Greco held on tight to win his first Expert's Contest

In Week 7 Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) set a 411Fantasy.com record with a 28-point effort, which propelled him into a commanding lead over a field of 50 fellow experts. It was enough to sustain him for the next 10 weeks and Greco held on to win the 2011 411Fantasy.com Expert’s Contest.

Through Week 16, Greco held a tenuous .63 point lead over Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks). Schauf would need to score approximately six more points than Greco in Week 17 to at least tie, but could only manage a four point advantage and Greco edged Schauf 17.38 – 17.23. They were the only two experts to crack the 17-point threshold.

“This year was tougher than ever when it came to predicting games. There was a great group of participants in the 411Fantasy.com challenge and after last season, I wanted to make sure this year I worked harder than ever to get inside the top 10,” said Greco, who finished 13th of 46 in 2010.

Greco has worked in the Fantasy Sports industry since 2007. As a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, Greco made his mark on the industry by teaming up with legendary fantasy baseball analysis Lenny Melnick to help create FantasyPros911 along with Patrick DiCaprio and Tony Cincotta. Greco also is the Associate Editor at BaseballDigest.com and co-owner of Gotham Sports Media Inc. Along with Cincotta, Greco has co-hosted the FantasyPros911 show for the last two years on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports radio. His body of work includes contributing to USA Today’s Sports Weekly, World Championship of Fantasy Football Magazine, Gotham Baseball Magazine, and Baseball Digest.

Greco actually took the lead in Week 6 with a 19-point effort, but it was his 28 points in Week 7 that gave him a one point lead, which is rather large in this format (that’s what she said). He backed it up with two second place finishes in Weeks 10 and 11 and his lead swelled to 1.73 points. But he would average 12.83 points over the last five weeks which allowed several, namely Schauf, Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline), John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink), Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports) and Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) to gain ground and threaten to steal the title.

“I was fortunate enough to set a new record this year for points in a week, but every week it seemed like someone new was breathing down my neck,” Greco said. “I would get tweets like “Knock, knock,” from guys wanting to get into that top spot.”

Schauf nearly did with 20 points in Week 17, but it would have taken 22 for him to at least tie Greco. Only Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires), Adam Helbling (411Fantasy) and Tommy Landry (RotoExperts) were able to hit that mark last week, leading the pack for the final week.

Pianowksi, Brad Evans (Yahoo Sports) and Brandon Funston (Yahoo Sports) made it a Yahoo hat-trick with 21 points last week, while Schauf and Jake Ciely (RotoExperts) had 20.

The 2011 “411Fatasy.com Expert’s Contest” included 51 distinguished members from the industry. As we’ve done every week, we’d like to acknowledge those who finished in the upper half and thank everyone again for their participation and support.

Tie breakers were determined by total average score per week. As previously noted, experts who compete in 14-17 weeks are rewarded by having their lowest scores dropped throughout the season. An entire season’s worth of participation earns an expert his/her four lowest scores to be stricken from the record.

The Final Top 25:

