well.

(photo by bostonherald.com)

Jackson, however, has taken full advantage of his role and is fourth in the league with 291 yards rushing. He’s also added a healthy 134 yards on 15 receptions, plus a touchdown. That’s the good news. If there is anything negative to be taken away from Jackson’s numbers, it’s that he has zero rushing touchdowns. Against the Patriots, Buffalo played it conservatively and Jackson had 57 yards rushing on 15 carries, but pitched in 83 receiving yards. He exploded against a porous Tampa run-defense for 188 total yards (163 rushing), but was limited to 71 rushing yards against the Saints, who built a late lead to limit Jackson’s touches in the fourth quarter.

Situations have dictated Jackson’s ebb and flow and he has only one game with over 20 carries. HC Dick Jauron said it’s because he doesn’t want to overload Jackson, which is entirely plausible considering Jackson’s highest carry total in a season is 130. Lynch, on the other hand, can handle such a load. Lynch had 280 carries in 13 games his 2007 rookie season. Last season he had 250 carries and added 47 receptions for 300 yards. More importantly he had seven and eight rushing touchdowns respectively, a sore spot for the Bills this season.

(photo by bleacherreport.com)

Jauron has gone on record saying, “Now Marshawn’s back and we’ll take some of that load off [Fred] and evenly distribute it because both those guys are good. It’ll make us a better team.”

The Jackson-Lynch combo is shaping up to be a 50-50 proposition for now, although it may start out at 70-30 in Jackson’s favor against the Dolphins this week. Given his past as a workhorse, we could envision Lynch taking over as primary back eventually. Lynch and Jackson are relatively the same type of player (as opposed to the Titans’ 1-2 punch of Chris Johnson and LenDale White) and have been on the roster together for two years. Each year Lynch has been the primary ball carrier; why should this year be any different?  Given Lynch’s success as a receiver and his ability to find the end zone, he is the long-term favorite to handle the majority of the carries. The fact is a drop off in Jackson’s production was expected upon Lynch’s return. But that doesn’t mean Jackson’s value plummets. The only difference now is Jackson’s floor is higher while Lynch’s ceiling is lower.

(photo by espn.com)

Lynch says he is, “Still me. Still the same ol’ G. Ain’t going to change.”

We’re not sure if that’s good (given his 07-08 numbers) or bad (given his checkered past). No matter, consider Jackson a flex option this week, but both as bye-week fillers down the road until one (likely Lynch) takes on a primary role.

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