Last Week’s Question: Has handcuffing
WRs become more important than handcuffing RBs?
In last week’s column,
I asked whether the rash of injuries to WRs has made handcuffing
WRs more important in the 2015 season than handcuffing RBs. I received
some interesting email responses that I’m eager to address,
but I’ll start by focusing on a comment posted directly to
the column by a reader named Jason:
I didn't pair any #1 WRs with their 2s and 3s—only
the 2s with the 3s . . . because I have noticed a trend with 2s
and 3s flip-flopping performances. This year it's even worse and
less predictable, as a record number of 4th and 5th receiving options
are getting targets (especially redzone targets) than ever before
it seems.
So, in general I think it may be a good idea to pair some receivers,
as with some RB's
I highlighted “some” twice in Jason’s response
because it suggests that the answer to my question depends more
on the situations of the players involved than the positions they
play. This idea was central to every response I received, including
the shortest and sweetest note of all, which came from Jake: “Depends
on the team.”
Since most of the responses echoed each other, I want to focus on
Andrew’s answer, which was the most thorough and cogent argument
I received:
I’m not sure that handcuffing WRs is more
important, but I think handcuffing RBs is less important than it
used to be. Just look at the Arian Foster injury. Do you think the
average Foster owner with Alfred Blue on his bench is confident
about his running game going forward? If so, he shouldn’t
be. Blue may get the carries, but Chris Polk will get the receptions.
In other words, if you wanted a true handcuff for a guy like Foster,
you would need both Blue and Polk, which means tying up 2 roster
spots on guys who, added together, won’t account for 70% of
Foster’s production.
The situations in KC and Seattle were different because it was easy
to imagine the backups stepping into something like a featured role,
but those teams are the exception. As you look around the NFL, there
are hardly any first-string feature backs left—much less second-stringers.
The same goes for receivers. It varies by team. You can have Rueben
Randle as OBJ’s handcuff if you want him. I don’t. I
can only imagine myself spot starting Randle if I thought he might
get open BECAUSE of defenders paying too much attention to Beckham.
With Beckham out, [my inclination to start] Randle would only decrease.
But with teams like New England and Green Bay, I can totally see
the value of handcuffing various combinations of WRs.
I guess I just don’t like the way you phrased the question.
Handcuffing isn’t more or less important for RBs than WRs.
It just works better for RBs on some teams and better for WRs on
others.
So there you have it, folks. The answer to this question, as with
all questions related to fantasy football, appears to be: “It’s
situational.”
This Week’s Question: Should commissioners
turn a blind eye to tradebacks?
Phil, a reader who has contributed a number of helpful answers to
this column over the years, has a question appropriate for this
time of the season: “What would Q&A readers say about
owners who trade back players to help each other with bye weeks?”
For readers who are unclear about the phenomenon to which Phil alludes,
think of one team with multiple RBs on a bye in Week 8 (say T. J.
Yeldon and Ryan Mathews) and another team with multiple WRs on a
bye at the same time (say Allen Hurns and Pierre Garcon). Team A
offers a receiver who would otherwise sit on his bench (say Michael
Crabtree) for a running back that would otherwise sit on Team B’s
bench (say Antonio Andrews).
The trade is approved. There’s nothing suspicious about Team
A giving Michael Crabtree to Team B for Antonio Andrews.
But suspicions mount when, the very next week, Team A trades Andrews
back to Team B for Crabtree.
Some critics might suggest that this wasn’t a trade at all,
but a collusive episode of borrowing and lending players.
If you don’t consider tradebacks a problem, please
let me know. If you do consider them a problem, I’m eager
to learn what you think commissioners can do to stop them. After
all, the scenario I outlined above comes with ironclad plausible
deniability. If anyone in the league accuses the owners of collusion,
they can simply say, “Not at all. We just changed our minds.”
For this reason, I can see why commissioners might be reluctant
to police tradebacks even in leagues that forbid them. I’m
eager to hear how different leagues respond to this phenomenon
(and whether it is universally recognized as a problem).
