Last minute fantasy football tips from the experts at Yahoo! Sports

Sports fans get ready, the NFL season is about to begin! It’s officially time to throw on your team jersey, dust off the secret family chili recipe and, of course, dominate your fantasy football league. While many of you have been preparing all summer for your fantasy football draft, we know some of you have been slacking this summer (including everyone here at WhichDateWorks.com!). So instead of trying to figure it out on our own, we asked the experts Yahoo! Sports to throw us a Hail Mary and hook us up with a cheat sheet for any last minute fantasy football draft! Be sure to check out more from the experts at Yahoo! Fantasy Sports.

WhichDateworks.com: Is it too late to join a fantasy football league?

Yahoo! Sports: No, Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football runs throughout the entire 2009 professional football regular season, which begins on Thursday, September 10 and is scheduled to end on Sunday, January 3, 2010.

Sign-ups begin in early June and continue until Friday, October 23.

If you sign-up after a Game Week is already underway, your team/league does not begin its season until the start of the following week.

However, the commissioner of a Custom League can opt to run a retroactive stats update in any league that drafts after the season has begun. Under these conditions, teams in your league can accumulate wins and losses for weeks completed prior to your league's draft.

WhichDateworks.com: Who are the mid-level and late round picks that readers should be thinking about in order to get the most value out of their roster?

Yahoo! Sports:

Sleepers:

Leon Washington: The Jets aren't offering him a nice pay raise to handle the ball a mere 123 times again this season. They realize he's a game-breaking talent that has to be on the field more. Don't be surprised if his touches top the 200 mark this season.

Earnest Graham: Derrick Ward gets all the love in fantasy drafts, but I expect there'll be a time-share in the Bucs' backfield and Graham is very likely to land the goal-line work in that split. Don't overpay for
Ward. Take the Graham discount instead.

Chris Henry: His own QB believes he's the most talented receiver on the team. He's at least the most impressive target for Carson Palmer in the red zone, where his size and leaping ability make him more than a handful for defensive backs to deal with. Henry's been on his best behavior in camp. He could wind up being a very cheap source of 6-8 touchdowns.

Brent Celek: He took over for L.J. Smith down the stretch last season and was a monster in the Eagles' playoff run. At least 12 tight ends will go before him in fantasy drafts. But it is very unlikely 12 will wind up outproducing this starter for one of the pass-happiest teams in the league.

Rookies - Flying under the radar:

James Davis: He's been so good in preseason that there are already rumblings that Jamal Lewis could be a marked man.

Bernard Scott: He's making a strong push to be the backup to Cedric Benson in Cincinnati. Again, that was Cedric Benson he's backing up.

WhichDateworks.com: Individuals versus teams: What is more important, the potential of an individual player or positions on teams that traditionally perform well due to team dynamics and strategy (example, Denver running backs typically put up a lot of points regardless of the player)?

Yahoo! Sports: The safer bet is to focus on individuals rather than the team dynamic. If you try to take a player based on how that specific position has performed in the past, it can be risky because the player may be unproven and in a case such as Denver, you might not know during your draft which back is going to receive the bulk of the carries. However, it could be worth a late round pick to snag one of those guys just in case they have a breakout season.

WhichDateworks.com: Are there any small market, overlooked teams that readers should focus their research on to maximize their roster?

Yahoo! Sports: It's good to be up to date on all players around the league, but there are a few smaller market teams with players that could contribute this Fantasy Football season:

Green Bay - Aaron Rodgers (QB), Ryan Grant (RB), Greg Jennings (WR)

Kansas City - Matt Cassel (QB), Larry Johnson (RB), Dwayne Bowe (WR)

Carolina - DeAngelo Williams (RB), Jonathan Stewart (RB), Steve Smith (WR)

WhichDateworks.com: During the season, where should readers go to stay up-to-date on player injuries and updates to make the most of their roster each week?

Yahoo! Sports: During the season it's important to read as much as you can in order to stay up on current player news, reading local newspapers is always a good idea, and team specific blogs. You can also get all your information within your Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football league. If a player is injured or gets demoted to second string, there will be a news alert within your team page letting you know and keeping you up to date at all times. Also, with the new Yahoo! Sports iPhone application, you can manage your team from anywhere.

WhichDateworks.com: This was awesome. We would like to thank Yahoo! Sports for finally giving us a fighting chance of winning a fantasy football draft. If you have not scheduled your fantasy football draft be sure to check out WhichDateWorks.com to take the hassle out of figuring out everyone's schedule!

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