Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Earlier this week I created my annual Average Ranking Position spreadsheet – I averaged together ten Top 100 rankings from fantasy football experts to come up with one ranking for each player. To get a sense of how much agreement there was on a player’s ranking, I calculated the standard deviation for each player’s rankings as well. Then by adding the standard deviation to the average ranking calculation, we have not only an average ranking but an average that’s put into perspective a bit more. There are a lot of interesting things you can pull out of this sort of analysis and I thought that on today’s A Librarian’s Touch column we could take a look at those guys who had the highest standard deviation, or the least amount of consensus.

In a sense that makes these guys the riskiest players in the eyes of the experts (within the Top 100 players) since there are experts out there that aren’t feeling it, aren’t sensing the same fantasy vibe. However, depending on which experts your league mates are turning to for advice, it also means that you might be able to get these players at a better value. So read onto find out who are the Riskiest Picks From the Top 100.

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With the season closing in on us, there is tension in the air. Just ask Tom Cable who beat the hell out of his assistant and Al Davis suck up, Randy Hanson. There is a ton of news rolling through the sport that they call the National Football League; which is a good thing because otherwise I may be out of a gig. So gear up Bruno Boys Nation as I take you through a week of news the only way I know how; Bruno Boys Ziza style.

News: Speculation has it that the Oakland Raiders owner, Al Davis, has been having Randy Hanson report behind the coaches and players’ backs; in other words Al Davis’ personal mole. The gig came to a heated debate as head coach Tom Cable’s fist met Hanson’s jaw and throat. Felony charges may result.

Ziza Sounding Off: Congrats to the passion that Cable showed by trying to put a stop to this; unfortunately he went about it the wrong way. Instead of beating the hell out of Hanson, he should have just had some of his peeps on the outside take care of the job for him. That way Cable could focus his attention towards making RB Darren McFadden one of the elite backs in the league. As a fantasy footballer, it was great to hear that Cable wanted to get the pigskin in McFadden’s hands at least 20 times a game. It will be interesting to see how everything unfolds because McFadden’s value was expected to skyrocket this year. I completely understand why you were completely pissed off Mr. Cable, but next time make sure it is someone else beating the hell out of him.

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Welcome back to A Librarian’s Touch. For those who are new to the column, I run a blog full of links to fantasy football resources called Fantasy Football Librarian but the Bruno Boys have given me a chance to voice my opinion a bit more here in the A Librarian’s Touch column. Once again, this year I’ll try to shed some new light on rankings, draft strategies, and player stats as the season rolls along.

The 2009 season is almost here and draft excitement is palpable. I’m already participating in two e-mail-style drafts, one of which is a PPR (points-per-reception) league. Not surprisingly, I’ve been thinking a lot about PPR leagues lately, especially since I feel their popularity seems to be increasing each year. There are some obvious players that get a significant upgrade in their draft position in PPR leagues like Reggie Bush and Wes Welker – but as we all know, it’s often the players that are drafted in middle or late rounds that surprise us and carry us to the playoffs. So with that in mind, I compared Mock Draft Central’s ADP (average draft position) for a handful of players in both regular and PPR leagues to determine which guys I should really hone in on for those mid to late rounds. Keep in mind these are not typically your starters, but guys you might want to stock your bench or flex spots with this fall.

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With the season now just a few weeks away the news is starting to heat up as you can well imagine. There are a few things that happened this week that will have some solid fantasy football impact where as other stories were just too good to pass up on. We here at the Bruno Boys like to bring it to you straight, much unlike what most pay sites do. For that reason get your reading glasses and enjoy this article; Bruno Boys Nation style.

Dogs Relaxing a Little More these Days – Michael Vick just became a happy camper once again. What does that mean? Well first of all, a new and improved happy Vick means Todo the dog is not scratching at the door in fear, trying to get away. Late Thursday night Vick signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles and opinions around the league have been mixed.

Vick is set to make a shade over $1.5 million the first-year and the second-year would call for a major raise over the first, so the money that he had signed for isn’t the important factor here. What is important though is, “Did Vick sign with the right team?” While I will be the first to admit that I did not see Philadelphia landing Vick, looking at it from hindsight, it really does make a lot of sense. He heads to an organization that is set at the quarterback position in Donovan McNabb who is a great leader and individual. Then you add in the fact that this is a very structured team and a city that won’t put up with much nonsense and you have to figure Vick will mature faster than many think. If this turns out as planned Vick should once again become some sort of weapon in fantasy football. Just don’t expect that this year.

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Another week has passed and as usual, plenty of stories around the NFL have surfaced. There have been contractual signings, players still holding out, injuries that have occurred with a mix of miscellaneous to boot. What does that mean for you? Updated fantasy football information with a spin, brought to you as only the Bruno Boys can.

- Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears, who has made his name in fantasy football by being an excellent kick returner has officially been moved to wide receiver full-time and will no longer be participating on special teams, unless dire circumstances call for it. In his attempt to excel at the receiver position, Hester will have Jay Cutler throwing to him. Hester’s speed has never been a question, but his hands and route running have. Pay attention to training camp to see how he progresses as Cutler will be relying on Hester as a deep threat this season.

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Do you hear that? What is that? I’ll tell you what it is. That is the sound of the doors opening up to many training camps so far around the NFL. There is no doubt that that makes me happy. And with it comes some stories around the NFL; stories that have some fantasy football ramifications. As it is time to be hot and heavy into studying and preparing for your draft I will be tackling a few issues that presented themselves to us this week and seeing how it will affect you fantasy value wise.

- Brett Favre has decided NOT to join the Minnesota Vikings after all; yet his former coach Steve Marriucci has said that Favre will continue to throw just in case. At this point people, if you were hoping that Favre would be coming to the Vikings and make a solid quarterback option, it is time to stop that thinking. If he would have come back he would have been a solid, lower-end QB2. At this point all you can really rely on is that the team in purple will be rolling with Tavaris Jackson (who just suffered a leg injury in camp) and Sage Rosenfels as their main quarterbacks. Whoever wins the job, don’t expect anything more than QB3 numbers during most weeks.

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I am not sure about the rest of you out there in Bruno Boys Nation, but I for one have had a very busy week. And just because it is the weekend it doesn’t mean that my schedule all of a sudden got light. But, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have an opinion on what has been going on around the NFL the past few days. In fact, this week had a lot of things going on that just made me scratch my head. As I am sure you are busy too, I am going to just jump into this week’s column.
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- This week the NFL announced that they are reformatting their NFL draft, going to a three-day event, Thursday – Sunday, rather than just keeping it as a weekend event. The format will have the first round on Thursday nights, the second and third rounds on Friday nights and the last four rounds early Saturday.

Am I the only one in America that does not like this? If you aren’t in favor of it either, please let me know. I look forward to the draft every single year, knowing that I will be utilizing one Saturday in the spring to kick back, drink some “pops”, and take in all the football that I can. Now, during a busy week, the NFL wants me to commit to them not only my Thursday night, but my Friday night as well? Does the NFL realize that people do have lives?

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Another week has gone by in the preparation of what is leading up to training camp in the NFL and of course the league did not disappoint when it came to head scratching news. Some of it borders on the funny side whereas others just make you want to scream, “What were you thinking?” Let’s jump into this weeks’ topics as I bring it to you the only way I really know how; in Bruno Boys Ziza fashion.

-The Washington Redskins selected defensive man Jeremy Jarmon out of Kentucky in the third round of the NFL Supplemental Draft this past week. He was made eligible when he failed a banned substance test, leading to his dismissal from school. Leave it to the sports world to reward someone with good money for making a bad mistake.

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The Fourth of July has already come and gone and news around the National Football League is heating up. You are getting excited for your fantasy football draft; you have perused what the Bruno Boys have to offer and you went out to buy a $10 magazine. You figure that all that you really need is what is in that $10 magazine because it comes with player rankings and best of all, a draft sheet. “Woo-hoo,” you think. This information is outstanding and now it will allow you to chill this summer and head into the fantasy draft as king. Except for one small thing; you are completely wrong!

I am not here trying to throw insults at you. That is not how I am. What I am here to do though is speak my mind. That is something that I am well known for. Just ask my buddy Bruno Boys Larry. There was more than one occasion in my past in which things got a bit heated in discussion about this and that in the fantasy football world with our colleagues. Am I a jerk? Heck no. Actually, I am a pretty laid back cat; I am just Ziza. Or in this venue better known as Bruno Boys Ziza. I have a passion for the truth and that is what I am here to bring to you, the truth. Are you ready for some tough love? We will see.

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It’s already July, the hot dogs and burgers are hitting the grill and you can hear the joys of summer all through the streets. That can only mean one thing, fantasy football is right around the corner. While we are enjoying our summer here as well, the Bruno Boys have still been very hard at work as we have launched the first part of our new website as well as the 2009 Bruno Boys Cheat Sheet Online Magazine. In the middle of that mix we found Bruno Boys Cavigs and Bruno Boys Ziza having a conversation about the AFC East.

AFC East Burning Questions

1. With the trade of Matt Cassel, the New England Patriots have all but admitted that Tom Brady is ready to rock and roll. What do you see from him in 2009?

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