1.  Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) 17.38

2. Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks) 17.23

3. Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports) 16.92

4. John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink) 16.85

5. Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline) 16.77

6. Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) 16.77

7. Brad Evans (Yahoo Sports) 16.69

8. Adam Conn (411Fantasy) 16.62

9. Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires) 16.54

10. Adam Helbling (411Fantasy) 16.23

11. Jake Ciely (RotoExperts) 16.23

12. Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts) 16.15

13. Ross Mandel (NFL Draft Bible) 15.92

14.  Ken Zalis (Fans FF) 15.77

15. Brandon Funston (Yahoo Sports) 15.77

t16.  Jeff Thitoff (97.1 The Fan) and Dave Richard (CBS Sportsline) 15.54

18.  Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms) 15.54

19. Tristan Cockroft (ESPN) 15.38

20. Tommy Landry (RotoExperts) 15.31

21. Eric Karabell (ESPN) 15.23

22. Andy Behrens (Yahoo Sports) 15.23

23. Jody Smith (Gridiron Experts) 15.08

24. Mike Gilbert (RotoExperts) 15.08

25. Chris Morgan (RotoWire) 15.0

The 411

In 2010 Greco placed 13th out of 46. This year he bested 51 participants…. John Paulsen finished fourth this season a year after coming in second. Eisenberg came in fifth after coming in ninth in 2010 – Last season FSWA’s Mike Jones won it a year after his runner-up finish…. Jeff Boggis now has three Top 10 finishes in a row. This year he placed ninth, last year he finished third and in 2009 he came in eighth. Jared Smola (Draft Sharks) is the only other expert to bag three consecutive Top 10 spots (2008-2010)…. In 2008 Roto Experts dominated the top ten with five representatives; In 2009 Fantasy Phenoms held the majority of reps; In 2010 CBS gurus Eisenberg and Richard were the only repeat representatives, placing ninth and tied for 10th respectively. This year it was Yahoo Sports’ Pianowski and Evans holding fort in third and seventh place and 411’s Conn and Helbling in eighth and 10th (shameless plug). RotoExperts had four place in the top half with Jake Ciely leading the way in 11th…. Here are the results of the previous three years: 2010; 2009;  2008…. Once again we thank all of our esteemed colleagues for their participation and support. We hope the contest continues to grow and look forward to another fun and competitive season in 2012.

Read now, thank us later!

FantasyPros911 has been well represented by our overall leader Paul Greco since Week 7 – He had company last week.

Patrick Welsh (Fantasy Pros 911) was Week 16’s co-winner with 23 points. He was joined by CBS Sports guru CBS Sports guru Dave Richard as each expert eclipsed his season high by three points (both in Week 7).

Welsh was hot out of the gate with seven points at QB (Brees, Newton+1, Brady+1 and Stafford+1), then tallied four at RB (Foster+1, Rice, MJD), three at WR (Megatron, Marshall+1), a point for TE Graham, two points for the Bengals DST (+1) and six points for three multiple choice questions including a rare expert selection for the N.Y. Giants defense.

Richard racked up six points at QB by naming all five correctly plus a bonus for Brady at No. 3. He then scored four at RB (Foster+1, Rice, MJD), two at WR (Megatron, Marshall), a point for Graham, two points for PK (Akers and the only one to pick Bironas) along with eight points for answering four multiple choice questions correctly.

Perhaps the focus on Welsh this week will take a little heat off of Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911), who has been limping towards the finish line of late. He still leads the pack with an adjusted score of 17.15, but on his trail is Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks), who recorded a 22 in Week 16, with a 16.62 average. Schauf is followed closely behind by Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline) and 411 Fantasy’s Adam Conn (16.54). Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) is at 16.46 and John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink) jumped to 16.31.

The red-hot Eisenberg scored 20 points last week as did Paulsen. They were followed by Jake Ciely (RotoExperts), Jared Smola (Draft Sharks), Jody Smith (Gridiron Experts), Russ Bliss (Fantasy Football Starters) and Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports), all with 19 points.

Ken Zalis (Fans FF), Brandon Funston (Yahoo Sports) and Mike Gilbert (RotoExperts) posted 18 points apiece. Gilbert was the only expert to rank PK Graham Gano at all, let alone correctly at the top. He also was one of two to rank Brent Celek in his Top 5.

Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts), Jeff Thitoff (97.1 The Fan)and Conn rounded out the Top 15 last week with 17 points each.

As previously stated, experts who compete in 14-17 weeks are rewarded by having their lowest scores dropped throughout the season. An entire season’s worth of participation earns an expert his/her four lowest scores to be stricken from the record. Below are the adjusted scores leaderboard. In parenthesis you will see each experts average weekly score.

Leaderboard through Week 16:

1.  Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) 17.15 (15.56)

2. Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks) 16.62 (15.38)

3. Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline) 16.54 (15.63)

4. Adam Conn (411Fantasy) 16.54 (15.0)

5. Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) 16.46 (15.0)

6. John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink) 16.31 (15.0)

7. Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts) 16.15 (15.06)

8. Brad Evans (Yahoo Sports) 16.08 (14.94)

9. Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports) 15.92 (14.94)

10.  Ken Zalis (Fans FF) 15.77 (14.75)

11. Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires) 15.77 (14.69)

12.  Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms) 15.77 (14.56)

13. Jake Ciely (RotoExperts) 15.62 (14.69)

t14.  Jeff Thitoff (97.1 The Fan) 15.54 (15.0)

t14. Dave Richard (CBS Sportsline) 15.54 (15.0)

16. Adam Helbling (411Fantasy) 15.54 (14.63)

17. Ross Mandel (NFL Draft Bible) 15.38 (14.38)

18. Brandon Funston (Yahoo Sports) 15.15 (14.31)

19. Eric Karabell (ESPN) 14.85 (14.33)

20. Jared Smola (Draft Sharks) 14.85 (14.31)

21.  Jody Smith (Gridiron Experts) 14.85 (14.29)

22. Tristan Cockroft (ESPN) 14.85 (13.88)

23. Robb Perkins (FF Trader) 14.62 (13.88)

24. Mike Gilbert (RotoExperts) 14.54 (13.88)

Michael Pichan, aka the Fantasy Nomad, captured his first weekly prize of the season in the 411Fantasy.com Expert’s Contest. Pichan, of Rotoinfo.com, is a Nomad in every sense of fantasy sports. His Blogtalkradio show, the Fantasy Nomad Show, features everything from the NFL to the NBA, to the Arizona Fall League to musicians.  But he found a home at 411 in Week 15 when he topped all experts with a score of 18.