Survivor Pool Picks - Week 8 (Courtesy
of Matthew Schiff)
Trap Game: Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
In the last 11 years the Steelers have an amazing 71% winning percentage
against their divisional foes. I chose 11 years because that’s
how long Ben Roethlisberger has played for Pittsburgh. This week,
Big Ben hopes to return to action after spraining his knee only
four weeks ago. And why shouldn’t he be eager? Le’Veon
Bell, Antonio Bryant, and Martavis Bryant are the kinds of weapons
that would make any QB drool. If anyone in the AFC North has the
offensive firepower to test a Bengal defense loaded with talent,
it’s the Steelers.
It doesn’t help the Bengals’ case if we remember that
Pittsburgh is playing at home and that undefeated streaks don’t
last forever, especially when Andy Dalton is their chief caretaker.
I know Dalton looks different (and better) this year, but Big Ben’s
return makes the Steelers too dangerous to bet against.
#3: New England over Miami: (3-4, Cin, Phi,
AZ, ATL, KC, SEA, SD)
This game has all the markings of an upset special: a divisional
game in prime time featuring a heavy home favorite against a foe
that has struggled for most of the season. The upset narrative
is only further supported by the fact that the lowly Dolphins
have undergone a transformation under Dan Campbell, their newly
appointed interim head coach.
However, the Fins’ impressive wins against Tennessee and
Houston are less impressive when one remembers that those wins
came against Tennessee and Houston. It’s great that Miami
has rediscovered the legs of Lamar Miller and that the success
of its ground game allowed Ryan Tannehill to have a near-perfect
game against the Texans. But the Dolphins won’t be playing
the Texans this week; they’ll be playing the undefeated
Super Bowl champions who have a chip on their shoulder. So in
spite of all the positive vibes coming from Miami, it looks like
the Dolphins will hit a speed bump in New England that will take
the shine off of the new coach, who probably needs a bit more
experience to compete with the likes of Bill Belichick. (Now,
if the game were to be decided by an arm wrestling match between
head coaches, that would be a completely different story!)
#2: St. Louis over San Francisco: (6-1, GB,
Balt, NE, SEA, NYG, MIN, AZ)
If you didn’t use the Rams last week, you get another chance
this week against a 49ers team that is a far cry from the Jim
Harbaugh-coached teams of the last few years. Rumor has it that
Anquan Boldin is being shopped as trade bait (and with all three
of the Niner running backs ailing, not to mention the poor play
of Colin Kaepernick and Vernon Davis, Boldin might be the only
tradable commodity on the offense). If you dunked the 49ers in
the San Francisco Bay, they might actually be safer from sharks
than from the opponents who have been feasting on their inept
offense. With a trip to St. Louis to face one of the best defenses
in the league this season, things won’t get any easier for
the San Francisco faithful. The only good news for them is that
we are at the halfway mark of the season, so the pain of watching
this dysfunctional offense will be over soon. Take the Rams as
they run up the score on their division foes.
Image by Tilt Creative (Ty Schiff)
#1: Kansas City over Detroit: (5-2 NE, Mia,
SEA, AZ, Atl, GB, STL)
The Chiefs were devastated when they lost Jamaal Charles two
weeks ago with a season-ending knee injury, but don’t fret.
Charcandrick West, out of Abilene Christian, has stepped into
the starting running back role and picked up where Charles left
off. He racked up 110 yards and a touchdown as the starter against
a stout Steelers defense and this week faces a Lions defense that
is 26th overall. The Chiefs desperately need this win to get back
in the playoff hunt, and Coach Reid will make sure that his team
knows this when they play in front of the London fans. This is
not going to be a pretty game, and besides Megatron, there aren’t
many stars on either side of the ball. Still, I expect the “home
team” to win this game and buck the trend of the “named”
host team at their home away from home across the pond.
Mike Davis has been writing about fantasy football since 1999--and
playing video games even longer than that. His latest novel (concerning
a gamer who gets trapped inside Nethack after eating too many shrooms)
can be found here.
