ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: What was the most worrying thing you saw in Week 1?
L'ROY ANTHONY HALE
The simple and obvious answer is Dez Bryant with his broken foot and the trickle-down effect his absence will have on the Dallas offense. Digging deeper, the ineffectiveness of Peyton Manning in Week 1 has to be worrisome. Manning failed to get double-digit fantasy points, looked very pedestrian and has only tossed 3 touchdowns in his last 5 games. To make matters worse, ‘The Sheriff” hurt his back against Baltimore. Is it time to give up on the veteran quarterback…NO; but his fantasy owners will be in full-fledged panic mode if he struggles again this week.
Hale is the founder of the Fantasy Maxam family of websites, Fantasy Gives, Fantasy First and Fantasy Football for Females, a charitable organization that utilizes fantasy sports to support non-profit groups. For the first time ever, Fantasy Gives will turn fantasy football in to a national fundraiser where participants can win thousands of dollars in weekly prizes while supporting their favorite charity.
SCOTT SACHS
The Browns were looking to build on their 7-9 record from last year. Their early schedule looked favorable with the Jets, Titans, and Raiders on deck. However, Sunday's very competitive early going quickly turned into a debacle. QB McCown getting hurt and turning the ball over just as he was diving for a TD after a 17-play opening drive is really a microcosm of all things Cleveland Browns since 1999. They better defend the run and rush the passer on D, then on offense protect the ball and quit negating every positive play with a penalty beginning right now in Week 2, or it will be a long season on America's North Coast--real world as well as fantasy.
With two perfect seasons to his credit, Sachs runs Perfect Season Fantasy Football, featuring LIVE Talk & Text Consulting & Advice. He was the 2011 winner of Fantasy Index's Experts Auction league, as well as the winner of the 2012 Experts Poll. In 2013, he finished 2nd in the Auction and 3rd in the Draft league; in 2014, 3rd in the Auction league.
MICHAEL NAZAREK
The Miami Dolphins' use of RB Lamar Miller (only 14 touches) was extremely frustrating to watch. As a Miller owner in a high stakes league, I was puzzled why they didn't run him more. At no time were they so far behind that they shouldn't have utilized his talents to retake control of the game. When he did touch the football late, he made plays, so let's hope the team realizes what they have and the fact they need to hand him the rock more. Something definitely to watch in the coming weeks!
Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc. His company offers a preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, a multi-use fantasy drafting program including auction values, 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 a 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 via email at miken@ffmastermind.com.
JOSHUA SIMMONS
Minnesota stands out from Week 1 with just an overall regrettable game. Poor blocking coupled with ineffective play from Adrian Peterson and Teddy Bridgewater led to just 248 yards offensively, in a 20-3 drubbing by the 49ers. This came as a surprise, given the tremendous amount of turnover to San Francisco's coaching staff and defensive personnel in the offseason. Perhaps it's too early to close the book on 'em but from my vantage point, the fantasy stock of most Vikings has already become worrisome.
Simmons has been a contributor for FantasySharks.com since 2007. His responsibilities include dynasty rankings, weekly projections-driven content and staff representation in various leagues.
ALAN SATTERLEE
The biggest worry to me is how old Peyton Manning looks. I avoided Manning this year at any price he was going at and I am very glad I did. Peyton came out of Week 1 ranked 28th among quarterbacks. Just one week in, is there anyway in the world Manning would be drafted anywhere near where he went a few weeks ago? Who wouldn't rather have Marcus Mariota at this point? Andre Johnson is another aged player I avoided. He will have better days, but just 24 yards on ten targets is worrisome. Calvin Johnson owners would like to have seen more and a true number one stat line more frequently for Calvin. Just 2 receptions on 4 targets is disappointing, especially for a game that was a 33-28 shoot-out (Calvin will have better days but his schedule coming up over the next month -- at Minnesota, Denver, at Seattle, Arizona -- is daunting.
Satterlee is a co-owner and senior writer for Dynasty Football Warehouse. DFW is comprehensive site covering dynasty, redraft, IDP and Daily formats. DFW has a large writing crew with many people from the DFW community contributing to the insights and discussion. Alan is also the Fantasy Football Insider for the Charlotte Observer and is syndicated in a few other newspapers in the southeast.
SAM HENDRICKS
While the Lions collapse at San Diego and the Seahawks loss in overtime to STL stunned many, to some they were not that much of a surprise. Instead the Colts lack of offense disappointed the most. Frank Gore and Andre Johnson looked old. I mean real old. And Andrew Luck looked as if he still was wearing his "crazy" beard from the commercials. Don't even get me started on the non-existent Indianapolis defense. Lucky for them they play the Texans, Titans and Jaguars twice.
Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 20-plus year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013. Follow him at his web site, www.ffguidebook.com.
JAY HARDING
No doubt it has to be Peyton Manning. Dating back to last season now, in 3 of his last 5 regular season games he has failed to throw at least 1 touchdown pass. Prior to that he had thrown one in 51 straight games. Early in the year I brushed last season's year-end struggles off not wanting to believe the decline was coming in 2015, and I'm a Chargers fan for heaven's sake. Anyway, those who don't have at least some concern now, are, in my opinion not being realistic with their expectations. And now on short rest he faces a rejuvenated Kansas City team at Arrowhead!
Harding, owner of The Fantasy Football Firm has been playing and winning fantasy football since 1987. The Firm specializes in helping fantasy owners win in three key post-draft areas. Senior Partners at The Firm get all three publications: “Effective Team Management”, “Waiver Wire Wisdom” and “The Trade Maker” a combined 57 pages packed with sound, proven and effective strategies focused solely on helping partners win their league championships and to do so more consistently than ever before. On Twitter: @UDONTWINONDDAY.
ANDY RICHARDSON
The Broncos and Lions stand out to me. Denver faced a great defense, but there's no getting around how ordinary (or worse) the offense looked. Maybe it really is it for Peyton Manning. With the Lions, it's simply inexplicable how Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate could do so little in Week 1. I have several teams tied to these players and though I'm not pushing the panic button yet, I'm concerned about them. Especially Manning, who's not going to suddenly get younger and more mobile.
Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts 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.