Pichan got off to a hot start by being the only expert to earn seven points at QB (Brees+1, Brady+1, Stafford and Romo+1). He then picked up two points for WR Calvin Johnson, one for TE Jimmy Graham, two for PK Janikowski +1, and closed with six points by answering three multiple choice questions correctly (Cars0n Palmer, Demariyus Thomas and Anthony Fasano).

In second place last week was Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms) with 17 points. Jim Day (GoAheadScore.com), Matthew Berry (ESPN), Christopher Harris (ESPN) and Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline) each had 16 points. Eisenberg has been steadily climbing the ladder and has now closed the weekly average gap to .4 points behind overall leader Paul Greco. However, he trails in the overall adjusted scoring average by exactly one point.

Tied for seventh last week with 15 points were John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink), Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires), Adam Helbling (411Fantasy), Brad Evans (Yahoo) and Andy Behrens (Yahoo).

They were followed by Tommy Landry (RotoExperts, Robb Perkins (FF Trader), Ross Mandel (NFL Draft Bible), Brandon Funston (Yahoo Sports) and Jake Ciely (RotoExperts) who had 14 points apiece.

As previously stated, experts who compete in 14-17 weeks are rewarded by having their lowest scores dropped throughout the season. An entire season’s worth of participation earns an expert his/her four lowest scores to be stricken from the record. Below are the adjusted scores leaderboard. In parenthesis you will see each experts average weekly score.  The race is getting tighter, although Greco maintains a lead he’s held since Week 7.

Leaderboard through Week 15:

1.  Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) 16.85 (15.73)

2. Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) 16.0 (14.93)

3. Adam Conn (411Fantasy) 16.0 (14.87)

4. Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline) 15.85 (15.33)

5. Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks) 15.85 (14.93)

6. Brad Evans (Yahoo Sports) 15.85 (14.87)

7. Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts) 15.77 (14.93)

8. Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires) 15.54 (14.73)

t9. John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink) 15.54 (14.67)

t9. Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports) 15.54 (14.67)

11. Adam Helbling (411Fantasy) 15.31 (14.67)

12.  Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms) 15.31 (14.47)

13.  Jeff Thitoff (97.1 The Fan) 15.15 (14.87)

14.  Ken Zalis (Fans FF) 15.08 (14.53)

15. Ross Mandel (NFL Draft Bible) 15.0 (14.27)

16. Jake Ciely (RotoExperts) 14.92 (14.4)

17. Eric Karabell (ESPN) 14.69 (14.36)

18. Brandon Funston (Yahoo Sports) 14.62 (14.07)

19.  Eric Dell (BabyBlueMonkey) 14.46 (14.0)

20. Dave Richard (CBS Sportsline) 14.38 (14.38)

21. Tristan Cockroft (ESPN) 14.38 (13.73)

22. Jared Smola (Draft Sharks) 14.31 (14.0)

23. Robb Perkins (FF Trader) 14.31 (13.8)

24. Tommy Landry (RotoExperts) 14.31 (13.53)

25. Alessandro Miglio (Pro Football Focus) 14.23 (13.67)

Not that there’s anything wrong with that….

Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline) has kept to himself, plugging away to stay within the Top 10 most of the season, but he made his move in Week 14 in a three-way tie for first place with 20 points and is now in a tie for third place overall (gross score***). The CBS Sportsline guru was joined by Steve Siniski of College and Pro Weekely and Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports) who also had 20 points and it marked the third time this season there has been a three-way tie for the top score in a single week. This was Pianowski’s fourth 20-spot of the season and Siniski’s first. Eisenberg and Pianowski are now one of several experts nipping at the heels of our overall leader Paul Greco.

Brad Evans and Brandon Funston (Yahoo Sports) each had 19 points as did Jim Day (GoAheadScore) for a three-way tie for fourth.  They were followed by Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires) and Patrick Welsh, who had 18 points.

