NEU » ws the deadline to impact his decisions as

The flex position on DraftKings -- or in your season-long fantasy football league, for that matter -- is really just a WR4, RB3 or TE2. But if you view the position as a strategic advantage rather than a leftover slot determined by price or bye-week availability, you could have a leg up on your opponents.I cannot tell you how many owners fill out their lineups only to slot the highest-priced player they can afford with their remaining salary into flex. Sure, we might have ways of justifying these players -- maybe X, Y and Z will all happen and he will score two touchdowns. Anything is possible.But thats exactly the kind of thinking that Im hoping to erase from your lineup-building process. Id like you to know whom you want on your rosters and why before you ever get to the sites salaries. Next, I want you to consider your roster as a whole. Are you competing in head-to-head contests? Double-ups? Huge prize-pool multi-entry tournaments? What is it that you want your lineup(s) to do for you -- beat one other person, or a half million other lineups?With those considerations in mind, here are a few principles I use to fill my flex spot:StackingEveryone knows that quarterback and wide receiver are the highest correlated fantasy point pairing, and you likely build your cash game and tournament lineups around such mini-stacks every week. Adding a running back to that combination might seem counterintuitive (if youre high on the passing game, why roster the running back?), but DFS expert Chris Raybon has shown a trend of three or four main stacks that involve at least QB, WR1 and RB being effective in terms of their potential to exceed the average projections of the positions. I think of it in terms of giving yourself a good chance to gain access to all of a teams touchdowns.So, if youre high on Derek Carr and Amari Cooper, think about using Latavius Murray in the flex. Hes got a reputation for not being reliable, and maybe not even being well liked by his own coaches, but the Oakland Raiders ran the ball 59 percent of the time from inside the 10-yard line last year (and 42 percent in the red zone overall). Thats a lot of opportunity for a running back. Other teams that ran a high percentage in the red zone included Dallas, Atlanta and Pittsburgh. Now that people are on a minimum-priced Dak Prescott and Dez Bryant stack (predicted by some to be the highest Week 1 stack), will Ezekiel Elliott be forgotten? Are people afraid that Tevin Coleman will detract from Devonta Freemans production? These are ideal situations to go one step further with your stack than most of your opponents will and put you in position to access all of one teams scoring.ScoringSome weeks I look at my lineup and all I see is risk and upside. These are fun tournament lineups to make, but its important to see both upside and downside in your DFS lineups. Many of us -- myself included -- are optimists and have a much easier time seeing how things could work out beneficially when rostering a Chris Hogan or Brock Osweiler. In a tournament, you need a lot of low-probability, high-upside events to happen simultaneously to find yourself atop a huge field. But even in these big multi-entry games with huge prize pools, there is room for some safety. It goes without saying that cash-game lineups are built on solid ground, and safety starts with opportunities. Touches and targets from a team and quarterback with a track record of moving the ball and scoring are what Im looking for in a safe player, whether Im using him to balance a high-risk lineup or further shore up an already-solid squad.On a PPR site, receptions are obviously extremely valuable and the highest target/reception guys are priced accordingly -- Julio Jones, Antonio Brown and DeAndre Hopkins among them. But someone like Jarvis Landry is affordable. In 2015, he posted nearly identical numbers to Odell Beckham Jr. with over 10 targets and nearly seven catches per game. Landry is a great flex filler. Michael Crabtree and Eric Decker (with around nine targets per game) are players I used a lot to round out my lineups last season and should be in line for similar numbers this year. Crabtree still comes at a significant discount relative to players with similar numbers.UpsideOn the other hand, some lineups emerge that beg for upside. Theyre full of safe, high-floor players but lack the ability to really push your lineup into elite range. This is where I look to big-play guys -- the receivers with great speed, who stretch the field and make 80-yard touchdown catches look routine. There arent many of them, but they often come cheap because those long plays are anything but guaranteed. Players like DeSean Jackson, Travis Benjamin and John Brown could fit the bill once again for 2016, as they all have competent quarterbacks who pass often and can throw deep.Third-down or pass-catching running backs also can provide some upside and are typically priced low. As long as the player is involved in the game plan, and you have a reasonable expectation that the team will score, guys like Theo Riddick, Giovani Bernard, Shane