Handcuff Report, Week 6: The One Where I Apologize

I’d like to begin this week’s installment of the handcuff report by apologizing profusely for ignoring Andre Williams last week. I seriously considered mentioning Williams value as a keeper, but ROS considered him nothing more than a deep bench stash or handcuff for Rashad Jennings. I had him buried down in the Duct Tape tier, with the Stepfan Taylor‘s and Ka’Deem Carey‘s of the world. Zoinks! Imagine a world of Stepfan’s and Ka’Deem’s! Oh snap, there is such a place? It’s my Duct Tape Handcuff tier! It exists in my mind, and it’s a shiny silver world where everything can be fixed with a couple inches of the good stuff. Jeez I went off topic real quick, back to Andre Williams. I knew that Rashad Jennings was quickly approaching his highest usage numbers of his career, and I knew that Jennings had some injuries during his time in Jacksonville. I chose to ignore it. Just as I chose to dismiss Williams’ 15 carry, 66 yard, TD breakout against Washington. I thought it was nothing more than some meaningless garbage time magic. After all, Jennings had been getting almost all the usage in the Giants offense. Before the Week 4 blowout, Williams had seen two games of 6 carries, and one game of 8 carries with four looks in the passing game. There was no reason to pay him much mind, and those touting him as a good stash were working off nothing more than a hunch that Rough Shod would break down.

The worst part of all this, is I knew all about Williams, and really did like him. He stared at Boston College, which is the only college football team I follow. So I’ve watched him play a ton. The Giants 4th round pick rushed for 2,177 yards for the Eagles in 2013 on his way to being one the five finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Well the inevitable Rashad Jennings breakdown that many of you had predicted happened last week. As Jennings left the Giants week 5 game with a sprained MCL. Williams stepped in against the Charmin soft Atlanta Falcons run D and looked solid, scampering for 65 yards and a TD on 20 carries. With Rough Shod on the mend for at least the next two weeks, he should be startable everywhere. Look for Williams to take over all of Jennings usage, which is one of the more significant workloads in the NFL. Let’s just hope that the rookie doesn’t pull a David Wilson and catch a severe case of fumblitis. That’s just about the only thing that could stand in the way of Williams putting up a monster game against a banged up Philadelphia defense. If you used your FAAB or waiver priority this week to pickup Williams, congrats, you got the best of this week’s deep RB wavier wire crop.

I’m switching up a couple of things in this week’s HC report. First, I’ll be ranking all of the committees going forward based off the value of each team’s top handcuff. I’d only ranked committees based on tiers previously, and hadn’t been ranking the committees in each tier from top to bottom. A few people requested it, and I am a people pleaser, my mother says its my greatest weakness. The other change for this week is I’m doing team/committee based blurbs as opposed to our typical player specific blurbs. Things have also evolved to the point that we sort of know the names of the intriguing handcuffs, and many of them have already stepped into starters roles. I hate redundancy, so I’m looking to take different angles each week to keep it relevant and fresh. I hope you enjoy. Either way there’s lots to discuss this week.

San Diego – Well damnnnn Branden Oliver, that’s what we all thought Donald Brown was going to do Week 4 against the Jags. 19 attempts for 114 yards rushing with a touchdown is one thing, when you tack on the 68 receiving yards with a TD, it’s impressive to say the least. Especially when you consider he did it against the Jets stout front 7. Some people have discounted Oliver’s game a bit, but I don’t know where to throw shade. He had some great runs, and was just all around outstanding as a rusher. In the passing game he flashed Sproles like PPR potential. Ummmm yes please! I’m really intrigued, my pants are getting tighter…….Ryan Mathews is more than likely expected back Week 8 or 9, this sets the stage for Oliver to be the man in the San Diego backfield over the next 2-3 weeks. If by some modern miracle Mathews, Oliver, and Donald Brown are all healthy and active for the same game, I could see Oliver being the number two back ahead of Donald Brown. As for the concussed Brown (awesome band name alert!) he looks to be out at least this week having not passed protocol prior to writing this. Healthy or not, I think he’s shown us who he is. Oliver in a tough matchup looked worlds better, than Donald “Doo-Doo” Brown has in his 2+ weeks as the starter. I’d drop Brown now if you still own him. Well unless you like guys that suck. Then keep him…

Denver – The best thing Monte Ball has done for his owners this season is get injured the week that Branden Oliver and Andre Williams emerge. I picked up Ronnie Hillman in a few leagues but that’s mostly because I’m a running back hoarder. I’m really not sure about Hillman, he’s squandered a few opportunities before, but anything is better than what Ball’s been. I’ve come across some dissenting opinions regarding whether C.J Anderson or Juwan Thompson is the handcuff/fall back plan for Hillman. With Anderson inactive last week, and Thompson getting a TD, I’m inclined to back Thompson and for a few reasons. First and foremost the Duke product and UDFA is versatile. Displaying a punishing running style suited for goalline and short yardage work, the rookie also displays soft hands and pass catching ability. The thing that will keep him on the field the most is his excellent pass protection and blocking. Having played some fullback in college Thompson was touted as the best blocker amongst the Broncos backs in camp. If you’ve learned anything from Knowshon Moreno‘s emergence last year, it should be that the best blocker in the Broncos offense will be rewarded with the greatest workload. I don’t know if Thompson will ever be Moreno but he could be a similar type of back. As for C.J. Anderson, the Valley-Jo product oozes potential, but not much more. He could be a good runner at this level but he needs to get on the field.

Carolina – I don’t really think anyone should have anything to do with this soiled diaper of a running game, but if you had to pickup a Panthers running back I’d probably grab Jonathan Stewart. I’m not sure if he’ll play this week, as he looks like a possible game time decision. If J-Stew does play, he’s head and shoulders above the other options Ron Rivera has available. Once Stewart is active he’ll slide into the starting role until DeAngelo Williams returns. Considering Williams was in a hard cast a week ago (a week ago?), I’d assume he probably won’t be playing for at least 3-5 more weeks.

St. Louis – I’ve been under the impression for quite awhile that this backfield was going to be more of a RBBC setup than I (as a Zac Stacy owner) wanted. With Stacy not yet cleared to play, Benny Cunningham might turn out to be a really solid flex play this week. I’m sure many of you have forgotten the buzz coming out of the Rams camp this summer, that Cunningham and Stacy were going to be used in a time share. It hasn’t come to fruition thus far, but Cunningham has been used a fair amount in the passing game, and he did run effectively Sunday in Stacy’s absence. I think he’s worth a wavier wire pickup regardless of whether Stacy is active or not. Don’t ask me about Tre Mason, he’s been stuck in the potholes on my lawn.

Cleveland – I wanted to just update my thoughts on Isaiah Crowell from last week. He looks to be in a hot hand handcuff situation with Terrance West. Ben Tate got the lions share of the carries on Sunday, in route to an 123 yard performance against the Titans. In other words you can go back to ignoring Crowell and West.

Fuzzy Handcuffs 

These guys are fun, fun, fun! Not for everyday use but good to own, and a blast when they’re in the mix. We may wish for a bit more run but have to accept that they’re splitting time and getting the most of their opportunities. Most of these handsome devils could probably be studs if given the chance.

Standard Issue Police

Whether you’re in the back of a squad car or sitting on the corner while the Po-Po search your whip, you’re going nowhere. Do you know why? Because those things are locked on your wrists with a death grip. Much like those cuffs, these running backs are firmly locked into their positions. Not for a lack of ability, but because the starters are firmly entrenched in their roles. These backs could have value on any given week but more than likely you’ll need an injury to make these guys startable.

Duct Tape Cuffs

These are of the homemade variety, you’ll use them in a pinch (i.e the starting stud goes down) but they’re always in your drawer (wavier wire) ready to step in and do their job. It may be to the bare minimum degree but they can buy you sometime.

Thanks for reading and Happy Handcuffing!

Don’t forget to send me all your Running Back Questions on twitter @ralphlifshitzbb.