Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Once again taking on the task of identifying those over performers and under achievers from the previous week of fantasy football is Ryan Hallam, creator of Fighting Chance Fantasy. So, join Ryan as he takes us through the Week 16 Duds and in case you missed it you can check out the Week 16 Studs by clicking the link. And, remember, if you have any questions for Hallam, you can email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for Week 17 fantasy football advice.

Note: All point projections read in this recap are from standard scoring leagues (non-PPR) and are projections made by the Bruno Boys staff

QUARTERBACK - DUDS

Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) – This is two straight weeks on this list for Brees as he is certainly not finishing this season like he started it. Either way, though, he is still one of, if not the best quarterback in fantasy football, and as a must start, you can only take the production he gives you. Brees was a very effective 32 of 37 for 258 yards, but he had just one touchdown in Sunday’s surprising loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Going up against the Bucs, who had given up 25 passing TDs prior to week 16,  Brees was the third highest rated quarterback with 21 points, but was able to score just 14. 

Hallam’s Take: Brees already has another 4,000 yard and 30 touchdown season under his belt, so it is hard to complain too much about the last couple weeks of down production. He will face the suddenly resurgent Carolina Panthers in the season finale, but if he has brought you this far, there is absolutely no way that you can even think about sitting him now. Brees is one of the best and should be one of the top two fantasy quarterbacks again next season.

Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) – After a huge game in week 15 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in which he went for 37 fantasy points, Rodgers fell back to Earth at the worst possible time. The worst part was it wasn’t even that he was bad; rather, his team got so far ahead, they didn’t need to pass. Rodgers was 12 of 23 for 237 yards, but he fell short of expectations with just one TD pass. Rodgers was the top rated quarterback coming into the week against the lowly Seahawks with a projected 24 points, but he got just more than half of that with 13. 

Hallam’s Take: Rodgers took the next step to fantasy elite status, as he is just one TD short of a 4,000 yard, 30 touchdown season. He will finish the year in a game that would normally be a shootout against the Arizona Cardinals; however, with the Packers playing for nothing, look for Rodgers to get his one TD then sit, making it risky to roll with him in week 17. Despite what anyone else thinks about his effectiveness or his ability to lead his team to victory, Rodgers is a top notch fantasy quarterback and should be among the first four guys at his position drafted next season. 

Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle Seahawks) – Where did this season go for Hasselbeck? It got off to such a promising start, and then ever since the rib injury, it seems like he never got back on track. It just continued to get worse this past week as he was 19 of 37 for 198 yards, while throwing just one touchdown and four interceptions. He was projected to score just nine fantasy points, but couldn’t even get close to that with a mere three on the day. 

Hallam’s Take: Hasselbeck’s last game of the year will be against the Titans, and while that should be a great match-up for him, you would have to be in a bad quarterback situation for me to recommend him. I know he missed some time, but Hasselbeck is going to fall short of 20 touchdowns and has back to back four interception games in his last two outings. He has pretty much become unstartable to end the year. 

RUNNING BACK - DUDS

Brandon Jacobs (New York Giants) – Just when you think that he finally woke up and started him in your championship game, BAM, Jacobs throws up the biggest dud at the worst possible time.  But, when your team gets as far behind as fast as the Giants did against Carolina, you aren’t really going to run the ball very much. Jacobs had just six carries before leaving this past Sunday’s contest with an injury, and they were all good for a single yard. He obviously didn’t score a fantasy point, which was mind blowing for his owners that were looking for him to score the 12 he was projected for. 

Hallam’s Take: This has been an incredibly frustrating season for both Brandon Jacobs and his owners. He pretty much stunk for most of the first ten or eleven weeks, and like I said earlier, just when you started to trust him again, he puts up the biggest dud of all time. His last game will be against one of the best run defenses in all of football in Minnesota, so it is likely a wise move to bench him for the year. 

Fred Jackson (Buffalo Bills) – With Marshawn Lynch firmly entrenched as a second stringer, Jackson was a guy that a lot of people started against a Falcons defense that has really struggled over the past four to six weeks. However, a big day was not to be as Atlanta kept him in check and really took him out of the game by getting a big lead early. Jackson had just 13 rushes for a paltry 39 yards, and uncharacteristically, he only added two catches that were good for only 14 yards and also lost a fumble. Jackson was predicted to have 11 fantasy points on the afternoon, but he only was good for two. 

Hallam’s Take: Jackson has the ability to be a very dynamic player who can contribute on the ground and also as a pass catcher. The Bills’ offense is not one of the more potent ones in the league, though, so you can’t expect him to have one of those 15 touchdown seasons, but as a third running back or a flex spot, he could be good in 2010. 

Jason Snelling (Atlanta Falcons) – With the injury to Michael Turner keeping him out another week and the Falcons facing the worst run defense in the NFL in the Buffalo Bills, it seemed like Snelling was going to be a great play this past week, but many people were disappointed. Snelling ran the ball 15 times for just 68 yards and was not able to catch a pass. He was projected for 12 points on the afternoon, but was only able to get half of that as he put up six.

Hallam’s Take: Snelling has just been a fill-in guy for the injured Michael Turner, so obviously his fantasy value is a direct result of Mr. Turner’s availability. That being said, the Falcons play the 30th ranked rush defense of the Bucs next week, a match-up that makes for a great time to play Snelling if Turner’s season is indeed over, which it should be.