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 training camp battle will you be paying the most attention to this preseason?

JON MILLMAN

I'm interested in seeing just how real Dez Bryant is at this level. He certainly is getting a ton of hype, as much as any rookie WR I can recall since perhaps Calvin Johnson. It will be interesting to see if he can unseat Roy Williams before the season starts or if it will take him a little time. Dallas is a team built to win now, so a lot will be asked of him as a rookie WR who generally don't make big impacts right away. My gut is he'll actually do just that early and may be a better value than Miles Austin at this point as you can get him much later.

Fantasy Football Champs, FFChamps.com, founders the Millmans are the No. 1 ranked experts In the history of the Fantasy Football Index Experts Poll. FFChamps.com gets there every year by following our Football Bible, The FFCPI, our weekly rankings telling you who to play. FFChamps.com has the most state of the industry Mock Draft tool, proprietary algorithms and systems for player rankings/who to draft/who to play/who to trade in the industry, and one-to-one Expert Advice. In the last 7 years FF Champs has competed against the top Fantasy Football Experts in all of the major magazines' Experts Polls and has finished lower than 3rd only twice.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI

I can't wait to see how all the skill position roles shake down in Chicago. Mike Martz is a bit of a mad scientist and those deep drops could get Jay Cutler killed by season's end, but Martz is also a star-maker when it comes to offense (and fantasy production). Can Johnny Knox hold off Devin Aromashodu and start on opening day? How will the workload be split in the backfield between Matt Forte and Chester Taylor? And to a lesser extent, what's the role of tight end Greg Olsen this year? These are critical questions for us to figure out in the next few weeks.

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.

SCOTT SACHS

Anytime there is stiff competition at RB, I am interested. Therefore, Dallas is the #1 team I am focused on for that reason. The Cowboys may be the only team that actually deserves to get 3 RBs selected. Certainly we all need to keep an eye on any teams with questionable or newly created RBBC focus like the Browns, Chiefs, Bears, Giants, Redskins, Bills, and Raiders. You know what you're getting with RBBC situations in Carolina and Baltimore.

Scott Sachs is “The Coach”, at Perfect Season Fantasy Football, offering Live Talk & Advice from early August through the NFL Playoffs. The Coach has 22 years experience in a 24 team league, 19 years in playoffs with multiple Championships, including the league’s only Perfect Season! Free content and subscriber options at www.perfectseasonffb.com, or email questions or info requests to perfectseasonffbquestions@gmail.com.

KEVIN PAYNE

There are two competitions I'll be watching closely during training camp. The first is the Browns and how they decide to use Jerome Harrison and Montario Hardesty. Harrison rushed for 561 yards and three TDs over his final three games but with Browns didn't draft Hardesty with the 50th overall pick to sit the bench. I'd expect some type of timeshare and either would make a nice #2 RB if they secure the lion's share of carries for Cleveland. The second camp I'll keep tabs on is the Buffalo RB situation. I don't think Marshawn Lynch will be in a Bills uniform come Week 1 and Fred Jackson has shown he can handle a full workload. Rookie CJ Spiller will be on the field but I'd expect them to find creative ways to get him the ball rather than 15-20 touches via straight handoff. If Lynch does get traded I'd give Jackson a significant boost in his projections. Of course, any RB in Buffalo might have a hard time staying healthy with the makeshift O-line they have penciled in right now.

RotoWire.com is a fantasy sports news site that focuses on MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, auto racing (mostly NASCAR), golf, college football, college basketball and soccer. The web site features player news, draft kits, mock-draft software, in-season tools, feature stories and statistical data to help fantasy players in each sport. RotoWire hosts a three-hour daily radio show on Sirius-XM, XM 147, Sirius 211 11 AM - 2PM ET, has partnerships with Yahoo! Sports, ESPN, NFL.com and FoxSports, among others. To sign-up for a free-trial to RotoWire.com, go to RotoWire.com/trial..

