The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!

Not really. All that tells you is that I’m an old guy because I know what Ruskies are and that Commies are (or at least were) a bad thing. No one knows or cares about the Commie/Ruskies anymore as they haven’t done anywhere in years. And, like Communism, two of my fantasy teams are no longer a threat because they are doing nothing this year, Grandly, though, I’m still “in it” in the two other leagues.

All leagues are either beginning their playoffs this week or this is the last week of your regular season. Throughout the year, I’ve tried to provide you with some non-obvious players to start - guys who fly at or under the radar. Now that we’re at or in the “second season,” I’ve got a few thoughts for you on "handcuffing" players as well as a couple of line up recommendations.

Handcuffs aren’t just for your S&M weekend getaways; they are back-ups to your key players who provide an insurance policy and hopefully keep you competitive if one of your “studs” goes down due to injury or arrest. It’s hard to carry a handcuff on your bench throughout the regular season because they don’t typically play and they’re a non-contributing bench warmer for you. When its playoff time, though, you should try to acquire the backups or “handcuffs” to a couple of your best players.

Kansas City RBs -Jamal Charles (former Longhorn) has a stud of a back-up in Knile Davis, who usually gets a few touches every week - as opposed to Dallas’ Demarco Murray, whose back-up is Joseph Randle and rarely touches the ball. The RBs in Seattle that back-up Marshawn Lynch are Christine Michael and Robert Turbin and, though Turbin would probably get the majority of the work, should Lynch go down they'd probably work in tandem and create the dreaded running back by committee (RBBC).

I just listed three running backs who, if you own them, you need to also own their back-ups if available. This also illustrates three situations that are all markedly different when it comes to potential status in case of injury to the starter. The key here is - whether you handcuff your wide receivers, tight ends and/or running backs - that you need to make sure you pick up the right guy and be aware of his potential playing time will be in place of your stud.

Once good thing is that handcuffs are usually available on the waiver wire because they have little value except to the owner of the star they back-up.

I do not handcuff QBs, kickers or defenses. Many people “stream” their kicker and defense often change them each week, picking new ones off the waiver wire. Some folks just pick a kicker and a D and stay with them for most of the year. I do a little of both.

When it comes to QBs, I just let them ride and consider handcuffing them a bad habit typical of a novice or a misdirected owner. In 10- and 12-team leagues, there’s always a serviceable QB on the waiver wire. As such, I’m not going to waste a bench spot on my roster with a second QB. Of course, that’s MY approach as I just don’t value the QB position very highly. The difference between the top- and middle-performing QBs is just not that much (less than 10 points per game between the first and tenth rated quarterbacks), so I prefer to spend draft picks, waiver moves and bench spots on RBs or WRs because they occupy more starting spots on game day and are more prone to injury.

Now lets look at some players I would STAY AWAY from in week 14.

QBs- Josh McCown, Geno Smith, Blake Bortles and Drew Stanton.

Sneaky good play - Jed Hoyer in Cleveland almost lost his starting job last week and I expect him to have a very good game against Indy in hopes of reestablishing himself …just a hunch … like the guy with the back from Notre Dame.

RBs - Andre Ellington, Andre Williams, Frank Gore and Alfred Morris.

Sneaky good play - Jonathan Stewart for Carolina. As a general rule I always avoid Panther RBs, but he should get most of the work. Hopefully, he won’t get his goal line touches vultured by fullback Mike Tolbert - which has been known to happen.

WRs - Reggie Wayne, Terrance Williams, Vincent Jackson, Eric Decker and Jeremy Maclin.

Sneaky good play - Steadman Bailey has suddenly become relevant in St. Louis’ offense and the Redskin D is as porous as my reasoning and excuses.

Defenses - Tennessee, Carolina, Atlanta, Cleveland and Dallas.

Sneaky good play - Green Bay - OK not THAT sneaky, but I expect them to shut down Atlanta on the frozen tundra.

Remember, even if you’re out of the running in a league, be a good owner and play until the clock reads 00. You might yet be a spoiler and I know it sucks, but it's better than - well, it’s just the right thing to do. Don’t be one of those guys who blows-off setting your lineups because you’re out of the playoffs.

Okay, everyone have a great weekend and good luck Sunday - unless you’re playing me!