Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Each NFL season can only have one champion, and in 2009, the New Orleans Saints claimed that title. The good news, though, is that right now for the 2010 season, every team is sitting even. With that in mind, the Bruno Boys got to thinking about what each NFL team needs to do in order to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next year. Thus, was born the Bruno Boys latest series which will examine the key needs that need to be addressed by all 32 NFL teams. Bruno Boys Larry will take a look at the AFC East in the sixth part of this 8-part series.

AFC EAST

The AFC East proved to be very competitive in 2009. Even though the New England Patriots won the division title with a 10-6 record they no longer appear to be the dominant team they have been the last decade. As a matter of fact, it was the New York Jets, not the Patriots, who found themselves in the AFC Championship game. However, Miami Dolphins, who were the Cinderella story of the division in 2008, took a step back last season finishing 7-9. On the other hand, the Buffalo Bills continued to toil in mediocrity finishing with just six wins and it was the sixth time in eight years they finished a season with seven or less wins. Over the past two seasons the Dolphins and the Jets showed how important a solid off-season can be. That being said it’s time take a look at some team needs for the AFC East in 2010.

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Each NFL season can only have one champion, and in 2009, the New Orleans Saints claimed that title. The good news, though, is that right now for the 2010 season, every team is sitting even. With that in mind, the Bruno Boys got to thinking about what each NFL team needs to do in order to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next year. Thus, was born the Bruno Boys latest series which will examine the key needs that need to be addressed by all 32 NFL teams. Bruno Boys Whooley continues this 8-part series with a look at the AFC West.

AFC WEST

The AFC West is a division in turmoil. Don’t agree? Well, just look at the four teams that call the division home. The Kansas City Chiefs handed a hefty contract to Matt Cassel prior to the 2009 season only to see their QB of the future throw for just 2,924 yards with 16 TDs matched by 16 INTs. The Oakland Raiders’ 2009 season was memorable for two reasons: the complete ineptitude of JaMarcus Russell at the QB position and the right hook of Tom Cable. Then, there was the Denver Broncos’ collapse; perhaps an indication that Josh McDaniels’ “my way or the highway” coaching philosophy won’t lift Denver a mile high. Even the San Diego Chargers, who walked away with the division crown thanks to a 13-3 record, have their issues, having to replace one of the game’s greatest RBs in the backfield. Yes, the AFC West isn’t filled with powerhouses at the moment, but some savvy off-season moves could possibly change all that.

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Each NFL season can only have one champion, and in 2009, the New Orleans Saints claimed that title. The good news, though, is that right now for the 2010 season, every team is sitting even. With that in mind, the Bruno Boys got to thinking about what each NFL team needs to do in order to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next year. Thus, was born the Bruno Boys latest series which will examine the key needs that need to be addressed by all 32 NFL teams. Bruno Boys Cory takes a look at the NFC East in Part 4 of this 8-part series.

NFC EAST

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Each NFL season can only have one champion, and in 2009, the New Orleans Saints claimed that title. The good news, though, is that right now for the 2010 season, every team is sitting even. With that in mind, the Bruno Boys got to thinking about what each NFL team needs to do in order to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next year. Thus, was born the Bruno Boys latest series which will examine the key needs that need to be addressed by all 32 NFL teams. Bruno Boys Kyle takes a look at the NFC South in Part 3 of this 8-part series.

NFC SOUTH

Once the laughing stock of the NFC, the NFC South has developed into a formidable division. Sure, just one team from the division played post-season football, but three (New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, and Carolina Panthers) out of the four teams in the division finished with a .500 record or better, and that one team that entered post-season play, the Saints, well they didn’t do too bad for themselves. Heck, even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished 2009 strong, winning two of their last three contests, though the 1-12 record prior wasn’t too pretty. Despite the division’s recent success, football is a game in which you can’t rest on your laurels. If the NFC South wants to continue their upward trend, then they’re going to have address the needs laid out below.

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Each NFL season can only have one champion, and in 2009, the New Orleans Saints claimed that title. The good news, though, is that right now for the 2010 season, every team is sitting even. With that in mind, the Bruno Boys got to thinking about what each NFL team needs to do in order to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next year. Thus, was born the Bruno Boys latest series which will examine the key needs that need to be addressed by all 32 NFL teams. Bruno Boys Larry takes a look at the NFC North in Part 2 of this 8-part series.

NFC NORTH

Being born in raised in the Midwest has allowed me to watch NFC North football my entire life. It’s a division that has bolstered some great defensive teams and some of the greatest nicknames in football history. Teams like the “Monsters of the Midway” and the “Purple People Eaters” played in a division referred to as the “Black and Blue” division, but those days are long gone. It has been more then a decade since a team from the NFC North has won a Super Bowl. It’s also a division that has possibly the worst team of the decade in the Detroit Lions. Despite the Lions continued struggles, the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers both made the playoffs in 2009 and look to be putting the division back on the map. The two bottom teams in the NFC North, the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, have both been extremely active early in this off-season. So let’s take a look at what else we might expect from these four teams during the 2010 NFL off-season.

