Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Rich Arleo       

- Edited by Marc Caviglia     

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

The 2012 regular season has come and gone, and it’s now time for the fantasy football playoffs. Many will be starting playoff leagues or forming daily lineups for this weekend’s matchups, and with a ton of great backs set to go in this Wild Card round, we take a look at how they should fare in the Bruno Boys Wild Card Running Back Rankings.

::RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF JANUARY 2, 2013::

 

1. Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings) @ Green Bay

AD ended an unbelievable regular season coming up just short of the all-time rushing record by finishing with 2,097 on the season to go along with 13 touchdowns. He was the best running back in football and will now try to keep it going in the playoffs against Green Bay in a Week 17 rematch. He ran for 199 yards against them last week with two touchdowns and also had 210 yards and a score against them in their first matchup. It’s safe to say that the Packers have no answer for him, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t tear them up once again this weekend.
Point Projection: 23 points

2. Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens) vs. Indianapolis

As expected, Rice saw very limited action (three carries) in Week 17 to rest up with the Ravens having clinched everything they could have. He is now fresh for a matchup against Indianapolis, which has the weakest run defense of all the teams in the playoffs. The Colts allowed 5.1 YPC and 137.5 YPG on the ground this season. Rice didn’t have a chance to take advantage of them during the regular season, but the former Scarlet Knight who totaled over 1,600 combo yards with 10 touchdowns on the year should be ready for a big performance on Sunday.
Point Projection: 20 points

3. Arian Foster (Houston Texans) vs. Cincinnati

Foster had an efficient end to a very good regular season, running for 96 yards on just 16 carries (6.0 YPC) and finding the end zone for touchdown number 17 on the year.  He ran for 1,424 yards this season but did have a slightly disappointing 4.1 YPC average and a career-low 40 catches for 217 yards. The 17 total touchdowns more than make up for the other lackluster numbers fantasy-wise, however. Cincinnati was OK at stopping the run but not great, allowing 107.2 YPG and 13 touchdowns on the ground.  Foster came up big for the Texans in the playoffs last year and should be able to do the same this postseason.
Point Projection: 19 points

4. Alfred Morris (Washington Redskins) vs. Seattle

The rookie sixth-rounder capped off an out-of-nowhere season in Week 17 with 200 yards and three touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys to help clinch the NFC East. A virtual no-name heading in to the preseason, he was head coach Mike Shanahan’s darling and after a good preseason performance, he was named the starter in Week 1 and Shanahan, surprisingly, never looked back. Morris ended up with 1,613 yards to finish the season second in the league in rushing to Adrian Peterson. He is not a receiver at all, but is not only a very good between-the-tackles runner with a nose for the end zone…he is also red hot. He closed out the season with 744 yards and eight touchdowns in his final six games. Seattle has a solid run defense, but its 4.5 YPC average shows it can be beat. The only back hotter than Morris heading in to the playoffs is Peterson. Expect him to continue to rack up yards and scores.
Point Projection: 17 points

5. Marshawn Lynch (Seattle Seahawks) @ Washington

There is just one simple phrase that describes Lynch’s 2012 season: Beast Mode. Lynch capped off the crazy season with his 10th 100-yard rushing performance to finish with 1,590 yards and 12 total touchdowns. At the age of 26 he was able to put together a career year and has been very good for Seattle the past two seasons. He has made playoff headlines before with a highlight reel run against New Orleans back in 2010, so he will look to make some more this weekend against Washington. The Redskins had a pretty good run defense this season, allowing just 95.8 YPG, but they did give up 4.2 YPC. Their secondary is so bad that teams didn’t have to force the issue on the ground much, but Lynch is a huge part of the ‘Hawks’ offense and will get more than his fair share of carries. There’s no reason to believe he can be slowed down at the moment.
Point Projection: 16 points

