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:

Which quarterback competition around the league will have the greatest fantasy impact?

DAVID DOREY

The winner in San Francisco – almost certainly Shaun Hill – will be a surprise in fantasy circles playing against a softer schedule in an offense that will also make use of Frank Gore as a receiver. Hill was quietly impressive last year but has to compete with former first round pick Alex Smith in order to prove to the new coaching staff just how bad of a draft pick that Smith was. Even without Crabtree signing (and he certainly will), Hill will post fantasy significant stats this year.

Dorey is the co-founder and Senior NFL Analyst at The Huddle since 1997. He has produced award winning rankings and has projected the fantasy stats for every game over the last 13 years. David produces the bulk of The Huddle rankings and his “Predictions and Projections” breaks down every single NFL game every week through the Super Bowl. You can find more about David at TheHuddle.com.

MIKE NAZAREK

Kyle Orton is really struggling in Denver, so if his poor play continues, Chris Simms could be named the surprise starter. They certainly have enough talent to make that position a significant fantasy contributor in 2009.

Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc. His company offers an online rookie draft kit, preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, fantasy auction & regular drafting programs, 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 the reigning four-peat champion of the SI.com Experts Fantasy League, a nationally published writer in several fantasy magazines and a columnist for SI.com. For more info go to www.ffmastermind.com. Nazarek can be reached at 702-568-7118 or miken@ffmastermind.com.

PRETZEL MAY

I think the winner between Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn will have the biggest fantasy impact. D.A. went to the Pro Bowl a couple of years ago and Brady Quinn was drafted as "the answer" so both have potential to be big fantasy players. As the Browns showed over the last 2 years the team rises or falls based on the the arm of the quarterback. 2 years ago Anderson goes to the Pro Bowl and Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow have fantastic fantasy production, even Jamal Lewis rose from the ashes to put together a decent season. Last year with inconsistency at the helm the entire team suffered around them. Who ever wins needs to step up and if they do expect big things from those around them, if not you should be able to find better options at most skilled positions.

The May brothers have more than 16 years of combined fantasy football experience and are the co-founders of FantasyDraftMaster.com. The cornerstone of FDM is the UberRank which is a revolutionary approach to the traditional fantasy football cheat sheet. FantasyDraftMaster.com also offers insightful and humorous commentary on football happenings as well as recommendations on waiver wire pickups, line up submissions and weekly pick em' pools. For more info, visit www.fantasydraftmaster.com or email us at info@fantasydraftmaster.com.

SAM HENDRICKS

I see 5 major QB battles in DET, NYJ, SF, TB, and CLE. There may be minor skirmishes at OAK and DEN too, but I will assume Russell and Orton are safe for now. Here is who I think wins the battles and their ranking. Mark Sanchez-Looks sharp and inherits a playoff capable team. Matthew Stafford-Anyone with Calvin Johnson gets high points Shaun Hill-Has more recent experience. Brady Quinn-Beats out Anderson barely. Byron Leftwich-Best of the worst. Sanchez gets high marks for his attitude and the team he inherits. Both he and Stafford should start and have plenty of rope to work with since they are top draft picks and have looked solid so far in the preseason. I have been high on Sanchez and he has done nothing to lose that confidence.

Sam Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Almanac 2009, all available at his website, www.ffguidebook.com, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is a 19-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th overall in the 2008 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

IAN ALLAN

I don’t think he’ll stay in the starting lineup for long. (I’m not even sure he’ll be a starter on opening day). But I think Daunte Culpepper will be surprisingly effective if the Lions let him play. He’s in much better shape this year. He’s lost a lot of weight. To me, he looks pretty much like the same guy he was five years ago. Three times in Detroit’s first preseason game, I saw Culpepper use his mobility to get away from pass rushers. He didn’t have that ability last season. And with this team, he’s got Calvin Johnson to work with. If I were running the Rams, 49ers, Broncos or Jaguars, I would quietly phone the Lions and see what kind of draft pick it would take to get Culpepper.

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 the company’s website, www.fantasyindex.com.

SCOTT ENDSLEY

Before news of Favre ending up with the Vikings we might have said Minnesota because they are likely the best team with a significant QB battle so the potential from whoever won the job was not bad. Now the Tampa Bay revolving door is interesting since the three seem evenly matched - that is to say, they all stink - but they stink pretty evenly still. But we're not sure any QB in a battle now will be any more than a late QB insurance pick.

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.