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Each NFL season can only have one champion, and in 2009, the New Orleans Saints claimed that title. The good news, though, is that right now for the 2010 season, every team is sitting even. With that in mind, the Bruno Boys got to thinking about what each NFL team needs to do in order to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next year. Thus, was born the Bruno Boys latest series which will examine the key needs that need to be addressed by all 32 NFL teams. Bruno Boys Whooley gets things started in this 8-part series with a look at the NFC West.

NFC WEST

Many people, myself included, claim that “the west coast is the best coast.” And, for as true as that sentiment may be in most aspects of life, with regards to football prowess of late, it just doesn’t hold. Sure, the Arizona Cardinals represented the NFC in the Super Bowl just two seasons ago, but to find the last time that two teams from the NFC West journeyed to the playoffs in the same year, you have to go all the way back to 2004 when both the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams secured playoff births. Will the division break the five-year streak and finally send two teams to post-season play in 2010? Well, to do so, some work definitely needs to be done.

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Receptions are an overlooked part of fantasy football, unless, that is, you are in a point-per-reception (PPR) league. But receptions do equal yards and touchdowns, so even if you abstain from PPR or other niche leagues, it’s important to have a heads-up on some guys who may see a nice increase in their totals next season. In a wild coincidence, we’re about to talk about three of those guys!

Jacoby Jones, WR, Houston Texans: With Kevin Walter hitting free agency and possibly not coming back to Houston, Jones has a perfect opportunity to make himself a valuable fantasy football commodity. Last season, Jones was targeted just 40 times and caught only 27 passes, but he made the most of his limited opportunities. Jones collected 437 yards for an average of 16.2 yards per reception, which was 15th in the NFL among players with at least 15 catches, and he scored six touchdowns, which was among the top-30 in the league.

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So, when it’s the off-season and major things like free agency and the draft still have to take place, we find ourselves pondering some ridiculous things when it comes to fantasy football. Things like, how good would Barry Sanders have been on a good team? Was Dan Marino a better fantasy football quarterback than Peyton Manning? Or, is JaMarcus Russell the worst player of all time? In thinking about things like this, I (Bruno Boys Cory) decided to compile my all-time fantasy football team of the last 30 years. Not surprisingly, new rules and new offensive innovations have skewed a lot of the selections to this team to be from the last decade, but there are still some golden oldies in there.

To compile this team we used a standard lineup (QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, K, DST) and standard scoring (pass TDs - 4 points, all other TDs 6 points, 25 yards passing - 1 points, 10 yards rushing/receiving - 1 point). So, here’s the team I came up with as the ultimate fantasy team from the last 30 years, with honorable mention selections for each position as well. Think you can beat me? If so, post your Fantasy Football - All Legends Squad in the FORUM.

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American society is always on the lookout for the NEXT BIG THING, in all walks of life, whether it’s some actress being named the next Meryl Streep or some technological gizmo being labeled the must-have device of the holiday season. The same concept holds true in fantasy football, and maybe even more so. LaDainian Tomlinson? Thanks for the memories, but your time has passed. Jake Delhomme? I’d rather have Jake Plummer as my fantasy quarterback, at least he won’t be getting me any negative outings.

That’s just the way of the NFL, and the way fantasy football works. Finding the next big thing is what drives us to do all that research, read all those magazines, and pay attention to reports about a hamstring pull in off-season workouts because you never know when that guy will emerge. To whet your appetite, here are a few names that very well could be one of those next big things.

RB Shonn Greene (New York Jets) - We’ll start off with one of the more obvious selections. Greene had a modest regular season, running for 540 yards with just two touchdowns (both of which he scored in the same game). In the playoffs, however, he showed the power and burst that made him the first selection in the third round of last year’s draft, running for 304 yards and two touchdowns with a YPC average of 5.6. Yes, we all predicted the downfall of Thomas Jones last season, and he absolutely shredded those premonitions by having an outstanding season, but Jones will be 32 when 2010 starts, and he showed signs of wear at the end of last year. In four of New York’s final five games (including the playoffs), Jones managed to run for at least 3.0 ypc just once. Opportunity may just come knocking for Greene in 2010.

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Every season one of the more interesting things to watch is how rookies, in particular the ones at the skill positions, end up performing in their first NFL season. Some are able to have an immediate impact whereas others slowly find their way and finish the season strong.

But, for all the talented rookies out there that end up having good seasons in their first year in the league, there’s always some that have the inevitable sophomore slump. Last season, we saw Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan, Chicago Bears’ running back Matt Forte, Houston Texans’ running back Steve Slaton and Denver Broncos’ wide receiver Eddie Royal all suffer through sophomore slumps for one reason or another. With that in mind let’s take a look at some of the top rookies from 2009 and what they need to do to avoid a sophomore slump in 2010.

Note: We’ve included quarterbacks on this list. While none of them put up fantasy football relevant stats in 2009, they are still pertinent players to this discussion. Also, it wouldn’t be a proper fantasy football article if we didn’t discuss quarterbacks in some way.

QUARTERBACKS

Josh Freeman (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) — For Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback Josh Freeman to avoid a repeat, or worse, of his 2009 season, he needs to improve his consistency. A lot has been made of his physical tools, but none of that will matter if he throws three touchdowns in one game and five interceptions in the next. Cutting down on those multiple-interception games would be a good place to start, though it would also be nice to see Tampa Bay improve his supporting cast to aid in his development.

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