In a couple weeks we’ll hit the midpoint of fantasy football seasons. Those of you whose teams are struggling, it’s too early to give up hope. And for those of you that have gotten out of the gates strong – don’t start resting just yet.

Paul Charchian, who is founder of LeagueSafe.com, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association and a renowned fantasy football expert, has returned to Zoneblitz.com to offer some advice on who to keep, who to shop, and how to turn that fast start into a fantasy championship.

Thanks again for the time, Charch.

Zoneblitz: Five weeks into the season who are the biggest fantasy football surprises for the good so far?

Charchian: Each year only one or two receivers rise from relative obscurity to make an impact. This year it’s Steve Smith’s turn. I’m not ready to call him a great receiver. But he’s in a great position for sustained fantasy impact. He’s earned the trust of Eli Manning and defenses are forced to play to stop the Giants’ running attack. His production is not a fluke.


Zoneblitz: What about surprises for the bad?

Charchian: DeAngelo Williams has been tremendously disappointing. The bizarre part is that it’s hard to say why. He’s healthy. His offensive line is back. Sure, Jake Delhomme isn’t offering much threat from the passing game, but he didn’t last year either.

Zoneblitz: Are there two or three players you think are the best buy-low candidates? Guys who are sleepers for the second half of the season?

Charchian: Anquan Boldin immediately comes to mind. He’s a proven producer, his offense is intact, and he’s healthy. Plus, the Cardinals have their bye week out of the way. Greg Jennings should get better with the return of Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton to the Packers’ starting offensive line. He’s a great talent, and once Aaron Rodgers gets some time, he’ll find Jennings. I’d go to war with those two guys as my starters.

Maurice Jones-Drew has a lot of upside going forward, and is coming off two disappointing games. I expect the many new faces on the Jacksonville offensive line to start to gel over the next few weeks. The Jaguars schedule is soft for most of the rest of the year.

Zoneblitz: Who are your biggest sell-high candidates?

Charchian: Ronnie Brown and Michael Turner are two candidates. Brown has posted shockingly strong numbers, despite yielding a lot of carries to Ricky Williams. In past years, this rotation has sapped his touchdown totals. As defenses get tape on Chad Henne, they might neutralize the passing game, which would put pressure on Brown.

Turner just doesn’t look like himself to me. He seems bigger and slower. I don’t see the breakaway speed that he showed last year, when he led the league in long runs. He’s coming off a three touchdown game, so you can certainly sell high on him right now.

Zoneblitz: What should teams that are 4-1, 5-0 be doing to prepare for the rest of the season?

Charchian: I’ve been writing about this since 1993, our first year of Fantasy Football Weekly magazine. First and foremost, start looking at the matchups that your team will have in the playoff weeks. If you have any “stoppers” on the schedule (see Matt Forte), trade those players now, even if it means taking a loss or two in the regular season.

And, secondarily, start trading your depth guys to improve your starting lineup – even if they have bye weeks remaining. You want to roll into the playoffs with a killer starting lineup. Depth doesn’t help much in the short, single elimination fantasy playoffs.

Zoneblitz: There was a story written recently about all your fantasy football endeavors – our readers know about LeagueSafe. How is that doing, what other ventures would you like to mention and just how close are you to taking over the fantasy sports world?

Charchian: www.LeagueSafe.com is my free fantasy league finance management product.

Charch Media is my fantasy game building company. Most recently, we built Best Buy’s free fantasy football game, www.BestBuyFantasy.com.

www.fantasyvictory.com is a partnership with Fox 9 in the Twin Cities to offer free video content for fantasy footballers.

I host Fantasy Football Weekly on KFAN AM 1130 in the Twin Cities every Saturday morning from 10-Noon. It’s podcastable through iTunes as well. I host a video game radio show on KFAN as well. It’s called Video Games Weekly.

I write a weekly fantasy article for the St. Paul Pioneer Press every Friday. Buy the newspaper. The industry needs it.

I have regular weekly appearances on numerous radio stations around the country, but I’ll specifically mention Steve Czaban’s national show on Fox Sports Radio, every Friday at 7:30am.