For those who may use a different term or are new to fantasy football, "handcuff" is the term used when you own insurance for one of your players in the form of owning his real-life backup. It's usually a running back, but you could conceivably handcuff a quarterback. The theory is that some or all of the production is automatically replaced should you lose a high draft pick to injury, meaning you need to insure a high draft pick by grabbing his backup.
Here's to hoping LaMont Jordan makes the Denver Broncos roster. New head coach Josh McDaniels brought in just about every available free agent running back this offseason to compete for a handful of spots.
And in light of the recent news that the Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas has sued Jordan over allegations that he owes them $20,000 in gambling debts, well, he could probably use the steady paycheck.
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days.
FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it Summer Scramble, and this afternoon we look at some of the AFC West's looming position battles.
While the rest of the NFL is taking part in a free agent spree, the Chicago Bears have been incredibly quiet. I'm not necessarily talking about signing guys, because sometimes that stuff is out of your control. I'm talking about the Bears not being mentioned in any rumors for any free agent or possible trade target.
It's not as though the team doesn't have needs, as I outlined five in the offseason roadmap. I unintentionally omitted another need, which was astutely pointed out by the first commenter -- that they need an able-bodied backup to Matt Forte in the backfield as well. So that makes six pretty important needs.
The Broncos went through a decade's worth of running backs last season, and maybe that's why they're overcompensating for it during the first week of free agency. Denver has signed 10 players since last Friday, including running backs Correll Buckhalter, JJ Arrington (even if temporarily), and nowLaMont Jordan. If nothing else, there will be no need to summon Tatum Bell from the Cellphone Hut.
The Fred Taylor situation is already biting at me from both sides. The good side of the conscious is dressed in white, perched on the left shoulder, and saying, "Dude, it's freaking Fred Taylor. You know he will be hurt by week five and New England's running game will be stuck centering on shuffle passes to Kevin Faulk." On the flip side, the other half of the conscious is dressed in black leather with a pack of cigarettes rolled in his sleeve, sitting on his Harley, saying "Jump on it, man. This is the next genius move by New England. He is going to dominate just like Corey Dillon did when he came into to town and scored 39 touchdowns in three seasons. It's a system that has been missing the key guy, and Taylor is that guy."
In other words, this is a tough call that could really go either way. One thing we know for sure is that this has wide reaching fantasy impact, so let's take a look at the winners and losers in the wake of this bold signing.
The Patriots don't have much cap room, but that hasn't kept them from being busy in free agency. NFL.com's Adam Schefter is reporting that New England has worked out a deal with free agent running back Fred Taylor.
Taylor will join a very crowded New England backfield that already includes Kevin Faulk, Benjarvus Green-Ellis, Sammy Morris and Lawrence Maroney. Maroney, the Patriots' first-round pick in 2006, is edging ever closer to bust status, as New England has now brought in a free-agent back in each of the past two seasons (Lamont Jordan was signed last year) because of the team's worries about Maroney's productivity.
After being released by the Jacksonville Jaguars this past week, Fred Taylor is already finding some teams willing to see how much tread is remaining on his tires.
Shalise Manza Young of the Providence Journalreported on Saturday that the Patriots and Bills are likely landing spots for the 33-year-old running back, while Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe says he could be visiting New England as early as this week.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
Even though they lost franchise quarterback Tom Brady to a knee injury in Week 1, the Patriots managed to finish with a rather impressive 11-5 record in 2008. Impressive because they did so with a quarterback (Matt Cassel) that hadn't started a game since he was a senior in high school.
In most years, an 11-5 record is a lock for the NFL's postseason, but the Patriots became the first team since the 1985 Denver Broncos to miss the playoffs with such a mark. They already started the offseason by placing the franchise tag on Cassel, and it remains to be seen if they intend to trade him off to the highest bidder, or keep him around is a rather expensive insurance policy.
I'm just gonna be real right now: Your fantasy league should be over. It's one of those things about which we've all pretty much made an unwritten pact. When people like Peyton Manning will likely not be playing because their teams want them to rest, you shouldn't have a fantasy relevant game. That's why we don't play in the preseason.
All that being said, there are leagues out there with a championship game this week. Since we are committed to helping you win your league title no matter what, we'll still be helping you out. In lieu of positional rankings -- due to a limited audience -- we'll sift through each position and give some pointers. We'll also examine guys who need to play well, as well as those who won't factor at all.
Feel free to leave specific lineup questions in the comments section, and we'll answer. We'll also be having a shortened -- yet quite effective -- Tailgate Sunday morning.
Again, we want you to win ... even if that means supporting you when your league is mishandled.
For those who may use a different term or are new to fantasy football, "handcuff" is the term used when you own insurance for one of your players in the form of owning his real-life backup. It's usually a running back, but you could conceivably handcuff a quarterback. The theory is that some or all of the production is automatically replaced should you lose a high draft pick to injury, meaning you need to insure a high draft pick by grabbing his backup.
Here's to hoping 
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. 
While the rest of the NFL is taking part in a free agent spree, the Chicago Bears have been incredibly quiet. I'm not necessarily talking about signing guys, because sometimes that stuff is out of your control. I'm talking about the Bears not being mentioned in any rumors for any free agent or possible trade target. 
The Fred Taylor situation is already biting at me from both sides. The good side of the conscious is dressed in white, perched on the left shoulder, and saying, "Dude, it's freaking Fred Taylor. You know he will be hurt by week five and New England's running game will be stuck centering on shuffle passes to Kevin Faulk." On the flip side, the other half of the conscious is dressed in black leather with a pack of cigarettes rolled in his sleeve, sitting on his Harley, saying "Jump on it, man. This is the next genius move by New England. He is going to dominate just like Corey Dillon did when he came into to town and scored 39 touchdowns in three seasons. It's a system that has been missing the key guy, and Taylor is that guy."
The Patriots don't have much cap room, but that hasn't kept them from being busy in free agency. NFL.com's Adam Schefter is reporting that New England 
After being released by the Jacksonville Jaguars this past week, 
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 
I'm just gonna be real right now: Your fantasy league should be over. It's one of those things about which we've all pretty much made an unwritten pact. When people like 