A seven-way tie for 9th place ensued:  Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911), Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook), Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts), Adam Conn (411Fantasy), Jody Smith (Gridiron Experts), Jared Smola (Draft Sharks) and Andy Behrens (Yahoo Sports) each had 17 points. Greco was the only expert in the entire field to earn a point at WR, correctly naming Larry Fitzgerald among his group. Smola was the only other expert aside from Eisenberg to get all five multiple choice questions right.

Ken Zalis (Fans FF), John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink) and Ross Mandel (NFL Draft Bible) scored 16 points while Eric Dell (BabyBlueMonkey) and Eric Dell (BabyBlueMonkey) chimed in with 15.

*** NOTE ***  This week begins the Adjusted Score process – As of now, anyone who has turned in an entry form every week will have their lowest score subtracted from his/her overall score. As we move forward, his/her score will be adjusted each week assuming continued participation. So if you have missed one or more weeks your score will not be adjusted until you are eligible.  In short, there will be a gross total average, and a net total average. The NET average is what will we are using to determine the overall winner.

Leaderboard through Week 14:

1.  Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) 16.21

2. Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) 15.36

t3. Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks) and Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline) 15.14

5. Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts) 15.07

t6. Adam Conn (411Fantasy) and Jeff Thitoff (97.1 The Fan) 15.0

8. Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports) 14.93

9. Brad Evans (Yahoo Sports) 14.86

10. Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires) 14.71

t11. John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink), Ken Zalis (Fans FF) and Adam Helbling (411Fantasy) 14.64

14. Eric Karabell (ESPN) 14.54

t15.  Jody Smith (Gridiron Experts) and Dave Richard (CBS Sportsline) 14.5

17. Jake Ciely (RotoExperts) 14.43

t18.  Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms) and Ross Mandel (NFL Draft Bible) 14.29

20. Jared Smola (Draft Sharks) 14.14

21 Brandon Funston (Yahoo Sports) 14.07

t22. Tristan Cockroft (ESPN) and Eric Dell (BabyBlueMonkey) 14,0

23. Alessandro Miglio (Pro Football Focus) 13,93

24. Joe Everett (Fantasy Exchange) 13.92

Matt Schauf has built his resume on the backs of the IDP – Individual Defensive Player. Schauf, who carved out his IDP niche in 2004, was one of three nominees for the Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s 2010 Fantasy Football Writer of the Year. He is also the publisher and lead writer for FantasySportsBusiness.com and was a jack of all trades with Rapid Draft last season. He is now the IDP Guru for Draft Sharks. But last week he flipped the switch on all of us with a 24 point effort and coasted to a Week 13 victory.

Schauf recorded five points at QB (Rogers+1, Brees +1, Newman), five points at RB (Rice, MJD, Lynch+1 and C.Johnson), two points for Nicks+1 at WR, three points for TE (Gronkowski+1 and Gonzo), two for Akers+1 at PK and three points at DST (49ers, Ravens+1). Schauf then picked up four points for answering two questions correctly (Rivers, Helu). He was the only expert to get four of five RBs and earned seven points via the bonus.

Tied for 10th last week, Schauf vaulted into third place overall and finds himself an even point out of first.

Schauf may have cruised to victory, but the field did well overall. The average score in Week 13 was 16.41, the second highest this season.

Tied for second last week was Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms) and Tommy Landry (RotoExperts) with 21 points apiece. Sarney’s entry wasn’t looking good early on, but he rallied by sweeping the multiple choice section.

In fourth with 20 points was Adam Conn (411Fantasy) and Alessandro Miglio (Pro Football Focus). This was Conn’s fourth 20-spot this season, Miglio’s first and yet they are separated by only .77 points overall….

The following were tied for 6th place last week with 19 points: Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) (who moved up to second place overall), Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts), Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline), Brad Evans (Yahoo Sports), Ross Mandel (NFL Draft Bible) and Michael Pichan (RotoInfo).

Trailing them in a tie for 11th were Eric Karabell (ESPN), Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires), Jared Smola (Draft Sharks), Joe Everett (Fantasy Exchange), Chris Morgan (Rotowire) and Andy Behrens (Yahoo) with 18 points apiece.

Once again we share a reminder to everyone that  this year 411 will reward those who have competed throughout by eliminating up to four of each expert’s lowest scores. If you miss anywhere between 1-4 weeks, no problem. It just means you will have less scores subtracted from your totals. So participation is key and scores will be adjusted beginning Week 14.

Your leaderboard through Week 13.

