Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Who saw that one coming? Peyton Manning makes a critical mistake and gets intercepted for a pick-six. You can’t put all the blame on Peyton, though. You have to give credit to the other Payton - New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. He made a brilliant call with the onside kick at the start of the second half, and that really turned the tide in the Super Bowl. The Saints won the Super Bowl, thus officially ending the 2009 season. It seems like only yesterday we were making our draft cheat sheets with Matt Forte in the top 3. How times have changed. Before too long it will be time to start making our cheat sheets for the 2010 draft.

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So this is it. It all comes down to this, the New Orleans Saints vs. the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. For most of us fantasy owners, it’s finally a time to not worry about stats and fantasy rankings, and just sit back and watch the biggest sporting event in the nation. For some of us, we’re still playing for something in our playoff fantasy leagues. I hope you loaded up on Saints and Colts or you’re in serious trouble. Let’s take a look at how the Saints and the Colts made it to the grand stage.

Indianapolis Colts 30 vs. New York Jets 17
This one had upset city written all over it in the first half. The New York Jets, oddly enough, put together their best fantasy stat line in the game that they didn’t win. Both Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery went over 100 yards receiving, including an 80-yard bomb to Edwards from Mark Sanchez. OK, so Edwards only had two catches in the game, but when one of then is an 80-yard TD, that’s all you need. Dustin Keller hauled in another score to go with his 63 yards receiving. Where was this passing production in the regular season when fantasy owners needed it? Sanchez threw for two touchdowns and 257 yards passing with an interception. Not a bad day at all for a guy who was putting up horrendous fantasy numbers. Unfortunately for the Jets, and probably a big reason why they lost this game, but Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene just barely got over 40 yards rushing each. The running game was their bread and butter all season, but the bread went stale in this game. As for the victorious Colts, they didn’t need Reggie Wayne or Dallas Clark to get the job done in this one, although Clark did have one score. But it was the Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie show in this one. Garcon had 11 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown, while Collie had 123 yards receiving and a touchdown, as well. Wayne had three catches for 55 yards on “Revis Island.” Peyton Manning threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns to put together another solid fantasy day, but who would have expected anything else? Joseph Addai rushed for 80 yards, but couldn’t get in the endzone. He should be in line for a nice night in the Super Bowl after the day Adrian Peterson had against the Saints.

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The week that’s arguably called the best week for the NFL playoffs saw three blowouts and one upset. The New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts quieted the critics who said they would pay for benching their stars in the final two weeks. It’s shaping up to be a tremendous conference title weekend next week. Hoepfully you’re still in the thick of it in your playoff fantasy leagues, and hopefully you didn’t play any of the Dallas Cowboys. Let’s a take a look at the fantasy recap from the divisional round.

New Orleans Saints 45 vs. Arizona Cardinals 14
This game was projected to be a offensive shootout, and it was…for one team. Drew Brees put together another tremendous game on Saturday, but the Saints didn’t need him to do it all through the air. Reggie Bush rushed for a score and also returned a punt for another TD. It’s hard to predict when Bush is going to go off or do absolutely nothing. He’s become a pretty big boom-or-bust fantasy option. Bush finished with 108 total yards with his two scores. Brees threw for three touchdowns with 247 yards passing. The three TDs went to three different receivers - Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Jeremy Shockey. Colston also led all receivers with 83 yards. Even in the playoffs, Brees continues to spread the wealth around to all of his receivers. Colston is your best bet for any WR production in the final two rounds over the rest of his teammates in the receiving core. Pierre Thomas led the Saints in carries, but only had 52 yards on the ground. It’s hard to say whether you should go with Thomas or Bush for the final two games. Any injury updates on Thomas may help answer that question this week. Kurt Warner may have played his final football game, and didn’t throw a single touchdown in his possible finale. Warner threw for 205 yards, 77 of which went to Larry Fitzgerald. Obviously Warner’s poor performance takes out Fitzgerald from any success. Really, the best performer for the Arizona Cardinals in this game was Tim Hightower of all people, who totaled 87 yards with a score.

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The real playoffs are here, and unless you’re playing in one of the playoff fantasy leagues, it’s a time to just sit back, relax and watch football just for the enjoyment, and not have to worry about stat tracking. Even if you are playing in a fantasy league, it’s still nothing compared to the previous 17 weeks. With that said, I’m sure a lot of you, for one reason or another, are still looking to win your playoff league. The Bruno Boys are still here for you just like we are during the regular season for tips and advice.

New York Jets 24 @ Cincinnati Bengals 14
This was one game a lot of people thought would be the opposite of their Week 17 matchup. The New York Jets did it again, knocking off the division-champion Cincinnati Bengals. How did they Jets do it? Unlike most of the regular season, they got production from Dustin Keller, who led the Jets in receiving with 99 yards and a touchdown. Jerricho Cotchery led the team in receptions with six, and totaled 67 yards. Braylon Edwards only had 15 yards receiving. Boy, how the mighty have fallen. I think Edwards needs to be downgraded to a WR3 for 2010 fantasy drafts. Another Jet who might need to get downgraded is Thomas Jones. You can’t complain about Jones’ production this season, but watch out for Shonn Greene. Both RBs scored in this game, but Greene finished with 21 carries for 135 yards compared to Jones’ 15 carries for 34 yards. It’s safe to say we’ll at least see a pretty even split next season, and don’t forget about Leon Washington. Mark Sanchez put up a respectable 182 yards with a touchdown. I don’t recommend using the Jets receivers next week. If they’re going to beat the San Diego Chargers, it will be with their defense and ground attack. For the Bengals, Cedric Benson did everything he could to win this game, putting up 169 yards and a touchdown. Benson was a nice surprise in 2009 before he got injured, and should make a solid high-end RB2 next year. Carson Palmer threw for 146 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Chad Ochocinco only had 2 catches for 28 yards, but this duo put up strong fantasy numbers all year.

