Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

What’s in store for 2010? Continue reading to find out where the signal callers at quarterback rank in our Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet Draft Guide.

::RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF SEPTEMBER 1, 2010::

TIER 1

1. Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers (Bye: 10)

What’s not to love about Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers? In 2008, his first year as a starter, he threw for 4,038 yards with 28 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, notched a 63.6% completion percentage, and averaged 7.5 yards per attempt. Those are good numbers, but last season, he trended upwards in all those categories, throwing for 4,434 yards with 30 touchdowns, seven
interceptions, a 64.7% completion percentage, and an average yards per attempt of 8.2, despite playing behind a porous offensive line and with little semblance of a running game early on in the season. That’s what makes the 2010 outlook for Rodgers so bright.

Full story

Tight end is not the most glamorous position in the NFL or fantasy football. With the exception of the elite players, they are not popular draft picks in real or fantasy football, but something changed during this year’s NFL Draft. With the 21st pick in the first round, the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Jermaine Gresham of the Oklahoma Sooners. After that pick, the tight end flood gates opened as NFL teams combined to draft a record total of 21 tight ends.

Could 2010 go down as the best class of rookie tight ends in NFL history? It’s quite possible and NFL teams must think so; especially when you consider that the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, New England Patriots and St. Louis Rams drafted two tight ends apiece. For years, tight ends weren’t much more than additional offensive linemen, then more and more tight ends became involved in the passing game. Now, teams are using them in a variety of ways, including sending them in motion and lining them up in the backfield.

With the tight end position evolving, how will this rookie class impact fantasy football during their first NFL season? In this fourth installment of the Bruno Boys 2010 Rookie Rankings, we will take a look at fantasy potential from some of the top tight end prospects from this record breaking class.

1. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots: Rob Gronkowski may not have been the first tight end taken in this year’s draft (he was second), but he might have the biggest opportunity to make an impact in his rookie season. The Patriots are in desperate need of a playmaking tight end, especially after losing both Benjamin Watson and Chris Baker in off-season moves. Gronkowski gives quarterback Tom Brady an excellent outlet from the tight end position that has been lacking since Watson’s best season in 2006.

Gronkowski is a big, athletic tight end who runs precise routes. He has good speed for a 6’6” 260 plus pound tight end, and he has very good hands. A back injury caused him to sit out the 2009 season at the University of Arizona, but he was still one of the most complete tight end prospects in the draft. He will likely compete with the Patriots’ other rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez for the starting spot along with veteran Alge Crumpler whom New England signed as a free agent. Whether or not Gronkowski lands the starting job, he should contribute for the Patriots from day one. He is worth using a late round draft pick as a backup fantasy tight end that could offer value as an injury or bye week replacement.

Full story

With the 2010 NFL Draft in the books it’s time for the Bruno Boys to take a look at the skill position players who were drafted and analyze their potential fantasy football impact during their rookie season. In the third installment of this series, it’s time to take a look at the wide receiver slot. Last season, we saw plenty of rookie receivers make a big time impact (Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks, Jeremy Maclin, Mike Wallace, Kenny Britt, Michael Crabtree, and Austin Collie) at various points in the season. This year’s rookie wide receiver class may not pop like 2009’s did, but there is still a lot of talent stepping in to some very good situations. Let’s see in who should be on your radar now that we know what uniform they will be putting on every Sunday.

1. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos: Once the Denver Broncos traded away wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the Miami Dolphins, it was almost certain that the team was going to add one of the premier talents in the draft at wide out. While Dez Bryant has the best skills of any receiver, Denver didn’t want to have to deal with another Marshall type attitude. So, instead they added Thomas, a great character guy.

The great thing about Thomas is that he will get the opportunity to come into minicamp, training camp, and Week 1 as the number one pass catcher for the Denver Broncos. The team lacks a top target now that Marshall is gone, and as long as Thomas can improve his route running, there is no reason for this playmaker to come off the field. He has a great combination of size and speed, which should translate into big fantasy totals. One of the best receivers in this draft enters a perfect situation, which means fantasy owners may want to jump on this guy early if they want him on their team.

