This weekend (August 22nd) I was invited to present alongside a series of other speakers at a fantasy football convention sponsored by Pittsburgh's ESPN Radio affiliate (WTAE 1250 AM). The event, an all day affair in its second year, was a rousing success and I was happy to participate. Everyone on the ESPN Radio staff attended to my every need and handled themselves in a professional and courteous manner. Although I would like to think that the attendees were there to hear my musings on "Overvalued and Undervalued Players in 2004," I would imagine that another speak, ESPN's John "The Professor" Clayton, was the bigger draw, as hard as that may be to believe.

In any event, John Clayton, one of ESPN's main on-air NFL personalities, had just completed a 19-team cross country journey of NFL training camps, and was the feature keynote speaker at the event. Clayton presented for 2 hours, and let me tell you, he did not come up for air. While I expected him to be chock full of knowledge, it was remarkable to see the energy he brought for 120 minutes straight. He began his presentation with a 30-40 minute overview of innumerable hot button issues around the league and then fielded questions from the crowd. Had I to do the event over again, I would have opted to present BEFORE Clayton rather than AFTER, because in his two hours, he covered just about every conceivable player on your fantasy radar. In addition to Clayton's 2-hour scheduled presentation, he was kind enough to spend time with me on a one-on-one basis which allowed me to cover a myriad of topics, and his unassuming and gracious manner was appreciated.

Without further ado, here are some of the tidbits that were discussed at Sunday's event. Given the timeliness of this information, and the fact that we're deep into everyone's draft season, we wanted to get these nuggets of fantasy gold to you as soon as humanly possible.

....Just another piece to the puzzle of helping you dominate your league

RUNNING BACK TIDBITS

• RB LaDainian Tomlinson (SD) improved his skill set in the offseason - Tomlinson is bigger, stronger and more explosive this year if that is at all possible. He spent the offseason isolating what he felt were his flaws, which included improving his core strength, working on his sprint speed and catching passes out wide. The team intends to use him in more versatile ways this year, not unlike the way St. Louis utilized Marshall Faulk during the team's Super Bowl years.
  
  Our Thoughts: No surprise here, the only debate you should be having is whether LaDainian Tomlinson or Priest Holmes warrants your top pick, but LT2 should go no worse than 2nd in most leagues.
  
  
• RB Tatum Bell (DEN) has a long road ahead of him - Clayton contends Tatum Bell is buried on the Broncos depth chart. He's "in Shanahan's doghouse" for a litany of reasons and his injury has not made it easy for him to climb back into the coaching staff's good graces. Clayton contends that Garrison Hearst is the team's backup and 3rd down back, and Bell won't see the field much at all in the 1st half barring injury to Griffin.
  
  Our Thoughts: Although we still think Bell's talent gives him the chance to be Denver's lead back at some point in his career, it would seem his hold out and subsequent injury have put him behind the 8-ball for the 2004 season; at least at the outset.
  
  
• RB Jamal Lewis (BAL) will play the majority of the season - Clayton pointed out that Jamal Lewis has the same attorney that Ray Lewis used during his legal woes a few years ago, and that people shouldn't be concerned about Lewis missing too much time, if at all.
  
  Our Thoughts: We're not lawyers (well, two of us are) but Jamal Lewis is too talented to not consider in the first round whether or not he misses a game or two.
  
  

WIDE RECEIVER TIDBITS

• WR Javon Walker has talent, but does he have opportunity? - Walker was the third young receiver who most impressed Clayton this preseason. However, the Packers offense is now predicated on the run rather than the pass, and the GB coaches believe each of the three receivers (Walker, Ferguson & Driver) are in line for 4 to 5 targets per game, hardly enough for Walker to put up huge statistics.
  
  Our Thoughts: The Packers only attempted 474 passes (27th in the NFL) and don't expect that to change much in 2004 barring an injury to Ahman Green. We believe Walker will have the best season of the three Packer receivers, but rank him 24th. You'll probably be better off passing on Walker if he goes earlier because someone bets on his breaking out this year into the top 12-15.
  
  
• WR Marty Booker (CHI) was miscast in Chicago - Clayton said the Bears staff believed Booker was not well suited for Terry Shea's offense and were happy to trade him for what turns out to be one of the best young defensive ends in the league. Booker is better suited to play second fiddle, but Clayton noted that he'll be the 3rd option behind Chambers AND TE Randy McMichael. Being the 3rd option on a passing attack as anemic as the Dolphins is not a recipe for fantasy greatness.
  
