Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written By Brian Dezelske
- Edited By Marc Caviglia

It’s no secret that fantasy football championships can potentially be won with the right value pick or two in the middle to late rounds of your draft. However they can just as easily be lost by squandering early or middle round picks on players who fail to deliver results that match pre-draft expectations. Guys who fall into this category are commonly referred to as busts or overvalued players. Overvalued players tend to be those whose name recognition, preseason hype and/or past fantasy glory (think Randy Moss, DeSean Jackson, Brett Favre) lead owners to draft them too early, while the majority of busts are players whose situations have changed so much (e.g., new quarterback, new team, new coaching staff/scheme, upgrade or downgrade of players around them) that they’ll have a hard time living up to expected production. Others have significant injury histories to the extent that the risk far outweighs the reward.

Now it’s time to take a look at our Fantasy Football Bust Wide Receivers for the 2012 season. You don’t have to avoid every guy on this list come Draft Day, just go into your draft with your eyes wide open.

Looking for a free, and easy place to join a fantasy football league? If so, try out Fleaflicker.com for all your league management needs.

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- Written By Sean Moris
- Edited By Marc Caviglia

When doing draft preparation a large amount of focus should be used unearthing players that are undervalued. Winning a draft can be as easy as finding a few sleeper gems buried in the late rounds. But what about losing a draft? Losing a draft can happen just as easily with a few bad picks. Keeping your eye out for and avoiding overvalued players likely to “bust” can save you a lot of misery during the season. Some fantasy players allow “name value” to bias their picks causing them to reach for big name guys that have been fantasy staples for years. Some examples from last year included Chad Ochocinco, LaDainian Tomlinson and Thomas Jones. By ignoring name recognition you can see these players for their true value. Other players bust seemingly out of nowhere. Or do they? There are typically visible warning signs before every bust. Whether it is because of injury, situation change or just plain old age, some players will predictably underperform every year.

Let’s take a look at a few likely Fantasy Football Running Back Busts for the 2012 season. Remember that these players will still have some fantasy value this year even if they bust. If you are forced into drafting one of these guys make sure you are getting them later than their average draft position. When in doubt play it safe.

Looking for a free, and easy place to join a fantasy football league? If so, try out Fleaflicker.com for all your league management needs.

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- Written By Cory Steger
- Edited By Marc Caviglia

It’s no secret that fantasy football championships can potentially be won with the right value pick or two in the middle to late rounds of your draft. However they can just as easily be lost by squandering early or middle round picks on players who fail to deliver results that match pre-draft expectations. Guys who fall into this category are commonly referred to as busts or overvalued players. Overvalued players tend to be those whose name recognition, preseason hype and/or past fantasy glory (think Randy Moss, DeSean Jackson, Brett Favre) lead owners to draft them too early, while the majority of busts are players whose situations have changed so much (e.g., new quarterback, new team, new coaching staff/scheme, upgrade or downgrade of players around them) that they’ll have a hard time living up to expected production. Others have significant injury histories to the extent that the risk far outweighs the reward.

Now it’s time to take a look at our Fantasy Football Bust Quarterbacks for the 2012 season. You don’t have to avoid every guy on this list come Draft Day, just go into your draft with your eyes wide open.

Looking for a free, and easy place to join a fantasy football league? If so, try out Fleaflicker.com for all your league management needs.

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- Written By Cory Steger
- Edited By Marc Caviglia

It’s no secret that fantasy football championships can potentially be won with the right value pick or two in the middle to late rounds of your draft. However they can just as easily be lost by squandering early or middle round picks on players who fail to deliver results that match pre-draft expectations. Guys who fall into this category are commonly referred to as busts or overvalued players. Overvalued players tend to be those whose name recognition, preseason hype and/or past fantasy glory (think Randy Moss, Ryan Mathews, Brett Favre) lead owners to draft them too early, while the majority of busts are players whose situations have changed so much (e.g., new quarterback, new team, new coaching staff/scheme, upgrade or downgrade of players around them) that they’ll have a hard time living up to expected production. Others have significant injury histories to the extent that the risk far outweighs the reward.

Now it’s time to take a look at our Fantasy Football Bust Tight Ends for the 2011 season. You don’t have to avoid every guy on this list come Draft Day, just go into your draft with your eyes wide open.

**BEAT THE BRUNO BOYS** 

- Written By Ryan Boser
- Edited By Allie Fontana

It’s no secret that fantasy football championships can potentially be won with the right value pick or two in the middle to late rounds of your draft. However they can just as easily be lost by squandering early or middle round picks on players who fail to deliver results that match pre-draft expectations. Guys who fall into this category are commonly referred to as busts or overvalued players. Overvalued players tend to be those whose name recognition, preseason hype and/or past fantasy glory (think Randy Moss, Ryan Mathews, Brett Favre) lead owners to draft them too early, while the majority of busts are players whose situations have changed so much (e.g., new quarterback, new team, new coaching staff/scheme, upgrade or downgrade of players around them) that they’ll have a hard time living up to expected production. Others have significant injury histories to the extent that the risk far outweighs the reward.