Full story

With the 2010 NFL Draft in the books it’s time for the Bruno Boys to take a look at the skill position players who were drafted and analyze their potential fantasy football impact during their rookie season. In the second installment of this series it’s time to take a look at the running back, a position that many of us consider the most important position on your fantasy team. Three running backs were drafted in the first round, but where do they fit in in the fantasy world and what potential value to the running backs drafted after the first round have?

1. Ryan Matthews, RB, San Diego Chargers: Heading into the draft everyone figured that the San Diego Chargers would look to land a featured running back to replace LaDainian Tomlinson who was released in the offseason and signed with the New York Jets. After the Buffalo Bills drafted C.J. Spiller with the No. 9 overall pick the Chargers traded up sixteen spots in the draft to select Fresno State’s Ryan Matthews with the No. 12 pick in the first round.

Matthews is a big, physical runner who has explosive speed and quickness and should become the teams every down back. He will team with Darren Sproles and become a solid one-two punch that should help revive the teams running game that has struggled over the last two seasons. At 6’0” 218 pounds Matthews is a North/South runner who shows good burst through the hole and is surprisingly elusive in the open field. Like Spiller and Best look for Matthews to be a low-end RB2 or flex option in the upcoming fantasy football season. It is very possible that he gets 20-plus touches a game in his rookie season.

Full story

With the 2010 NFL Draft in the books it’s time to start making an assessment of how your favorite team drafted. Hopefully you are happy with the way your favorite team attacked the 2010 NFL Draft. If not, there is always next year to address the needs of the team. One position which will improve next season (especially in the early rounds) in the draft will be at quarterback, where guys like Jake Locker (Washington), Ryan Mallett (Arkansas), and Andrew Luck (Stanford) could be among the first round draft picks. However, for this year there was some excellent signal callers drafted and while they may not make a big fantasy football impact in year one, they do have the talent to be worth a look in keeper or dynasty leagues.

With that being said, it’s time to take a look at the 2010 Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings at the quarterback position. Continue to check back in throughout the off-season as we will make edits to these rankings up until Week 1 of the 2010 NFL Regular Season.

1. Jimmy Clausen, QB, Carolina Panthers: Yes the man who was talked about for most of the draft, from where he will go in the first round to what team may try to get him in the second round, Clausen was no doubt a steal at where he was drafted! He goes to a Carolina Panthers team in which Clausen will get the opportunity to compete for a starting position from mini camp. The Panthers offense is very similar to one Clausen ran at Notre Dame and Matt Moore has not been very effective as the starter in the past.

Full story

Here we are, game week! The pinnacle of the football season is coming, as the Super Bowl between the best two teams in all of the NFL will be on everyone’s mind throughout the weekend. This year you couldn’t have picked two better teams, as both the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts were undefeated through most of the regular season and flexed their muscles this postseason. 

Two high-powered offenses will take the field on Super Sunday, as both the Colts and Saints are led by the best quarterbacks in all of football (Peyton Manning and Drew Brees). For the defenses, this is an utter nightmare. All season long we have ranked any defense facing Indianapolis or New Orleans as a one or two star defense. Well you have to pick one right? Let’s see if we can figure out who will be the better option for Sunday in our Super Bowl Round edition of the Bruno Boys Weekly Defense Rankings. 

As we head into the article, I would like to explain the “Bruno Boys Star System”.

BRUNO BOYS DEFENSIVE STAR SYSTEM

5-Stars (* * * * *) - Bruno Boys Top Plays of the Week

4-Stars (* * * *) – Bruno Boys Very Solid Plays of the Week

3-Stars (* * *) – Bruno Boys Average Plays of the Week

2-Stars (* *) – Bruno Boys Try to Avoid Playing this Week

1-Star (*) – Bruno Boys Do Not Start Unless You COMPLETELY Have To

Key Abbreviations: YPG (Yards Per Game); PPG (Points Per Game)

Full story

Normal fantasy football leagues have come to an end and what a great season it was. We hope that you did well in your league, or leagues, but if you’re still looking for some fantasy football action while the playoffs go on, and you’re looking for some help then look no further because the Bruno Boys will be here throughout the postseason. As such we’ll be releasing our normal weekly position rankings to help you best decide which players to go with in our Fantasy Football Playoff Challenge. To see where this round’s kickers rank continue reading the Super Bowl Round edition of the Bruno Boys Weekly Kicker Rankings.

