Ask the Experts
Posted Sep. 27 at 06:59 AM
ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them:
Which star through the first three weeks would you sell high on?
SCOTT SACHS
I am always looking to trade Michael Vick. He has rushed and passed for scores, once again tantalizing owners with his potential, yet his propensity for injury and recent turnover struggles indicate a potential erosion of skills to match his maddening inconsistency. The fact his WRs have been nicked up doesn't help his value either. Although a die-hard Browns fan, I must also reluctantly recommend testing the waters for Trent Richardson as well. He has 3 scores, a 100-yd rushing day, and has flashed brilliance, but the immediate and season-long schedule difficulty indicate Cleveland will struggle mightily. League insiders already have realized that to stop the Browns, you crowd the box, stop T-Rich, and force rookie QB Weeden to throw to a woefully young and inexperienced receiver corps.
Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, offering live personal advice from training camps through the Super Bowl. His 20-plus years of fantasy football experience includes his league’s only perfect season, as well as a wire-to-wire championship in Fantasy Index's 2011 Mock Auction Draft League. Visit "The Coach" at his website: perfectseasonffb.com and follow him on Twitter: at http://twitter.com/#!/ffbcoach.
ALAN SATTERLEE
I'm not sure Michael Vick's star is shining all that brightly right now (he would have been a better answer to this question after Week 2 of the season when he was coming off back-to-back 300-yard passing games). Vick however is still a Top 10 QB in most scoring formats and his name value might still draw good dollar in trades. Philly has the look of a team that is about to seriously under-perform while Vick looks like a player destined for a major injury eventually. He has a miserable 66.2 QB rating and Vick continues to take one massive shot after another.
Dynasty Rogues is the fantasy football information site run by fantasy football enthusiasts for fantasy football enthusiasts. The site includes a year-round approach to analyzing football information for those in dynasty and redraft leagues. Dynasty Rogues won the 2008 Fantasy Index Experts Poll.
MICHAEL NAZAREK
I believe Saints RB Darren Sproles will continue to lose more touches to fellow backs RB Pierre Thomas and RB Mark Ingram moving forward, so for owners that own him in non-PPR leagues, now is likely the best time to SELL HIGH on him.
Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc. His company offers a preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, a multi-use fantasy drafting program including auction values, weekly in-season fantasy newsletters, injury reports and free NFL news (updated daily) at its web site. He has been playing fantasy football since 1988 and is a four-peat champion of the SI.com Experts Fantasy League, a nationally published writer in several fantasy magazines and a former columnist for SI.com. For more info go to www.ffmastermind.com. Nazarek can be reached at miken@ffmastermind.com.
LOUIS TRANQUILLI
With two solid games under his very expanded belt Michael Turner would be a sell right now. He's scored two weeks in a row and had a nice looking 5.7 YPC average against the Chargers this weekend. (Don't let your trade partner know about that ugly 2.6 YPC average the first two games.) Sell Michael Turner, soon Jacquizz will be the talk of Hotlanta...
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CORY BONINI
I question whether Robert Griffin III can keep up his torrid pace, but he has made do two weeks in a row without Pierre Garcon, so I tend to lean Ben Roethlisberger. It is only a matter of time before he suffers an injury, if history is any indicator. The offense could rely more on the run once Rashard Mendenhall (knee) is healthy enough to contribute meaningful reps. For what it's worth, RGIII could be traded now since he probably will never have greater value. The more time teams have to build tape against him, the less likely he is to remain the top fantasy producer.
Since 1996, KFFL.com has been combining its award-winning news service with fantasy analysis. KFFL.com offers services including daily news, draft guides and in-season advice. Now 100 percent free, KFFL.com is your destination for fantasy baseball, football and NASCAR cheat sheets, tips, sleepers and much more. KFFL.com has won more than a dozen expert championships and was listed as "One of the 10 essential sports-related online destinations for fans, athletes and fantasy owners" by Time.com. KFFL.com has provided content to USA Today, Yahoo! Sports, and FOXSports.com among many other organizations.
IAN ALLAN
As well as Tony Gonzalez is playing, I don’t think he’ll continue to rip it up. He’s not up there with the likes of Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski. I expect he’ll be more of a second-tier tight end the rest of the way. I’d be comfortable moving him if I could get something of value in return.
Allan is the senior writer for Fantasy Football Index. He's been in that role since 1987, generating most of the player rankings and analysis for that publication. His work can be seen in Fantasy Football Index magazine, and also at www.fantasyindex.com.
KEVIN NELSON
I would most certainly try to trade away Peyton Manning. Manning has performed very well in two out of 3 fantasy games this season, including a 330 yard, 2 TD performance this past week against a tough Houston defense. My problem however is the eye test. Like many said who saw Manning in the preseason, his arm just doesn't look like it has the same velocity that it used to. He is severely struggling to make deep throws, especially to his right. A lot of his stats recently have come when Denver gets down and defenses have sat way deep, giving Manning his intermediate throws to eat up the clock. I'm worried if Denver isn't needing to come from behind late every week, he will continue to struggle challenging all parts of the field and thusly struggle to put up big fantasy stats. If you can find a someone to bite on his big performance against Houston, I would sell, sell, sell.
FFBLife.com is a company started by fantasy football lovers, for fantasy football lovers. With rankings, forums, latest news and advice, mobile applications, draft tools, social networking and more; Fantasy Football Life solely exists to reach the goal of providing all fantasy football players with everything they need. Nelson is editor-in-chief of FFBLife.com and the Fantasy Football Draft Guide, providing rankings, advice and articles for the company.
SAM HENDRICKS
I will forgo the obvious injured players and simply name two starting RBs who will not be starting much longer, Michael Turner and Shonn Greene. Turner has 155 combined yards and 2 TDs (30 FP) and Greene has 166 combined yards and one less TD (24 FP). I say sell both before they lose their jobs to their backups (Jacquizz Rodgers and Bilal Powell). One could make the case that they are not stars but anytime a starting RB gets benched it hurts your team roster.
Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at www.ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 20-plus year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall (out of 228 competitors) in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). Follow him at his website, www.ffguidebook.com.
ANDY RICHARDSON
If I talk up Steven Jackson, will somebody erroneously believe he's doing well so I can trade him away? One possibility is C.J. Spiller, who will probably find himself back in a committee with Fred Jackson when he returns from his shoulder injury. Another is Frank Gore, who may finally find himself in the committee most expected in the preseason, with Brandon Jacobs soon to return. Wes Welker, coming off a huge game at Baltimore, is another candidate; once Edelman and Hernandez return, Welker's role will be smaller again.
Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for more than ten years. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual draft and auction leagues since their inception. He previews all the NFL games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays during the NFL season.
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Posted by Brett Watts | Sep. 27 at 10:00 AM
Please help me decide if I should claim Heath Miller off of waivers. Someone dropped him yesterday because of bye weekand needs. I have Dennis Pitta as my only TE (good option). If I pair him with Pitta I need to give up one of my 6 RBs. The decision would be easy if I had more than one good starter (Trent Richardson). I have the bust Chris Johnson taking up bench space, so I need to carry a lot of potential breakouts. My others are Jaquizz Rogers, Donald Brown, Andre Brown, and Balil Powell. I am guessing Powell is the one to drop but I really like his upside. How many bench warmers do I need though when a stud TE is there for the taking (if he clears waivers to me). Could be trade bait too.
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Sep. 27 at 10:06 AM
In my leagues there are lots of good TEs on waivers. Are there others similar to Miller on yours? If so, leave him. If you want him I would probably drop Powell. I dont see him being much better than Greene. Minimal upside in a Jet runner.
Posted by Brett Watts | Sep. 27 at 10:29 AM
Thanks Andy. Cook and Myers are the only other decent TE options on the wire. Cook is erratic in scoring and Myers hasn't gotten into the end zone. So I take it that you view the Jets backfield as a committee approach going forward regardless if Greene or Powell starts?
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Sep. 27 at 11:12 AM
It is more a case of, Greene hasn't been a great fantasy asset as a Jets starter, so will Powell really be? They talk about wanting to run but don't actually do it that much. I have Greene in one league with deep rosters. I never consider starting him. Even if Powell starts, I don't know that he will be very productive. Anyway, I would probably leave Miller out there, on the off chance I am wrong on Powell.
Posted by PETER DEBIASE | Sep. 27 at 01:39 PM
Andy: I agree with the gentleman who thinks Turner and Greene will lose their jobs if they continue to produce at their current levels. In that connection, Quizz and Powell are FA's in a 10 team, standard scoring league. My RB's in the league are Dancing CJ, Lynch, S-Jax, Ridley and Mendenhall. I want to hold on to Mendy to see what his role is when PIT comes off their bye. CJ and S-Jax are big disappointments and Ridley's role is determined on a week to week basis by the whims of the two geniuses. Do you like Quizz or Powell better long term than the others? The sad part is that CJ and S-Jax may be on the sites' no drop list (I haven't checked) so I may not have the option of dropping either of them. Thanks much.
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Sep. 27 at 01:59 PM
As I said above, I don't see a lot of value in a Jets running back. Rodgers, in contrast, plays in a very good offense and catches passes. If and when he reliably gets as much or more work than Turner, he could be a nice fantasy option. I don't think the Jets really have such a thing at running back.
Posted by BRAULIO SANCHEZ | Oct. 01 at 02:55 PM
trade offer: RG3 and J.Maclin for S.Ridley,Antonio Brown,M.Bryant. Should I jump on it? I have depth at RB. I still have Rice,Martin,Forte
Posted by STEVEN RUBEN | Oct. 02 at 01:08 PM
Ian - You'd "sell high" on Gonzalez, TE through 3 weeks, and a week later you have him listed as the #4 TE on the redrafter. He's been around, I think, so it can't be some breakout ability. Any thoughts?
Posted by STEVEN RUBEN | Oct. 02 at 01:13 PM
Ian - I see now, you moved him down one spot from #3 the previous week on the redrafter. Still, one spot doesn't seem to justify a sell high recommendation when he was your #3 and dropped to #4 for the rest of the season.