LOUIS TRANQUILLI

The Houston Texans backfield. Arian Foster clearly showed some potential to finish the 2009 season and the Texans coaches were so impressed the went out and drafted a RB in the second round. Steve Slaton is trying to return from a neck fusion (ouch) and play, reports are good but once the hitting starts that can change a lot of feelings about playing with a neck injury. Someone has value in this backfield for 2010, the camp battle will shake loose a good player at the position.

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.

RICK HAWES

think a couple of my favorites are the receiver situations in Indianapolis and Houston. I think (key word being "think") that Pierre Garcon should remain in the No. 2 role for the Colts, but the organization is saying Anthony Gonzalez is healthy which could open up some healthy competition for the No.2 job opposite Reggie Wayne, as well as the slot duties that Austin Collie held down so well last season as a rookie. Meanwhile, in Houston, head coach Gary Kubiak has been talking up Jacoby Jones, who is one of my favorite sleepers. Jones came into the league extremely RAW and immature, but the light appears to be coming on for him. On the flip side, the Texans signed Kevin Walter new deal this offseason, so it will be interesting to see if Jones can overcome that part of the equation. I will be keeping a close eye on these situations.

Hawes is the Managing Editor of NFL content at Fanball.com and OwnersEdge.com. These sites offer league management software, daily play fantasy games, up-to-date news, free and premium content, Live Advice, custom projections and cheat sheets, staff rankings, IDP analysis, and a vast array of fantasy tools to help you bring home the championship hardware. If that’s not enough to whet your appetite, you can join our NFFC High-Stakes football contest, listen to us on the Fanball Fantasy Drive show at Sirius (211) and XM (147), or pick up one of our six magazines, including the Pro Football Draft Preview, as well as five Fantasy Football publications. For more information send e-mail to rhawes@fanball.com.

IAN ALLAN

Washington’s backfield. Easy. They’ve added Mike Shanahan, who has a strong history of developing running games, and they’ve also upgraded their offensive line. I will be very interested, therefore, to see how things shake out with Clinton Portis and Larry Johnson. Maybe Willie Parker or some other back as well. I think Portis will be the guy (and that he’ll be pretty good). He’s lost some weight and seems to be working harder. But I want to see for myself what he looks like carrying the ball.

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.

BURTON MEAHL

I will be paying the most attention to the running back situation in Houston. The early line of thinking was that rookie Ben Tate would take the spot as the starter. However, his battle with a hamstring issue may lead to the other two backs getting more work. More work equates to more opportunity to shine at this time of the year. Logically, next in line might be Arian Foster, who has shown signs of brilliance on the ground. Lastly, Steve Slaton can not be ruled out entirely. He is the only Texans running back to rush for 1,000 yards in the past 5 years. However, I want to point out who the head coach is and his history with running backs. Gary Kubiak was the offensive coordinator in Denver, where the running back situation was a force to be reckoned with on the field. In fantasy football, however, it was nothing but a headache. A different player was the star on the ground every week. I want to see this further develop and avoid turning into a complete running back by committee situation.

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JEFFREY KAMYS

We will be looking in on the Washington RB competition, which is a mess with Portis, Willie Parker and Larry Johnson all vying for PT. The reality is, that it will probably be just an annoying RBBC fantasy owner situation, where on any given week, coach Shanahan picks a different guy to carry the rock.

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.

MIKE NAZAREK

I'll be watching the Dallas Cowboys WR situation, as rookie Dez Bryant battles to take Roy Williams' starting job away. I think he'll do it!

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 one and only four-peat champion of the SI.com Experts Fantasy League, a nationally published writer in several fantasy magazines and a former 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

There are a few running back battles that I will be watching closely. The Bills, Browns and Seahawks all have very undecided backfields but of those I think I will be watching to see what happens in Cleveland. After what Jerome Harrison was able to do down the stretch last year it showed me that the Browns can have a running game if the right back is carrying the ball. I am looking to see if Harrison will get the chance to be a featured back or if the new Brass would rather go with the guy they drafted. Whoever wins this battle should have a decent fantasy year especially since the passing game is sure to be lacking.

