Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Cory Steger
- Edited by Marc Caviglia
- Predictions are based on Staff Consensus

::WEEK 6 RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF OCTOBER 17, 2010::

It sounds a bit weird to say, but right now most fantasy football leagues are at or approaching the halfway point of their seasons. For those of you in bad positions, it’s too early to panic because there is still a lot of football to be played. One of the ways to score big in fantasy football is with your quarterback, so if you have a struggling signal caller make sure to pay close attention to our rankings.

Having said that, you need to be sure to cover all the bases in regards to the quarterback position because there are some interesting developments going on. The Arizona Cardinals have turned to undrafted rookie Max Hall. The Cleveland Browns, with injuries to Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace, may start rookie Colt McCoy or the recently resigned Brett Ratliff. Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, two of the top quarterbacks, are dealing with concussions and there statuses are unknown for this week. Of course, who could forget that Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers is back in action this week.

Check out our Fantasy Football Week 6 Quarterback Rankings to find out where these guys, as well as the rest of the quarterbacks, fall this week.

**RANKINGS BASED ON STANDARD SCORING - 1 POINT PER 25 PASSING YARDS, 1 POINT PER 10 YARDS RUSHING, 4 POINTS ALL PASSING TOUCHDOWNS, -2 POINTS ALL TURNOVERS**

1. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) @ St. Louis

The first four weeks of the season the St. Louis Rams defense looked serviceable, then in last week’s loss to the Detroit Lions they gave up 227 passing yards and three passing touchdowns to Shaun Hill. They’ve given up just six passing touchdowns but three of those came last week, and before that the Rams were playing mediocre offenses from teams like the Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders, Washington Redskins and the Seattle Seahawks. It doesn’t take a genius to figure what’s going to happen this week when they face Philip Rivers and the prolific San Diego Chargers passing offense. Rivers has throw for over 400 yards in a game twice this year and he has two or more touchdowns in each game this season. If you own him, expect that kind of production from him again this week.
Point Projection: 22 points

2. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) @ Washington

After a great start to the season, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has thrown two interceptions and two touchdowns in the team’s last two games. However that doesn’t mean it’s time to get down on Manning despite his poor performance against the Kansas City Chiefs last week. The Colts went into the game with a gameplan more conservative than they typically do, for whatever reason, and the result was a less-than-impressive game from Manning. Indianapolis needs to rely on Manning’s arm this week because the Washington Redskins are OK against the run but rank 30th in the league in passing yards allowed. The Chiefs dared the Colts to run, and in the end a Mike Hart rushing touchdown won them the game. If the Redskins try a similar gameplan expect much better numbers from Manning.
Point Projection: 21 points

3. Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears) vs. Seattle

Indications were that if it were necessary Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (concussion) could have played last week. As it stood, the Bears managed to beat the Carolina Panthers without him despite Todd Collins and Caleb Hanie combining for just 51 passing yards and four interceptions. Cutler will back this week, and that’s a scary thought for the Seattle Seahawks defense. Seattle is 20th or worse in every major defensive category and are allowing opposing quarterbacks to have a 7.3 average yards per attempt. Consider Cutler a great start this week.
Point Projection: Cutler - 18 points

4. Aaron Rodgers / Matt Flynn (Green Bay Rodgers) vs. Miami

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a concussion on the team’s last offensive play on a helmet-to-helmet hit. He threw an interception, which led to the winning field goal for the Washington Redskins, but the bigger concern is the health of Rodgers. Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel confirmed that Rodgers is guaranteed to miss some practice time this week, however, he passed his concussion physical and will be ready to play in Week 6. Taking on the Miami Dolphins, you should expect a solid performance from Rodgers given that Green Bay is a pass first team and the Dolphins are giving up 23 points a game, to go along with just three interceptions. **FULL CLEARED AFTER WEEK 5 CONCUSSION. WILL START IN WEEK 6**
Point Projection: Rodgers - 18 points; Flynn - 10 points

5. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) @ Tampa Bay

Throughout the offseason, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton talked about avoiding “the disease of me,” meaning that the Saints needed to stay level-headed and not let their success get to their heads. Whether “the disease of me” is affecting the Saints or not, there are still problems with the offense, including quarterback Drew Brees. He threw three interceptions in the loss to the Arizona Cardinals, including two in the fourth quarter. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have nine interceptions on the season, but three of those came in last week’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals when Carson Palmer was forcing all of his throws. The big issue with the Buccaneers defense is that the line has trouble generating pressure and only has four sacks in four games. Give Brees enough time and he’ll make enough plays to be one of the top quarterbacks this week.
Point Projection: 17 points

