Ask the Experts

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them:

Leaving aside committee situations, which backup running back would you most like to own?

LOUIS TRANQUILLI

I think the easy answer is Felix Jones in Dallas, but digging a bit deeper I really like Derrick Ward of the N.Y. Giants. This team is committed to running the football and have a high contact/impact RB in fron of Ward with Brandon Jacobs. Jacobs didn't make it through 2007 unscathed and I think his willingness and desire to take on tacklers will cost him a few games again. Ward looks like a potential stud RB for the Giants, any bulk of carries and he will lead teams to FF championships this season.

Louis Tranquilli is the founder and the primary "brains" (if you stretch it) of BFDFANTASYfootball.com. BFD is about giving advice to players from a player. Lou's been a highly successful owner in many high stakes contests. BFD is giving away 50 fantasy football teams in 2008.

CHRIS LISS

Derrick Ward, Felix Jones, Tim Hightower - the first two have big upside on great running teams. Hightower's a bruiser on an offense the moves up and down the field a lot.

RotoWire.com is a leading independent provider of fantasy sports news on the web, covering all the news as it breaks, combining innovative analysis with an easy-to-use format. The site’s content has won numerous awards and has earned partnerships with ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, FoxSports, XM Satellite Radio, NFL.com, NBA.com and many other sites and networks. To sample site content, take advantage of their free 10-day trial.

SAM HENDRICKS

Tim Hightower has been consistently getting the goal-line carries and thus putting up a decent amount of fantasy points as a RB2. His 5 game, 11 point average is worth having for bye week fill-ins. But his real potential going forward will be as the heir apparent for E. James if he has an injury. Arizona appears to be operating on all cylinders and he stands to benefit. Michael Bush and Felix Jones also qualify but both suffer from inconsistent play calling of their number.

Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook and the recently released Fantasy Football Almanac 2008 which are both available at his website, www.ffguidebook.com, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is an 18-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF) and will participate this year in the inaugural season of the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

IAN ALLANI like Ladell Betts. Clinton Portis is carrying a huge workload, so he should miss some games at some point. And if and when Betts gets plugged into the lineup, I think he’ll be very good. That offense is playing well right now — all of the pieces are in place.

Allan is the senior writer for Fantasy Football Index magazine. He’s also one of the main content contributors for that company’s website, www.fantasyindex.com. His IAN ALLAN’S MAILBAG column is posted on Fridays.

JEFFREY KAMYS

We like Tim Hightower in AZ. The AZ offense continues to be extremely productive and Hightower, with a fading James in front of him, will continue to get more and more chances as the year goes on. Further, even in games where he has limited chances he gets the goal-line carries.

Kamys is president of Dr. Stats Fantasy Sports. His company, via the web, offers player news, injury reports, cheat sheets, projections, weekly matchups, statistics, and a customized team tracker. Dr. Stats Fantasy Sports also e-mails preseason newsletters and reports throughout the season. For more info visit www.docstats.com or send email to webmaster@docstats.com.

SCOTT ENDSLEY

Felix Jones is clearly a playmaker. When given the chance, he makes things happen for Dallas. Imagine if he touched the ball 10 times or more each game.

Endsley is co-owner and a senior fantasy football consultant for FantasyDraftEdge.com offering customizable fantasy football cheat sheets and professional VIP advice all season long. For more info, go to www.fantasydraftedge.com.

BOB HECK

We'd take Time Hightower as our stash. For starters, he already has nice value as a flex player. In standard PPR-scoring leagues, Hightower is currently the No. 23-ranked RB based on already notching 5 TDs already through 5 games. An injury to Edge and Hightower instantly becomes a must-start. The Cardinals got a steal nabbing him in the 5th round. Hightower is a back we highlighted in our Lifevest Team series of targeted draft picks -- he is very well built for NFL duty at 6'1" and 225 pounds, and also has nice vision and a burst to his game. With his long hair and aggressive running style Hightower looks close enough to Marion Barber on the field that it's eye-grabbing and the TD machine-like success is also eerily similar to how Barber started off his career in Dallas.

Heck is a founding partner at Dynasty Rogues, a fantasy football website filled with football enthusiasts, run by football enthusiasts. The company provides year-round dynasty and redraft fantasy football coverage and analysis, including Dynasty Rogues Radio and the Rogues Forum. The site can be reached at www.dynastyrogues.com.

ANDY RICHARDSON

One guy is Derrick Ward, just because the Giants are running the ball better than any team in the league and Brandon Jacobs is always a good injury candidate. Others include Correll Buckhalter, who's nothing special but it seems clear that Brian Westbrook is going to have injury concerns all year long. Finally, Ryan Grant is struggling so much that I'm keeping an eye on Brandon Jackson and Kregg Lumpkin (as a very deep sleeper). At some point, the Packers might need to make a change at running back to get their rushing offense moving.

Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for the past seven years. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections, as well as various site features. He has run the magazine's annual draft and auction leagues since their inception. His A DAY OF FOOTBALL wrap-up column appears Mondays during the NFL season. For more information go to www.fantasyindex.com.

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