Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

With many of you out there in Bruno Boys Nation getting set for Round 1 of your fantasy playoffs and the rest still vying for a playoff spot, we want to make sure you enter Sunday knowing what players we feel you should play with caution. Obviously it’s your team and your gut, so you are the final decision makers, but if these guys fail to get the job done for your fantasy squad this week don’t say the Bruno Boys didn’t tell you so.  With that being said the Bruno Boys present the Fantasy Football Week 13 Sit Ems.

QUARTERBACKS – SIT ‘EM

Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins) vs. New Orleans

After posting 21 fantasy points on the Eagles’ defense in week 12, Campbell is flying high. Unfortunately, he is now facing perhaps the hottest team in the NFL - the New Orleans Saints. This is a Saints defense that was able to hold MVP QB Tom Brady to 7.5 fantasy points in week 12 on Monday Night Football, and Jason Campbell is no Tom Brady. Furthermore, the Saints have given up just 9 TDs to QBs on the year, while accumulating 22 INTs. With a TD:INT ratio of 12:11, that’s not good news for Campbell. Unless you are forced to start 2 QBs, stay away from Campbell in this week 13 match-up.

Matt Cassel (Kansas City Chiefs) vs. Denver

Cassel goes up against the 4th best defense against the QB this week as the Broncos have only allowed 9 passing TDs and 8.5 fantasy points per game to the quarterback position. The Chiefs are coming off a big loss to the Chargers where Cassel was unable to get much going, finishing the day with 178 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Much more shouldn’t be expected this week against a better defense in the Denver Broncos. Cassel’s ceiling this season has been 2 TDs and 262 passing yards, which came against Jacksonville Jaguars and their porous pass defense. Stay away from Cassel this weekend.

Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle Seahawks) vs. San Francisco

Hasselbeck has had a solid career versus his inter-divisional foe, the San Francisco 49ers. While never doing anything great, he consistently has posted good numbers. The 49ers, though, are slowly improving their defense, having allowed only 12 TDs (10 passing) to opposing QBs in 2009. Last weekend, David Garrard was rather mediocre versus the Niners (307 passing yards, 2 FL), and Hasselbeck is coming off of his 2nd worst game in 2009 (102 passing yards). Hasselbeck could be good for 200 yards and a TD, but anything more than that would be a surprise.

RUNNING BACKS – SIT ‘EM

Kevin Smith (Detroit Lions) @ Cincinnati

Smith has been the most reliable and consistent offensive Lion this season (which may not be saying much), totaling 970 yards and 4 TDs through 11 games. His 3.4 ypc is a bit disconcerting, however, and he doesn’t have a great match-up in week 13. The Bengals allow less than 12 points per game to opposing RBs, so Smith could struggle this weekend. His best prospects of posting respectable numbers are through the air, where the Bengals allow the 4th most receiving yards to RBs. His chances of a TD though are slim.

Brandon Jacobs (New York Giants) vs. Dallas

What happened to the bruising RB that opposing defenses hated to see? Brandon Jacobs’ ypc has dropped from 5.0 in 2008 to 3.9 this season, and he has yet to have a multiple TD game this season, something that he did 5 times in 2008. Jacobs goes up against a Cowboys defense that has allowed only 5 TDs to RBs (3 rushing) this season, and because Jacobs is nearly useless in the passing game, it offers even less of a reason to start him in this match-up.

Steve Slaton (Houston Texans) @ Jacksonville

For as bad as the Jaguars pass defense has been, their rush defense has been a top-10 unit. Slaton has been a RB2 this season, with much more potential than that. His greatest asset has been his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, but the Jaguars have allowed the 5th least amount of receiving yardage to opposing RBs (perhaps because they can’t stop quarterbacks from getting the ball to their wide receivers). The Jags were able to hold Frank Gore to 10 fantasy points (16 carries for 33 yards, 7 catches for 14 yards, 1 rec TD), so Slaton’s prospects with the Jags being at home coming off a bad loss aren’t desirable.