ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp to Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Which player impressed or disappointed you the most in Week 1 of the preseason?
MIKE NAZAREK
It appears that Titans running back Chris Johnson got his swagger and wiggle back, as he ripped Washington for a long score this past weekend. He's said to be catching the football better in camp and seems ready for a truly big season. I'm excited about that fact after his struggles over the past two years.
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 via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.
DAVID DOREY
I was impressed with Alex Smith passing 7 of 8 for 68 yards against the first team of the Saints. He threw three times to Jamaal Charles and that is exactly what I wanted to see. Smith could generate at least moderate fantasy stats in the pass-happy scheme of Andy Reid and I really want to see him using Charles as an outlet receiver.
Dorey is the co-founder and lead NFL analyst for The Huddle and author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level. He has projected and predicted every NFL game and player performance since 1997 and has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, radio and television.
ALAN SATTERLEE
Chris Givens. He had another 50-yard jumbo play (and a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch after Givens blew by his defender) but then a short reception for a 3-yard TD soon thereafter. All told Givens had three receptions early. It's not that I was low on Givens but I jacked him up several rounds on my board. He looked like a No. 1 WR. Conversely, I lowered Tavon Austin a bit. That game also probably answered the question as to whom will start at RB for the Rams which looks to be squarely Daryl Richardson at this point.
Alan Satterlee is Co-Owner and Chief Editor/COO of FantasyFootballWarehouse.com. FFW features comprehensive profiles for all the major 2013 skill-position rookies, its Trading Spaces series, the team Deep Dives, the Speed Bump competition plus draft strategies, rankings, projections and more. FFW runs in tandem with its dynasty site DynastyFootballWarehouse.com.
SCOTT SACHS
After Week 1 of the preseason, it's a bit early to print playoff tickets in Cleveland just yet. However, the "Homer" in me says Brandon Weeden actually looked like a real professional quarterback last Thursday against a not-too-shabby St. Louis defense. He was 10/13 and could easily have been 12/13. Last season, Weeden and his pass catching options were hamstrung by the outdated West Coast playbook that featured lots of 3 yard catch-and-run attempts which is especially frustrating to play in, let alone for fans to watch. This preseason, their receiving corps looked like they could actually separate from a defender and [gasp!] actually catch a ball beyond the 1st down marker on 3rd down plays; in fact, the play calling featured a number of 15-20 yard attempts. Look out "handcuff" fans, the 2nd-best running back for Cleveland behind T-Rich is looking like it will be Dion Lewis, a shifty "Sproles-like" classic change of pace back. He had some nice moments, including a 3rd-down red zone TD catch, plus a nice draw play conversion on 3rd and 5. Montario Hardesty has done zip, zero, zilch to date and is in danger of not making the roster. Ray Horton's Defense applied the heat and Norv Turner's Offense moved the ball consistently. Special teams delivered a 91-yard punt return for a TD, too. This week's matchup with the Lions should be a stouter test, but for now: "In Chud We Trust!"
Scott Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, offering LIVE Talk/Text/Email consulting & advice. Winner of Fantasy Football Index's 2012 Experts Poll & 2011 Mock Auction League, Scott can be found at http://perfectseasonffb.com/.
ERIC CATURIA
By the time Week 1 rolls around, as many as a dozen of the NFL's starting quarterbacks may have emerged from the 2011 and 2012 drafts, including legitimate No. 1 fantasy options in Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, and Robert Griffin III. Despite the dearth of quality talent among the signal callers arriving in training camps in this year's class of rookies, one figures to tear away a top gig as a result of his performance in the coming weeks of preseason action: EJ Manuel. On Sunday, the QB out of Florida State got the nod over Kevin Kolb, who suffered a freak knee injury in the locker room during the first week of training camp and was held out due to lingering soreness. As he received a half of snaps, Manuel was particularly sharp, completing 16-of-21 passes for 107 yards and one touchdown. Moreover, he displayed a scrambling prowess, dashing three times for 28 yards, good for third on the team. There are faults, of course, expecting him to match the spectacular campaigns of those first- and second-year quarterbacks from the recent past, but due to the proliferation of passing across the league, Manuel seems poised to emerge from the 2013 crop, if in fact he holds off Kolb as others have done before him.
Caturia is a writer/editor of NFL, MLB, and NBA content for RotoWire. He can be found on Twitter @etcat30.
