Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

In a pinch for a skill player that will produce at a high level for you this week but not sure what route to go? Well no need to fret the small stuff because the Bruno Boys will help make your lineup decision easier. From Quarterbacks to Defenses we have you covered on who you should feel comfortable about plugging into your Week 13 lineup. Now, it’s time to cut to the chase and read our Fantasy Football Week 13 Start Ems advice.

QUARTERBACKS – START ‘EM

Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles) @ Atlanta

The Atlanta Falcons has been great at home posting a 5-0 record, but whether your quarterback leads his team to victory or not has nothing to do with accumulating fantasy football points. However with Falcons’ second year quarterback Matt Ryan deemed out by Head Coach Mike Smith, this should give Philadelphia the edge in a must win game for both teams. Whether or not, the Falcons have allowed 16.5 fantasy points per game to opposing QBs and have let their opponents throw for 18 touchdown passes while hauling in just eight interceptions . Even without McNabb’s favorite target and stud wide receiver DeSean Jackson (Jason Avant should see more targets) the Falcons secondary will have their hands full containing McNabb and the Eagles. Look for McNabb to make it three of four games with at least 250 passing yards and multiple TD passes

Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos) @ Kansas City

The fantasy football value of Kyle Orton completely hinges on his match-up at this point. While he has at time shown flashes of brilliance against better defenses, Orton’s not the type of quarterback that will chuck the football 40 times a game (just once in 11 games this season) but in Week 13 against a lackluster Kansas City Chiefs passing defense he might not need a heavy workload to have a productive outing. Kansas City has allowed over 700 passing yards and five touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks over the last two games and on the season they are surrendering 16 fantasy points per contest to quarterbacks in standard scoring leagues. With nearly every game being a “must-win” for the Broncos from here on out expect them to find some balance in their offense and let Orton pick apart a disappointing Kansas City pass defense.

Carson Palmer (Cincinnati Bengals) vs. Detroit

Not only are the Detroit Lions the worst team in the NFL at defending the quarterback position in fantasy leagues, but also the Bengals running game is slightly an unknown coming into Week 13. Partner that with Chad Ochocinco saying they plan on throwing 50 times this game, and you have the recipe for what looks to be a breakout game from Carson Palmer. Even though Palmer has only had one huge game this season (Week 7 against the Chicago Bears—233 yards and 5 TDs), a match-up against Detroit should put him in line to flirt with 300 passing yards for the first time this season. The Lions have allowed 27 touchdown passes to opposing quarterbacks, so anything less than two touchdown passes and 200-250 yards should be considered a disappointment.

RUNNING BACKS – START ‘EM

Matt Forte (Chicago Bears) vs. St. Louis

Maybe, just maybe, Forte will be able to put up a good game. It has definitely been long enough. While Forte hasn’t scored in over a month (November 1st against the Cleveland Browns), the St. Louis Rams should help his four streak come to an end. In Week 12, St. Louis allowed 130 yards and two touchdowns to Seattle Seahawks running back Justin Forsett and if the Bears’ use Forte in similar fashion those numbers will hopefully be matched in Week 13. His struggles have been well documented, but as bad as Forte has been he does produce against bad teams (Week 4 —Detroit Lions & Week 6 — Cleveland Browns) and as long as the Bears can jump on the Rams early, Forte should post low-end RB1 totals.

Marion Barber (Dallas Cowboys) @ New York Giants

It’s a confusing situation as to which Cowboys running backs should be started on a weekly basis. All three options (Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice) totaled over 60 individual rushing yards against the Oakland Raiders in Week 12. However, because Barber (34 carries over last two games) has seen the bulk of the carries, we are expecting good numbers from him in Week 13 against a struggling New York Giants defense. The Giants are in the middle of the pack in regards to fantasy football running back points at 16.7 per game, but it’s their 15 rushing touchdowns allowed that stands out (4th worst in the NFL). Barber might only hover around 75 total yards in this game but at the rate New York has been allowing rushing touchdown you have to like his chances of finding paydirt in what should be a shootout.

Rashard Mendenhall (Pittsburgh Steelers) vs. Oakland

Unless you are swimming in running back depth, Mendenhall is most likely a “must start” for in Week 13, but his match-up against the Oakland Raiders can’t be avoided. The Raiders allow more than 160 rushing yards per game and have given up an NFL high 17 rushing touchdowns . With a concussed Ben Roethlisberger probably starting the game, expect head coach Mike Tomlin to be conservative at times and ride Mendenhall to victory in a must-win game for the Steelers. When taking a look into the Bruno Boys Crystal Ball it projects Mendenahall to total over 120 yards and score at least one touchdown versus a Raiders team in need of another high draft pick for 2010.