Vereen and, of course, Danny Woodhead make great fill-in flex options.DiversificationThe chalk plays are the chalk plays for a reason. Theyre good players in good defensive matchups, probably in what Vegas expects to be high-scoring games. Plus, there is plenty of content from expert analysts telling you whom to play every week, which leads to high rates of ownership. You know you need to use game theory to win big games (game theory is the approach of making your decisions based on what others are doing, not merely doing what appears optimal). But that doesnt mean you have to fade every good player.One way to diversify your lineups at the flex position is to use a teams best player when that team is in what seems to be a bad matchup. The crowds wont be on Keenan Allen vs. Seattle, or Sammy Watkins vs. the Jets. Todd Gurley figures to remain the Los Angeles Rams primary offensive weapon, even when hes facing Arizona or Seattle, situations when most people will be looking elsewhere at running backs in better matchups. Top players often find their way to abundant fantasy points due to their own talent and their teams reliance on their playmaking regardless of defensive scheme.Another option for diversification is to pay up for the top position player when there is significant and obvious value at that position. This typically works for tight ends or running backs (or quarterbacks) when a starter is injured. What doesnt work is to use a player with no opportunity or little talent -- regardless of the matchup.Above all, dont let circumstances like remaining salary dictate which player fills this slot on your roster. Make it work for you to gain an edge on your opponents with a more thorough stack, higher upside, increased security or that unique player with low ownership. How you design and arrange your lineup should vary from week to week. Thats the beauty of DFS; what works best one week wont be the answer the following week. So dont take any one strategy as a strict rule of thumb. Be flexible and on the lookout for that weeks winning formula. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. Cheap Authentic Jerseys . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. http://www.cheapjerseysfinish.com/ . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Cheap Jerseys From China . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. NFL Jerseys Supply . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays are 6-7 since the All-Star break and steady starting pitching has been a major part of the turnaround for a team that had lost 24 of 27 games at one point.Everything is going well for our starters -- just consistent outings back-to-back-to-back, said Fridays winner, Jake Odorizzi, who pitched six-plus innings of shutout baseball in the Rays 5-1 win over the New York Yankees.It really takes the stress off the bullpen. I think another thing is our defense is playing phenomenal. Theyre really backing us up and its a lot easier to pitch when you have great plays being made behind you.The Rays (40-61) have allowed more than four runs just once in 13 games since the All-Star break. At one point in June, they gave up at least five runs in 13 straight games, so theyre at the opposite end of the spectrum.Weve played that way since the break, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. I know we dont have the wins to support that, but were playing tighter ballgames, our pitching has been tremendous and the timely hits, hopefully they continue to come.As both teams move another day closer to the trade deadlines and teams around them continue to make moves, the Rays must decide if theyre dealing starters like Odorizzi and Matt Moore.Meanwhile, the Yankees -- having already dealt away closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs -- must decide how much talent they are willling to part with while they linger on the fringe of wild-card contention.dddddddddddd.Asked if the trade deadline -- and the thin line between seller and buyer -- changes his approach to these games, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was adamant his focus is unchanged on putting his team in position to win games.Zero, he said of how he allows the deadline to impact his decisions as a manager. You try to win every game, no matter what the situation is.On Saturday, the Yankees will send RHP Nathan Eovaldi (9-6, 4.80 ERA) against Rays LHP Drew Smyly (2-11, 5.42). The Yankees have lost back-to-back games after a stretch that saw them win eight of 10. They went into Friday night with a chance to match their season high of four games above .500.Just as the Tampa Bay pitching has stepped up, New York has struggled in its last two games, giving up a combined nine runs after holding opponents to 10 in the previous five games. Nova gave up two home runs Friday to the first three batters, literally trailing from his third pitch of the night on.By the time the Rays-Yankees series ends, the trade deadline will arrive and both teams will have a better sense for whether their path to the end of this season is easier or harder, depending on how active they are at the deadline. ' ' '