Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Cory Steger
- Edited by Marc Caviglia
- Predictions are based on Staff Consensus

WEEK 2 RANKINGS  QB  |  RB  |  WR |  TE  |  K  |  DEF

It’s only been one week but already you can see some trends emerging among quarterbacks. The rookies, with the exception of the Washington Redskins’ Robert Griffin, all struggled. We saw some good things from second-year quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Christian Ponder of the Minnesota Vikings. Above all, however, we saw that the elite quarterbacks are still elite. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning looked dominant as ever, Matt Ryan had four touchdowns and Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers showed they shouldn’t be ignored.

The biggest thing to pay attention to in Week 2 is to see how the guys that played poorly in Week 1 - such as Michael Vick and Matthew Stafford, among the highly-rated quarterbacks - bounce back in Week 2. To find out where we have them, as well as the rest of the quarterbacks ranked, check out our Fantasy Football Week 2 Quarterback Rankings below.

::RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF SEPTEMBER 16, 2012::

 
1. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) @ Carolina

It is not often that the New Orleans Saints can score 32 points and lose, yet that’s just what happened against the Washington Redskins last week. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees attempted to lead a comeback that fell just short, but he struggled in that game. Though Brees did end up with 339 yards and three touchdowns, he also had two interceptions and completed just 46.2 percent of his passes. Brees has a good opportunity to bounce back this week against the Carolina Panthers. Across his career Brees has a 66.6 completion percentage with 19 touchdowns and just nine interceptions in 12 games against the Panthers.
Point Projection: 23 points

2. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) vs. Chicago

It wouldn’t be fair to say that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers struggled in last week’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Rodgers went 30-for-44 for 303 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. However, we are so used to seeing Rodgers and the Packers dominate on offense and this performance was not a dominating one. If anything the high passing totals are mostly a result of the Packers passing often because they were behind the entire game. Also consider the 49ers defense is arguably the best in the NFL right now. Rodgers faces another tough defense in the Chicago Bears this week, though he’s got a good history against them. In eight games against Chicago, Rodgers has completed 69.7 percent of his passes with 15 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
Point Projection: 22 points

3. Tom Brady (New England Patriots) vs. Arizona

All those concerns about the offensive line not holding up didn’t seem to affect New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady last week. Sure, Brady did have a bloody nose by the end of the game but overall it was another terrific performance for Brady as he went 23-for-31 for 236 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He likely could’ve gone for more if the Patriots didn’t have such a huge lead and decide to run the ball a lot. The Arizona Cardinals showed last week they can bring the pressure with three sacks on Seattle Seahawks rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, but they had trouble stopping him throw the air. Expect another great game from Brady.
Point Projection: 22 points

4. Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers) vs. New Orleans

Last year’s rookie of the year, Cam Newton, opened the 2012 season with a dud. In a rain-soaked and weather-delayed loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Newton went 23-for-33 for 303 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. It was a really strange game. Not only did Newton struggle all day but the Panthers completely abandoned the run even though they didn’t need to. Expect a more balanced game plan this week against the Saints, who gave up 320 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and didn’t get one interception against rookie Robert Griffin last week. Newton’s performance last week was most likely an aberration, and his owners shouldn’t be concerned.
Point Projection: 20 points

5. Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) vs. Denver

It can be easy for the unassuming Matt Ryan to fly under the radar, but last week in a win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback soared. Ryan went 23-for-31 for 299 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, and he also added a rushing touchdown. So where does Ryan fall? Is he an elite quarterback about to experience a monster season due to the growth of wide receiver Julio Jones and getting tight end Tony Gonzalez back in the lineup? His Week 1 performance seems to point that direction but we’ll get more clues this week against an aggressive Denver Broncos defense that forced five sacks against the Pittsburgh Steelers.Ryan looked terrific last week and should post solid numbers again in Week 2.
Point Projection: 20 points

6. Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys) @ Seattle

There were some terrific Week 1 performances but one that stood out above the rest was quarterback Tony Romo leading the Dallas Cowboys to a win over the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. Romo was incredibly efficient, going 22-for-29 for 307 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Everybody knows you’ve go to cover Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Jason Witten, but Romo’s found a new target in Kevin Olgetree, who caught eight passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants. Despite facing a weak Arizona Cardinals passing game the Seahawks weren’t great at defending the pass. The only thing that could stop another big performance from Romo this week is if the Cowboys get an early lead and decide to grind the rest of the game out on the ground.
Point Projection: 19 points

7. Peyton Manning (Denver Broncos) @ Atlanta

After a full season off the field Peyton Manning had a lot of questions to answer. After a dominating win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, it’s safe to say that Manning answered those questions and showed he’s still got plenty left in the tank. Manning went 19-for-26 for 253 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Beyond the stats it was impressive to see Manning make all the pre-snap reads and adjustments, looking like he never missed a day of practice let alone an entire season. We’ll keep the expectations modest this week against at Atlanta Falcons defense that forced two interceptions from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel last week, but big things could be on the horizon for Manning and the Broncos.
Point Projection: 18 points

8. Eli Manning (New York Giants) vs. Tampa Bay

It will be interesting to see how the New York Giants and quarterback Eli Manning bounce back this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following a disappointing Week 1 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Manning ended up OK on the day, throwing for 213 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, but more is expected out of him. Expect that more to happen this week. The Buccaneers only gave up 10 points to the Carolina Panthers last week, but they did yield over 300 passing yards to Cam Newton. Manning should be exploit that defense more than Newton did.
Point Projection: 18 points

9. Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) @ San Francisco

This is quite a perplexing situation. The Lions and Stafford were expected to have a big year on offense this season, but they were especially supposed to dominate an inexperienced and young St. Louis defense last week. They did not. Stafford managed to throw for 355 yards and a touchdown but also had three picks. A lot of those yards came with the Lions passing often in an attempt to come from behind, which they eventually did. Stafford and the Lions will get better, but don’t expect a huge improvement this week against an imposing San Francisco defense. That said, you beat the Niners through the air so Stafford should rack up a bunch of yards in this one.
Point Projection: 17 points

10. Robert Griffin (Washington Redskins) @ St. Louis

Out of the five rookie quarterbacks that started Week 1, Robert Griffin of the Washington Redskins was the most impressive. In an upset win over the New Orleans Saints, Griffin went 19-for-26 for 320 yards with two touchdowns, and he added 42 rushing yards on 10 carries. Griffin looked like a veteran, deftly managing the game by making plays when he could and not forcing anything. He’s got a very favorable matchup this week against the St. Louis Rams but the point projection this week isn’t huge. If the Redskins build an early lead the could run the ball a lot, but also working against Griffin is that the Rams forced three interceptions out of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford last week.
Point Projection: 17 points

11. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) vs. Tennessee

The main thing to take away from Philip Rivers’ performance against the Oakland Raiders is that he didn’t turn the ball over once. That is huge considering Rivers’ main point of regression last season was the increase in turnovers. Rivers ended up going 24-for-33 for 231 yards with one touchdown. The Chargers did struggle to move the ball but often found themselves in good field position because of some very poor special teams play by Oakland’s punt team. Rivers’ numbers weren’t mind-blowing last week but for this week’s game against the Tennessee Titans he does get Ryan Mathews back at running back. Though Ronnie Brown and Curtis Brinkley are decent backups, the team’s dynamic changes for the better with Mathews in there. After seeing the Patriots carve up the Titans last week, Rivers, Mathews and the rest of the Chargers are looking forward to the game this week.
Point Projection: 17 points

12. Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears) @ Green Bay

Only minutes into last week’s eventual win over the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears fans were ready to hit the panic button on quarterback Jay Cutler. Backed up against his own end zone Cutler threw an awful pick-six on a play in which he completely misread Colts linebacker Jerrell Freeman. Cutler rebounded well, ending up with 333 passing yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Normally a matchup against the Green Bay Packers would be cause for concern for Cutler, who has more career interceptions (11) than touchdowns (7) against the Packers. The Packers, however, were unable to slow down the San Francisco 49ers passing game last week - it’s never a good sign when Alex Smith completes 76.9 percent of his passes and doesn’t throw an interception against your defense.
Point Projection: 16 points