1.  Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) 16.15

2. Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) 15.23

3. Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks) 15.15

4. Jeff Thitoff (97.1 The Fan) 15.08

5. Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts) 14.92

6. Adam Conn (411Fantasy) 14.85

t7. Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline) and Adam Helbling (411Fantasy) 14.77

9. Eric Karabell (ESPN) 14.58

t10. John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink), Ken Zalis (Fans FF),  Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports) and Brad Evans (Yahoo Sports) 14.54

14. Dave Richard (CBS Sportsline) 14.5

t15. Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires) and Jake Ciely (RotoExperts) 14.46

17.  Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms) 13.38

18.  Jody Smith (Gridiron Experts) 14.27

t19. Tristan Cockroft (ESPN) and Ross Mandel (NFL Draft Bible) 14.15

21. Alessandro Miglio (Pro Football Focus) 14.08

t22.  Eric Dell (BabyBlueMonkey),  Mike Gilbert (RotoExperts), Robb Perkins (FF Trader), Jared Smola (Draft Sharks) and Joe Everett (Fantasy Exchange) 13.92

Rotowire.com writer Chris Morgan just added to his list of accomplishments. Not only was he nominated and voted runner up for the 2010 FSWA College Sports Writer of the Year, he now has Week 12 winner of the 411Fantasy Football Expert’s Contest to put on his resume.  Morgan left little doubt last week as he dominated the field of 51 experts polled with a score of 19.

Morgan scored three for QB (Brees, Brady, E.Manning), three at WR (Welker, White+1), two at TE (Gronkowski, Graham), two at kicker (Janikowski+1 – the only expert to correctly place Jano at the top of his kicker list) and three at D/ST (Pittsburgh, Houston, Baltimore).  Morgan also answered three multiple choice questions correctly (Sanchez, D.Brown and Hernandez) for a total of 19 points, well above the weekly average of 12.56. That number represents the third time in four weeks the average has dipped below 13. Maybe it was a little turkey hangover, or just part of the late season grind, but other than Morgan very few took advantage of the low-scores across the board.

Trailing Morgan with 17 points were Scott Pianowski and Brad Evans of Yahoo Sports along with Ross Mandel (NFL Draft Bible).  Mandel’s overall score has jumped 1.3 points over the last two weeks and he’s back on the leaderboard after a two-week hiatus. Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts) made the biggest leap on the leaderboard with his score of 16. Feingold improved his score by just .13 points, but finds himself in sixth place overall up from 14th last week.

A four-way tie for sixth place followed – Eric Karabell (ESPN), Mike Gilbert (RotoExperts), Tim Heaney (KFFL) and Josh Hudson (Coach&Hud) each had 15 points.

Matthew Berry (ESPN), Christopher Harris (ESPN), Brandon Funston (Yahoo Sports), Patrick Welsh (Fantasy Pros 911) and Ross Miles (ProFootballFocus) had 14 apiece, while Adam Helbling (411), Dave Richard (CBS Sportsline), Adam Conn (411), Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks), Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline), Jared Smola (Draft Sharks), Andy Behrens (Yahoo) and Tommy Landry (RotoExperts) had 13 points each.

Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) maintains his overall lead, but the gap narrowed (no pressure, Paul) and much of the leaderboard has basically become a coin-flip.

As we near the final quarter of the season we share a reminder to everyone that  this year 411 will reward those who have competed throughout by eliminating up to four of each expert’s lowest scores. If you miss anywhere between 1-4 weeks, no problem. It just means you will have less scores subtracted from your totals. So participation is key and scores will be adjusted beginning Week 14.

Here is your leaderboard through Week 12:

1.  Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) 16.33

2. Jeff Thitoff (97.1 The Fan) 15.08

3. Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) 14.92

t4. Adam Helbling (411Fantasy) and Jake Ciely (RotoExperts) 14.83

6. Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts) 14.58

t7. Dave Richard (CBS Sportsline), Jody Smith (Gridiron Experts) and  John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink) 14.5

t10. Adam Conn (411Fantasy), Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks), Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline), Eric Dell (BabyBlueMonkey) and  Ken Zalis (Fans FF) 14.42

15. Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports) 14.33

16. Eric Karabell (ESPN) 14.27

t17. Brad Evans (Yahoo Sports) and Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires) 14.17

19. Mike Gilbert (RotoExperts) 14.0

20. Tristan Cockroft (ESPN), 13.92

21. Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms) 13.83

t22. Robb Perkins (FF Trader) and Ross Mandel (NFL Draft Bible) 13.75

Sometimes I wonder with seemingly an endless supply of the resources at our finger tips, what specifically enables us to come up with our predictions and premonitions. Some strategies include scientific stat calculation. Others include week-to-week lineup analysis. Some use really cool nicknames like “Sultan” while others use their gut instinct…. Sam Hendricks writes books – five to be exact.