1. Matt Stover (Indianapolis Colts) vs. New Orleans

Stover heads to the Super Bowl as the postseason’s most productive kicker. He successfully converted all five field goal attempts during the Colts’ Divisional and Championship round victories and his 21 fantasy football points ranks first among kickers. Although the New Orleans Saints have allowed only one field goal attempt and six extra points throughout the playoffs, Stover should have plenty of opportunities to put up points on Sunday. With Peyton Manning leading the offense, the Colts have scored 50 points over two playoff contests and they should have no problem moving the football against a Saints defense that finished the regular season ranked 25th in total yards allowed.
Point Projection: 10 points

Full story

Normal fantasy football leagues have come to an end and what a great season it was. We hope that you did well in your league, or leagues, but if you’re still looking for some fantasy football action while there is still some football left on the docket, and you’re looking for some help then look no further because the Bruno Boys are here for your Super Bowl needs. As such we’ll be releasing our normal weekly position rankings to help you best decide which players to go with in our Fantasy Football Playoff Challenge. To see where this round’s tight ends rank continue reading the Super Bowl Round edition of the Bruno Boys Weekly Tight End Rankings.

1. Dallas Clark (Indianapolis Colts) vs. New Orleans

The New York Jets may have allowed only 3 TD receptions all year long to the tight end position, but Dallas Clark loves a challenge as he proved two weeks ago in the AFC Championship Game. While Clark only hauled in 4 passes for 35 yards in that contest, one of those catches brought him into the end zone, leaving him with a solid 9 point fantasy day. Clark will once again be tested come Super Bowl Sunday as the Saints have given up just one tight end score through 18 games, but we still like him to produce. After all, the tight end did rack up 100 catches for 1,106 yards and 10 TDs on the year.
Point Projection: 12 points

Full story

Normal fantasy football leagues have come to an end and what a great season it was. We hope that you did well in your league, or leagues, but if you’re still looking for some fantasy football action while the playoffs go on, and you’re looking for some help then look no further because the Bruno Boys will be here throughout the postseason. As such we’ll be releasing our normal weekly position rankings to help you best decide which players to go with in our Fantasy Football Playoff Challenge. To see where this round’s wide receivers rank continue reading the Super Bowl Round edition of the Bruno Boys Weekly Wide Receiver Rankings.

1. Reggie Wayne (Indianapolis Colts)

Wayne remains the best receiver that will step on the field for the Super Bowl, regardless of his somewhat meek totals from Week 11 on. In the Colts’ nine games since then – including the playoffs – Wayne has just one game with 100 receiving yards, but he’s also scored three touchdowns and has four contests where he’s caught at least five passes.
Point Projection: 16 points

Full story

Normal fantasy football leagues have come to an end and what a great season it was. We hope that you did well in your league, or leagues, but if you’re still looking for some fantasy football action while the playoffs go on, and you’re looking for some help then look no further because the Bruno Boys will be here throughout the postseason. As such we’ll be releasing our normal weekly position rankings to help you best decide which players to go with in our Fantasy Football Playoff Challenge. To see where this round’s running backs rank continue reading the Super Bowl Round edition of the Bruno Boys Weekly Running Back Rankings.

1. Joseph Addai (Indianapolis Colts) vs. New Orleans

Joseph Addai bounced back from a sub-par 2008 season and finished 2009 with 828 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns. It looked like there was a possibility he could lose his starting spot in the Colts’ backfield to rookie Donald Brown, but heading into these playoffs he was the team’s clear-cut No. 1 rushing option. As many before him have, Addai struggled in the Divisional round of the playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens. He finished the game with 11 carries for 23 yards. Despite suffering a shoulder injury and leaving the game in the first quarter against the New York Jets in the AFC Championship game, he returned to the lineup in the second quarter and finished with 80 rushing yards on 16 carries. He should be in line for very solid numbers in the Super Bowl against a New Orleans Saints defense that gave up 122 rushing yards and three touchdowns to Adrian Peterson in the NFC Championship game.
Point Projection: 14 points

Full story