Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

With Week 13 of the NFL season fast approaching, it is once again time for the Bruno Boys to pick a Game of the Week, with a fantasy football twist. Each week we will choose one NFL game that we feel will have a lot of impact on the fantasy football world.

This week we follow the 10-1 Minnesota Vikings as they travel to the desert to face the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals, who are 7-4 and leading the NFC West. It will be a match-up of two very good offenses, with two very good veteran quarterbacks going head-to-head (as long as Kurt Warner is healthy), and this game could very well turn into a shoot-out. Once again, NBC has got it right as their Game of the Week is the same as the Bruno Boys. Chances are if you have fantasy players going in this game, you will score a good amount of points for this crucial fantasy football week. Enjoy this game and good luck to everyone this week and on into the fantasy football playoffs.

Quarterbacks - This is not the first time this season that Brett Favre has appeared in this weekly article and for good reason. At 40 years old, he has been nothing short of amazing this year. In 11 games this season, he is completing a career best 69.3 percent of his passes, while passing for 2,874 yards with 24 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Many of us thought he would make the Vikings a better team, but few of us believed, he would be arguably having the best year of what has already been a Hall of Fame career. He is coming off what was possibly his best game of the season in Week 12, when he passed for 392 yards and three touchdowns in a victory over the Chicago Bears. In his last game against the Cardinals, Favre passed for 289 yards with six touchdowns and one interception. Favre is ranked No. 5 in the Bruno Boys Quarterback Rankings for this contest and he is a must-start fantasy quarterback option this week.

After missing last week’s game against the Tennessee Titans while suffering the after effects of a concussion, Kurt Warner has been able to participate in full practice this week; although he has been splitting reps with backup Matt Leinart. Cardinals’ head coach Ken Whisenhunt has stated that he will not know until game time which of his quarterbacks will start, which leaves Warner owners in a bind, especially since this is the late game on Sunday and your options at game time will be limited. Warner is having a good season and may be the reason that many of you are in the position to make the playoffs. He has passed for 2,718 yards with 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season. He is our No. 8 ranked quarterback this week, but that is based on him being healthy enough to play. If you are planning on using Warner this week, you might want to add Leinart as a handcuff for this game, just in case Warner can’t go. Keep a close eye on this situation. If Warner starts, he could be worth big fantasy points, but if he is a late scratch and you don’t have a backup plan, it could cost you your season. If Warner plays, he should be used as a QB1, but if Leinart plays, don’t expect more than QB2 numbers.

Running Backs - Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson was the consensus No. 1 fantasy football pick in most drafts this past summer, and he has been nearly as good as advertised. Tennessee’s Chris Johnson has put up bigger numbers, but Peterson has been a consistent source of fantasy points on a weekly basis. He has rushed for 1,090 yards with 12 touchdowns on the season and has scored in double digit fantasy points in nine of eleven games. His only downfall this season has been the fact that he has lost five fumbles through 11 games, including one last week in a victory over the Chicago Bears; although he did add 85 yards rushing and a touchdown in the game. Peterson is ranked No. 6 in the Bruno Boys Running Back Rankings this week, going against the Cardinals who allow less than 109 yards rushing per game and have given up just eight rushing touchdown this season. Continue to use Peterson as a must-start No. 1 fantasy running back each and every week.

The Cardinals have been running a two-headed monster at running back of late. Second-year man Tim Hightower is the team’s starter, but he has been splitting carries with rookie Beanie Wells. This has made things difficult for fantasy owners since it has been hard to figure out which of these two running backs will have the better game on a weekly basis. Hightower has been a dual threat this season with 113 carries for 485 yards with six touchdowns, while adding 50 receptions for 366 yards. Wells has 108 carries for 489 yards with four touchdowns. Wells is the healthier of the two backs right now as Hightower has been limited in practice with a thumb injury, but he is not expected to miss this week’s contest. Hightower and Wells are our No. 27 and No. 32 ranked running backs this week. Neither should be used as more than a RB3 this week against a Minnesota defense that is ranked No. 2 against the run and has allowed just three rushing touchdowns all season.

