Ask the Experts
Posted Dec. 20 at 04:00 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:
With several teams likely to rest starters in week 17, if not week 16, who is one second-stringer you think could put up good numbers in those weeks?
DAVID DOREY
Have to love guys like Kenton Keith and Anthony Gonzalez from the Colts for the next two weeks. There’s a chance that Maurice Morris could be getting increased playing time -- but then again, why save Alexander? They may rest Morris instead. The Buccaneers don’t have any players worth resting other than Earnest Graham and that could lead to more work for Michael Pittman in these last two weeks. Unfortunately what will likely happen is that these teams will play their stars for a half or so before handing off to second stringers which just means you do not get a full game from any of them.
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. Dorey is one of the top prognosticators in the Fantasy Football Index Experts Poll every year and won it in 2005.
PATRICK GLEESING
Indianapolis is famous for sitting its stars. So, Anthony Gonzalez will continue to succeed. We might even see a touchdown or two from Kenton Keith. In San Diego, Tomlinson owners are praying that the twinge he felt in his ankle last week was nothing and that LT will want to play, but, the reality is that Sproles will net a few more TDs in the next two games. I think the Patriot stars will play out in order to cement their legacy as one of the greatest teams ever. But, Jabar Gaffney is already netting scores and other players will get more involved as Brady spreads the wealth.
Gleesing is the owner of and senior writer for fantasyfootballdrafthub.com. He can be reached at patrick@fantasyfootballdrafthub.com.
SCOTT ENDSLEY
With only 2 weeks to play, the NFL elite have secured a spot in the playoffs. However, some teams are still trying to earn a spot with the wild card. For the teams already in, the temptation is to avoid any injuries or to rest key players. For fantasy owners, the key is to watch the injury report and keep an eye on any 'starter' who has been listed as questionable recently. Teams with a bye week already know they have an extra week to rest the 1st string, so they won't make any big changes until the last week of the regular season.
Endsley is co-owner and a senior fantasy football consultant for FantasyDraftEdge.com. For more info, go to www.fantasydraftedge.com.
IAN ALLAN
I don’t see any second stringers that interest me right now. Maybe Michael Turner or Darren Sproles of the Chargers against the Raiders in week 17. If a team isn’t really interested in trying to win — by playing front-line players and gameplanning — then I think the odds are stacked against that team putting up good numbers. But I will toss out one long-shot name: Troy Brown of the Patriots. In the past few years, we’ve seen Bill Belichick toss a bone to older, backup players in late-season games. Doug Flutie drop-kicked an extra point, and Vinny Testaverde tossed a touchdown at the tail end of a blowout win at Tennessee last season. With that in mind, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Patriots make an effort to get Brown (who hasn’t even been active all year) a short touchdown in the second half of one of their final games. Most likely, it would be this week, in the final home game. Brown is 36 and has been with the team 15 years. This could be his final home game. That might be a nice way to honor him.
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.
STEVEN LASSAN
The one second-stringer I have my eyes on should be well-known throughout fantasy circles. San Diego's Michael Turner is easily one of the best back-up running backs in the league and could start for a handful of teams. The Chargers are still jockeying with the Steelers for the third/fourth seed in the AFC, but you have to think they will start resting some of their starters at some point. Taking a look at the remaining schedule, the Chargers have match-ups against Denver and Oakland - two of the worst run defenses in the NFL. Assuming the Chargers choose to give LaDainian Tomlinson time off, I look for Turner to be one of the top second-string players for the next two weeks.
Lassan is a senior staff writer for Pro Fantasy Sports. For more info, visit the websites www.profantasysports.com and www.fswa.org.
NICHOLAS MINNIX
New England Patriots wideout Jabar Gaffney seems to be a logical choice. He has recently become a frequent target (22 looks in the last four weeks) anyway. In that time, he has amassed 16 receptions, 225 yards and three touchdowns. If the Pats put either of their remaining games away early enough, Pro Bowl receiver Randy Moss becomes a good candidate for time on the pine, especially given his injury history. Quarterback Tom Brady trusts Gaffney, and that goes a long way in New England's offense. If Matt Cassel relieves Brady at quarterback, Gaffney shouldn't miss a beat: Both are backups, so they should be familiar with each other.
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 .
JEFFREY KAMYS
The pickings are thin; with Dallas losing and Seattle losing and New England still playing for 16-0, at this point I'm not sure how many guys will be resting. Looks like Indy will be able to rest players the last two weeks, but they are so thin at WR with Harrison dinged, it's doubtful that even Anthony Gonzalez will see a ton of PT. If Gonzalez plays he's a guy that is definitely worth watching.
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.
ANDY RICHARDSON
The good news is that only a few teams truly have nothing to play for: the Colts, the Bucs, the Seahawks. That will probably be the case next week, as well, although you have to keep track of those start times -- some teams might find out before kickoff that they can't change their playoff seeding, and might pull starters quickly. From the affected teams, I'm definitely interested in Kenton Keith, and I'm mulling the idea of picking up somebody like Michael Bennett from Tampa Bay, on the thought the team might rest Earnest Graham in week 17. The scary thing is you know that Peyton Manning will start week 16, but how long will he really play? Tony Dungy has claimed he'd play starters for a full game in the past, and changed his mind. If I had a week 17 Super Bowl, I'd certainly consider backup Jim Sorgi.
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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