Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

—Written by Brian Dezelske
—Edited by Marc Caviglia

Week 10 of the 2012 NFL season turned out to be quite the rollercoaster ride for quarterbacks. We witnessed seven quarterbacks throw for at least 300 yards, with one eclipsing 400 yards for the first time in his career. We also saw six quarterbacks throw at least three touchdowns, including Andy Dalton who threw four touchdowns for the first time ever.

This was also a rough week for signal callers. Michael Vick, Alex Smith and Jay Cutler all fell to the dreaded concussion, while Ben Roethlisberger was knocked out of the Monday Night game with an apparent shoulder injury.

Was your quarterback one who took part in the array of stats that were compiled, or a part of the injured bunch? If you were bitten by the injury bug, hopefully you have a solid backup on the bench, or have a game plan in effect. Now let’s look at who made the list in Week 10.

Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons

Even though the Atlanta Falcons suffered their first loss of the season, Matt Ryan shined and showed why this organization has all the confidence in the world in him.

Ryan tossed three touchdowns in the game, but also threw for 411 yards, hitting eight different receivers in doing so, and thus eclipsing the 400-yard mark for the first time in his brilliant career. He’s averaging 308 yards per game and is one of the hottest fantasy QB’s in the league right now.

Look for Matty Ice to continue the trend this coming Sunday when the Dirty Birds play host to the Arizona Cardinals. The Cards have one of the better pass defenses in the league and are holding signal callers to only 12.1 fantasy points per game, but that’s not going to slow him or this high-powered offense down.

Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings

Is there any doubt that Adrian Peterson is the NFL’s best running back right now? There shouldn’t be, because he’s been the best at his position since he came into the league in 2007.

He confirmed all this last Sunday when he ran for 171 yards on 27 carries and an average of 6.3 yards. The last two weeks mark the first time in his career in which he’s rushed for at least 170 yards in consecutive games. He’s also rushed for at least 100 yards in each of his last four games—something he’s only accomplished one other time.

With a hot streak like this, it’s going to be hard for owners to sit him due to bye-week issues. One just can’t replace production like this and can only hope to plug in a guy who can deliver some sort of help.

Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions

Calvin Johnson finally scored his second touchdown of the season in the Detroit Lions 34-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, but he also did something quite remarkable. The 207 receiving yards he posted marks the third time he’s eclipsed 200 yards receiving in the last 13 games. This performance also moved him into a tie for fifth place on the all-time list for 200 yard games and only two behind Lance Alworth (5) for the most ever.

It is true that he’s struggled to get in the end zone this year, but he’s not struggling to put up yards. He’s currently on pace for 1,732 receiving yards which would top his career-best mark of 1,681 yards, which he posted in 2011.

Look for Megatron to continue his assault on the NFL this Sunday when the Lions host the Green Bay Packers. The Pack gives up an average of 22.3 fantasy points to the receiver position and allowed 10 touchdowns to Megatron in nine career games against.

Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans

Chris Johnson kept his hot streak alive this past Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. He ran for 126 yards and a touchdown, which may not be as impressive as some other performances this past weekend, however, his current streak of at least 90 rushing yards in five straight games is rather amazing considering the slump he had been in.

CJ2K takes that streak into a Week 11 bye, which may not be a good thing. Owners need to hope and pray that the extra week off doesn’t cool him back down to the CJ2K we’ve been used to over the last year or so.

Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore Ravens

Joe Flacco led all fantasy scorers this past weekend with his shredding of the Oakland Raiders defense. He threw three touchdowns on 341 yards passing, and even ran one in for good measure.

Some of the “elite quarterback” talk may have resurfaced, but people need to relax on that until at least after this weekend when the Baltimore Ravens head to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers and a real defense.