Now it’s time to take a look at our Fantasy Football Bust Wide Receivers for the 2011 season. You don’t have to avoid every guy on this list come Draft Day, just go into your draft with your eyes wide open.

Looking for a free, and easy place to join a fantasy football league? If so, try out Fleaflicker.com for all your league management needs.

Dwayne Bowe, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
2010 Stats: 72 receptions, 1,162 receiving yards, 15 total touchdowns

Bowe was a man among schoolboys during his incredible seven-game fantasy frenzy midway through the 2010 season. The scoring spree produced 49 catches, 732 yards and a mind-bending 13 touchdowns. To put it in perspective, Bowe’s seven-week production alone—148 fantasy points—would have put him one spot ahead of Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald, who finished with 147 points (No. 14 overall) in standard scoring for the season.. Unfortunately, his unexpected, unsustainable run of dominance was bookended by four- and five-game blocks of nothingness. In those other nine games, Bowe totaled just 23 catches for 429 yards and two scores. His roller coaster season was punctuated by a zero-target disaster against the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs.

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- Written By Rich Arleo
- Edited By Marc Caviglia

It’s no secret that fantasy football championships can potentially be won with the right value pick or two in the middle to late rounds of your draft. However they can just as easily be lost by squandering early or middle round picks on players who fail to deliver results that match pre-draft expectations. Guys who fall into this category are commonly referred to as busts or overvalued players. Overvalued players tend to be those whose name recognition, preseason hype and/or past fantasy glory (think Randy Moss, Ryan Mathews, Brett Favre) lead owners to draft them too early, while the majority of busts are players whose situations have changed so much (e.g., new quarterback, new team, new coaching staff/scheme, upgrade or downgrade of players around them) that they’ll have a hard time living up to expected production. Others have significant injury histories to the extent that the risk far outweighs the reward.

Now it’s time to take a look at our Fantasy Football Bust Running Backs for the 2011 season. You don’t have to avoid every guy on this list come Draft Day, just go into your draft with your eyes wide open.

Looking for a free, and easy place to join a fantasy football league? If so, try out Fleaflicker.com for all your league management needs.

Peyton Hillis, RB, Cleveland Browns
2010 Stats: 270 carries, 1,177 rushing yards, 61 receptions, 477 receiving yards, 11 total touchdowns

Hillis was featured on our deep sleeper list in 2010 after rookie Montario Hardesty went down with a torn ACL, and that came to fruition in a big way. Hillis took the NFL, and fantasy football owners, by storm. He punched in 13 touchdowns over Cleveland’s first 11 games and went from just another guy to a household name by season’s end. On the year, Hillis ran for 1,177 yards and he was a valuable receiver, as he added 61 receptions for 477 yards.  Many think his big season means there is a lot to like entering 2011, however they couldn’t be more wrong.

Hillis failed to find pay dirt over the Browns’ final five games and he struggled mightily against AFC North opponents the second time through the schedule.  Hillis torched division opponents for 287 rushing yards, 93 receiving yards and two touchdowns in his first meeting, however managed just 107 rushing yards and 31 receiving yards the second shot.

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- Written By Lane Rizzardini
- Edited By Marc Caviglia

It’s no secret that fantasy football championships can potentially be won with the right value pick or two in the middle to late rounds of your draft. However they can just as easily be lost by squandering early or middle round picks on players who fail to deliver results that match pre-draft expectations. Guys who fall into this category are commonly referred to as busts or overvalued players. Overvalued players tend to be those whose name recognition, preseason hype and/or past fantasy glory (think Randy Moss, Ryan Mathews, Brett Favre) lead owners to draft them too early, while the majority of busts are players whose situations have changed so much (e.g., new quarterback, new team, new coaching staff/scheme, upgrade or downgrade of players around them) that they’ll have a hard time living up to expected production. Others have significant injury histories to the extent that the risk far outweighs the reward.

Now it’s time to take a look at our Fantasy Football Bust Quarterbacks for the 2011 season. You don’t have to avoid every guy on this list come Draft Day, just go into your draft with your eyes wide open.

Looking for a free, and easy place to join a fantasy football league? If so, try out Fleaflicker.com for all your league management needs.

Matt Cassel, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
2010 Stats: 3,116 passing yards, 58.2 completion percentage, 27 total touchdowns, 7 interceptions

In a matter of four months, Cassel went from being undrafted in the majority of fantasy football leagues to finishing No. 12 in total fantasy points among quarterbacks in standard scoring formats. His season was highlighted by an eight game stretch in which he posted 19 touchdown passes against just one interception. Things don’t figure to go as well for the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback this year though. Cassel and the Chiefs were privileged enough to have a schedule chalk-full of soft secondaries that he was able to pick on, as six of the eight teams he faced during that hot streak ranked in the bottom 10 in passing yards allowed.

