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 player who's been a mediocre performer thus far could be a star in the fantasy playoffs?

LOUIS TRANQUILLI

He's the #26 WR in PPR leagues and has just 2 TDs on the season, a major disappointment at the WR position. He's missed time due to injury, and in week #12 had to suffer through Matt Leinart at QB. With Kurt Warner returning and the Vikings, 49ers, Lions and Rams all coming up in the next 4 weeks; and his clear motivation for a FAT CITY payday in 2010. Boldin will end the FF season on many many Fantasy Football Championship teams.

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

Jamaal Charles is a nice sleeper the rerst of the way. He is heating up and so is the KC offense. Further he faces a very easy schedule against the run in his remaining games.

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.

IAN ALLAN

Looking at the matchups, I think Beanie Wells will be a factor in weeks 15-16. The Cardinals play the Lions and Rams in those games, maybe running for 200 yards and 2 TDs. Wells is sharing time with Tim Hightower, but he’s been coming on recently, and those matchups are awfully enticing.

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 PIANOWSKI

I salute the Bills for getting the ball back in the hands of Fred Jackson; the switch to interim coach Perry Fewell has paid immediate dividends. Jackson gets the Jets, Chiefs, Patriots and Falcons the next four weeks; the Jets are the only defense of that group in the top half of the YPC leaders. Time to double-down with the Double Deuce.

Pianowski has been playing fantasy football for 15 years and writing about it for 12. He joined Yahoo! Sports in 2008 and has been blogging 24/7 on RotoArcade.com ever since.

SAM HENDRICKS

One obvious answer is Fred Jackson. He should get more carries now that new BUF coach, Perry Fewell, has decided to give Jackson the main RB duties for the Bills. A real sleeper is Larry Johnson CIN. He has a favorable schedule and has shown some flash for the Bengals filling in during Cedric Bensons' absence. He will not top 100 yards as he did Sunday but he could do some damage with 10 carries a game and DET, SD and KC all ahead. If Benson misses more time, Johnson could see his value soar. As for a WR pick, Jason Avant PHI is making his move and DeSean Jackson missing this week helps him.

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).

CORY BONINI

I don't know how much of a true sleeper you can call Terrell Owens, but his poor start to the season left a lot of owners sour on his prospects. The promotion of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to the starting lineup has led to Owens' two best games of the season, and this is no fluke. Fitzpatrick is more daring and pushes the ball downfield better than his predecessor. The Bills have nothing to lose, and their schedule is very friendly after this week's tilt with the New York Jets. Matchups with Kansas City, New England, Atlanta and Indianapolis should help Owens' owners regain a bit of what they lost with their relatively high draft investment.

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

Not that I'm a big Matt Moore fan, but I'm going to nominate Carolina's Steve Smith. It looks like Jake Delhomme could end up on injured reserve, putting Moore into the lineup against a couple of defenses who are more vulnerable to the pass than the run right now (New England, Minnesota). Opponents should make stopping Carolina's running game Job 1, and there's no way Moore could be less effective throwing to Smith than Delhomme has been this season. Another, perhaps more likely possibility is a guy who's put up lesser numbers of late, Chad Ochocinco. His schedule the rest of the way -- Detroit, Minnesota, San Diego and Kansas City -- is loaded with pass defenses that can be thrown on.

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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