Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Houston Texans 34 vs. New England Patriots 27
I hope you weren’t counting on Wes Welker this week. His day ended early and his season is over. Keep him out of your lineup for any playoff challenges you participate in. Julian Edelman took his fantasy points, collecting 10 catches for 103 yards. Tom Brady didn’t throw for any touchdowns this week and had 186 yards, though he didn’t play the whole game. Randy Moss had 75 yards, but obviously no scores. Fred Taylor had the biggest fantasy day for the New England Patriots, totaling just 33 yards, but two touchdowns. I don’t think he was in any fantasy lineups, though. Matt Schaub finished his brilliant fantasy season on a high note. Schaub threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns. He stayed healthy for 16 and a half games, and is no longer considered a sleeper QB. Don’t forget, Schaub gets Owen Daniels back next year. The Houston Texans may have found their new running back of the future in Arian Foster, who had 119 yards rushing and two scores. Who knows what the Houston backfield will look like in 2010, but he left the lasting impression on his coaches. Andre Johnson actually had a pretty quiet game, just 65 yards and no touchdowns. Still, Johnson, in my opinion, should be the top wide receiver in fantasy drafts next season.

Green Bay Packers 33 @ Arizona Cardinals 7
It’s hard to put him over Drew Brees or Peyton Manning, but Aaron Rodgers had a fantastic fantasy season in 2009, and he capped it off with two more touchdowns and 235 yards passing on Sunday. Rodgers rushed for a TD and threw one to Jermichael Finley, the biggest up-and-coming fantasy tight end. Donald Driver led the Green Bay Packers with 65 yards receiving, while Greg Jennings had just 29 yards. Still, Jennings has much more upside than Driver next season, but Jennings may not be considered a true WR1 anymore. Ryan Grant scored again with 51 yards. Grant was a consistent RB2 for most of the season. Virtually all of the Arizona Cardinals rested on Sunday, but for those of you who played him, Larry Fitzgerald still caught a touchdown to give him a decent fantasy day.

San Diego Chargers 23 vs. Washington Redskins 20
Even the JV San Diego Chargers managed to beat the Washington Redskins. Antonio Gates only had one catch, but it was in the endzone. When he’s healthy, as he was all this season, Gates is one of the best tight ends in the league. In case you played him, Malcolm Floyd had 140 receiving yards. He may be a sleeper next year as the second receiver with Vincent Jackson next year. Jason Campbell threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns. There weren’t any big fantasy performances from the Washington Redskins, except Malcolm Kelly’s 84-yard reception. Washington is getting a new coach next year, likely Mike Shanahan, but don’t forget the fantasy trouble that he caused with his running backs. Still, it might make the receivers more fantasy relevant next year.

Tennessee Titans 17 @ Seattle Seahawks 13
Guess who’s the featured player in this recap? It was a milestone afternoon for Chris Johnson. More importantly, fantasy wise, Johnson had another huge game, producing 134 yards and two touchdowns. I don’t need to say it, but Johnson will be first overall draft pick in virtually ever draft next season. Nate Washington hauled in 83 yards, but even with the emergence of Vince Young, it’s really hard to predict the passing game on this offense. Matt Hasselbeck tossed 175 yards and another touchdown to John Carlson, who ended the year with a couple of good fantasy games. Justin Forsett had 74 rushing yards and might actually make his way on to some fantasy teams next season, as it looks like he may surpass Julius Jones on the depth chart. Deion Branch had 77 yards receiving, but this offense needs a lot of work, and I would look towards other position players next year than the ones on this team.

Baltimore Ravens 21 @ Oakland Raiders 13
Who would have thought the Baltimore Ravens’ running back to go off and have a huge game would not be Ray Rice. Willis McGahee went off for 167 yards and three touchdowns. Rice has been the more consistent back all year, but a couple times this season, McGahee has busted loose for those huge games. McGahee provided all the offense for Baltimore, as Joe Flacco just managed 102 yards passing, 40 of them went to Todd Heap. Despite the quiet finale, Rice remains an RB1 heading into next season’s draft. Chaz Schilens led the Oakland Raiders with 99 yards, but as has been the case all season, there was no strong fantasy option on the Raiders. Even with a new coach likely coming for next year, the future looks dim for this team.

Dallas Cowboys 24 vs. Philadelphia Eagles 0
The Philadelphia Eagles are calling for a mulligan after this game, and they’ll actually get it in a way next week in the playoffs. Obviously, no touchdowns were scored for the Eagles, but Brent Celek still mustered 96 yards receiving. He was Donovan McNabb’s go-to receiver all season, and should be at the top of your tight end lists for next year’s draft. McNabb had 223 yards passing. DeSean Jackson had a quiet game, just 47 yards receiving, but remains a WR1 for next year. LeSean McCoy should make a decent RB2 next year if Brian Westbrook gets phased out of this offense. The running game for the Dallas Cowboys was clicking all around. Marion Barber and Felix Jones both went off for 91 yards each, and Jones also scored a touchdown. Tony Romo got it done through the air, as well, with 311 yards passing and two touchdowns that went to Patrick Crayton and Jason Witten. Crayton actually led the Cowboys in receiving with 99 yards. Miles Austin had 90 yards. A 2009 bust, Roy Williams, didn’t have a single catch.

Kansas City Chiefs 44 @ Denver Broncos 24
The running back of the week has to go to Jamaal Charles, who rattled of 259 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Charles absolutely destroyed in the second half of the season and catapulted himself up to a low-end RB1 status for next year. You have to keep him on your radar. Knowshon Moreno also hit paydirt twice, but he only totaled 50 yards on the ground. The big receiver in this game was Jabar Gaffney, filling in for the benched Brandon Marshall. Gaffney had 14 catches for 213 yards. He made an ideal waiver wire pickup, and hopefully you grabbed him. Chris Chambers, another nice second-half surprise, led the Kansas City Chiefs with 80 yards receiving. I’m still not crazy about Chambers next year. This is still Dwayne Bowe’s team. Kyle Orton threw for an impressive 413 yards with a touchdown to Brandon Stokley and three interceptions. Despite the picks, you can’t complain about the yardage. Matt Cassel had 207 yards passing with an interception, capping his dismal 2009 campaign.

Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets
No matter what player on the Cincinnati Bengals you played, you got zero points from them. Cedric Benson and Chad Ochocinco both didn’t play, and in his limited playing time, Carson Palmer didn’t record a single passing yard. Thomas Jones was the star of the week’s nightcap, hitting paydirt twice to go with his 78 yards. Shonn Greene also notched 62 yards, setting up a nice RBBC for next season. If you had Jones on your team, you have to be praising him for the tremendous season he had this year. Mark Sanchez only passed for 63 yards, 39 of them to Jerricho Cotchery. The New York Jets made the playoffs, but this passing attack has been pretty awful since the first month of the season. Hopefully Sanchez will improve if you end up drafting any Jets receivers next year.

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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