Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

 
There’s a saying that for every good man, there’s a good woman behind them. Three things I know about this phrase - 1) it’s mostly true, 2) it was definitely written by a woman, and 3) it’s a great analogy for a running back and their offensive line, except in the case of football it’s flip flopped and it’s not so much about what’s behind but what’s up in front. Countless times a mediocre back has thrived behind a stellar O-line. And though some backs are so good it doesn’t matter who’s in front, when placed behind a good offensive line, they do become unstoppable. The point is, a great offensive line boosts a running back’s fantasy football value and that can be very helpful when trying to decide between several backs at your fantasy football draft. Here’s a look at some of the league’s most dominant offensive lines and the running backs behind them.

1. New York Giants

It’s not just your TV that makes it look like Eli Manning has all the time in the world. It’s the Giant’s superb O-line. Ranked #1 in rushing yards per game, this frontal force has produced a 1,000 yard rusher every year since 2004. And, last season, they produced two in Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward, proving that this bunch is truly the best of the best. Barring injuries, the Giant offensive line will continue to dominate the field especially with the addition of the big OT William Beatty from Connecticut.  Give Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Danny Ware and Andre Brown a little edge in your 2009 fantasy football drafts.

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Having to wait three years behind Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers finally got his chance to lead the team last year after Favre was traded to the New York Jets days before the first pre-season game. Rodgers had not started a game in his first three seasons with Green Bay, so despite his apparent talent level he was a big question mark entering the season last year. It didn’t take long for Rodgers to take command of the Packers offense as he threw for 506 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in leading Green Bay to consecutive wins at the beginning of the season. Rodgers went on to finish with 4,038 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, a 63.6 completion percentage and a very good 7.5 average yards per attempt. At the same time the Packers found it hard to win, mostly because of a porous defense, as they stumbled to a 6-10 record.

After a stellar first season at the helm, the future looks bright for Rodgers and the Packers. In fact, entering this season Rodgers could be considered a sleeper, not in the sense that he’s a player coming out of nowhere, but more in the regard that he’s got the potential to finish as the top fantasy football quarterback. That’s quite a statement so let’s take a look at why that might be the case.

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As a running back, Reggie Bush makes for an excellent slot receiver. As the former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Bush has run for at least 100 yards in a game just once in his three-year career. In fact, he’s had more than 80 rushing yards in a game just twice. Meanwhile, Pierre Thomas, an undrafted rookie out of Illinois, ran for at least 87 yards four times in the Saints’ final six games last season, and for his career, has two games of at least 100 rushing yards.

This season, with Deuce McAllister having departed, Thomas should get his chance to shine in New Orleans’ backfield. As his six-game explosion at the end of the 2008 season showed, he could be primed to do big things with that opportunity. Thomas isn’t just a one-trick pony who can only run the ball. He’s a proficient pass-catcher as well. And, though he isn’t at Bush’s level in that regard, he can more than hold his own. Last season, he caught 31 passes, three of them for touchdowns.

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It sure seems that every time we log onto to our computer over the past month or so there is another headline about the death of a celebrity. The list includes Bea Arthur, David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Billy Mays (he may not have been a celebrity, but his infomercials were entertaining), Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

Unfortunately death did not escape the football world as former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was found shot to death this week. McNair who was a 1995 draft pick of the Houston Oilers was a big part of the teams identity as they moved to Tennessee and became the Titans. He spent a decade with the Titans before finishing his career with the Baltimore Ravens. During his 13 year NFL career McNair was always an upstanding citizen. He was a hard worker who often epitomized leadership and he frequently played through pain.

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It’s never too early to participate in some fantasy football mock drafts. If you’re serious about being a contender to win your league’s title, you should partake in a few mock drafts before your actual draft. Bruno Boys Jimbo recently conducted his own one-man mock draft and each week he’ll post a round from the draft.

To conduct this fantasy football mock draft the following criteria was used: 10-team league, standard scoring (4 points for QB TDs, 6 points for all other TDs, 1 point for every 10 rushing/receiving yards, 1 for every 25 passing yards, -2 points for all turnovers, 1 point for sacks, 2 points for INTs.)

ROUND 1 MOCK DRAFT RESULTS

1.01: RB Adrian Peterson (Min) - The likely acquisition of Brett Favre makes AP a stone-cold lock to be the first overall pick in all drafts. Even if Favre doesn’t sign, he’s still the top choice.

1.02: RB Matt Forte (Chi) - The Chicago Bears’ offense goes where Matt Forte goes. With Jay Cutler now at QB, it should keep defenses honest enough to let Forte have similar success as his breakout rookie campaign

1.03: RB Maurice Jones-Drew (JAX) - MJD is in a similar situation as Forte. With the departure of Fred Taylor, MJD is the cornerstone of this offense and should see plenty of carries and receptions.

