Which lightly regarded fill-in quarterback are you most interested in as a 2009 prospect?

Matt Cassel does not make the short list due to the imminent return of a certain Super-Model dating QB. Of course, if NE does not keep him, all bets are off. Thigpen gets the nod over Culpepper simply because of his weapons in the KC offense. Not only does he have Dwayne Bowe and Tony Gonzalez , but also a rejuvenated Mark Bradley (Larry Johnson and his presence in 2009 remains to be seen). Tyler has some legs like the Daunte of old and seems to have a good pocket presence as well. Daunte may surprise some with his new found team. Personally, I think he returned from his injury too early and that hurt his performance at Miami. So a come back player of the year award would not be a surprise. But dynasty wise, I would take the 24 year old Coastal Carolina QB first.

As seen in ASK THE EXPERTS, Fantasy Football Index's Expert column found at http://www.fantasyindex.com. ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question posted Thursday morning.

Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, an Award-Winning Finalist in the Sports category of the National Best Books 2008 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News, available at his website, http://www.ffguidebook.com, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is an 18-year fantasy football veteran who has teams in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC), NBC Sports Fantasy Championship and the inaugural season of the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

Several teams (Denver, Baltimore) are very unpredictable with their running backs. At what point do you decide a certain situation isn't worth it?

I hate to say it, but it depends. It depends on who else is on your roster (read: How desperate are you due to injuries, RBBC and bye weeks). It depends on your competition (i.e. if you drop S. Young will an opponent pick him up and fill a bye week or injury gap of his own). Finally, it depends on who that “team” is playing (or will play in the future) because sometimes there are enough carries for everyone if they are playing someone like DET, KC, STL, OAK or any AFC team that starts with a C. So I never give up on a teams RB. I just sit them and wait for an opportunity (S. Young, Le’Ron McClain) or a need.



As seen in ASK THE EXPERTS, Fantasy Football Index's Expert column found at http://www.fantasyindex.com. ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question posted Thursday morning.

Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, an Award-Winning Finalist in the Sports category of the National Best Books 2008 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News, available at his website, http://www.ffguidebook.com, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is an 18-year fantasy football veteran who has teams in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC), NBC Sports Fantasy Championship and the inaugural season of the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

Which rookie running back would you most like to own in a dynasty league (assume PPR format)?

You certainly have a plethora of choices: Forte, Chris Johnson, Slaton, K. Smith, McFadden and Tim Hightower. McFadden and K. Smith get written off because of their teams. Neither team has too much of a future in the next few years. Slaton is in a slightly better position. Johnson has some RBBC issues. Thus I like Forte and Hightower. Their teams have good, improving defenses. Hightower has recently been named the starter at AZ and had a week 9 performance of 109 yards on 22 carries. Hightower is more of a Marion Barber type runner, while Forte seems quicker. Either will make good keepers. But Forte gets the slight edge in a PPR format, Hightower gets the QB edge. Advantage: Forte.

As seen in ASK THE EXPERTS, Fantasy Football Index's Expert column found at http://www.fantasyindex.com. ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question posted Thursday morning.

Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, a finalist in the USA books "Best Book" Awards, available at his website, http://www.ffguidebook.com, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is an 18-year fantasy football veteran who has teams in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC), NBC Sports Fantasy Championship and the inaugural season of the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

Smallish speedsters Ted Ginn and Donnie Avery had huge games Sunday; a year from now, will one of these guys be the next Steve Smith or Santana Moss?

Both Ted Ginn Jr. and Donnie Avery are rising stars, but the fact remains that they doubled their seasons stats with one big day in week 8. Defenses will need to give them more attention (read: double teams) but neither should be crowned the next Steve Smith until they prove themselves adept at catching balls when defenses attempt to shut them down. The season is a marathon not a sprint and one great game does not a season make; especially against a CB recovering from injury (Ginn’s case). Avery is the more promising candidate here. I expected more from Ginn all year but frankly he has disappointed in many areas.

As seen in ASK THE EXPERTS, Fantasy Football Index's Expert column found at http://www.fantasyindex.com. ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question posted Thursday morning.

Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, a finalist in the USA books "Best Book" Awards, available at his website, http://www.ffguidebook.com, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is an 18-year fantasy football veteran who has teams in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC), NBC Sports Fantasy Championship and the inaugural season of the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

Who is the most underrated wide receiver?

Bernard Berrian, WR Minnesota, is underrated but squeaks into the top 10 of WRs with 28 catches, 517 yards and 3 TDs through 7 games. I am willing to bet none had him as top 10 preseason. After a slow start, he has been money in the bank, with over 10 fantasy points each of the past 5 weeks. Look for that to continue with Gus Frerotte at QB. Vincent Jackson gets a nod as well, although I had him ranked pretty high preseason; his recent success has more to do with Chris Chambers’s injury though. Speaking of WRs given the spotlight due to teammate injuries, two rookies, DeSean Jackson and Eddie Royal, come to mind and impress. These two were definitely underrated. Not anymore.

As seen in ASK THE EXPERTS, Fantasy Football Index's Expert column found at http://www.fantasyindex.com. ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question posted Thursday morning.

Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, a finalist in the USA books "Best Book" Awards, available at his website, http://www.ffguidebook.com, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is an 18-year fantasy football veteran who has teams in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), Nationa Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC), NBC Sports Fantasy Championship and the inaugural season of the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

Leaving aside committee situations, which backup running back would you most like to own?

Tim Hightower has been consistently getting the goal-line carries and thus putting up a decent amount of fantasy points as a RB2. His 5 game, 11 point average is worth having for bye week fill-ins. But his real potential going forward will be as the heir apparent for E. James if he has an injury. Arizona appears to be operating on all cylinders and he stands to benefit. Michael Bush and Felix Jones also qualify but both suffer from inconsistent play calling of their number.



As seen in ASK THE EXPERTS, Fantasy Football Index's Expert column found at http://www.fantasyindex.com/. ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning.



Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook and the recently released Fantasy Football Almanac 2008 which are both available at his website, http://www.ffguidebook.com/, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is an 18-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF) and will participate this year in the inaugural season of the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

If you were drafting today, who would be the top running back on your draft board?

Most will go with Marion Barber III as he looks to shoulder most of the burden of the Dallas offense with Romo out for 4 weeks and Felix Jones out for some time as well. But I am going to pick an older, more reliable work horse, Clinton Portis. A slightly better schedule and no sign of a RBBC earn him the No. 1 spot for me. He has strung together three 100-yard games recently.


As seen in ASK THE EXPERTS, Fantasy Football Index's Expert column found at http://www.fantasyindex.com/. ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning.




Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook and the recently released Fantasy Football Almanac 2008 which are both available at his website, http://www.ffguidebook.com/, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is an 18-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF) and the National Fantasy Football Championhsip (NFFC) and will participate this year in the inaugural season of both the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC) and NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship.