ERST LESEN! » 4-95 season, the Mustangs are 3

Handcuffs. Who needs em?In all truthfulness, no fantasy owner.Thats why I found it so stunning to hear, in a recent mock draft, that oh-so-common comment bandied about this preseason: Oh, as a LeVeon Bell owner, I absolutely have to also take DeAngelo Williams, probably by the fifth round.Those who press such an owner for an explanation often get a similar response: Williams (179 fantasy points) outscored Bell (83) last season, made more starts (10 to Bells six) and, as the Pittsburgh Steelers starter for Weeks 1 through 3 of 2016 while Bell is suspended, guarantees said owner 16 games of production. Said owner wants to protect his or her investment in the Steelers backfield, because the role of Steelers running back is sure to contend for fantasy footballs leading score at the position.Theyre all fair comments, but there is unfortunately no such thing as a guarantee with an NFL running back. And to use one seasons successful outcome as justification for the following years strategy is dangerous. Dangerous enough, in fact, to be one of the quickest ways to waste draft-day resources, if youre using it as a way of inflating said players draft price tag.What you might not have known: Williams was one of only nine handcuff picks from the past five seasons who, among the five most popular such handcuffs by year (a grand total of 25, from 2011-15), outscored the player to whom he was being handcuffed. In fact, he is one of only two -- Willis McGahee in 2011 was the other -- to outscore the player to whom he was handcuffed by more than 75 fantasy points in the given year.Worse yet is the fantasy owner who tries to extend the Bell-Williams justification to players from other backfields, as if any starting running back selected also demands the selection of his primary backup. Unfortunately, the 2015 season provided a cruel statement on that: In two of the five backfields that were most commonly handcuffed, the teams leader in fantasy points among running backs was neither the selected starter nor the presumed handcuff. From the Baltimore Ravens, Javorius Allen (87) outscored both Justin Forsett (83) and Lorenzo Taliaferro (12); and from the Kansas City Chiefs, Charcandrick West (102) outscored both Jamaal Charles (75) and Knile Davis (11), and Spencer Ware (72) also outscored presumed handcuff Davis. Meanwhile, from the San Francisco 49ers, Shaun Draughn (44) outscored presumed handcuff Reggie Bush (3).Bear in mind, too, that Knile Davis was fantasy footballs second-most-popular handcuff to Williams in 2015 -- recognizing that Williams also had two known starts to begin last season, as Bell was serving a suspension then, too. This makes him as compelling an argument against handcuffing from within the same campaign as the player most commonly used to bolster said case. The Chiefs indeed provided productive fantasy fill-ins following Charles injury; we merely didnt know at the time that West would be the the benefactor, then Ware after West subsequently got hurt.Crunching the overall numbers during the past five seasons, heres a quick comparison between what a drafted starter and his perceived handcuff provided in those years. These represent only the five most commonly handcuffed backfields, with the starter required to have an ADP within the top 50 picks. Starts come from my Consistency Rating data, and represent top-25 weekly scores at the running back position:For those who consider the handcuffs stat line a productive year, youre not completely off base. The point isnt to entirely devalue Williams; its to not overprice him based upon a connection to Bell. Williams indeed has a healthy draft-day value -- hes my No. 30 running back and No. 73 overall player, after all -- but thats mostly because hes providing his drafting owner three known starts in a productive offense.Frankly, if Williams is going sooner than that, Ill take the player with a clearer path to more than three potential starts for his team. After all, the point of building roster depth is to maximize your number of available weekly fantasy starts. Give me the chance at 10 starts over the three-and-only-three starts every time.Lets look at handcuff production from another angle: Comparable picks available at similar stages in the draft. At least from the past five seasons data, it appears that the breaking point -- the stage at which handcuffing makes the most sense from a value standpoint -- comes around the No. 100 overall pick, and no sooner.Heres a quick comparison of what these 25 handcuffs provided compared to what other running backs selected in those rounds did, separated into top-100 and 101-160 overall picks:The sample sizes arent equal, but the evidence is nevertheless compelling that selecting a clear backup, even behind a risky starter, is a dicey strategy sooner than the final rounds of a standard-league draft. Combining these numbers, incidentally, shows that nonhandcuffs -- these include committee members, passing-down backs and/or less popular handcuffs who graced the final picks of the draft in those years -- were every bit as productive as handcuffs. They averaged 81.1 fantasy points to the handcuffs 83.1, and averaged 4.2 starts to the handcuffs 3.6.In short, maximize your number of available opportunities from all backfields, as opposed to consolidating your resources within two or three backfields. Spread your risk. Pick LeGarrette Blount, not Derrick Henry. Select Arian Foster, not Charles Sims.But if it gets to Round 14 or 15, on your Adrian Peterson-led squad, and Jerick McKinnon remains available, by all means feel free to handcuff.Just dont force it any sooner than that. Air Max 95 Outlet Italia .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. 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LOUIS -- St. TEMPE, Ariz. -- Tra Holder scored 24 points, Obinna Oleka added 17 points and 13 rebounds and Arizona State beat Cal Poly 96-74 on Sunday night.The Sun Devils (2-0) outscored the Mustangs by 57-36 in the second half after a tight first half.Torian Graham scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half as ASU made 18 of 30 (60 percent) of their second-half shots after a spotty first half.Kyle Toth made 5 of 8 from 3-point range and led Cal Poly with 21 points. Josh Martin added 17 points.The Mustangs (0-2) led by as many as five points early in the second half, 48-43 on a Jaylen Shead driving layup against three defenders with 16:26 to play. The Sun Devils then went on a 10-3 run to take the lead and never trailed again.ASU led by as many as 25. Shannon Evans II sank two free throws to make the score 74-62 with 6:41 to play, and went 12 for 12 from the line and finished with 20 points for the Sun Devils.Cal Poly trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half before rallying to tie the score at 36 on Martins reverse layup with 3:02 left in the half. The Mustangs took a 38-36 lead on their next possession, as Martin threw down a dunk off Ridge Shipleys assist.ASU went the last 5:21 of the first half without a field goal and led 39-38 at halftime only because Holder made one of ttwo free throws with 44 seconds to go before Cal Poly let the shot clock expire at the other end.ddddddddddddal Poly shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, including 7 of 17 from 3-point range. ASU made five fewer shots, going 10 for 25 in the first 20 minutes to help keep the Mustangs in the game.Holder scored 23 points in a win over Portland State on Friday.BIG PICTURE:Cal Poly: After losses to a pair of Division I programs, including Pepperdine on Friday, the Mustangs get a shot at their first win of the season with their next two games at home against lower-division teams. Cal Poly faces California State-Dominguez Hills and Bethesda this week. Since joining Division I for the 1994-95 season, the Mustangs are 34-1 against non-Division I programs.Arizona State: The Sun Devils got wins in their first two games, now they will be tested. ASU will travel 12,900 miles for games and sleep in a hotel 11 of 25 nights between Nov. 16 and Dec. 10.UP NEXTCal Poly seeks its first win Thursday in its home opener against CSU-Dominguez Hills.Arizona State hits the road for its first trip of the season and takes on Northern Iowa on Thursday in Orlando. ' ' '