ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Dak Prescott or Tony Romo -- who should the Cowboys start the rest of the way?
SAM HENDRICKS
Dak Prescott. We have seen the last Tony Romo start as a Cowboy. He will not be ready after this weeks bye which means a Week 9 start at the earliest and I think it more likely he will not be an option until Week 10 at PIT. By then there is no way to bench the hot rookie QB Prescott. Even Jerry Jones is back tracking on some of his comments in support of Romo getting his job back after the injury. The 36 year old 12-year vet will call it quits after this season or else the Cowboys will.
Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 25 year fantasy football veteran who participates in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He is drafting live in the FFPC in Vegas this year. He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013. Follow him at his web site, www.ffguidebook.com.
JUSTIN ELEFF
I may be in the minority on this, but I think Romo has earned the right to step back into the starting role when healthy. Prescott looks like a remarkable find given how far down most teams' draft boards he fell, and his future as a starting quarterback (perhaps even a star) seems secure. But he can still learn plenty by watching a competent veteran prepare and work, and you have to figure he has some bad luck coming after the record-setting string of interception-free passes to start his career. Bottom line for the Cowboys: Prescott did his job brilliantly, and now he should head to the sideline instead of letting his luck catch up to him. Bottom line for the team's fantasy prospects: Romo himself may score fewer points the rest of the way than Prescott would, as Prescott does a lot more with his legs. But the switch back to Romo would be no worse than a scratch move for Ezekiel Elliott, and Dez Bryant would figure to benefit substantially once he's healthy too. The only player this might be bad for, save Prescott himself, is Cole Beasley.
Eleff hosts the Fantasy Index Podcast, available in the iTunes Store now. He has worked for Fantasy Index off and on all century.
ALAN SATTERLEE
Coming off a five-game winning steak, not to mention capturing the hearts of Cowboys' fans and setting the NFL record for the best ever start to an NFL career by a quarterback (in terms of not throwing an interception) I don't see how the Cowboys go back to Tony Romo. I would just keep saying he is "still recovering" to soften the demotion for now. They always have Romo to turn back to so why rush it, or mess up a good thing. It's tough though as who is more likely to lead this team to the Super Bowl is probably Tony Romo, but what a buzzkill for the team if Romo breaks his back or collarbone again (not to mention Romo's health of course -- in my opinion, Romo is not smart to play football again). In terms of fantasy impact, having Romo back there would be a major bump for Dez Bryant if that were to happen, while Ezekiel Elliot likely gets a boost with the threat of Dak Prescott running it (not that it matters much given his talent).
Satterlee is a co-owner and senior writer for Dynasty Football Warehouse. DFW is comprehensive site covering dynasty, redraft, IDP and Daily formats. DFW has a large writing crew with many people from the DFW community contributing to the insights and discussion. He is also the Fantasy Football Insider for the Charlotte Observer and is syndicated in a few other newspapers in the southeast.
DAVID DOREY
Dak Prescott will remain the starting quarterback and the Cowboys string of five victories alone means the team must leave it as it is. Prescott is not as good for the fantasy fortunes of the receivers – Romo is a much more productive passer. But Prescott brings an entirely new element to the offense with his mobility. There’s no problem with fantasy prospects if Romo starts – they should all increase. But in NFL terms, the Cowboys should and will “dance with who brung ya.”
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.
ANDY RICHARDSON
I'm conflicted, because I remember things playing out with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, and lived in Boston at the time of the whole Bledsoe-Brady situation. But I think the Cowboys should go back to Romo, who will upgrade the passing offense, and I think Prescott -- the starter next season, no doubt -- will be able to handle watching and learning for a few weeks until Romo breaks his collarbone or suffers another back injury, which will probably happen by Week 12 or so.
Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts 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.