Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

The preseason at long last is over, and now the games count. We’re just days away from what we’ve been waiting for since last season’s Super Bowl – the return of football, and more importantly, Fantasy Football. The Bruno Boys have everything you need to know that developed in the preseason right here, and be sure to check out the regular season weekly recaps.

If you drafted Matt Leinart as your backup quarterback, you need to grab somebody else because Derek Anderson is now the man under center in Arizona. Leinart is now backing up Matt Schaub for the Houston Texans, and won’t see any playing time unless Schaub gets hurt.

It’s hard to say what this will mean to Larry Fitzgerald’s fantasy value. When you combine that with the minor injury he suffered in Week 1 of the preseason, it’s hard to be as excited about him as we were this time a year ago.

Ahmad Bradshaw has finally overtaken Brandon Jacobs atop the depth chart in the New York Giants’ backfield. Tom Coughlin stated, however, that both backs will be used prominently.

T.J. Houshmanzadeh is now a Baltimore Raven. It remains to be seen how this will affect his fantasy value. Fantasy boosts should go to Joe Flacco and his replacement on the Seattle Seahawks, Mike Williams.

Speaking of the Seahawks, Julius Jones is now back on the team after accepting a pay cut. Pete Carroll announced that Justin Forsett is the No. 1 back. He did not say how much Leon Washington will get involved, but a near 50-50 split should be expected.

While Jamaal Charlesout produced Thomas Jones, it is still Jones who is listed as the No. 1 running back. Regardless of which RB is listed where, the Kansas City Chiefs must know who the star is in that backfield.

Terrell Owens finally signed with the Cincinnati Bengals and quickly became a favorite target of Carson Palmer. Between Owens and rookie Jermaine Gresham, Palmer now has more weapons to work with and very well may see resurgence this season.

Don’t be afraid to draft Wes Welker, he’s back. Also, Randy Moss is in a contract year. This could be another big year for the New England Patriots’ passing attack.

The leading rusher of the preseason was Anthony Dixon of the San Francisco 49ers. Dixon rushed for 300 yards in his numerous impressive outings. If I had to pick someone to handcuff Frank Gore with, I would choose Dixon over newly-acquired Brian Westbrook.

In his limited time on the field in the preseason, Ryan Matthews looked electric, making the Chicago Bears’ defenders look like fools in Week 1. He is considered one of the top rookies in 2010, and so far, looks like he will be backing up the hype.

Who knows if Vincent Jackson will ever sign or be traded. As long as he is out, Philip Rivers will be looking to Malcom Floyd when he’s not throwing to Antonio Gates.

When Ben Tate got injured and lost for the season, Arian Foster blasted by Steve Slaton for the Texans’ leading running back job. Slaton recently got turf toe and Houston also recently signed Derrick Ward. The job completely belongs to Foster, who rushed for over 100 yards against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3.

If you’re looking for a sleeper at wide receiver, try Tampa Bay rookie Mike Williams. Results should be hindered because of the team he plays for, but Williams appears to be a true playmaker, and even recorded solid numbers in Week 3 when starting quarterback Josh Freeman was out.

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers’ offense already looks in midseason form. Rodgers completed 41 of 53 passes for 470 yards and six touchdowns. Besides a concussion suffered by Ryan Grant, though he returned to action, this offense appears to ready to roll in 2010.

Jay Cutler is already at odds with his offensive line, calling them out recently to the media. Cutler was sacked an astounding 10 times in the preseason. The downside of the Mike Martz passing attack is it leaves the quarterback vulnerable to blitzes.

Marion Barber fought off Felix Jones for the top spot on the depth chart, and should remain the goaline running back. Dallas will no doubt have a true RBBC between Barber, Jones and Tashard Choice.

LaDainian Tomlinson looked better than he has the past two seasons. The Jets should run the ball frequently, and while Shonn Greene is the featured back, LT should see plenty of work as long as he keeps running like he did in the preseason.

Montario Hardesty went down with a season-ending injury, and now Jerome Harrison and Peyton Hillis look to reap the benefits. However, it was Hillis, not Harrison, who was impressive this preseason.

Knowshon Moreno and the rest of the Denver Broncos’ backfield spent most of the preseason on the injury table. Moreno is back on the field, and said he feels 80 percent. Denver may go easy on him in the early weeks, but he should make a find RB2.

Just when you thought Darren McFadden was out of the fantasy world completely, Michael Bush got injured, and could miss up to the first month of the regular season. For the time being, McFadden will handle the bulk of the carries for the Oakland Raiders.

Maurice Jones-Drew tweaked his knee and had a very limited role in the preseason, but he did not need surgery and really, it was just the Jacksonville Jaguars making sure it did not turn into something worse. He’s still somebody you should draft with confidence in the first round.

Dennis Dixon will get the start at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers after Byron Leftwich went down with an injury and Ben Roethlisberger serves his suspension. Mike Wallace has looked impressive in the preseason, and should be fine with Hines Ward and Heath Miller. Rashard Mendenhall, on the other hand, had a fairly quiet preseason, but there does not seem to be any cause for alarm.

A nice rookie sleeper last season, Kenny Britt just cannot seem to get it together this preseason. Britt, who said himself that he was not happy with the way the offseason went for him, was not able to surpass Justin Gage or Nate Washington on the Tennessee Titans’ depth chart.

While Sidney Rice still makes for a fine late-draft flier, he will most likely miss half of the season after recently having surgery. The question now is, will old man Brett Favre make it without Rice?

The disappearance of Rice and Vincent Jackson, combined with the worries surrounding Larry Fitzgerald, make it even more important to make sure you get at least one elite wide receiver on your team.

On an already lackluster offense, the St. Louis Rams lost Donnie Avery for the season. Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford looked pretty good in the preseason, and will likely be looking towards Laurent Robinson the most.

Wide receivers all over the NFL will once again have to check-in to Revis Island. Darrelle Revis finally signed with the Jets, and now, the Jets defense can once again be considered the clear top fantasy defense.

Donovan McNabb is expected to go in Week 1. During his preseason action before he got dinged up, he was clicking nicely with tight end Chris Cooley. For how deep tight ends are this year, snagging Cooley could be a great draft value pick.

Don’t judge the dismal offensive performance by the Carolina Panthers too much because they did not have Steve Smith or Jonathan Stewart in there. Still, for Smith owners anyway, it would have been nice to see a little better numbers from Matt Moore, or even Jimmy Clausen.

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2010 SLEEPERS:  QB |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  |  DEF   (click to view)

2010 BUSTS:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  |  DEF   (click to view)

2010 DEEP SLEEPERS:  RB  |  WR |  TE   (click to view)

2010 BREAKOUT PLAYERS:  QB  |  RB |  WR |  TE   (click to view)

2010 RANKINGS:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  |  DEF  (click to view)

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