Fantasy Football Mailbag: 9/7/2012

Aug 23, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback John Skelton (19) drops back to pass against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at LP Field. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE

Need help with preparing for your fantasy football league? The Fantasy Guru is here once again to give you a few tips on how to play the crazy game of fantasy football.

The NFL season is under way and now fantasy owners are in the groove to win. There’s still plenty of you with questions so I’ll get right to them. First, I just want to take a quick moment to address the Cowboys/Giants game briefly. First off – don’t go nuts over Kevin Ogletree. It was one game against a seriously depleted Giants secondary. By all means go get him but don’t give up on your other guys too hastily and certainly don’t drop an established player. When it comes to Jason Witten, he will get better but I would urge you all to look at practice reports on him over the next 10 days. I also would urge caution regarding Tony Romo – there are tougher matchups ahead and his o-line stinks. On the other side, keep an eye on Victor Cruz and his drops as the season progresses. He got targeted A LOT but if he keeps dropping balls those targets may dry up. Eli looked good at times but his offensive line was terrible. I thought Bradshaw looked good in limited work although his injury risk still scares me. Finally, I would sell David Wilson – I’ve said all along that this will not be his year and I am saying it even louder now.

Ok, let’s get to the emails.

Q: The Cardinals went with John Skelton at QB – what does this mean for Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd? – Justin Drazen from Providence, Rhode Island.

A: I think there is little doubt that Larry Fitzgerald is one of the top WRs in fantasy no matter who is throwing him the ball. He is that good that so long as the QB has some competency we’ll see Fitz continue to put up numbers. With that said, I like Skelton a lot and I believe he was the right choice so this bolsters my confidence in Fitz. With Floyd, you’re playing a waiting game. He’s not going to get a large number of targets straight away as he adjusts to the pro game. However, I very much like the idea of him developing alongside a young QB in Skelton and if the QB can hold onto the job we could see chemistry begin to develop. Floyd is a second half investment and one who could pay off big time down the road.

Q: I read your 2012 Fantasy Football Preview – it took a while but I did it – and you didn’t mention my old favorite Ronnie Brown. What do you think of him in San Diego? – Francesca Hernandez from Fort Lauderdale, Florida

A: There is only one reason to be interested in Ronnie Brown – the inability of Ryan Mathews to stay healthy. The last time we saw Ronnie he was playing for the Eagles and looking extremely poor doing so to the point where he lost the backup role behind LeSean McCoy. He had very few opportunities while in Philly but what carries he did have he did not take advantage of and overall he looked terrible. I’m sorry to say it but I’m not convinced that even if Mathews is out for an extended period that you should invest in Ronnie Brown. I’d rather take a flyer on Curtis Brinkley in the hope he gets the job later otherwise I just wouldn’t bother.

Q: I’m in a 14 team dynasty league that has an OP slot. Last year I was starting Jimmy Graham there because I have Rob Gronkowski as my TE but this year I drafted Robert Griffin III who is my second QB behind Tony Romo. Should I start RG3 or am I better off with both TEs like last year? – Jerry Smith from Tulsa, Oklahoma

A: Usually I won’t answer start/sit questions on here because that’s what rankings are for. However, there is the philosophical and strategic point about the OP – Offensive Player – slot to deal with. To put it bluntly, you should ALWAYS start a QB there if you have a second starter. I don’t care if it’s a poor fantasy player like Carson Palmer, Blaine Gabbert or the QB I hate most Ryan Tannehill. When you look at fantasy scoring, it always leans towards QBs and they are far more likely to outscore anyone else you can start on your fantasy team. With that said, this situation is tough because those TEs are an extreme case. My personal opinion is that you bench Gronk and play RG3 and Graham. My final and most important point is this – trade Rob Gronkowski NOW. He’s an awesome player but you won’t start him most weeks in this situation so you are better of trading him to improve another part of your team.

Q: Your colleague the Monday Night Spotter made a point a couple of days back that the passing explosion was due to the Lockout but I read your article about 5000 yards becoming normal. Everyone says WR is deep based on last year but does what Granieri said suggest that maybe fantasy players should be more cautious? – Ron from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A: I liked reading what Tony had to say on Tuesday – it was a fresh opinion and made a strong argument. I personally don’t agree with what he said – as you pointed out by referencing my You Heard It Here First column – but it is something that fantasy owners need to keep in mind. Now I’m not going to sit here and argue against what the Spotter said as I made my point pretty clear already but the one thing I will say is that the best thing fantasy owners can do is spend time reading the opinions of as many fantasy analysts as possible and then taking all that you have read to work out what your own stance on any given issue is. Most of you are in multiple fantasy leagues as well so why not try a few different things and see what works. I’m in one 2QB league that is also 1PPR where I ignored conventional wisdom, didn’t draft a QB until late and I ended up with McCoy, Charles and MJD as my starting QBs plus Jordy, Antonio Brown and Decker as my WRs plus Tate and Helu on my bench! My QBs are Bradford, Fitzpatrick and Sanchez – pretty rough – but I am enjoying trying something different to see if it might work. Be creative and never close your mind to any possibility.

Q: Should I trade for Maurice Jones-Drew in a non-keeper league? – Aaron Munch from Baltimore, Maryland

A: I continue to be amazed by the lack of faith in MJD from fantasy owners and I truly believe he is one of the best fantasy investments out there. I am inquiring about the availability of Jones-Drew in pretty much every league I am in to see what his price is and you should too. Personally I have him around 10-12 and if you can get him for anything less than what Marshawn Lynch of someone similar is worth then I would absolutely trade for him – and in case you were wondering, I would trade Lynch straight up for MJD in a heartbeat.

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That’s it for another mailbag. If you have a question, send it in to SZSuperLeague@live.com and you could be featured next week. Also, this Sunday be sure to be on Twitter prior to the 1pm kickoffs as I will be answering your questions using the Twiter handle @chrissmithsz so be sure to get online for that.

Until next time, this is the Fantasy Guru signing off.