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Week 2 is almost in the books with only a Monday Night Football tilt between the Browns and Jets remaining. A couple of star running backs had scares over the weekend, and few week 1 handcuffs produced. Don’t get caught with your pants down and avoid the risk of a league-mate snagging up a starting backup. Let’s jump right in to this week’s handcuff report.

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We are one day away from draft night and I cannot wait. Who do you have your team taking with their first pick? If you are like me, you are consuming all of the NFL content to keep you satisfied until the regular season kickoff. Your teams have reported for offseason activities, the 2019 regular […]

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Some of the players on this list are overstaying their welcome. I’m looking at you Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins. I wish they’d bring back the probable injury status. It would make my job a lot easier. Because 75% of the guys on this list are probable — just resting. Sterling […]

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Ladies and Gentleman, Happy Friday! The first quarter of the NFL season is coming to a quick close. We are reaching a point in the season where we will start to see teams and players take off. It’s well documented, with how the NFL pre-season is treated, that September is a slow start for teams. The Patriots are a prime example. I see team owners on twitter freaking out and jumping ship on players that they invested a lot of draft capital.

In the wise words of William Wallace,”Hold…Hold…Hold.” I understand, easier said than done if you are staring at a 0-3 start and losing studs to injury. Speaking first hand, I am still holding on to Chris Hogan and Derrick Henry but time is running out. Don’t get me wrong, I have dropped both players in various leagues but not giving up 100% stock. All I’m suggesting is don’t get “too cute” yet and drop players just to pick up a RB4, WR4/5 that had one good week while your team is just warming up. I would not drop Hogan or Henry for, let’s just say, Aldrick Robinson who had two receiving touchdowns in the TNF Vikings @ Rams game. After this week we will get a green light on dropping some of these players.

I’ll get off my soap box and get to the Bad Boyz of week 4 but if you have questions, on guys you are fighting with dropping or keeping on your roster, leave a note in the comments or @ me on twitter.

Alright let us get to it, we have a few new offenders to present to you this week. Also, we have a clearer picture and update on repeat offenders with a couple getting released on good…bad behavior.

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Well, well, well, here we are again, my lovelies! Another year of fantasy football is underway and here you all are, ready, willing, and waiting for me to give you what you have all been longing for since about Week 10 of last season. Oh, honey, don’t worry about all the foreplay. I do plan to deliver. Be patient. Those of you who are not new to my Dungeon know that I carry with me a Black Widow Curse that manages to feast on man flesh every season, and usually it waits a week or two, you know, wine and dine you before it has its way with you. Well, this season it seems that the curse was out in full force and hit me first when it decided to take Leonard Fournette away from me before halftime. I am not going to say any more about it because I don’t want to jinx it, but my sacrifice has been made…for now. Hopefully this year it does one of those Final Destination things where it moves on to the next person after claiming a victim, but knowing my luck I better stock up on the lube because I have a feeling I am about to get reamed halfway to Sunday. Without dinner first, the nerve! If you are in the same position as me (Giggity) not only do you know what it feels like, but you are already looking for another hole to be filled for next week. Well, fear no more. Ladies and gentlemen, convicts and perverts, the foreplay is over. Here is the first 2018 version of Hit it or Quit it. Bon Appetite!

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All over the box score and all up in the backfield in Green Bay is the answer, as Aaron Jones has officially taken the job from Ty Montgomery with his solid performances. The offense overall in Green Bay is going to take a hit with the other A-Aron out for what looks like the rest of the season, but they are more likely to want to run the ball, which is good for Jones owners.

Montgomery is still a solid all-around running back and, really, is a solid all-around player in general, as he is a wide receiver who really became a running back out of necessity for the Packers. He didn’t do anything to lose his job other than get hurt and give Jones a chance.

Jones is the better and more explosive running back, and rolling with him as the hot hand is the right decision for now. Montgomery is not going to disappear, though, and he is going to rotate into the backfield and as a wide receiver going forward as the Packers figure out ways to get him involved and use him as a matchup problem for opposing defenses.

For fantasy purposes, Montgomery’s value is probably going to fluctuate on a week-to-week basis depending on the matchups and the gameplan. He is probably going to light it up some weeks and be a non-factor others, so it is going to be hard to rely on him other than as the occasional flex or RB2 when the bye weeks call for it.