Further hurting Cassel’s fantasy value is the loss of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, whose pass-heavy, creative offense was a boon for Cassel. Once it was announced that Weis was leaving for the same job at the University of Florida, the Chiefs’ offense tanked hard. Cassel threw five picks in his last two games (including playoffs) of the season and the offense could mange just 17 points during that span. With head coach Todd Haley expected to move toward a run heavy offense the chances of Cassel repeating his breakout season are slim to none. Even with the Chiefs adding pass catching options this offseason fantasy football owners should limit their expectations of Cassel. If you are hoping for a repeat of 2010 it’s likely not going to happen. If you draft Cassel, make sure it’s as your QB2 and a bench replacement for an upper echelon QB1.
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- Written by Ryan Czopek
- Edited by Allie Fontana

There is a saying in the NFL that anything can happen on any given Sunday. The same goes for fantasy football. A player can put up 24 fantasy points one week and none the next. It’s the unpredictability of the season that makes football and fantasy football so interesting and exciting. No position in fantasy football is as unpredictable as wide receiver. So many receivers are fixtures in a fantasy lineup one season and on waivers the next. Just because a player makes the bust list, doesn’t necessarily mean you have to avoid him completely on draft day (though we’ll let you know who to avoid altogether). Some, not all busts are overvalued players, while the majority have seen their situations change (e.g., new team, new coaching staff, upgrade or downgrade of players around them, injuries, etc.) or are likely to have a hard time living up to expectations. Use our 2010 Fantasy Football Busts Wide Receivers list as a guide to move some players down your draft board.

Steve Smith, WR, New York Giants – Last season the “other” Steve Smith had one of the best receiving years in Giants’ team history. Smith came out of nowhere to set a franchise record with 107 receptions and his 1,220 yards were the second most in team history, trailing only Amani Toomer. Used as nothing more than a possession receiver in the slot in 2008, Smith was the receiver who benefited most from the loss of Plaxico Burress in 2009. The sure-handed Smith built an early rapport with quarterback Eli Manning and through the first-half of the season, he was arguably the best receiver in the NFL, producing 61 receptions for 719 yards and five touchdowns. As the season wore on, however, opposing defenses used blanket coverage toward Smith’s side of the field and he had a difficult time creating separation. This led to just two touchdown receptions over the Giants’ final seven games.

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Kickers are widely regarded as one of the most unimportant positions on the average fantasy football roster. You will never have to start more than one of them, and with this being the case there is always a kicker on the waiver wire in prime position to give you fantasy football points. However, a careless kicker choice can be devastating for a fantasy football team and decide vital head-to-head match ups.

Remember, just because a player makes the bust list, doesn’t necessarily mean you have to avoid him completely on draft day (though we’ll let you know who to avoid altogether). Some, not all busts are overvalued players, while the majority have seen their situations change (e.g., new team, new coaching staff, upgrade or downgrade of players around them, injuries, etc.) or are likely to have a hard time living up to expectations. Use our 2010 Fantasy Football Busts Kickers list as a guide to move some players down your draft board.

Jay Feely, K, Arizona Cardinals – Jay Feely has had quite possibly the most puzzling career path of any kicker in recent memory. He started his career with the Atlanta Falcons, posting a 78.4-percent field goal percentage his first year. That would get most kickers cut or at least on the hot seat, but the Falcons apparently felt that was acceptable for a rookie. The team was rewarded for their patience with a 76.6-percent the remainder of his time there, a whooping four years, which is actually a lot for most kickers. The fact that they didn’t cut Feely after an atrocious 2003, in which he converted just 19-of-27 can be chalked up as either bizarre behavior or Atlanta saw something that the average NFL fan didn’t.

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As much as fantasy football owners hope to find sleepers during the middle-to-late rounds of the draft, the ultimate success of your fantasy season can boil down to how well you avoid the busts - especially among those guys that you draft in the first five rounds. Just because a player makes the bust list, doesn’t necessarily mean you have to avoid him completely on draft day (though we’ll let you know who to avoid altogether). Some, not all busts are overvalued players, while the majority have seen their situations change (e.g., new team, new coaching staff, upgrade or downgrade of players around them, injuries, etc.) or are likely to have a hard time living up to expectations. Use our 2010 Fantasy Football Busts Tight Ends list as a guide to move some players down your draft board.

Jeremy Shockey, TE, New Orleans Saints – As mentioned in our tight end sleeper article, Shockey is now entering his ninth season in the NFL and has yet to play a full 16-game season. For such a big name, Shockey has also never had more than seven touchdowns and 900 yards receiving in a single season, so he has always been relatively overvalued. This season could prove to be the year that Shockey slips into obscurity because the Saints now have two tight ends, David Thomas and rookie Jimmy Graham, who can push aside the veteran.

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