In fact Hendricks, of Fantasy Football Guidebook, wrote a book, I think, with this contest in mind (work with me Sam). Fantasy Football Tips: 201 ways to win through player rankings, cheat sheets and better drafting was probably the driving force last week for Hendricks, who scored 23 points in Week 11 of the 411Fantasy Football Expert’s Contest to take down the field of 51 experts polled.

Hendricks scored five points at QB (Rodgers, Stafford, Newton and Romo +1), one for MJD at running back, another five at TE (Gronkowski +1, Witten +1 and Gates) and five more for kickers (Gostkowski+1, Bailey +1, Akers), plus three for D/ST (Patriots+1 and the 49ers). Hendricks then scored four points for answering two questions (Ogbonnaya and Seattle), one of a few to pick the Browns running back – that takes gumption!

Quietly posting respectable scores most of the season, including four weeks with top 5 scores, Hendricks has earned himself a spot in the top 3 overall as his average score rose from 14.5 to 15.27 points.

Our overall leader Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) held tightly to his lead last week with yet another second place finish. His 22-point effort brought his average score back to over 17 points a week (17.09), a remarkable run so far.

Alone in third place was Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts) with 21 points, his season high to date.

Tied for fourth place with 20 points were Ken Zalis (Fans FF), Adam Conn (411) and Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports). Dave Richard (CBS Sportsline) followed with 19 points while Joe Everett (Fantasy Exchange) and Ross Mandel (NFL Draft Bible) each had 18.

A six-way tie 10th place included Jeff Thitoff (97.1 The Fan), Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks), Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline), Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires), Mike Gilbert (RotoExperts) and Patrick Welsh (Fantasy Pros 911), who all had 17 points. They were followed by John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink), Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms) and Christopher Harris (ESPN), who had 16 apiece.

Adam Helbling (411), Jared Smola (Draft Sharks), Matthew Berry (ESPN), Tim Heaney (KFFL), Jim Day (GoAheadScore.com), Andy Behrens (Yahoo) and Michael Pichan (RotoInfo) rounded out the top half last week with 15 points each.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving with one eye on the bird, the other on football!

Your Week 11 leaderboard:

1.  Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) 17.09

2. Jeff Thitoff (97.1 The Fan) 15.36

3. Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) 15.27

4. Jake Ciely (RotoExperts) 15.18

5. Adam Helbling (411Fantasy) 15.0

t6. Ken Zalis (Fans FF), John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink) 14.91

8. Eric Dell (BabyBlueMonkey) 14.82

9. Jody Smith (Gridiron Experts) 14.78

10. Dave Richard (CBS Sportsline) 14.64

t11. Adam Conn (411Fantasy), Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline), and Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks) 14.55

t14. Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts) 14.45

15. Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires) 14.36

16. Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms) 14.27

17. Eric Karabell (ESPN) 14.2

t18. Tristan Cockroft (ESPN), Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports) 14.09