1.04: RB Michael Turner (ATL) - Turner the Burner doesn’t look to slow down in ’09. The potent passing attack should keep defenses spread out, and while Turner isn’t likely to duplicate his 2008 totals, he’s still in line for a great season.

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Looking for sleepers in your draft come August? Bruno Boys Greg will analyze who he feels should have a strong fantasy football showing in 2009. Throughout the course of two weeks Bruno Boys Greg will give you his position by position under the radar picks. These are players who won’t be highly touted on draft day but should produce at a level higher than their average draft position.  This week, he covers the RUNNING BACK position.

Cedric Benson, RB. Cincinnati Bengals: Benson broke out at the end of the ‘08 season, totaling 282 yards over his final two games. With the return of quarterback Carson Palmer the Bengals get an immediate boost and this should allow the running game to find more holes from the get-go. Another key is the lack of competition he has in stealing carries away from him. Benson will start the season getting the bulk of the carries and will be given every chance to keep his job. Brian Leonard and Kenny Watson are behind him on the depth chart but neither are proven NFL running backs, though Leonard has impressed during off-season workouts. Your ideal fantasy football draft day situation would be to take Benson as a RB3 and use him as a Flex play or a spot starter in two RB leagues when the match-up is right.

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Looking for sleepers in your draft come August? Bruno Boys Greg will analyze who he feels should have a strong fantasy football showing in 2009. Throughout the course of two weeks Bruno Boys Greg will give you his position by position under the radar picks. These are players who won’t be highly touted on draft day but should produce at a level higher than their average draft position.  This week, he covers the QUARTERBACK position.

Carson Palmer, QB, Cincinnati Bengals: The All-Pro quarterback who only played in 4 games last year has no reason not to bounce back in 2009. Many people will rank him lower then he belongs due to injury concerns and the changes in Cincinnati but don’t pay any attention to that. Palmer averaged nearly 4,000 yards the previous three seasons before being hurt and is just a year removed from being a top five fantasy football quarterback. He did lose T.J. Housmandzadeh to free agency but gained veteran wide receiver Lavernaus Coles and the drop off in production won’t be as significant as many think. Odds are you will be targeting Palmer in the 6th or 7th round and drafting him as a low-end QB1 but if he can regain his old form he will produce at the level of the top tier QB’s.

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What a great week it has been. Not only is it time to celebrate Independence Day (which means a three-day weekend for many of us), it’s also officially time to start studying for your 2009 fantasy football draft and the Bruno Boys have never been more excited to be here to help you. This is a huge week for Bruno Boys Fantasy Football. First was the launch of our website, which gives us a fresh new look and feel. Secondly is the release of the most comprehensive and most informative source of fantasy football information available for free on the internet, the 2009 Bruno Boys Cheat Sheets Webazine.

For this week‘s Fantasy Football Impact: NFL News and Notes, the Bruno Boys wanted to take the time to point out some of the NFL players who are currently still free agents and evaluate their potential fantasy football impact entering ‘09

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St. Louis Rams’ running back, Steven Jackson, has become quite the Twitter aficionado, but that’s not his only talent. When healthy, few players in the NFL offer the type of dynamic package No. 39 does. The key words there being, “when healthy.” That’s been a problem for the former Oregon State star throughout his NFL career, as just once in his five seasons has he played a full 16-game schedule. It’s been particularly difficult for him to stay on the field over the last two seasons, as he’s missed a total of eight games during that span. Despite his health issues, Jackson’s numbers have been impressive. He’s rushed for 1,000 yards in every year of his career, except his rookie season, and has scored at least six times per year over the same time span.

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You can put the dreaded sophomore jinx right up there with the Madden curse and the SI cover curse as things that can spoil you top fantasy football players and have you kicking yourself all season. First off, don’t take these “curses” too seriously. You can cause yourself to over think and assume things and end up messing up your draft picks over something that isn’t really there. Still, the sophomore jinx is something that definitely happens in the NFL, like all sports. Here are some of last year’s breakout rookies who may or may not be in line for the sophomore jinx.

Chris Johnson – Tennessee Titans

This is the guy a lot of people have gone both ways on. Some people say he will be more effective in 2009, while others say to draft him with caution. The Tennessee Titans are likely to stick with what earned them a first-round playoff bye last year, the tandem of Johnson and Lendale White running up and down the field. Given the fact that Jeff Fisher has said this offseason that Johnson could have handled the ball more had he not been a rookie leads me to believe that he will get more carries in 2009, including more goal-line touches. There’s no doubt that he is the cornerstone of this offense. The Titans have tried to strengthen their passing game a little bit with the acquisition of Nate Washington and the drafting of Kenny Britt. If the passing game can improve and either White or Javon Ringer can do a decent job of spelling Johnson, he should be in line for a productive second season. Another factor here is that Johnson has no health issues right now. He’s healthy and ready to go. I say Johnson will be huge in ’09. Book it!

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