  Our Thoughts: Booker would have been the WR1 by default in Chicago, which put him as a decent WR3 at worst, a solid WR2 at best. But in Miami, as the 3rd option, Booker shouldn't be considered a fantasy starter in regularly sized leagues.
  
  
• WR Larry Fitzgerald (ARI) will be force fed the ball - The Cardinals have no choice but to rely on Fitzgerald this year with Anquan Boldin out for a yet-to-be-determined time frame. Bryant Johnson is a "who cares" player and Nate Poole isn't worthy of significant playing time. Fitzgerald will be put in a similar position to Boldin a year ago, only he benefits from Dennis Green calling the plays.
  
  Our Thoughts: It's tough to expect too much from a rookie WR, even one as touted as Larry Fitzgerald. While our projections put him 28th, he could handily exceed this production if QB McCown targets him as heavily as Clayton predicts.
  
  

QUARTERBACK TIDBITS

• QB Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) looks like the real deal but won't be a factor this season - "Big Ben" has all the physical tools to play in the league, and Clayton believes Roethlisberger will be the 2nd best QB of this class over the course of their careers. However, it was clear in seeing him practice and play on Saturday night that he has a lot of work to do on his footwork. He never planted the same way twice during the game and threw off his back foot too much.
  
  Our Thoughts: We agree that Big Ben is the future in Pittsburgh but Tommy Maddox remains the present.
  
  
• QB Byron Leftwich (JAX) is in great shape, but expect an up and down season - Leftwich appears in much better physical condition from a year ago, but his play has been "spotty, uneven" during training camp. Clayton expects Leftwich will be "good and bad in spurts" which is indicative of his inexperience and a still developing receiving corps.
  
  Our Thoughts: Byron Leftwich is among the most talked about "sleepers" at quarterback in many circles, but we believe he'll end the season as among a collection of decent but not exceptional fantasy backups.
  
  
• QB Michael Vick (ATL) is going to run less in 2004 than at any point in his career, before and after - The coaching staff, Vick himself and his teammates are all on the same page; that Michael Vick shouldn't run as much as he learns to get comfortable in the pocket. Clayton expects Vick to forcibly stay in the pocket at times this year to become a better passer. Vick told Clayton that he thinks 500 yards rushing is probably the "right amount" because that translates into more passing attempts and fewer rushing attempts. The team has set a goal for Vick to be a 58% passer this year.
  
  Our Thoughts: Saying you're not going to run and doing it are two very different things. Vick is as dangerous an open field runner as any RB in the league and hasn't shown he's more than a 55% passer. We think OC Greg Knapp will help Vick become a better passer, but there are going to be times during the season when the temptation to tuck the ball and run will be too overwhelming to avoid.
  
  

MISCELLANEOUS TIDBITS

• OT Kyle Turley (STL) possibly done for the year - Early this week, Kyle Turley is to find out the results of his latest tests but early indications are that the back surgery which he underwent this offseason did not correct the problem. It's expected that Turley could need additional surgery that would at a minimum sideline him for the season but could possibly force his retirement.
  
  Our Thoughts: Whatever you may think of Turley's demeanor on the field, it's never a good thing to see one of the league's hardest workers suffer a major setback to his career. This has very big implications on the fantasy landscape if he is indeed lost for the year; the Rams are a potential hotbed of fantasy producers.
  
  
• Pittsburgh's offensive line should be OK without Kendall Simmons, but depth becomes an issue - ORG Kendall Simmons is out for the season, and Keydrick Vincent will get the first crack at replacing him. Clayton said the Steelers coaching staff is comfortable with Vincent in the lineup, but now the team is faced with no depth. Should they befall another major injury, the line would deteriorate to the point of last season, when it was the major impetus for the team's offensive failings.
  
  Our Thoughts: We're not going to argue with the Professor, who had spoken to Russ Grimm and Bill Cowher mere hours before this conversation.
  
  
• Minnesota = Top 3 Team in the NFC - Clayton singled out Minnesota by saying that the team's made enough improvements on defense to consider the Vikings "easily among the top 3 teams in the conference."
  
  Our Thoughts: We think the defense will be middle of the pack, which is good enough when you have Culpepper, Moss, Bennett and that offensive line.