20. Robb Perkins (FF Trader) 14.0

t21. Brad Evans (Yahoo Sports),  Mike Gilbert (RotoExperts) 13.91

23. Alessandro Miglio (Pro Football Focus), 13.82

24. Jared Smola (Draft Sharks) 13.64

25. Matthew Berry (ESPN) 13.6

Quarterback
1. Tom Brady, New England
2. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay
3. Carson Palmer, Oakland
4. Eli Manning, N.Y. Giants
5. Matthew Stafford, Detroit
6. Philip Rivers, San Diego
7. Jay Cutler, Chicago
8. Matt Ryan, Atlanta
9. Cam Newton, Carolina
10. Tony Romo, Dallas
11. Alex Smith, San Francisco
12. Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay
13. Joe Flacco, Baltimore
14. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buffalo
15. Sam Bradford, St. Louis
16. John Skelton, Arizona
17. Andy Dalton, Cincinnati
18. Matt Hasselbeck, Tennessee
19. Tarvaris Jackson, Seattle
20. Matt Moore, Miami
21. Christian Ponder, Minnesota
22. Vince Young, Philadelphia
23. Rex Grossman, Washington
________________________________________
Running Back
1. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
2. Matt Forte, Chicago
3. Marshawn Lynch, Seattle
4. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville
5. LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia
6. Reggie Bush, Miami
7. Frank Gore, San Francisco
8. Brandon Jacobs, N.Y. Giants
9. Demarco Murray, Dallas
10. Chris Johnson, Tennessee
11. Steven Jackson, St. Louis
12. Ray Rice, Baltimore
13. Michael Turner, Atlanta
14. Fred Jackson, Buffalo
15. Michael Bush, Oakland
16. James Starks, Green Bay
17. Maurice Morris, Detroit
18. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, New England
19. Ryan Mathews, San Diego
20. Kendall Hunter, San Francisco
21. Jonathan Stewart, Carolina
22. Mike Tolbert, San Diego
23. Chris Ogbonnaya, Cleveland
24. Cedric Benson, Cincinnati
25. Chris Wells, Arizona
26. Danny Woodhead, New England
27. Ryan Grant, Green Bay
28. Danny Ware, N.Y. Giants
29. Jackie Battle, Kansas City
30. LeGarrette Blount, Tampa Bay
31. Roy Helu, Washington
32. Daniel Thomas, Miami
33. Dexter McCluster, Kansas City
34. Felix Jones, Dallas
35. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina
36. Marion Barber, Chicago
37. Kregg Lumpkin, Tampa Bay
38. LaRod Stephens-Howling, Arizona
39. Ryan Torain, Washington
40. Kevin Smith, Detroit
41. Jacquizz Rodgers, Atlanta
42. Ricky Williams, Baltimore
43. Javon Ringer, Tennessee
44. Bernard Scott, Cincinnati
45. Kevin Faulk, New England
46. Leon Washington, Seattle
47. John Kuhn, Green Bay
________________________________________
Wide Receiver
1. Wes Welker, New England
2. Calvin Johnson, Detroit
3. Greg Jennings, Green Bay
4. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
5. Brandon Marshall, Miami
6. Dez Bryant, Dallas
7. Steve Smith, Carolina
8. Victor Cruz, N.Y. Giants
9. Brandon Lloyd, St. Louis
10. Earl Bennett, Chicago
11. Hakeem Nicks, N.Y. Giants
12. Roddy White, Atlanta
13. Denarius Moore, Oakland
14. Mario Manningham, N.Y. Giants
15. Vincent Jackson, San Diego
16. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay
17. Steve Johnson, Buffalo
18. Laurent Robinson, Dallas
19. Damian Williams, Tennessee
20. Harry Douglas, Atlanta
21. DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia
22. Mike Williams, Tampa Bay
23. Deion Branch, New England
24. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City
25. Jerome Simpson, Cincinnati
26. Anquan Boldin, Baltimore
27. Early Doucet, Arizona
28. Nate Washington, Tennessee
29. Jason Avant, Philadelphia
30. Percy Harvin, Minnesota
31. Torrey Smith, Baltimore
32. Sidney Rice, Seattle
33. Vincent Brown, San Diego
34. Michael Crabtree, San Francisco
35. Jabar Gaffney, Washington
36. Darrius Heyward-Bey, Oakland
37. Steve Breaston, Kansas City
38. Andre Caldwell, Cincinnati
39. David Nelson, Buffalo
40. Nate Burleson, Detroit
41. Braylon Edwards, San Francisco
42. Greg Little, Cleveland
43. Brandon Gibson, St. Louis
44. Davone Bess, Miami
45. Michael Jenkins, Minnesota
46. Josh Cribbs, Cleveland
47. Devin Hester, Chicago
________________________________________
Tight End
1. Rob Gronkowski, New England
2. Jason Witten, Dallas
3. Jermichael Finley, Green Bay
4. Fred Davis, Washington
5. Antonio Gates, San Diego
6. Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta
7. Brent Celek, Philadelphia
8. Vernon Davis, San Francisco
9. Jake Ballard, N.Y. Giants
10. Aaron Hernandez, New England
11. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati
12. Greg Olsen, Carolina
13. Brandon Pettigrew, Detroit
14. Kellen Winslow, Tampa Bay
15. Ed Dickson, Baltimore
16. Zach Miller, Seattle
17. Ben Watson, Cleveland
18. Jared Cook, Tennessee
19. Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville
20. Visanthe Shiancoe, Minnesota
21. Anthony Fasano, Miami
22. Kevin Boss, Oakland
23. Dennis Pitta, Baltimore
________________________________________
Kicker
1. Robbie Gould, Chicago
2. David Akers, San Francisco
3. Stephen Gostkowski, New England
4. Mason Crosby, Green Bay
5. Jason Hanson, Detroit
6. Lawrence Tynes, N.Y. Giants
7. Billy Cundiff, Baltimore
8. Matt Bryant, Atlanta
9. Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland
10. Ryan Longwell, Minnesota
11. Dan Bailey, Dallas
12. Alex Henery, Philadelphia
13. Josh Brown, St. Louis
14. Nick Novak, San Diego
15. Rob Bironas, Tennessee
16. Olindo Mare, Carolina
17. Jay Feely, Arizona
18. Steve Hauschka, Seattle
19. Dave Rayner, Buffalo
20. Mike Nugent, Cincinnati
________________________________________
Defense
1. New England Patriots
2. Green Bay Packers
3. San Francisco 49ers
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
6. Detroit Lions
7. Baltimore Ravens
8. Chicago Bears
9. New York Giants
10. Oakland Raiders
11. Cincinnati Bengals
12. St. Louis Rams
13. Cleveland Browns
14. Seattle Seahawks
15. Minnesota Vikings
16. Buffalo Bills
17. Atlanta Falcons
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Arizona Cardinals
20. Washington Redskins
21. Philadelphia Eagles
22. San Diego Chargers
23. Tennessee Titans