Jones, on the other hand, is going to be the more reliable running back and is coming off his best game as a pro last week. Unfortunately, this is a ROS play and not a Week 8 play because the Packers are on a bye this week.

If you are looking for a Week 8 play, may I interest you in a Jalen Richard now that Marshawn Lynch has lost his appeal and will miss this week? (eyes emoji)

Now, to the charts!

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Does anyone else get the old Sherwin Williams jingle stuck in their head when they see Kerwynn Williams’s name? No? Just me?

Anyway, welcome to the 2017 Handcuff Report. For those who followed this post last season, welcome back. For those who are new, where were you last year? Too good for us? I have researched other available handcuff reports and tell give you my completely unbiased opinion that none of them are half as good as this one. Shame on you, and welcome.

So, first things first: what exactly is a handcuff? For the fantasy football n00bs out there, or perhaps for those who have taken the last few years off, a handcuff is a backup who will likely take over as the starter in the event of an injury, extreme ineffectiveness, off-the-field trouble, or coach’s decision. There are probably other reasons that I am forgetting here, but those are the most common one.

Most NFL teams now run a running back by committee of some sort. While not every team is as unpredictably maddening as the Patriots, most teams share the load in an effort to keep guys fresh and give defenses different looks. With fantasy leagues more competitive than ever, thanks to sites like Razzball offering great advice, it is important to recognize trends and identify value quickly. If you drafted a stud running back early, you might want to grab his handcuff in case of injury. Or if you went zero RB or went really light on RB early, you might want to squat on a couple handcuffs or, especially in PPR leagues, grab a change-of-pace/pass catching back. With the influx of young running backs and each team having two or three options this season, I tended to do the latter in drafts this year. For every Melvin Gordon, I have like two Shane Vereens or Theo Riddicks this year. Speaking of young running backs:

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Hey guys, we are only a few weeks away from real football! Football that actually counts! Holy moly! I’ve been a bit tied up these past few weeks, and haven’t been able to finish my division previews (thanks a lot Sammy Watkins, Ezekeiel Elliot, Julian Edelman and Spencer Ware). So let’s do that, with the final two coming in the AFC West and South. So for today, let’s look at the AFC South!

Take me on in the Razzball Commenter Leagues for a chance at prizes! Free to join, leagues still open!

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Hello everyone, and welcome to the start of my player analysis series (you can find MB’s first post here) where I take a look at a crap-ton of NFL players and sort them into three categories: Underrated, Overrated, and Sleepers. So let’s get started talking about a rookie player who I believe has the greatest chance of anyone this year to become a player that started with all hype, but might have little production on the field during his rookie campaign. I am of course talking about Christian McCaffrey. Let’s get right to it!

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playoffs

If you are reading this, congratulations. And I don’t say that just because you are fortunate enough to be reading one of my articles. If you are reading a fantasy football article in Week 14, it is likely because you are in the playoffs and still have a reason to care about your team and your lineup. So, congratulations. I mean it. To those of you who didn’t make the playoffs: see you in hell, candy boys! This is, unfortunately, the last Handcuff Report of the year. It has been a great ride, but we are wrapping things up as the fantasy playoffs begin!

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markingram

It’s Week 13, which means we are heading into the fantasy playoffs soon. I know that because my readership has dwindled the last two weeks, as many fantasy owners have been eliminated from the playoffs and are throwing in the towel. But that’s OKAY. That just means we can be more serious and a bit more intimate now. It’s just me and you, playoff hopefuls.

Heading into this week, Tim Hightower was a name to watch because Mark Ingram was still in the concussion protocol and was questionable to play. If Ingram couldn’t go, Hightower was going to be a high-end flex/RB2 to throw into lineups before they locked on Sunday. But word came out on Sunday morning that Ingram was going to play, so many likely left Hightower on the bench or on the waiver wire.

But something funny happened. It didn’t matter that Ingram played. Ingram and Hightower combined for three touchdowns and almost 300 yards, with Hightower accounting for 51 rushing yards, 54 receiving yards, and one of the touchdowns. Although, Hightower’s final stat line would look a bit different if not for the late 50-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Willie Snead. If Hightower can keep producing even with a healthy Ingram, he can help out some of the needier fantasy owners come playoff time.

To the report…

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