Ask Your Fantasy Football Expert: Matt Waldman Part 1

"If 85 didn't get freed by September, I wouldn't have been surprised if Ochocinco pulled a Corporal Klinger, donned skirts over his uniform, and ran post routes in drag."

Find previous Ask Your Fantasy Expert interviews.

There are people who have reached a certain level of success and you don't know why. In Matt Waldman's case, you know why he is a big name in fantasy circles. He shows his work. Go ahead, read his annual Rookie Scouting Portfolio. It's encyclopedic in length and depth. Tons of guys and gals give you rankings. Waldman explains why. If you don't agree with him, go watch a few miles of film before attempting your retort. He's not just a man of words. Fitting into the Footballguys-sponsored weekly podcast The Audible with chatty Cathys Cecil Lammey and Sigmund Bloom is no mean feat.

This is part one of the interview. I will publish part two on Thursday.

All fantasy writers name-dropped will get a link to their Twitter feed. We'll keep with the theme of my questions/comments in Titan blue and Matt's in black.

When you started your fantasy football writing career, and especially when you began working on the RSP, did you imagine the kind of impact it would have on NFL insiders/fantasy football folks?

That impact is really gratifying. Writing about football is something I did because it combines two things I love. I try to approach my column and a place where I can explore ways to help fantasy owners get better and my blog as a place to share what I've learned with football fans who want to learn something about the game. It can be statistical analysis, film observation, or experimenting with strategies the average person might be reticent to approach with their own money on the line. I always try to cover subjects I would want to read about. Sometimes I'm successful.

As for the Rookie Scouting Portfolio, I had no clue what direction it would take me. I used to read old scouting publications and use them to learn more about NFL players. Eventually, it occurred to me that these publications weren't as specific about how they graded players as I wanted to see. As a reader, I wanted to understand more about their grading process and specifically how they looked for that they were grading. I thought I had the work experience in my previous career to provide a more thorough report for what I wanted to see as a reader.

I also felt I was developing a reasonably good understanding of skill positions to create a scouting publication for players with a fantasy football angle. I learned quickly that idea was pretty dumb. I still had a ton to learn. I'm still learning every day, but the hubris of thinking I could do what the experts did gave me motivation to try it. I'm grateful for that.

I really had no idea what would come of the RSP. As I began watching film for the initial publication in 2006, I realized I was doing this more for my education than anything else. As spring approached, I felt like I hadn't watched enough players so I wrapped up my studies by renting a hotel for a week that was a few blocks from downtown Athens.

I took a week off work, brought my DVR and PC to the hotel room, and literally spent about 130 hours that week doing nothing but watching film. It was a grueling process, but exhilarating to learn so much from close observation. I thought I would hate football by the time I was through. But the opposite happened. I loved it even more. It develops into an obsession.

When I finished the publication people couldn't believe the detail. I probably had 100 people buy the 2006 RSP that year. But what encouraged me was that such a large percentage of them were raving fans that I decided to give it three years and see what came of it. Plus, I was hitting on players who were drafted late or undrafted and this was encouraging for me. Although the reader base hasn't really grown that much, the people who bought it were loyal and vocal with their support. Writing the RSP has certainly been worthwhile for me as a student of the game and a football writer. Six years into the process, I've been to the Senior Bowl as media, I've had the RSP featured at Footballguys.com and in the New York Times Fifth Down Blog, and I've even had some people with NFL scouting experience purchase it to crosscheck their work.

I'm just beginning to scratch the surface of fantasy football/NFL draft fans who I believe will love the RSP. I'm going to give it another three years to see if it can become a money maker. After that, all bets are off.

You have a detailed methodology for grading rookies. Do you have advice for fantasy footballers to evolve from being YouTube scouts to improving their ability to scout players?

Losing Your Football Innocence. Give it a read and I think you'll find the things I write about there will help people watch the game with a more critical eye. First, take some time to watch football alone so you can rewind, slow down the plays and really analyze what's happening with the player and the players around him. Second, listen to former football players. They are a great wealth of knowledge about their positions and their opponents' positions. Get over the way the guy speaks or his habits that annoy you and listen to what he's communicating. Third, learn about line play. When watching running backs, the first place I look to see how a play is supposed to develop is how the offensive line is trying to block the defensive line. The very beginning place to look are the defensive tackles.

How'd you get to be a Titans fan? As they say in the south, bless your heart.

I was a Browns fan growing up. Most of my family is from Cleveland. When I moved to Atlanta as a 10-year-old I remained loyal to the team until Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore. Deep down, I felt like the team that I grew up watching and its hard-nosed play, toughness, and heart went to Maryland. I still see those qualities to this day. Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Jonathan Ogden should have been Browns. Ozzie Newsome should have been Cleveland's GM. I wanted to be a Ravens fan, but something felt wrong about making that switch, so I decided to find another team. [Zach note: I told y'all that Matt has good instincts.] At that time I happened to catch a lot of Oilers games on TV. Jeff Fisher was in his first year as head coach and I liked what I was reading about him. Then there was the addition of Steve McNair and Eddie George. The style of play and grit of the players reminded me of the Browns teams I saw in the '80s and I became a fan. Now that those players and coaches are gone I've become a little bit more of a fan of the league, but I really enjoy following the AFC South. I'm an AFC guy in general. That said, I like what the Lions are doing.

If you got the keys to the castle, how would you develop the Titans during this hectic offseason?

I'd bring in a veteran quarterback the same way Jeff Fisher had Chris Chandler starting ahead of Steve McNair during McNair's early years [Zach note: question was asked and answered before the Titans signed Hasselbeck]. I believe most rookie quarterbacks should sit a year or two. The reasons to start them always seem linked to public opinion of the fans or short-term economics. The Titans have enough talent upfront on both sides of the line and the skill positions to win 8-10 games if the quarterback play is consistent and the organization's starters stay healthy. I think Jake Locker needs a team that will be patient with him and let get him acclimated to the NFL as a reserve. If that happens, I think they increase the likelihood that Locker develops into a quality starter. I'm sure quarterback development all depends on the guy, but I think giving a rookie a year to acclimate will help him learn more efficiently once he's on the field.

With the exception of Damian Williams, I'm not a fan of the team's choices at wide receiver. I understand the mentality of searching for this position in the mid-to-late rounds, but I don't like the specific choices made with those players in those draft tiers. I'd rather see more refined players in terms of technical skills. They've invested too much in nice athletes with less refined skills: Paul Williams and Lavelle Hawkins are good examples.

Defensive line has always been a well-coached area, but this front needs to stay healthy as a rotation. If it does than the Titans defense can be decent. I like the second-year CB from UCLA Alterraun Verner as an emerging talent and Cortland Finnegan still has his merits. I'd like to see more improvement at safety. I think this defensive unit could take a huge step forward if it could find a safety with Troy Polamalu's talents. Of course, whose defense wouldn't improve several notches?

Speaking of former Titans, do you think Vince Young be salvageable as a starting NFL QB?

Yes. It's not about skill with Young. It's about attitude and maturity. If Young can devote himself to the craft of quarterbacking the way that Michael Vick has then he could be a productive NFL starter.

Follow Matt Waldman on Twitter. There, your life has already improved. Look for Part Two on Thursday.

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