Will the real Sultan please stand up?  Our friend and competitor Jeff Boggis probably just got his hopes up, but we love jerking the Sultan’s chain (that’s what she said). Apparently there is enough room in the 411Fantasy Football Expert’s Contest for two sultans (watch your back, J.B.). ESPN’s Tristan Cockroft, a.k.a. @SultanofStat on his twitter account, knocked out the field in Week 10 of the contest out of 51 experts polled.

Cockroft earned two points for Aaron Rodgers and Arian Foster at their respective No. 1 spots, a point each for Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, four points at PK (Akers +1, Bailey, Gould), and two at defense/special teams (Houston +1). Cockroft also answered three questions correctly, Hasselbeck, Eric Decker and the Jaguars D/ST, for six additional points, giving him a total of 18. He cut his deficit in half, jumping from tied for 21st into a three-way tie in 10th place.

In another week where scores where generally down (11.97, third lowest this season), it was a good opportunity to gain some ground on our leader Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) – only problem was Greco came in second last week with a 17-spot (really Paul?).  Tied for third last week were Brad Evans (Yahoo Sports), Patrick Welsh (Fantasy Pros 911) and Matthew Berry (ESPN), who all chimed in with 16 points apiece.  Adam Helbling (411), Robb Perkins (FF Trader), Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms), Robert Shaw (Bloomberg Sports), Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks) and Brandon Funston (Yahoo Sports) all had 15 points while Adam Conn (411) and Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) had 14.

Jake Ciely (RotoExperts), Jared Smola (Draft Sharks) and Steve Siniski (College & Pro Football Weekly) logged in 13 each and the next 25-ish experts were log-jammed in the 12 – 10 point range.

Greco remains in the lead for now, but lots of movement in and around the leaderborad. Here are the top overall experts through Week 10:

1.  Paul Greco (Fantasy Pros 911) 16.6

2. Jake Ciely (RotoExperts) 15.5

t3. Jody Smith (Gridiron Experts), Jeff Thitoff (97.1 The Fan) and Adam Helbling (411Fantasy) 15.0

6. Eric Dell (BabyBlueMonkey) 14.9

7. John Paulsen (Fantasy Shrink) 14.8

8. Sam Hendricks (FF Guidebook) 14.5

9. Ken Zalis (Fans FF) 14.4

t10. Jamey Eisenberg (CBS Sportsline), Tristan Cockroft (ESPN) and Matt Schauf (Draft Sharks) 14.3

t13. Dave Richard (CBS Sportsline) and Eric Karabell (ESPN) 14.2

t15. Jason Sarney (Fantasy Phenoms), Robb Perkins (FF Trader), and Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Sports Empires) 14.1

18. Adam Conn (411Fantasy) 14.0

19. Brad Evans (Yahoo Sports) 13.9

t20. Andrew Feingold (RotoExperts) and Alessandro Miglio (Pro Football Focus), 13.8

22. Mike Gilbert (RotoExperts) 13.6

t23. Scott Pianowski (Yahoo Sports) and Jared Smola (Draft Sharks) 13.5

25. Matthew Berry (ESPN) 13.44

t26. Brandon Funston (Yahoo Sports) and Robert Shaw (Bloomberg Sports) 13.4