Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Here’s hoping your quarterback situation isn’t as dire as the Buffalo Bills or Oakland Raiders is. The Bills, who saw both Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick sustain ankle injuries in last week’s loss to the New England Patriots, are now pondering the prospect of starting Brian Brohm at quarterback. Brohm was last seen backing up Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers as a member of the team’s practice squad. The Raiders lost Bruce Grakowski for the season and had deemed JaMarcus Russell ineffective so last week Charlie Frye got the start. He too got injured, leaving Russell to get into the game in what would turn out to be a win over the Denver Broncos. Russell then got hurt and had to sit out a play, and in stepped J.P. Losman, who was last seen leading the Las Vegas Locomotives to a win in the UFL championship game earlier this year.

To avoid suffering a similar fate as the Bills and Raiders, which had stumbled to losing records this season, be sure to read the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Week 16 Quarterback Rankings to find out who to play with your fantasy football championship on the line.

1. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) vs. Seattle

Though one could argue that Drew Brees has the most favorable matchup, it’s hard to argue against Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers taking on the leagues worst secondary over the past two months. Rodgers, who threw three touchdowns and no picks last week in a close loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, will be at home this week against the Seattle Seahawks who are just a mess right now. The Seahawks lost big to the Buccaneers last week and rank 29th in the NFL in passing yards allowed and 23rd in points allowed. Look for Rodgers to post another huge game en route to leading all quarterbacks in fantasy football points scored in 2009.
Point Projection: 24 points

2. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) at Tennessee

Can anything slow down San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers? We say no. Despite playing against one of the league’s better defense last week in the Cincinnati Bengals, Rivers still threw for 308 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. It was his third game in the last four weeks where he went for 20 or more fantasy football points. The Tennessee Titans have been playing better recently but their defense still isn’t good enough to stop Rivers, evident by allowing over 300 passing yards to Chad Henne in Week 15, so you can expect another 20-point game this week from the San Diego quarterback who has never lost in the month of December.
Point Projection: 21 points

3. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) vs. Tampa Bay

Those lucky fantasy football owners that made the decision to draft New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees have been rewarded all season by his good play, and they’ll continue to be rewarded this week in the fantasy football playoffs. The Saints will be at home this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which is one of the most favorable matchups a quarterback could have. Tampa Bay is 29th in the league in points allowed, and when these two teams met in Week 11 Brees threw three touchdowns with no interceptions. Even with the Buccaneers secondary playing well over the last month, and the possibility of Brees getting benched early, you have to start your stud with you season on the line.
Point Projection: 21 points

4. Kurt Warner (Arizona Cardinals) vs. St. Louis

One week the Arizona Cardinals look unstoppable and the next week they look pretty mediocre. This week, it’s a pretty safe bet that the Cardinals and quarterback Kurt Warner will be pretty good against an overmatched St. Louis Rams team. The concern for Warner is that in the last two weeks he’s thrown three interceptions with just two touchdowns. But every time this season Warner has had a game or two with a lot of interceptions he turned it around the next week and we expect the same this week. Plus, Warner has been solid against his old team and needed just 19 pass attempts to throw for 203 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 11 meeting against St. Louis.
Point Projection: 20 points

5. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) vs. Baltimore

It’s weird to think about the Steelers as a passing team but that’s just what they’ve become this season. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been a big part of that, including last week when he threw for 503 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against an improved Green Bay Packers defense. This week is a huge game for the Steelers if they want to keep their playoff hops alive, and it’s these types of games in which Roethlisberger thrives.
Point Projection: 18 points

6. Tom Brady (New England Patriots) vs. Jacksonville

In each of the last two weeks New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has thrown for less than 200 yards and has thrown a total of two touchdowns and two interceptions. That’s not exactly the Brady fans and fantasy football owners have come to know and love. We expect him to get back on track this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have lost three of their last four games and given up an average of 22 points in those four games.
Point Projection: 17 points

7. Matt Schaub (Houston Texans) @ Miami

With 732 passing yards, three touchdowns and just one interception in the last two weeks Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub is finishing the season strong. The Miami Dolphins, Houston’s opponent this week, had been playing better defensively until last week when they gave up three passing touchdowns to Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans. The Dolphins don’t have anybody that can cover Houston wide receiver Andre Johnson, which is why Schaub should continue his torrid pace for at least one more week. If you own him, start him because the Dolphins defense has allowed 16 or more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks in eight of 14 games this season.
Point Projection: 17 points

8. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) vs. New York Jets

Last week Indianapolis Colts quarterback had one his best games of the season as he threw for 308 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. What’s nice about being a Manning owner this season is it appears he’s set to play the whole game against the New York Jets this week. Head coach Jim Caldwell wouldn’t say whether Manning would play the whole game but did say any players who don’t play will be held out because of injuries. The Jets have one of the better passing defenses in the league as well as one of the top cornerbacks in Darrelle Revis, so don’t expect Manning to post similar statistics to last week but it’s safe to expect between 250-275 yards and two scores.
Point Projection: 17 points

9. Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles) vs. Denver

Since Week 10 Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb has registered 14 or more fantasy football points in each game, and perhaps he doesn’t always get the credit he deserves. Opposing teams know the Eagles are going to throw the ball often and yet they haven’t been able to stop the Philadelphia offense. That’s why even though the Eagles are going to be playing a tough Denver Broncos pass defense, we like McNabb for another solid performance.
Point Projection: 16 points

10. Alex Smith (San Francisco 49ers) vs. Detroit

Alex Smith as a top 10 fantasy football quarterback? At least for this week, believe it. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback has not only been playing well recently, sans the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15, but he finds himself with a great matchup this week as he’ll be at home against the Detroit Lions. The Lions are last in the league in passing yards allowed, total yards allowed and points allowed. Not only that but they’ll likely be going with Drew Stanton at quarterback, meaning plenty of opportunities for the San Francisco offense after stalled drives from the Detroit offense. That all adds up Smith being a sneaky good play with all the money on the line.
Point Projection: 16 points

11. Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys) @ Washington

Throwing for 312 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was instrumental in leading his team to a win over the previously undefeated New Orleans Saints last week. The Washington Redskins, who have had one of the better defenses in the league this season, were picked apart last week by the New York Giants, which should inspire of a lot of confidence in Romo this week. However, when these two teams met in Week 11, Romo threw for just 158 yards with a score and a pick. Expect somewhere in between that game and last week’s performance for Romo this week.
Point Projection: 15 points

12. Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings) @ Chicago

The last two weeks have not been good ones for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre. Even last week when the Vikings lost to the Carolina Panthers, Favre revealed to the media that he had a heated discussion with head coach Brad Childress, saying that Childress wanted to remove him from the game to prevent him from getting injured. Obviously Favre was upset because he disagreed and wanted to stay in the game. Thus, Favre likely won’t play the whole game this week but as you can see from our projection, we think he’s going to do pretty well before he leaves. Starting a player who isn’t guaranteed to play the whole game is a risk though, so be careful when deciding to play Favre this week.
Point Projection: 15 points

13. Eli Manning (New York Giants) vs. Carolina

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning was on fire last week as he threw for 268 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a win over the Washington Redskins. However, a lot of his success came on screens that the Redskins just couldn’t stop, and one touchdown came on a busted coverage by Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Manning should have a good game this week but it would be unrealistic to expect another 20-point performance this week.
Point Projection: 14 points

14. Vince Young (Tennessee Titans) vs. San Diego

As mentioned earlier, Young threw for three touchdowns last week in an overtime win over the Miami Dolphins, and that was a career-high for a single game for the Tennessee quarterback. What we are watching is the transformation of Young into a true quarterback and so far it has been pretty impressive. Though the San Diego Chargers have been playing well recently, and have won 17 straight December games, their defense hasn’t been impenetrable, which is why we like Young for an solid game this week.
Point Projection: 14 points

15. Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) @ Pittsburgh

After a lull in the middle of the season it appears Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco is back on track as he threw for 234 yards with four touchdowns in Week 15, marking his finest performance of the season. With Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator, who’s one of the best in the league, we should’ve expected this to happen. However, Flacco faces the Steelers this week and these games tend to be a little tighter than other ones. Flacco should do alright, but don’t expect too much from him this week.
Point Projection: 14 points

16. Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins) vs. Dallas

Washington quarterback Jason Campbell took a beating last week in a loss to the New York Giants, and his stats reflected it as he threw for 192 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. It was the first poor game he had had since Sherman Lewis took over playcalling duties for the Redskins. Facing the Dallas Cowboys this week, we don’t expect Campbell to produce as bad as he did against New York but the you shouldn’t expect anything outstanding.
Point Projection: 13 points