Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

—Written by Cory Steger
—Edited by: Allie Fontana

Bruno Boys senior staff writer Cory Steger takes a look at five players who delivered fantasy results substantially beyond their projected rankings and point totals in The Fantasy Five: 5 Week 3 Phenoms.  To be considered a “Phenoms” candidate, a player has to exceed his weekly point projection total by seven or more fantasy points. It’s not easy to narrow the list down to just five players, so be sure to check out ourWeek 4 Phenoms Roundup for more players who came through for their teams and fantasy owners in a big way.

Our Who the Heck is this Guy? Player of the Week feature shines a spotlight on one player who literally came out of nowhere and posted huge fantasy numbers this past week. In fact, this guy is probably so under the radar that many fantasy owners never heard of him before his breakout performance; or at the very least, he was riding the pine on the waiver wire in all but the deepest of fantasy leagues.

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Week 4 of the NFL marked the official return of Houston Texans running back Arian Foster to the field. While 2010’s Fantasy Football MVP saw very limited in action in Week 2, it was clear that he needed more time to get over a hamstring injury that he sustained during the preseason. Fantasy owners that drafted Foster and waited patiently (or not so patiently) for his return breathed a collective sigh of relief on Sunday. Foster quickly made his presence known against a not so vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers run defense. He ran for 155 yards on 30 carries—an impressive 5.2 yards per carry average) and a touchdown. Not only was his rushing total the highest in the AFC in Week 4, it was the most against the Steelers since 2003. His game-winning fourth quarter score was an impressive 42-yard run in which he shed tackles from Troy Polamalu and LaMarr Woodley on the way to the end zone.  Foster posted his first 100-yard rushing game of the season and the 10th of his career. Here’s hoping that Foster’s hamstring issues are behind him. —Allie Fontana

 

Now let’s take at some other Week 4 Fantasy 5 Phenoms:

1.  Aaron Rodgers, QB (Green Bay Packers)
Bruno Boys Week 1 Projection—Rank: No. 2; Points: 25
Week 4 Actual: Rank: No. 1; Points: 45

What can you say about the performance of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in last week’s 38-29 win over the Denver Broncos? He racked up 408 passing yards and four passing touchdowns, and added 36 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He’s the first player in NFL history to throw for more than 400 yards, four passing and two rushing scores in one game. No matter how you spin it, Rodgers played out of his mind in Week 4. We’re tempted to say not to expect those numbers again, however Rodgers and the Packers take on an Atlanta Falcons  defense that’s given up an average of nearly 276 passing yards per game and allowed seven touchdowns. Factor in Rodgers’ success against Atlanta in three previous starts (1,023 passing yards and seven scores) and it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see him put up huge numbers again. There’s no better quarterback in the league right now.

2. Chris “Beanie” Wells, RB (Arizona Cardinals)
Bruno Boys Week 1 Projection—Rank: No. 23; Points: 11
Week 4 Actual: Rank: No. 1; Points: 31

After two injury-filled seasons many in the fantasy community were ready to write off Arizona Cardinals running back Chris “Beanie” Wells as a bust. Wells entered his third season fully healthy and with limited competition for carries after the Cardinals traded Tim Hightower to the Washington Redskins and highly touted rookie Ryan Williams suffered a season-ending injury during camp. Wells delivered solid performances in the first two games of 2011before tweaking his hamstring during practice prior to Week 3 and sitting out the game against the Seattle Seahawks. Although he was a game-time decision heading into Week 4’s matchup against New York Giants, you wouldn’t know it by how he performed. Wells torched the Giants for 138 yards on 27 carries and three touchdowns. Through three games he’s accumulated 321 yards and five touchdowns, the most among running backs in the NFL. Three touchdown games are rare; however the good news is that Wells doesn’t have much competition for goal-line touches.

 

3. Ryan Torain (Washington Redskins)
Bruno Boys Week 1 Projection—Rank: No. N/A; Points: N/A
Week 4 Actual: Rank: No. T-4; Points: 16

The Washington Redskins and drafted running back Roy Helu out of Nebraska and acquired Tim Hightower from the Arizona Cardinals during the offseason. It looked like Ryan Torain was the odd man out despite having performed well last season, so much so that fantasy owners largely ignored Torain on Draft Day in all but the deepest of leagues. To make matters worse, injuries sidelined Torain for much of camp and he didn’t play a down in the first three weeks of the regular season. He got his chance to shine in Week 4’s 17-10 win over the St. Louis Rams after Hightower injured his shoulder. Torain didn’t disappoint, rushing 19 times for 135 yards and a touchdown. As much as we wish we could say with certainty that Torain or Hightower or Helu will be the “guy” for the Redskins, we’ve seen Mike Shanahan mess with running backs way too much to take that leap. Shanahan goes with whichever player he feels is the best that day and last week Torain was the anointed one.

