I told me so

Two weeks ago I wrote about the importance of handcuffing your top players. I scoffed at the notion of picking up Bernard Scott as a handcuff to Cedric Benson. One hip injury later, I am regretting not following my own advice.

The thinking was that Justin Fargas would likely outscore Scott, even if Benson was out with an injury. What I neglected to factor in was that the Bengals' offensive line has been good this year, and that Scott (and now even perhaps Larry Johnson) could still be a viable fantasy starter. Add to the fact that Darren McFadden is back from injury and turned the Raiders' running attack into a three-headed monster (Michael Bush surprisingly led them in rushing last week), and I'm in a sticky situation this week. Fargas, ironically, faces Benson's Bengals, who have given up the fifth-fewest points to opposing RBs.

So what to do? I missed out on Scott based on my waiver priority, as well as on the replacements for the injured Michael Turner (Jason Snelling) and Julius Jones (Justin Forsett). Rashard Mendenhall gets elevated to my RB2 spot behind Marion Barber, leaving me to fill my RB/WR flex.

If I learned anything, it's to go after the replacement of a player who's going to be out. After learning that Dwayne Bowe was going to be suspended for 4 weeks, I jumped on Lance Long. Here's a receiver whom I was considering picking up the previous week. Long is a slot receiver in the mold of Wes Welker and whom Matt Cassel has stated he likes as a target.

As for my matchup-based free-agent pickups, I'll postpone that in time for next week's waivers (sorry, work calls).