Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

WIDE RECEIVER - STUDS

Jabar Gaffney (Denver Broncos) – With head coach Josh McDaniels trying to make a point by sitting down both Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler, there was a severe lack of options for quarterback Kyle Orton to throw to, which was a great thing for Gaffney. Taking advantage of his opportunity, Gaffney responded with 14 catches for 213 yards. He didn’t score a touchdown, but he was still able to score 21 fantasy points, dwarfing his projection of just two. 

Hallam’s Take: Hopefully for Bronco fans, this off-season won’t be nearly as tumultuous as it was last year, but with the way this year is ending, that might not be the case. Gaffney is a guy in which you will have to monitor the team’s situation next year before drafting. Chances are Gaffney will end up far enough down the depth chart that he won’t be fantasy relevant to start the year, but with the way Josh McDaniels is running things, you just never know. 

Sidney Rice (Minnesota Vikings) – He has absolutely broken out as one of the top young receivers in the NFL, and his game in Week 17 put a stamp on his season. Rice had six catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. He was looked upon to have a good game as made evident by his 12 point prediction, but Rice nearly doubled that with a 23 point effort.

Hallam’s Take: I guess for those of you who have read this column this year it is obvious how much I like Sidney Rice. He is an up-and-coming star and regardless of the Brett Favre situation, he should be a very high end WR2 in 2010. Rice has the size and speed to be your prototypical lead receiver, and he is still getting better.

Devin Aromashodu (Chicago Bears) – So, how do you follow up a game in which you catch a game winning touchdown to beat the Minnesota Vikings? Aromashodu did it by catching five balls for 46 yards, with two of them going touchdowns. He certainly made a name for himself in the season finale as he scored 16 fantasy points, doubling his expected output of eight. 

Hallam’s Take: Now, this is a guy that will be tough to judge in 2010. You have to think that the Bears will try to do something to upgrade their wide receiver situation, which might leave Aromashodu out of the picture. However, as an end of the draft flier, you might want to remember his name. 

TIGHT END - STUDS

Joel Dreessen (Houston Texans) –  The injury to Owen Daniels left the tight end position wide open for the Texans, and for one week someone stepped up. Dreessen had a big game against the Patriots in what should have propelled the Texans to the playoffs, if the Bengals had decided to try. Dreessen had six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown this past weekend. Given the production from the tight end position since Daniels went down, it made sense that Dreessen was projected for just three fantasy points, but he was able to score a very impressive 14. 

Hallam’s Take: Owen Daniels will be back in 2010, so there is really no reason to take this performance for anything more than what it was, a one week wonder. There will be no reason to even think about Dreessen anymore after you read this article, so put him out of your mind. 

KICKER – STUDS

Jason Hanson (Detroit Lions) – In what was a stunning development in the NFL, the Lions had a good enough offense for a week to give Hanson a chance to be successful. He connected on both extra point opportunities that he was given, while also connecting on field goals from 32, 42, and 48 yards away. Hanson was predicted to score just four points on Sunday, but nearly tripled that with an 11 point effort. 

Hallam’s Take: Barring major improvements in the offense, Hanson will again be a fantasy kicker for only the deepest of leagues. It isn’t that he isn’t a good kicker, because he is very solid, but his attempts are very limited because of how much his offense struggles. 

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS – STUDS

Dallas Cowboys D/ST (3 Stars) – For a team that couldn’t win in December, the Cowboys certainly had a lot of success at the end of the year in 2009. In a game that decided the division, the “D” in Dallas certainly stood for defense. The Cowboys shut the Eagles out, and also picked up a fumble and sacked Donovan McNabb four times. Sure, the secondary stats aren’t going to blow you away, but not allowing any points certainly scores you big points in fantasy football, making this a five star effort for Dallas. 

Hallam’s Take: The Cowboys are not an elite team defense, but they are definitely a team that you can draft and start each week. With DeMarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff and Bradie James, chances are that Dallas will be able to get to the quarterback on a fairly regular basis, and they normally keep the other team held to a reasonable amount of points. They are a top ten fantasy defense, but probably towards the bottom half of that ten, draft them accordingly. 

Wild Card Round Rankings:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  | DEF  (click to read)

Wild Card Start & Sit:  START ‘EM  |  SIT ‘EM  (click to read)

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