CORY BONINI
It is way too early to formulate any concrete opinions, but I like what tight end Zach Sudfeld did in New England. While his statistics (one reception, 22 yards) were inauspicious, I liked how he moved and displayed an understanding of his assignments. His blocking was adequate, and there certainly is an opening for playing time at the position for the Pats. Sudfeld could be a sly sleeper target in deep leagues.
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. Completely 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 is property of USA TODAY Sports Media Group.
IAN ALLAN
I liked the look of Chris Givens. Last year, he was just a deep threat. Now it looks like he’ll be more of a complete player. At Cleveland, he had 59-yard bomb (but again, he’s shown he can run by guys), but he also had a big 20-yard reception, then they used him on a little route at the goal line for a 3-yard TD. He wasn’t running those kind of patterns last year. He looks like a possible breakout-type player.
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.
MIKE CLAY
I'm not necessarily disappointed in Kendall Wright the player, but I'm very disappointed with Wright's location on the Titans depth chart during the their preseason opener. Wright, a prime breakout candidate after leading his team in targets as a rookie, was clearly third in line at wideout. Kenny Britt and Nate Washington started and each reached the 20-snap mark while Jake Locker and the other starters were on the field. Wright handled only a dozen snaps (all of which came from the slot) and was targeted only once. There's still time for Wright to earn a larger workload, but it's going to be hard for him to bust out if he's playing a part-time role in an underwhelming passing offense.
Clay is the Managing Editor and Director at Pro Football Focus Fantasy. It's there that he created a batch of advanced statistics, most notably average depth of target (aDOT). Mike also works as an NFL writer at Rotoworld.com and has contributed at PhiladelphiaEagles.com and for Athlon Sports.
MICAH JAMES
I'm still catching up on all of the weekend's games, but so far the player most impressive to me has been Vikings' rookie Cordarrelle Patterson. I tend to downplay the fantasy value of most rookie receivers, and while I'm not ready to anoint Patterson as a player to target in redraft leagues, Patterson was very involved in the Vikings' attack and looked more fluid and confident than I expected. The opening kickoff return was certainly exciting, but I was actually much more impressed with Patterson's ability to get off the line and create space away from his defender. One or two more preseason performances like this one, and we may very well see Patterson break into the starting lineup early this season, something I would not have expected a few weeks ago.
Micah James, the FFMagicMan, has been playing fantasy football since 2000. James won the FSTA Accuracy Rankings Challenge in 2012, finishing 1st out of 61 expert entries with an unprecedented Top-9 performance across all four skill positions. You can follow James on Twitter (@FFMagicMan) and be sure to listen to his weekly fantasy football strategy podcast, The Magic Formula.
JAKE CIELY
It's always perilous reading too much into one week of preseason games, but I can't take a pass here can I? Okay then. T.Y. Hilton impressed me quite a bit. I had concerns that the Colts offense would take a step back without Bruce Arians, but even if it does, Hilton looks as though he won't have any of it. Hilton flashed his Victor Cruz-like ability, and it's clear that he should start ahead of Darrius Heyward-Bey. Whether it's a two or three-receiver set, Hilton needs to be on that field... the Colts need him on that field. I don't change my rankings much this early outside of injury reasons, but if the Colts wise up and keep Hilton on the field ahead of DHB, I'll move him into my Top 30 WRs.
Ciely oversees the fantasy football staff for Football.com and assists with social media, including Twitter and Facebook. He is an award-nominated fantasy writer with over 15 years of experience. He started his fantasy sports career with his own blog and eventually became the Managing Editor at RotoExperts.com. He’s also a poker enthusiast, which is why you see many poker references, including his nickname “All In Kid.” Jake has also introduced new metrics to fantasy football analysis.
ANDY RICHARDSON
Both of my answers come from the same game, Eagles-Patriots. Stevan Ridley looks poised to have a big year as the lead back in that offense, running through the Eagles D behind New England's strong offensive line. Shane Vereen's role might expand, but I believe it will be a third-down and possible outlet receiver role -- not as a ballcarrier, so Ridley looks great to me. That said, the way LeGarrette Blount also ripped through the Eagles defense tells me that Philly is going to have some personnel issues in their front seven, which will be a negative for their offense. They won't be able to stop anyone, and their offense won't get as much time with the football. I'm concerned about that team.
Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for 12 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.