LOUIS TRANQUILLI

Matthew Stafford or Daunte Culpepper in Detroit; Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan has run up some outstanding numbers for his QBs in the past with his power running game and vertical passing game. The winner here has Megatron and a solid RB to throw to in Maurice Morris, add in a decent No. 2 option in Bryant Johnson and Rookie TE Brandon Pettigrew and you have a solid offensive group to choose from when dropping back to pass. The Lions will be passing plenty, that defense is only marginally better than 2008....

Tranquilli is the founder and the primary "brains" (if you stretch it) of BFDFANTASYfootball.com. BFD is about delivering the information players want, not fluff, just opinions that matter to fantasy football players. Lou has worked with NFL players and gives a unique perspective because of it. We'll be giving MORE teams away in 2009 to BFD subscribers!

JEFFREY KAMYS

The Browns' QBs are the most interesting because at least with those guys, both Anderson and Quinn have experience and have played before at a high level. Not the case in New York, say, where both of the Jets QBs are unknowns.

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.

COLIN DARLINGTON

I believe the winner in Minnesota, which will be Brett Favre, will have the best QB fantasy stats for 2009. As seen in my $1 auction pick of Favre in the 2009 Fantasy Football Index magazine, I think he has all the pieces around him and will post good numbers in 2009. A close second is Brady Quinn in Cleveland. I believe he will also win the starting job and put up good numbers.

Darlington is the owner of MyStartEmSitEm.com and has been an owner, commissioner and consultant in Fantasy Football since 1992. MyStartEmSitEm.com provides weekly advice based on your league, your scoring system, with custom emails about your team, preseason cheat sheets, draft day assistance and much more.

RICK HAWES

When this question first hit the old inbox, my first inclination was Sage Rosenfels, who I felt was ultimately going to claim the starting job in Minnesota. Of course, Brett Favre coming out of retirement squelched that thought process, causing me to reload. To be honest, none of the other options give me warm fuzzies. But if backed into a corner I would probably go with Byron Leftwich, who has a solid offensive line in front of him, decent ground attack behind him (Derrick Ward, Earnest Graham) and a couple proven targets (Antonio Bryant, Kellen Winslow) in the passing game. Of course, this house of cards is built on Bryant returning healthy from the knee scope, Winslow’s infamous right knee holding up for an entire season, and Leftwich, who has had his fair share of injuries, making it through the season unscathed.

Hawes is the Managing Editor of NFL content at Fanball.com. Fanball.com and OwnersEdge.com offer league management software, daily play fantasy games, Live Advice, up-to-date news, free and premium content, player rankings, custom projections and cheat sheets, in-depth IDP analysis, Fantasy Buffet Radio Show, NFL Draft Kit, Fanball Blog Network, daily newsletter, a vast array of fantasy football tools, including Draft Analyzer software and five magazines featuring the Pro Football Draft Preview, as well as four Fantasy Football publications. For more information send e-mail to rhawes@fanball.com.

CORY BONINI

I have to say the Brady Quinn versus Derek Anderson battle is the most intriguing to me. It looked as though Quinn had a firm grasp on the job, but Anderson has been sneaky good lately. Quinn's style of play fits what the coaching staff wants to employ - the short-passing game - but Anderson's arm strength allows for a vertical offense that will force defenses to be honest, in turn helping the running game. Braylon Edwards' best play will come if Anderson starts, but the running backs - Jerome Harrison in particular - the possession receivers and tight ends will benefit the most with Quinn. Most people see the Cleveland Browns and automatically see a dearth of fantasy value, which means savvy owners can scoop solid value later on.

KFFL.com offers fantasy football, fantasy baseball and fantasy NASCAR content. We have captured well more than a dozen expert league championships. Founded in 1996, KFFL offers award-winning daily news feeds, preseason draft guides, player rankings, sleepers, busts, weekly newsletters and more. KFFL is completely free! For more information, visit www.kffl.com.

ANDY RICHARDSON

For some reason I like Brady Quinn, who I thought looked OK in his limited action last season. But how can you draft a player from a team that can't score touchdowns? So I'm going with Detroit, for a few reasons. I think they'll be a bad team defensively, again, so their quarterback, be it Stafford or Culpepper, will have to put up some points offensively. I see that player as more likely to be this year's Matt Ryan, while the winner of the Jets' QB battle is more likely to be in the situation Joe Flacco was in: backed by a great running game and stingy defense. Fantasy-wise, I think the Lions starter should be more productive than the other prospective winners around the league.

Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for the past eight 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.

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