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.

JARED SMOLA

I'll be keeping a close eye on the competition for the starting RB job in Seattle between Justin Forsett, Julius Jones, and Leon Washington. There’s no doubt who the most talented player is -- that'd be Forsett. And the regime change creates a clean slate that should help Forsett emerge as the lead back. While HC Pete Carroll continues to say the RB competition is wide-open, he’s been quick to praise Forsett all offseason, while all but ignoring Jones. Even if Washington didn’t have a metal rod in his leg, he probably wouldn’t be in the mix to start here. The Seahawks will use him as a change-of-pace guy. If Forsett wins this training camp battle -- and I think he will -- he should have RB2 value in PPR leagues. Seattle has really improved its offensive line with the additions of OT Russell Okung and OG Ben Hamilton.

Smola is the Senior Editor of DraftSharks.com. DraftSharks has been providing thought-provoking, outside-the-box fantasy football analysis since 1999. The site provides its members with tons of feature articles, daily email updates, in-depth player profiles and projections, its exclusive MVP Draft Board, and much more!

DAVID DOREY

The training camp I most want to watch is probably the Eagles. I want to see how well Kevin Kolb is meshing with the offense and get a better feel for the fantasy value of DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek and LeSean McCoy. Kolb is the key and if the offense looks like it is not losing much with Donovan McNabb gone, then there’s significant fantasy value to distribute on this offense.

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.

SAM HENDRICKS

Most will say C.J Spiller and Fred Jackson at RB in BUF. However, while the QB and RB situations in BUF (and CLE) are tempting, I am most interested in the RB battle in SEA. Justin Forsett seems to be the early favorite, but Leon Washington has the “right stuff” if he can recover from knee surgery. He is explosive and has a 4.8 YPC average in his four short years in the NFL. Now that he finally has moved away from the Thomas Jones shadow, he is sure to want to prove that the highest paid RB in SEA ($2.45 million) is worth it. And this is one battle that could last all preseason with the winner getting a ton of carries in a Pete Carroll offensive juggernaut.

Sam Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at his website, www.ffguidebook.com, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is a 20-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall (out of 228 competitors) in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

CORY BONINI

I'm very interested in the Indianapolis Colts' competition for the No. 2 wide receiver job opposite Reggie Wayne. We've seen big-time fantasy production from this position many times, and two intriguing players are vying for the role. Pierre Garcon, Indy's big-play spark last year, seems to have the upper hand in the competition with former first-round draft pick Anthony Gonzalez (knee). Coming off a knee injury that cost him essentially the entire 2009 season, Gonzo is hungry to win back his job. I expect this one to go deep into camp with Garcon being the unofficial winner. Count on wide receiver rotation that will keep both Garcon and Gonzalez from posting monster stats, but low-end No. 2 fantasy potential certainly is present.

Since 1996, KFFL.com has been combining its award-winning news service with top-notch fantasy analysis. KFFL.com offers industry-leading services, including daily news, draft guides and in-season advice. Now 100 percent free, KFFL.com is your destination for fantasy baseball, football and NASCAR cheat sheets, tips, sleepers and much more. KFFL.com has won more than a dozen expert championships and was listed as "One of the 10 essential sports-related online destinations for fans, athletes and fantasy owners" by Time.com. KFFL.com has provided content to USA Today, Yahoo! Sports, FOXSports.com and many other quality organizations.

ANDY RICHARDSON

I always have the greatest interest in rookies, because that's when you see stuff that makes you go Wow -- Chris Johnson a couple of years ago, Randy Moss way back when. So I'm primarily interested in the running back battles in Buffalo, Houston and Cleveland. I've stuck my neck out on C.J. Spiller and Montario Hardesty, who I believe are both loaded with talent and potential in their respective situations. I like Ben Tate, but have been taken aback at what strikes me as too much optimism about him -- a feeling that his opportunity is making him out to be better than he actually is. So I'm very curious to see how my expectations will play out in those camps.

Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for the past nine years. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual 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.

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