Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

With Week 15 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.

While there may be other games this week that will be higher scoring and possibly offer more points for fantasy football owners, we could not resist highlighting the Miami Dolphins versus the Tennessee Titans this week. This is a game that could have serious ramifications in the AFC playoff picture. The Dolphins are on a two game winning streak and have a record of 7-6, while the Titans are 6-7 and have won six of their last seven games after a 0-5 start. Both of these teams are mathematically still alive in the chase for the AFC Wild Card, and Miami is just one game behind the first place New England Patriots in AFC East. This is essentially a must win game for both teams, because a loss for either of them would pretty much crush their playoff hopes. It is games like these that you throw the record books out the window as both teams badly in need of a win will likely pull out all the stops. We think fantasy owners might be pleasantly surprised at the amount of points that will be scored in this game.

Quarterbacks - It’s very interesting to think when this season started that both of the starting quarterbacks in this game were backups in Week 1, and there aren’t many people who would have guessed that in a Week 15 match-up it would be Vince Young going head-to-head with Chad Henne. As a matter of fact, the last time these two quarterbacks faced off was in the 2005 Rose Bowl when Young led his University of Texas Longhorns to a thrilling 38-37 victory over Henne and his University of Michigan Wolverines.

Young started the season as the backup to Kerry Collins this year, but after starting the season 0-5, the Titans made a desperate move by making the switch to Young at quarterback. It turned out to be a great move as Young’s combination of rushing ability, passing ability and decision making have helped lead to wins in six of their lats seven games. In seven games as a starter this season, he has passed for 1,383 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He also has rushed the ball 45 times for 219 yards with a touchdown. When healthy, Young makes a solid No. 2 fantasy quarterback option, but the problem is he is not completely healthy right now. Heading into Week 14, he was dealing with a knee sprain, and then, he injured his hamstring during last week’s win over the St. Louis Rams. After missing practice this Wednesday, he was able to participate on a limited basis during Thursday’s team workouts. He is officially questionable for this week’s game. Young is rated No. 19 in the Bruno Boys Quarterback Rankings this week, but if he is able to go he is a serviceable option for someone in need of a quarterback. If he is not able to go, Collins will return to starting duties, but would not be a recommended starting fantasy option.

Henne’s path to the starting job was a little different. Heading into the season, it was believed that he would be the heir apparent to take over the starting quarterback role in Miami in 2010, but a season ending injury to Chad Pennington thrust Henne into the No. 1 spot in Week 4. The Dolphins are 7-3 during that span, as he has proven to be a very effective, although not a flashy starting quarterback. He has passed for 2,067 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions this season. He does not have a tremendous group of wide receivers to pass to, but Miami mixes up the play calling to keep opposing defenses on their heels. Henne is our No. 20 ranked quarterback this week and should be thought of as a No. 2 fantasy option, but facing a Titans defense that is ranked No. 31 against the pass and has giving up 27 passing touchdowns, he could be a serviceable fantasy starter this week if needed.

Running Backs - Has there been a better running back in the 2009 NFL season then Tennessee’s Chris Johnson? The answer to that is a resounding no. As a matter of fact in any other year, he would be the front runner for offensive MVP in the NFL, but with the years that quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Brett Favre are having, it seems highly unlikely that Johnson will win that award. He may not get the NFL MVP this year, but he definitely deserves the fantasy MVP. He has rushed for 1,626 yards with 11 touchdowns through 13 games this season. Not only is he averaging 6.0 yards per carry, he has also added 42 receptions for 391 yards with two more touchdowns. He has a legitimate shot at breaking Marshall Faulk’s NFL record of 2,429 yards from scrimmage in a single season set in 1999 as a member of the St. Louis Rams. Johnson is ranked No. 1 in the Bruno Boys Running Back Rankings this week and he is an obvious must-start on a weekly basis.

