"Fantasy owners often have a natural reaction anytime an NFL team changes its coach: We look at the incoming coach's track record with other teams and make assumptions that what he did there will seamlessly translate here.

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In the case of John Fox, the Carolina Panthers' coach from 2002 to 2010, his reputation is that of a run-heavy coach, so naturally, the gut reaction for many is that running back Knowshon Moreno's stock should instantly soar.

Although it's true that Fox's teams, at least his offenses, are built around the running game, it's a bit of a mischaracterization to call him a "run-based coach." In truth, he's a defensively minded coach, and there's no question that the Denver Broncos, the worst defense in the NFL in 2010 by points or yards allowed, targeted Fox first and foremost in an effort to shore up their defense.

Consider that, in Fox's nine years in Carolina, his defenses ranked second, eighth, 20th, third, seventh, 16th, 18th, eighth and 18th in terms of total yards allowed.

Coaxing a breakout season from Moreno, who has failed to crack a top-15 season in rushing yards, scrimmage yards or fantasy points among running backs in either of his first two seasons, was a secondary goal. Now, looking at Fox's track record with running backs, there's no doubt he's going to help:

• In the past five seasons (2006-10) -- that time frame specifically chosen because it spans the length of incumbent Carolina starter DeAngelo Williams' career -- Fox's Panthers ran the football on 47.5 percent of their offensive plays, fifth most in the NFL, and 2,331 times total, 10th most in the league.

• On first and second downs in that same time span, Carolina ran 53.8 percent of the time, also the fifth-highest rate in the NFL.

• Fox's Panthers teams, in that five-year stretch, ranked 24th, 14th, third, third and 13th in the NFL in terms of rushing yards.

Knowshon Moreno

Doug Pensinger/Getty ImagesAfter receiving more than 15 carries in a game nine times as a rookie, Knowshon Moreno did so just four times in 2010.

But the problem with taking this information and formulating a "Moreno is a breakout candidate" hypothesis with it is twofold: First, Fox's reputation as a run-first coach is often misconstrued and sometimes exaggerated as it pertains to individual running backs. One of the knocks on Fox, at least from a fantasy perspective, is that he can be maddeningly unpredictable with his running back usage, ironic considering he's now coaching the same team once led by the king of running back unpredictability, Mike Shanahan.

In Fox's nine years with the Panthers, only four times did an individual running back manage at least 1,000 yards, a number exceeded by 19 other franchises in that time. Two of those occurred in the same season, when Williams and Jonathan Stewart did it in 2009. Neither of them, however, finished among the top 10 in fantasy points at the position that year."