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The grand finale - Week 17. For most leagues, everything is already said and done in terms of a league champion. But there were still some leagues that play through Week 17, and the owners in those leagues had to be careful of players on the top teams resting. I hope you enjoyed this week’s games because we’re going to see a bunch of rematches in the playoffs next week. In any event, it’s another fantasy year in the books. Time to start revisiting your mock drafts and your cheat sheets because we’re just a few months away from the 2010 draft.

Buffalo Bills 30 vs. Indianapolis Colts 7
I hope you kept your Indianapolis Colts on the bench this week because there was no need for them to play, and they were playing in terrible weather. Mike Hart scored the lone Colts’ touchdown, but I don’t think he was in too many lineups since Donald Brown was projected to have the big day for Indy. Brown literally didn’t score a single fantasy point. Dallas Clark, in his quick work on Sunday, totaled 52 yards for a decent fantasy game. Even when the team isn’t playing its starters, Clark still helped out his fantasy owners. As for the Buffalo Bills, Fred Jackson ends the 2009 season as the Bill’s top rusher. Who is Marshawn Lynch? Jackson had 212 rushing yards and a receiving touchdown. He wasn’t the only fantasy stud for Buffalo. Through the driving snowstorm, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for three touchdowns and 155 yards. Terrell Owens ended his dismal season with 65 yards and a touchdown. Unless he changes teams, I’d advise against drafting Owens next season. Lee Evans also hauled in a score to go with his 49 yards.

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If you like offense then you were glued to your TV on Monday Night. When the NFL made the schedule and assigned this game for Monday night on Week 16 many people thought it had the potential to determine who would win the NFC North division but that wasn’t the case. The Minnesota Vikings entered Week 16 sitting atop the division with a 12-3 record and chance to clinch a first round playoff bye while the Chicago Bears were sitting at 5-9 with only pride to play for. Despite both teams heading down different pats this game lived up to all the hype surrounding it before the start of the season.

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It’s championship week and I hope Santa brought you all a championship this season. Santa wasn’t good to the Indianapolis Colts this week, as their perfect season came to an end out of their control. Hopefully you weren’t counting on the Colts in your run for a title. With one week left in the regular season, it’s time to start gearing up for the NFL playoffs, and start taking a sneak peak and who you’d like in the 2010 fantasy draft. Let’s take a look at this week’s fantasy recap.

San Diego Chargers 42 @ Tennessee Titans 17
The San Diego Chargers have really gone back to the running game in the second half of this season. Both LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles went off for two rushing scores each in this game. LT only had 52 yards rushing, but as has been the case all season, his fantasy value rides on how many times he can score. Sproles had even bigger game, as he was on the receiving end of a touchdown pass from Philip Rivers. Antonio Gates hauled in the other Rivers’ touchdown pass. Rivers ended the game with 264 yards passing, and Gates had 74 receiving yards. The only disappointing act of the night came from Vincent Jackson. While he had 70 receiving yards, when the Chargers score 42 points, you’d figure he got at least one of those scores. Still, he and Gates were both studs all season. Chris Johnson was fantastic as he usually was, going off for 142 rushing yards and a score. That’s been the norm for this season’s fantasy MVP, in my opinion. As for the Tennessee Titans’ passing game, it was pretty nonexistent. Vince Young was picked off twice and only had 89 yards passing.

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We’re officially down to two weeks remaining in the NFL season, and in most fantasy football leagues, just one week remaining - the championship week. Congratulations to those of you who have made it to the big game, and be sure to check with the Bruno Boys this week for all the information you need to be sure you have your best lineup in place next Sunday. Hopefully you didn’t have any Washington Redskins on your team for tonight’s game. The New York Giants ended this one quickly and it became a lop-sided affair in no time.

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It’s playoff time!! For those of you who were lucky enough to advance to your league’s playoffs, hopefully you put the right guys in your lineup, and you’re playing for a championship next week. This was a very interesting and unusual week of football, so I’m think there were a lot of unexpected fantasy results, as well. Who would have thought it would have been a lot better to have Jerome Harrison in your lineup other than Steven Jackson or even Chris Johnson. Let’s take a look at the playoff edition of the fantasy football recap.

Indianapolis Colts 35 @ Jacksonville Jaguars 31
What a huge game to kick off this week’s action. There were a number of starts who shined in this one. Let’s start with the NFL’s last remaining undefeated team, the Indianapolis Colts. Peyton Manning did it again. Manning threw for four touchdowns, including two to Dallas Clark. Manning finished with 308 yards passing with an interception, while Clark added 95 yards with his two scores. After being quiet in recent weeks, Reggie Wayne hauled in a huge 65-yard touchdown catch to give him a game-high 132 yards on the night. It should be really interested to see how much all of the offensive stars here play in the next two weeks. Maurice Jones-Drew reminded all of his fantasy owners why they picked him in the first round. MJD scored twice and totaled 140 yards. He’s had some consistency issues, but MJD has been a stud this season overall. David Garrard was able to shred the Colts’ defense in this game, tossing up three touchdowns and 223 yards through the air. Mike Sims-Walker hauled in one of those TDs to go with his team-best 64 yards receiving. Against New England next week, I’m not crazy about the Jacksonville Jaguars’ passing attack in Foxboro.

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The San Francisco 49ers spoiled the party at their place tonight against the Arizona Cardinals. The niners held off their inevitable mathematical elimination from the playoffs with a 24-9 win tonight. There were arguably more fantasy stars playing on the losing team in this one, so I’m guessing there were more unhappy fantasy owners after this game than happy ones. Let’s take a look at the fantasy recap from tonight’s game.

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