Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Cory Steger
- Edited by Marc Caviglia

Want to know which quarterbacks you should think twice about drafting before your fantasy football league kicks off in 2011?  The Bruno Boys have you covered as we run through potential RED FLAG quarterbacks in 2011 from the AFC. Make sure to check back on a daily basis as we will breakdown each position in both the AFC and NFC.

AFC RED FLAG QUARTERBACKS IN 2011

Ryan Fitzpatrick (Buffalo Bills)

Let’s get one thing straight before we start on Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick: His 2010 season was stellar and blew away any expectations we had of him. For a guy who had never thrown more than nine touchdowns in a season, Fitzpatrick finished the season with a career-high 23. Trent Edwards, now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, won the starting quarterback job in Buffalo out of camp but was quickly replaced by Fitzpatrick, who filled in as admirably as he could’ve for a team as bad the Bills. The thing about Fitzpatrick is he has been nothing more than a stop-gap on every team he has played for, and even though he was stellar last season, it could be hard for him to repeat. Even with Fitzpatrick expected to be the starter at the beginning of the 2011 season, there is no guarantee he finishes the season as the No. 1 quarterback. He struggled at the end of 2010, throwing just five touchdowns against 11 turnovers in his final five games and it seems that NFL defenses figured him out after studying the film. Unless you are targeting a QB2 in a deep league it would be best to stay clear of Fitzgerald when 2011 rolls around.

Carson Palmer (Cincinnati Bengals)

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Or, at least, somewhat mighty. Once upon a time (2005) Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer threw 32 touchdowns against just 12 interceptions in a season. Now, Palmer is demanding that he is traded, or he will retire from football. However, his stats over recent years show that he is on the decline. In 2009 he had 15 turnovers to 24 touchdowns, and in 2010 he had 23 turnovers with 26 touchdowns. In Palmer’s best years, 2005 and 2006, his average yards per attempt was 7.5 and 7.8, respectively. In 2009 it was 6.6 and 6.8 last season. Finally, his quarterback rating has declined every year since 2005, and was a career low 82.4 in 2010 (stat based on seasons in which Palmer played in 16 games). Living in a statistics based world, the stats seem to show that Palmer has gotten worse at making decisions in the pocket. Don’t point to a lack of talent, because in 2010 Palmer worked with Terrell Owens, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, Chad Ochocinco and for the first time in his tenure a talented tight end in Jermaine Gresham. The injury excuse doesn’t work either, as Palmer hasn’t missed a game since 2008 and appeared healthy throughout last season.  With the NFL in a lockout, there is no way to gauge what Palmer’s plans are for 2011, however with the Bengals drafting Andy Dalton in Round 2 of the NFL Draft, odds are he has played his last down in Cincy. It’s clear Palmer’s best days are behind him, which means that even if he is traded you can’t expect anything more than QB2 type numbers.

Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos)

Poor Kyle Orton. The Denver Broncos quarterback was having a solid 2010 season, at least by his standards, until a rib injury knocked him out of action and he was replaced by rookie Tim Tebow. In the end, Orton finished the season with a career-high 281 passing yards per game, 20 touchdowns and just nine interceptions in 13 games. However the emergence of Tebow over the Broncos’ final three games means there is a quarterback controversy in the Mile High State. Tebow, who is all things holy, has promise, sells jerseys (a lot of them), and was a Round 1 draft choice in 2010. New team president John Elway and head coach John Fox continue to endorse Orton as their starter in 2011, however as a fantasy football it’s a situation to avoid. Even if Orton starts in Week 1, the first sign of him struggling will lead to the fans calling for Tebow and from there it’s only a matter of time before the fan favorite takes over. Plus, head coach John Fox believes in a run first offense and we wouldn’t be at all surprised if Denver tries to chew up a lot of clock while attempting to play smash-mouth football. So, unless the Broncos get an offer they can’t refuse and trade Orton, the safe thing to do is avoid this situation altogether.

Vince Young (Tennessee Titans)

ESPN’ 30 for 30 series did a story on former Oklahoma running back Marcus Dupree calling him the “Best That Never Was.” Perhaps years from now we’ll be talking about former University of Texas quarterback Vince Young as the “Best That Never Was.” Statistically, Young had shown improvements in his passing and decision making, as he has improved his touchdown to interception ratio over the last two years and has taken considerably less sack during that span. In fact, it felt like we were just beginning to see Young realize his potential, until his personality got in the way. Young has been confrontational every since day one in the NFL, however he practically ran himself out of Tennessee after throwing his shoulder pads into the stands and later walking out on then Titans head coach Jeff Fisher in a postgame meeting. During his time with the Titans, Young has never displayed the ability to remain stable on or off the field, and that’s led to his unfortunate demise. Yet, the raw talent he has cannot be denied. To see such a natural talent fizzle away like this is disappointing. However, in fantasy football you need stats, and regardless of what team tests their luck with Young, as a fantasy owner you could be committing draft day suicide by investing in him, even if he is named that team’s starting signal caller.

AFC RED FLAG PLAYERS:  QB  |  RB |  WR |  TE |  K |  DEF   (click to view)

NFC RED FLAG PLAYERS:  QB |  RB |  WR |  TE |  K |  DEF   (click to view)

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