Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Ryan Boser
- Edited by Marc Caviglia
- Predictions are based on Staff Consensus

::RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF JANUARY 3 2011::

Wild Card Weekend is upon us, Bruno Boys Nation! Playoff fantasy football leagues offer us a fresh fantasy beginning—a chance to erase a disappointing regular season, or to build upon bragging rights. It all starts under center, and you’ve come to the right place, so let’s get down to business!

Tom Brady and Matt Fl…er… Aaron Rodgers get the weekend off, and while the AFC offers little in terms of fantasy value, there should be plenty of points to go around in the NFC. Needless to say, if you don’t have a chip in the shootout at the Superdome, you’ll likely be on the outside looking in.

Standard Scoring

Pass TD: 4 points |  All Other TDs: 6 points
25 Passing Yards: 1 point |  All Turnovers: -2 points
10 Rushing Yards: 1 point |  10 Receiving Yards: 1 point

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1. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) vs. Detroit

The most productive stretch of Drew Brees’ record-shattering campaign has come over the past six weeks, as he’s totaled a ridiculous 24 touchdowns against just three interceptions. Think that’s sick? He’s also topped 300 yards in seven straight games, and an NFL-record 13 times on the season. The free-falling Detroit secondary was just torched for 480 yards and six touchdowns by Matt Flynn, and Brees lit them up for 342 and three in Week 13. Considering that the Lions’ offense is equipped to keep pace, Brees is a stone cold lock for another monster effort.
Point Projection: 26 points

2. Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) at New Orleans

Matthew Stafford just cracked both the 5,000-yard and the 40-touchdown milestones, yet he’ll be viewed as the quarterbacking underdog Saturday in New Orleans. Believe it or not, over the past three weeks Stafford has been on par with the illustrious Drew Brees, throwing 12 touchdown passes, two interceptions and averaging an otherworldly 428 passing yards. Stafford threw for 408 yards, one touchdown and one interception against the Saints’ beatable secondary in Week 12, and he has the potential to go blow-for-blow with Brees into the late rounds.
Point Projection: 23 points

3. Eli Manning (New York Giants) vs. Atlanta

Outside of his unforgiveable Week 15 debacle against Washington, which he followed up with a predictably lousy effort against the Jets, Eli Manning had a brilliant season. He got back on track last week against Dallas, completing 24-of-36 passes for 346 yards and three scores, so he’s “all systems go” into the playoffs. The Falcons are a middling pass defense, and while they’ve notched a surprising eight interceptions in their past four games, they’ll struggle to match up with Manning’s dynamic arsenal as they continue to roll without top cornerback Brent Grimes.
Point Projection: 20 points

4. Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) at New York Giants

It was a solid regular season for Matt Ryan, as he set career highs in touchdowns (29) and yardage (4,177), while firmly establishing himself as a legitimate second-tier fantasy quarterback. Last week, in limited action against Tampa Bay, he completed six-of-nine passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns in his postseason tune-up, and he’s thrown 11 touchdown passes since his last interception.  The Giants’ bottom-five fantasy pass defense has been exposed badly by good quarterbacks in recent weeks, so if you couldn’t land Drew Brees or Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan makes for a solid consolation prize.
Point Projection: 20 points

5. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) at Denver

Ben Roethlisberger (ankle) returned to the lineup last week, but he struggled his way to just 221 scoreless yards as the Steelers squeaked by the lowly Browns. In his past seven games, he’s notched seven touchdowns and seven interceptions, and while he’s always been a better quarterback in reality than fantasy, he’s living on reputation alone at this point. Denver has held both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Kyle Orton scoreless and under 200 yards the past two weeks, and frankly, Roethlisberger is on that tier right now. Don’t expect anything more than mediocrity Sunday.
Point Projection: 14 points

6. Tim Tebow (Denver Broncos) vs. Pittsburgh

The jig is up on Tim Tebow. One week after completing just 13-of-29 passes for 185 yards against an abysmal Buffalo secondary, he completed an embarrassing six-of-22 passes for 60 yards against the Chiefs. He’s totaled a modest 50 rushing yards in those two games, while turning the ball over six times. The Steelers’ top-ranked fantasy pass defense hasn’t allowed multiple touchdown passes in their last six games, and they’re just as lethal against rushers, so barring a miracle (which we’re required to say in this space), Tebow will be thoroughly overmatched. 
Point Projection: 11 points

7. Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals) at Houston

All in all, it was a very nice rookie campaign for Andy Dalton. Unfortunately, he’s taken a step back over the past seven games, totaling six touchdowns and four interceptions while averaging 166 passing yards. Much of this slide can be attributed to a brutal schedule, and he won’t get any favors in his first postseason action either. Houston boasts a top-five fantasy pass defense, and they held Dalton to just 189 yards and one touchdown back in Week 14, so there’s very little upside here.
Point Projection: 11 points

8. T.J. Yates / Jake Delhomme (Houston Texans) vs. Cincinnati

All indications are that rookie fifth-rounder T.J. Yates (non-throwing shoulder) will get the start in the Texans’ first ever playoff game. No pressure. He’s been a fantasy factor in just one of his four full games, but ironically, the lone bright spot came against this same Cincinnati defense back in Week 14, when he completed 26-of-44 passes for 300 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He hasn’t topped 30 attempts in any other game, so he figures to resume his roll as caretaker this week. The Bengals haven’t been the same defense since losing Leon Hall, but they’re still very respectable on the back end, so unless your league awards points for hand-offs, you’ll want to find a better option.
Point Projection: 9 points

WILD CARD ROUND RANKINGS:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  |  DEF  (click to view)