Ask the Experts
Posted Oct. 18 at 07:17 AM
ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly, with answers to a new question being posted every Thursday morning.
How the guest experts responded when we asked them:
Who will beat the Patriots, and how?
SCOTT ENDSLEY
The only team that can beat the Patriots is the Patriots. If New England is fully focused and gives full effort in each game the rest of the season they won’t lose. But doing that is not easy. The Colts have the only realistic shot at beating the Pats even if they play well. But in that game the Pats will have a defensive edge, although it's still likely to come down to the last possession.
Endsley is co-owner and a senior fantasy football consultant for FantasyDraftEdge.com. For more info, go to www.fantasydraftedge.com.
SCOTT PIANOWSKI
I may want to burn these words in a few months, but I still don't see the Patriots going 16-0. The defense has been ordinary most of the season. Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth aren't the most durable guys around. The backfield can't continue to lose key players indefinitely before the effect is felt. And the schedule is still ridiculous, with three NFC East teams left (quietly that's a good division), not to mention the formidable Colts, Ravens and Steelers. By default I'll make the Colts the pick to do the deed - the game is in Indy, and Peyton Manning no longer struggles against Belichick's defensive schemes. Indy isn't going to stop New England's offense, but the Colts could win a 41-38 sort of game. Without question, that's looming as the Game of the Year for the 2007 regular season. Don't overlook Washington's chances for a stunning upset in two weeks. Gregg Williams is still one of the more creative defensive minds around, and Washington has the right secondary pieces to challenge any passing game. I'm expecting that to be a competitive match.
Pianowski is a free-lance journalist who's been writing about sports (fantasy and otherwise) for a variety of websites, newspapers and magazines for the last 20 years. He can be reached at pianowski31@yahoo.com.
DAVID DOREY
In all honesty, they will not face a team that they could not beat. The law of averages says that one week they will naturally come into the game a little flat and get caught as they (and every other team) eventually do. The toughest match-up will be the game in Indy but they will be plenty motivated to win that one. The game that offers the best chance for a loss will probably be the home game against the Steelers in week 14 but I would not bet against them going 16-0. I honestly would not. They are propelled by a bad 2006 season with scores to settle and then CheatGate stoked their fires even more.
Dorey is the co-founder of TheHuddle.com and the lead NFL analyst. He has been projecting players and predicting games since 1997 and has also authored the book Fantasy Football: The Next Level which is available at all major bookstores and at Amazon.com. Mr. Dorey is one of the top prognosticators in the Fantasy Football Index Experts Poll every year and won it in 2005.
STEVEN LASSAN
With ten games left on the schedule, there are plenty of things that could go wrong in the Patriots quest to go undefeated. However, you would have to say at this point they are on track to finish out the regular season without a loss. Looking at their remaining schedule, I think their toughest games fall to Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and the Giants. That's right, I said the Giants. Think about this, what if it gets to week 17 and the Patriots are 15-0 and have everything locked up -- would they really play all of their starters? Hard to know at this point, but that's something to consider, especially if the Giants are battling it out for a wildcard spot. Taking away that potential in the final game, the Colts have the best potential to knock off the Patriots, as they can keep up with their explosive offense and the defense is playing better than they have in recent years. How will the Colts do it? First, they'll need to jump on top of the Patriots early and allow their defense to attack Tom Brady. Plus, if the Colts get ahead, they grind things out with Joseph Addai and keep Brady and Randy Moss on the sideline. Of course, it's a longshot with the way the Patriots are winning, but that's the best (but early) formula.
Lassan is a senior staff writer for Pro Fantasy Sports. For more info, visit the websites www.profantasysports.com and www.fswa.org.
JEFFREY KAMYS
Most will point to the game against Indy as the one they could drop, but I think that the Washington game could be the trouble game. Washington's DBs are extremely tough and since they can play tough man, that allows them to add extra men in the box to stop the run. NE still has some holes in their run D, but nobody has seen that yet because most teams have been so far behind, they haven't been able to run. Washington can keep that game close enough to allow Portis and Betts to run the ball late in the game. Also....reality check..... NE is a very good team, but they have faced a very weak schedule so far. Four of the six teams they have faced so far, I would rank as having subpar defenses (Cle, Cin, Buf and NYJ). Dallas has a marginally good defense and SD was playing poorly when they faced the Pats. The toughest Ds are still on their schedule, that includes Washington, Indy, Philly, Balt, Pittsburgh and the pass rush of the NYG. I think the Pats will drop 2 of these games. One other caveat, those great WRs, Stallworth and Moss have been injury prone the last 2 years, if those guys go down and the hamstring injuries usually hit when the weather gets colder, Welker isn't as wide open anymore. I think the Packers' 5-1 is more impressive than the Pats 6-0 simply because of the teams they have beaten.
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 e-mail to webmaster@docstats.com.