 

4. Jared Cook (Tennessee Titans)
Bruno Boys Week 1 Projection—Rank: No. 25; Points: 3
Week 4 Actual: Rank: No. T-2; Points: 15

Tennessee Titans tight end Jared Cook was one of the most talked about breakout candidates heading into the 2011 season. He possesses that rare combination of speed, athleticism and pass-catching skills that many thought he’d make deliver on his potential from Week 1. Anyone who drafted Cook and put him in their lineup through the season’s first three games knows that he was a total nonfactor in the Titans offense. He didn’t post more than 37 yards in a game, let alone score a touchdown.  Cook made his presence known last week against the Cleveland Brown. He caught two passes for 93 yards and a score. The touchdown was an 80-yard strike where Cook looked more like a receiver than a tight end, weaving his way through defenders and along the sideline while reminding everyone of what makes him special. While we need more consistency from Cook before placing complete faith in him as an every week starter, Cook was a star in Week 4. 

 

5. Ryan Succop (Kansas City Chiefs)
Bruno Boys Week 1 Projection—Rank: No. 31; Points: 4
Week 4 Actual: Rank: No. 1; Points: 21

While kickers will rarely be featured on the weekly Phenoms list, we thought that Kansas City Chiefs kicker Ryan Succopdeserved his moment in the spotlight. Succop was instrumental in helping his team win its first game of the season with a 22-17 victory over the still winless Minnesota Vikings. He drilled five field goals—including one over 40 yards and two over 50 yards—plus his only extra point attempt.  Altogether his Week 4 performance totaled an incredible 21 fantasy points, not the kind of numbers we generally see from kickers. Unfortunately, Succop’s big leg didn’t benefit too many fantasy owners because he’s owned in less than five percent of all leagues.

 

Fantasy Phenoms Week 4 Roundup:Baltimore Ravens D/ST, Andy Dalton, QB (Cincinnati Bengals), Eric Decker, WR (Denver Broncos),  Matt Forte, RB (Chicago Bears), Josh Freeman,  QB (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Pierre Garcon, WR (Indianapolis Colts), Jimmy Graham, TE (New Orleans Saints), Darius Heyward-Bey, WR (Oakland Raiders), Cam Newton, QB (Carolina Panthers), Curtis Painter, QB (Indianapolis Colts), Preston Parker, WR (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Stevan Ridley, RB (New England Patriots), Laurent Robinson, WR (Dallas Cowboys), Alex Smith, QB (San Francisco 49ers), Michael Vick, QB (Philadelphia Eagles)

 

 

The Fantasy 5: Who the Heck is This Guy?

Tarvaris Jackson, QB (Seattle Seahawks)
Bruno Boys Week 1 Projection—Rank: No. 28; Points: 10
Week 1 Actual: Rank: No. 5; Points: 21

Okay, okay. Naming the Seattle Seahawks much maligned quarterback Tarvaris Jackson as our “Who the Heck is This Guy?”  Player of the Week is a bit of a stretch, mainly because we know who he is and he’s not very good. Jackson looked awful during the preseason and his poor play continued during the Seattle’s first three contests, where he posted 527 total yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and two lost fumbles. Whether wide receiver Sidney Rice’s presence on the field or the Seahawks no huddle offense in the second half or Week 4’s matchup against the visiting Atlanta Falcons, Jackson played like we’ve rarely seen him play before. He ended the day 25-of-38 for 319 yards and two touchdowns. With that performance, it’s fair to wonder if the guy wearing No. 7 was “TJax” or someone masquerading as an NFL-caliber quarterback. We’ll find out in Week 5. 

Clay Harbor, TE (Philadelphia Eagles)
Bruno Boys Week 1 Projection—Rank: No. N/A; Points: N/A
Week 4 Actual: Rank: No. T-6; Points: 11

Fantasy owners know that the Philadelphia Eagles have one talented tight in the underused Brent Celek. Now, it appears that Philly has a second and largely unknown tight end in Clay Harbor, a 2010 fourth-round pick out of Missouri State. Quarterback Michael Vick hasn’t used tight ends much as an Eagle, however in Week 4 against the San Francisco Giants he looked Harbor’s way. The second year tight end caught three passes for 56 yards and a touchdown, which is quite impressive considering that he had nine receptions all of last season. While it’s too soon to get overly excited about Harbor, Philadelphia faces the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, a team that’s struggled against tight ends the past few seasons.