6. Vick Ballard (Indianapolis Colts) @ Baltimore

Ballard finished the season with 78 yards and a touchdown against Houston, and he has been solid since taking over as the starter. The rookie finished with 814 yards on the year but was able to score only twice and had a so-so 3.9 YPC average. He gets the bulk of the work, but may lose a goal line carry here and there. Though he did get the opportunity to punch it in near the end zone and did in Week 17, so maybe the team is more comfortable now with him at the goal line. Should Delone Carter be able to return, however, then he may lose out on scoring chances. Baltimore wasn’t it’s usual stout self against the run this season, allowing 122.8 YPG and 15 touchdowns. As long as the Colts don’t fall behind early and can feed Ballard enough, he’ll have a solid game.
Point Projection: 10 points

7. BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Cincinnati Bengals) @ Houston

The Law Firm pulled a hamstring in pre-game warmups and was unable to play in the Bengals’ season finale. The hope is that he will be able to give it a go in their first round matchup against Houston. After a slow start to the year, BJGE finished with just under 1,110 rushing yards and six touchdowns in his first year as a full-time starter. As long as he can go, he will see the bulk of the work against the Texans, whom he did not face this season. Houston finished the season as one of the best run-stopping units in the league; holding opposing backs to 97.5 YPG and just five rushing touchdowns. Coming off an injury with a very tough matchup, he is not one of the better options out of the starting backs going this weekend.
Point Projection: 9 points

8. DuJuan Harris (Green Bay Packers) vs. Minnesota

Harris has seen an increase in work the past three weeks and led the Pack in Week 17 with 70 yards on 14 carries. The young back is looking like the best option in the Green Bay backfield right now. He averaged 5.0 YPC against Minnesota just last week, and could be a nice surprise in the Wild Card round despite running for just 157 yards all season.
Point Projection: 7 points

9. Bernard Pierce (Baltimore Ravens) vs. Indianapolis

The Ravens rested Rice in Week 17 and gave Pierce the reigns. He finished with 89 yards on 22 carries, but will now once again take a backseat to Rice in the playoffs. He’ll see some work here and there, but it likely won’t be enough to make a fantasy impact.
Point Projection: 4 points

10. Ryan Grant (Green Bay Packers) vs. Minnesota

One week after starting and running for 80 yards and two touchdowns, Grant took a backseat to Harris in Week 17 and it’s now anyone’s guess who will lead the charge in the backfield for the Packers in the playoffs.
Point Projection: 4 points

11. Ben Tate (Houston Texans) vs. Cincinnati

Widely recognized as one of the best backups in the league coming in to this season, Tate’s injury-plagued 2012 came to an end with just 279 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn’t featured nearly as much, and there’s no reason to believe that will change for as long as Foster is healthy.
Point Projection: 3 points

12. Toby Gerhart (Minnesota Vikings) @ Green Bay

Gerhart finished the season with just 50 carries behind the surging Peterson, and he doesn’t figure to be a big factor for them in the playoffs.
Point Projection: 2 points

13. Brian Leonard (Cincinnati Bengals) @ Houston

With Green-Ellis out, Leonard ran for 34 yards on 10 carries to lead the Bengals’ backfield. As long as the Law Firm plays, he will only see a couple of touches.
Point Projection: 2 points

14. Robert Turbin (Seattle Seahawks) @ Washington

Turbin will be in his usual role as Lynch’s backup for the playoffs, which has not translated into much work this season.
Point Projection: 2 points

15. Cedric Peerman (Cincinnati Bengals) @ Houston

Even with Green-Ellis out, Peerman was given just five carries for 14 yards and is apparently behind Leonard in the pecking order now.
Point Projection: 1 point

16. Justin Forsett (Houston Texans) vs. Cincinnati

Forsett did a nice job backing up Foster when Ben Tate was out, but now that Tate is healthy he has been all but eliminated from the gameplan with just five touches in four games to close out the season.
Point Projection: 1 point

17. Delone Carter (Indianapolis Colts) @ Baltimore

There is buzz that Carter could return for the playoffs. If he does, he could see some opportunities at the goal line but that’s about it. He will have to punch a shore run into the end zone to have any major impact.
Point Projection: 1 point

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