CORY J. BONINI
The obvious question is whether any team can actually beat the New England Patriots this season, and if any team on their remaining schedule can do such, it has to be the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9. The game will be at Indianapolis, where the Colts won the last meeting with the Patriots. The two teams are considerably different from last year's respective squads, with the most noteworthy changes coming in the Patriots' dynamic receiving corps and the Colts' massive purge of defensive starters during the offseason. New England could have a tough time with the Philadelphia Eagles (Week 12), the Baltimore Ravens (Week 13) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (Week 14). None of these teams seem poised to beat the Patriots, however, as each has played inconsistently at times this year. Pittsburgh probably represents the greatest threat of these three teams, due to their balance on offense and scheming on defense, but it is hard to imagine their offense being able to keep up with the machine that has become the Patriots. For any of these teams to have a fighting chance at toppling the Pats they must shut down wide receiver Randy Moss, which can be done by applying heavy pressure on Brady. At the end of the day, it remains entirely possible for New England to go undefeated.
KFFL offers football as well as baseball content and has captured over a dozen expert league championships. Founded in 1996, this company offers daily news, preseason draft guides, player rankings, sleepers, busts, weekly newsletters and more. KFFL also provides fantasy content to various organizations including SportsTicker and Yahoo! Sports. For more information, visit www.kffl.com .
IAN ALLAN
I don’t think anybody’s going to beat them. I think they’ll run the table. The one game left on their schedule that is potentially troublesome is the week 9 game at Indianapolis, but as well as the Patriots are playing right now, I think they’ll probably win that game pretty easily.
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.
PATRICK GLEESING
There are three games New England could likely lose. NE @ Ind: Playing rope-a-dope, Belichick experiments but doesn't show his hand knowing that he will meet Indy in the playoffs; yet, the lure to remain unbeaten and answer all 'haters', that he and his team are the greatest, means, he will win. NE @ NYG: NYG may be desperate for the playoffs and NE will be coasting in with a first-round bye. It will be hard not to sit ailing stars, and, overcome a lacksadaisical attitude of accomplishment. The Giants, cornered and dangerous are a physical team with a seriously good QB. If unbeaten here, then Belichick wins this one to cement his legacy. Pit @ NE: Pit is very physical. Tomlin is proving to be a genius at the basics of football, and working with what he has. This is a serious threat. A weary NE team, beaten up by Balt's D the week before, will be tested severely. (Plus, Belichick's file on Tomlin is a little thin.) It should be Miami that knocks them off, but that team is too sorry this year for any miracles. Buoniconti may pop the corks after this one.
Gleesing is the owner of and senior writer for fantasyfootballdrafthub.com. He can be reached at patrick@fantasyfootballdrafthub.com.
MIKE NAZAREK
The Colts and QB Peyton Manning will do it with solid defense and a great offensive effort. No way the Patriots go 16-0.
Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc. His company offers an online rookie draft kit, preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, a fantasy auction drafting program, weekly in-season fantasy newsletters, injury reports and free NFL news (updated daily) at its web site. He is the reigning three-peat champion of the SI.com Experts Fantasy League. He is also a nationally published writer in several fantasy magazines and a columnist for SI.com. For more info go to http://www.ffmastermind.com. Nazarek can be reached at 702-568-7118 or miken@ffmastermind.com.
CARL WEATHERFORD
Tom Brady is finally realizing his full potential. For the first time in his career an already three-time Super Bowl winning QB finally got – receivers! The offense barely misses a beat with RBs dropping like flies. Scary! But good in the sense we pushed him heavy in the preseason for selection immediately when Peyton was off the board. The defense is personnel and scheme strong… Additionally, I think the entire New England organization is a little ticked off about the whole spy-cam story. Their Super Bowl history was questioned and that seems to have tipped them over. They play angry on defense and aggressive on offense, even with big leads. Late-season would be a time when they might slack off should home field throughout be secured. But they play three of their final four at home. Only one of those teams (PIT) appears capable of defeating them. The Patriots have not played a team with a decent pass defense thus far. I imagine when they do the offense will adjust and finds ways to move the ball. This leaves me with nothing to do but predict a clean sweep – perfect regular season.
Weatherford is owner/editor of www.coachbox.com, a fantasy football news and advice community online since 1997. Weatherford was author of the directory and technical editor for IDG Book’s Fantasy Sports Online For Dummies. He has been participating in magazine and expert panels since 1997 and has played fantasy football for over 20 years.
ANDY RICHARDSON
It seems like frequently the team that pulls the upset in one of these situations is an unexpected one. So it won't be the Colts, but rather some surprise team that knocks them off. I'm tempted to go with Buffalo -- I would if they had a quarterback who could play. So instead I'll go with one of the games they play in the two weeks after that: home against Philadelphia, or on the road at Baltimore. Assuming McNabb and Westbrook are healthy, the Eagles have the offense to keep up with the Patriots in a shootout, and Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson may be able to get some pressure on pretty-boy magazine ad for a watch named after him. The following week in Baltimore, if McNair is healthy and starting, the Ravens could force a lot of turnovers and come away with a narrow win. Tough schedule; I think the Patriots will lose not once but at least twice the rest of the way.
Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for the past six 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. Other writing credits have included FFToday.com and football coverage for newspapers in Colorado and Florida. For more information go to www.fantasyindex.com.
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