Gregg Rosenthal

Rotoworld.com is fueled by the invaluable information gathered by NFL writers and reporters from around the country. They are our eyes and ears in the locker room and on the field. We rounded up some of the very best to help us answer some of the burning questions of the 2009 season to help you prepare for your fantasy football draft.

1. Do you expect the Patriots to get less aggressive and/or effective throwing the ball with Tom Brady returning from knee surgery?

From Christopher Gasper, Boston Globe:

I think Brady is going to sling the ball around like it's 2007. He remains the team's biggest and best offensive weapon. The only person looking forward to Brady's return more than fantasy owners is Randy Moss.

Without Brady (and a true No. 1 running back) last year, the Patriots rushed for 2,278 yards, the sixth-highest total in team history, but backup Matt Cassel still had six games where he attempted 35 passes or more. The Patriots are a game-plan specific offense, but they love to go to the shotgun, spread teams out and let the quarterback (Brady) surgically pick defenses apart. That's not going to change.

2. With so many other backs in Denver, how big a workload do you expect Knowshown Moreno to have in his rookie year?

From Mike Kils, Denver Post:

I would expect Moreno to be spotted here and there in the first three or four games and then start getting 15 carries a game from there. The Broncos will be a pass-first team so Moreno's value could be nearly as much as a check-down receiver as a ballcarrier.

3. The Jacksonville receiver group looks pretty thin. Who do you think will step up and will the group hold back David Garrard from a good fantasy season?

From Mike Dempsey, 1010XL Jacksonville:

Torry Holt will clearly be the go-to guy and he should have respectable numbers. Mike Walker will have his moments, but not enough to make him a reliable fantasy starter. The running game, not the wideouts, is the key to Garrard's season.

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His 2007 campaign was the product of the line being able to punish teams in the running game, drawing the proverbial extra defender in the box. If he can have a solid year with Reggie Williams and Ernest Wilford in the lineup, the wideouts won't be the case if Garrard fails to have a good year.

4. Will Darren Sproles and the young backs behind LaDainian Tomlinson make it a running back by committee in San Diego?

From Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune:

The plan is for LT to still get his 300 carries. Sproles and Jacob Hester would combine for 15 touches-per-game in a perfect world.

5. Are the Packers confident in Ryan Grant as a 300-carry-type running back or will they spread it around more this year?

From Greg Bedard, Packers Blog, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Well, coach Mike McCarthy told our Tom Silverstein before last season that an ideal workload for Grant would be about 20 carries a game. Brandon Jackson seemed to have turned a corner last year so I think they would like to get him involved a little more — although when Grant was battling through his hamstring injury in the first half the Packers decided against that.

One X-factor could be the emergence of undrafted free-agent Tyrell Sutton from Northwestern. The Packers liked him enough to give him a three-year deal with a signing bonus. He would be the shifty-, elusive-type back the Packers haven't had on third downs. But that shouldn't affect Grant much. He's strictly a first- and second-down back. So 300 carries — Grant had 312 last season — is about his ceiling.

6. When do you expect Matthew Stafford to take over at quarterback?

From Tom Kowalski, Mlive.com/Lions:

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As Lions coach Jim Schwartz likes to say: "It depends.'' In this case, it'll depend on whether Stafford is competing with the Daunte Culpepper of 2003 or the Daunte Culpepper of 2008. If Culpepper continues to look as good as he did in minicamp, the Lions will be in no hurry to rush Stafford into action.

The huge contract is no longer a factor because the money has already been spent. The only thing that's important now is making sure the coaching staff puts Stafford in the best possible position to succeed.

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