Obligatory link dump to my blogging colleagues and Fantasy gurus over at Fake Teams, which should be the first stop for any devoted FFers. Also, if you haven't already, sign up for the Hogs Haven Fantasy Footblal League, as spots are filling quickly.
I give you The Football Expert:
If you've played fantasy football before, you've undoubtedly heard about "handcuffs." Simply, it's the act of drafting a starting running back and his immediate replacement because of injury concerns.
As a matter of fact, I have played fantasy football before, for many years, and I have never heard this term "handcuffs" as relates to FF. But I'm familiar with protecting your highly drafted running backs with their backups. It's a smart strategy, and one that is especially important to would-be CP drafters, per the article, which ranks 5 "handcuff" candidates:
3. Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts, Washington Redskins - There's a good chance Ladell Betts will steal carries from Portis even before an injury strikes. And the chances of an injury at this point are fairly strong. Locking up both of these players will guarantee you a starting runner, no matter if Portis goes down with injury.
Very fair advise. Much as I'm unwilling to acknowledge it, Clinton Portis is recovering from injury and that makes him, from a Fantasy perspective, an injury concern, though I absolutely would not refer to the likelihood of injury as "fairly strong". [From a partisan Redskin fan perspective, that's not an issue at all, as he will recover 100% and score many game winning touchdowns for us. Guaranteed.] Not only that, but Ladell Betts is not your average backup running back. He's a proven 1,000 yard rusher and very capable of producing big numbers in this offense. Even though I find it unlikely, it is within the realm of possibilities that Betts could steal more than a fair share of carries from Clinton Portis. Also within the realm of possibilities is that both these guys could be productive fantasy backs. The two had 1,677 yards last season despite injuries to Portis. We'll rush for 2,000 yards next season, and that could get split a lot of ways. In the 1983 season, John Riggins and Joe Washington combined for 2,119 rushing yards, 24 rushing touchdowns, 483 receiving yards, and 6 receiving touchdowns.
So if you're drafting Portis it is probably a good idea to go ahead and get Ladell Betts as well.