The Dolphins started the season with Ronnie Brown as their starting running back, but as the season wore on it became clear that along with Ricky Williams, Miami had a very effective one-two punch at running back. Unfortunately, Brown suffered a season ending foot injury during Week 10 forcing the Dolphins to put the full rushing load on the legs of the 32-year old Williams, and he has not disappointed. In his last five games, he has rushed for more than 100-yards four times and has scored four rushing touchdowns during that span. With 975 rushing yards, 225 receiving yards and 12 total touchdowns, he is having his best season since 2003. He has emerged as a must-start fantasy running back for the first time in years. Williams is our No. 9 ranked running back this week and should be in all starting lineups, even in a tough match-up against a solid Titans run defense.

Wide Receivers - This is going to be a rare NFL game in which you don’t see a single elite wide receiver, especially from a fantasy standpoint. It does appear though that the Titans have found their wide receiver of the future in rookie Kenny Britt. He has scored in double digit fantasy points in three of his last four games and has scored three touchdowns during that span. Britt is ranked No. 34 in the Bruno Boys Wide Receiver Rankings this week and could be used as a RB3 or flex option. Starting alongside Britt will be veteran Nate Washington, who is a serviceable NFL wide receiver, but by no means a fantasy stud. He has 36 receptions for 415 yards with five touchdowns this season and he could be used as a low-end fantasy option if needed this week.

The term running back by committee has become very popular over the last few years, but the Dolphins might be coining the phrase wide receiver by committee. Now of course, wide receiver has always been a position that uses a committee type approach, but most teams usually have at least one wide out that stands out above the rest. Well that is not the case in Miami as they have four serviceable, yet unspectacular wide receivers. Chad Henne will spread the ball around to Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo, Brian Hartline and Ted Ginn Jr. As a group, they are productive enough for the Dolphins to win NFL games, but individually they are too inconsistent to be trusted as a starter in a fantasy football lineup. None of the four aforementioned wide outs should be on your starting roster at this crucial point in the fantasy season.

Tight Ends - Tennessee tight end Bo Scaife’s production has been bit up and down this year. He suffered a knee injury during Week 1, which was likely a huge cause of his lack of production early on this season. He is healthy once again and over his last four games, he has not had less than four receptions in a game, and he has scored his first touchdown of the season. Scaife has 43 or more receiving yards in each of his last three games and has an excellent match-up this week against a Dolphins defense that is allowing the third most receiving yardage to tight ends. He is ranked No. 11 in the Bruno Boys Tight End Rankings this week, and he is worth using as a low-end TE1.

Heading into this season, Miami tight end Anthony Fasano was thought of as a possible top-ten fantasy tight end, but instead he has been an extreme disappointment. He has 24 receptions for 254 yards with one touchdown in 11 games played this season. In Week 14 he played, but he did not record a single stat. He is our No. 16 ranked tight end this week and should only be used as a low-end starting option if you don’t have any other options to roll with. Fasano has been extremely inconsistent this season and would be a risky start this late in the fantasy season.

Kickers - Tennessee kicker Rob Bironas made four field goals and five extra points in a blowout victory over St. Louis last week for a season-high 17 points. He has been very good this season and has scored in double digit fantasy points in six of his last seven games. Bironas should be used as a starting kicking option in all formats.

Miami kicker Dan Carpenter has made 19 of 21 field goals this season, and in Week 14, he had his first miss since Week 2. He has been a solid kicker this year, but from a fantasy standpoint, he does not get enough opportunities to be considered a must-start fantasy kicker. Carpenter should be used as a No. 2 fantasy kicker this week against the Titans.

Defense - These two team defenses both rank in the middle to lower half in total team defense in the NFL. From a fantasy standpoint they also rank in the middle of the pact as a D/ST unit. Both of these teams should be considered as No. 2 D/ST fantasy options in this match-up this week.

Week 15 Rankings:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  | DEF    (click to read)

Week 15 Start & Sit:  START ‘EM  |  SIT ‘EM    (click to read)

Week 15 Waiver Wire Advice:  PICK THEM UP  |  CUT THEM LOOSE    (click to read)

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