Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

A quick look at the match-ups for Week 11 does not exactly inspire a lot of excitement. There aren’t that many divisional games and the ones that are there don’t appear to be too appetizing, unless of course you’re dying to see Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints destroy the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or see Jason Campbell and the Washington Redskins likely flail in a game with the Dallas Cowboys. The one thing that is exciting about Week 11 is that it signifies the end of the bye weeks. From here on out it’s all football, all the time. Plus, it marks the stretch run to the playoffs in the majority of fantasy football leagues.

Uneventful match-ups or not, we here at the Bruno Boys are going to have you covered from all angles, and that begins with the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Week 11 Quarterback Rankings.

1. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) @ Tampa Bay

This should be an interesting game to watch if for no other reason to see how close Brees can come to posting some ridiculous video-game type numbers. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still have one of the league’s worst defenses as they’re second-to-last in points allowed and allow 379.2 yards per game. The Saints, on the other hand, lead the league in points scored with a 36.8 point per game average.. Clearly, this is a mismatch. In fact the only thing Tampa Bay has going its way is that the game will be at home, not like that will make any kind of difference.
Point Projection: 24 points

2. Tom Brady (New England Patriots) vs. New York Jets

The New York Jets, so far, have been the only team to hold New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to single digit fantasy football points this season. That happened in Week 2 when the Jets defense was still playing extremely well and they limited Brady to just 216 passing yards and no touchdown passes. Since shutting out the Oakland Raiders in Week 7 the Jets defense has allowed an average of 27 points per game, which is 10 points higher than their season average. With Brady throwing 13 touchdown passes over his last four games and the Jets recent struggles don’t expect a repeat of performance this time around.
Point Projection: 20 points

3. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) @ Baltimore

In Week 10, not even a match-up against one of the league’s best defenses could stop Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Last week in a thrilling come-from-behind win over the New England Patriots, Manning threw for 327 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. This week the Colts travel to Baltimore and the Ravens haven’t given up a ton of points but they are susceptible to the pass as they rank in the middle of the pack in that department. In fact, when Baltimore has played passing offenses that rank in the top half of the NFL they have allowed 86 points in three games. .
Point Projection: 20 points

4. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) @ Kansas City

Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers offense just weren’t able to find any kind of rhythm last week in a loss at home to the Cincinnati Bengals. A good way for the Steelers to get back in the groove will be a road trip to face the Kansas City Chiefs, who are 23rd or worse in every major defensive category. It also helps that the Chiefs offense is atrocious, meaning the Pittsburgh offense should have the ball often, giving the Steelers plenty of opportunities to score and Roethlisberger a chance to make up for his five fantasy point effort in Week 10.
Point Projection: 19 points

5. Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings) vs. Seattle

Since losing to Pittsburgh the Minnesota Vikings have been clicking, in particular quarterback Brett Favre. In the two games since their Week 7 loss, Favre has thrown for 588 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. The Seahawks defense hasn’t been playing too well recently as they’ve given up an average of 29.7 points per game over their last three games while allowing 799 passing yards and seven touchdown passes during that span. In short, if you own Favre start him in Week 11.
Point Projection: 19 points

6. Kurt Warner (Arizona Cardinals) @ St. Louis

Similar to Favre, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner has been on fire since a loss three weeks ago. In that loss to the Carolina Panthers, Warner had two touchdowns but also had six turnovers. Since then he’s thrown for 601 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. The St. Louis Rams are 24th in passing yards allowed, 29th in points allowed, and the only thing that might stop Warner from having a huge game is that the Cardinals may run the ball more after they establish an early lead. Still, there seems to be no slowing down Warner and the Cardinals offense as they have scored 72 points over their last two games.
Point Projection: 18 points

7. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) @ Denver

Most NFL teams use their bye week to rest up, get over injuries and spend the extra time preparing for their next opponent. The Denver Broncos, on the other hand, must have done none of that as they have lost three straight since a bye in Week 7. In those three losses they’ve given up an average of 28.3 points per game, including allowing the hapless Washington Redskins, a team that had yet to score 20 points in a game entering Week 10, to throw up 27 on them last week. With the Broncos defense starting to lose it’s buzz it should lead to Philip Rivers building on his career 13 to 4 touchdown to interception ratio against Denver. All of these are reasons why you should expect another solid game out of Rivers and the San Diego Chargers.
Point Projection: 17 points

8. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) vs. San Francisco

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is an odd study. Rodgers had one his worst games from a statistical standpoint last week but still managed to lead the Packers to a win over the Dallas Cowboys. And yet despite that Rodgers still had a decent day from a fantasy football perspective, just like has done each week this season. That’s why although the San Francisco 49ers (11th in points allowed) don’t give up a ton of points that you can expect Rodgers to have another solid game. Also consider the 49ers are 29th in passing yards allowed.
Point Projection: 16 points

9. Matt Schaub (Houston Texans) vs. Tennessee

Sure the Tennessee Titans have won three in a row but that shouldn’t deter you from starting Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub this week. The Titans still have problems on defense and even though their play on that side of the ball has been better in the last few weeks. Tennessee still ranks 31st against pass and 30th in points allowed and their three wins have came against teams that rank in the bottom 12 in points scored.. The one thing that does concern us about Schaub this week is that he has thrown four interceptions and just one touchdown over the last two games, which is primarily why he doesn’t have a higher projected point total. Expect a solid outing coming off the bye but don’t go into this match-up thinking Schaub will produce like he did in Week 6 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Point Projection: 16 points

10. Carson Palmer (Cincinnati Bengals) @ Oakland

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer’s streak of seven consecutive games with double-digit fantasy football points was broken last week as he threw for 178 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Considering the Bengals got a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road, it’s likely Cincinnati fans can live with Palmer’s stats taking a back seat for a week. The good news is that won’t happen again this week as the Bengals travel to California to take on the Oakland Raiders, which rank 25th in points allowed. Even if Palmer doesn’t have a huge game statistically you can expect the Bengals to have good field position throughout which should lead to Palmer throwing a few touchdown passes in this lopsided match-up.
Point Projection: 15 points

11. Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles) @ Chicago

Even though it came in a loss, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb had one of his best games of the year last week. In a loss to the San Diego Chargers, McNabb threw for 450 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. With the Eagles trailing 28-9 they pretty much abandoned the run, which is why McNabb racked up so many yards, and you shouldn’t expect the same to happen this week. The Chicago Bears are 19th in points allowed but they rank 8th in the NFL in passing yards allowed and they should be able to keep McNabb in check from a yardage standpoint.
Point Projection: 15 points

12. Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys) vs. Washington

Earlier in the season it appeared the Dallas Cowboys offense was taking big steps forward each week, which meant some big games for quarterback Tony Romo. In the last two week; however, Romo has taken a step back with each successive game. Even if he rights the ship in this game it won’t translate to a bunch of fantasy football points, mostly because of the match-up. The Washington Redskins defense ranks No.1 in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game, completions allowed per game and only four teams have allowed less touchdown passes than the Redskins. On paper, Romo has his work cut out for him this week.
Point Projection: 14 points

13. Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears) vs. Philadelphia

Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler is tied for 10th in the league in touchdown passes with 14 total, yet he is first in the league in interceptions thrown with 17 total. So while he’s a good bet to get you points, it would be a lot more if he could stop throwing the ball to the other team. And though we believe Cutler will get back on track at some point, it likely won’t be this week against a good Philadelphia Eagles secondary that allows just 205 passing yards per contest and has intercepted 15 passes in nine games.
Point Projection: 13 points

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

The Giants had a bye week last week, which is probably a good thing for quarterback Eli Manning and the rest of the team. After winning their first five games and averaging 30.1 points per game the Giants have lost four in a row while averaging just 20.2 points per game. With the offense being the tale of two stories thus far it’s tough to project which unit shows up off the bye so you are better off limiting your expectations on Manning, who has more turnovers than touchdown passes over the last four games.
Point Projection: 12 points

15. Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) @ New York Giants

What has happened to the Matt Ryan we saw last year and at the beginning of the season? The Atlanta Falcons quarterback now has three touchdowns and six turnovers in the last three games and has posted four consecutive single-digit fantasy football performances. Playing on the road against the New York Giants may not inspire much confidence in Ryan’s owners, but he seems to be the type of guy who thrives under this kind of pressure. Still, with Michael Turner likely to miss this game it means the Giants’ pass defense can over emphasize on shutting down Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez which could lead to another lackluster performance from Ryan.
Point Projection: 12 points