Wide Receivers - The addition of Brett Favre to the Vikings has really helped the careers of the Vikings’ young wide receivers. The biggest impact might be for third-year man Sidney Rice, who is having a breakout year with 56 receptions for 964 yards with four touchdowns. He has emerged as Minnesota’s No. 1 option in the passing game and is ranked No. 6 in the Bruno Boys Wide Receiver Rankings, and he should be used as a WR1 in this match-up. Rookie Percy Harvin set career highs last week against the Chicago Bears with six receptions for 101 yards with one touchdown and added two carries for 45 yards in the game. He seems to get better each week and is our No. 23 ranked wide receiver this week and could be used as a WR2 against the Cardinals. Bernard Berrian was the Vikings top wide out last season, but has been more of a No. 3 receiver this season for the team. He has 38 receptions for 406 yards with four touchdowns, and he should be used as a WR3 against the Cardinals this week.

The Cardinals possess possibly the best trio of wide receivers in the NFL with Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston. Fitzgerald was one of the top-two wide receivers chosen in most fantasy drafts this summer, and he has not disappointed. He has 75 receptions for 826 yards with nine touchdowns this season. He is the Bruno Boys No. 4 ranked wide receiver this week, and he should be used as a WR1 against Minnesota. Boldin and Breaston have both battled their share of nagging injuries this season, but neither has missed much playing time. Boldin has played in 10 games this season and has 57 receptions for 665 yards with two touchdowns. Breaston has also played in 10 games and has 43 catches for 571 yards with three touchdowns. They are ranked No. 14 and No. 37 respectively by the Bruno Boys this week. Use Boldin as WR2 and Breaston as a low-end WR3 this week against the Vikings. The projections for these wide receivers are based on quarterback Kurt Warner being healthy enough play, if Warner does not play all three receivers will lose some fantasy value.

Tight Ends - After a slow start to the season, Minnesota tight end Visanthe Shiancoe is emerging into a solid fantasy tight end. He has 38 receptions for 375 yards with eight touchdowns on the season, while building a very good rapport with quarterback Brett Favre. He is ranked No. 8 in the Bruno Boy Tight End Rankings this week and should be used as TE1 against the Cardinals.

After missing Arizona’s first four games of the season, Ben Patrick has emerged as the Cardinals top option at tight end. Being the No. 1 tight end for Arizona does not translate into fantasy success though, as the Cardinals do not get the tight end involved in their offense too often. In six games played, he has just nine receptions for 107 yards with two touchdowns and should not be inserted into starting fantasy lineups this week.

Kickers - With both of these two teams possessing high scoring offenses the kickers tend to be very good fantasy options. This week is no different for the Vikings’ Ryan Longwell, who is coming off a 12-point effort last week against the Chicago Bears. He should be used as a starting fantasy kicker in this match-up. The Cardinals’ Neil Rackers, on the other hand, has not been very consistent this season, and he is currently nursing a groin injury, practicing on a limited basis this week. If possible, keep Rackers as a fantasy reserve in this match-up as he is an injury risk.

Defense - Normally we don’t recommend using the defenses in our Game of the Week since we usually choose a high scoring game, but Minnesota does have a very good D/ST. They are ranked No. 2 against the run and depending on your league’s scoring system, they are a top two or three fantasy unit. Even though this could be a high scoring affair, if needed the Vikings’ D/ST could be used as a low-end starting fantasy unit this week, especially if quarterback Kurt Warner is not able to play in the game. Arizona’s defense has played well this year, but with Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and company playing at such a high level the Cardinals D/ST should remained reserved for this match-up.

Week 13 Rankings:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  | DEF    (click to read)

Week 13 Start & Sit:  START ‘EM  |  SIT ‘EM    (click to read)

Week 13 Waiver Wire Advice:  PICK THEM UP  |  CUT THEM LOOSE    (click to read)

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