6. Eli Manning (New York Giants) vs. Detroit

After two weeks of not throwing a touchdown pass, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning rebounded in last week’s win over the New York Giants by throwing for 297 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He probably could’ve had another score or two had receiver Hakeem Nicks made a better effort on a couple of plays, but nonetheless it was exactly what we needed to see from Manning. In reality the Giants looked pretty bad the first three weeks of the season but they seemed to have gotten it together with impressive wins over the Texans and the Chicago Bears the last two weeks. The Detroit Lions are giving up 235 passing yards a game, and even though their defense looked good last week that was against a rookie quarterback, Sam Bradford of the St. Louis Rams. Manning’s experience will propel him and the Giants to another solid performance this week.
Point Projection: 17 points

7. Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys) @ Minnesota

Given the current state of affairs, not too many people in Dallas are happy with the Cowboys. They currently sport a 1-3 record, including losing at home last week to the Tennessee Titans after coming off a bye week. Yet owners of Dallas quarterback Tony Romo are still happy, and that’s because the Cowboys typically abandon the running game and ask Romo to win them the game. That’s translated to good fantasy stats, including 690 passing yards and five touchdown passes in the last two games. Though the Cowboys as a team are a mess, the one constant is good fantasy production from Romo, who’s not had one single-digit performance this season. However, his matchup against a stout Minnesota Vikings passing defense in Week 6 can’t be overlooked. The Vikings allow roughly 190 yards per game against the pass and have surrendered just three passing touchdowns in four games. Romo will get his fantasy points, just don’t expect him to repeat his 22 point performance from a week ago.
Point Projection: 17 points

8. Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos) vs. New York Jets

At this point it’s time to start believing in Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton. No, he’s not going to lead them to a Super Bowl but in terms of fantasy football quarterbacks, he’s produced as a top-5 option each week. Now, in year’s past, we’ve seen Orton start hot and fade, as was the case last year when 11 of his 12 interceptions came in the second half of the season. Yet, it’s hard to ignore a guy who goes for 300 passing yards and two touchdowns weekly. The New York Jets defense is one of the best, but Orton’s already seen good defenses, such as the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens, and played well against them. Against the Titans and Ravens he combined for four touchdowns and one interception. Plus, after surrendering three touchdowns on Monday Night Football, the Jets have allowed nine passing touchdowns over their last four games. So for now, hop onto the Orton bandwagon and enjoy the ride.
Point Projection: 17 points

9. Tom Brady (New England Patriots) vs. Baltimore

How much will the trade of wide receiver Randy Moss affect the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady? Moss caught 50 touchdowns in his three-plus years with the Patriots, including 23 during Brady’s record-setting 2007 season. However, if there’s any team that’s shown it can handle play turnover better than anybody it’s New England. Brady still has Wes Welker and Julian Edelman, as well as emerging targets in receiver Brandon Tate and tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Plus, the team brought back veteran wide out, and ex-Patriot, Deion Branch The Baltimore Ravens have one of the league’s best defenses statistically, but the best offense they’ve played so far was from the Denver Broncos, who passed for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. The Patriots lead the league with 32.8 points per game, so even against a sound Ravens secondary (156.6 passing yards per game), expect another solid game from Brady.
Point Projection: 17 points

10. Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) @ New England

Though he still has yet to show he’s on the verge of his expected breakout, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has been solid in the last three weeks after a poor first two games. In the last three weeks he’s thrown just one interception. Expect a good game out of him this week against the New England Patriots. New England has allowed nine touchdown passes in its four games, and the Patriots are allowing opposing quarterbacks a 7.4 average yards per attempt. As long as Flacco doesn’t throw the ball to the other team - the Patriots have seven picks already - then he’s in line for a good game.
Point Projection: 16 points

11. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) vs. Cleveland

The much anticipated return of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to the Pittsburgh Steelers happens this week. Roethlisberger was suspended for the first four games for violating the NFL’s conduct policy after an offseason incident at a Georgia nightclub that revealed his fondness of bathrooms. Allowed to practice with the team last week for the first time since the preseason, Roethlisberger reportedly looked as sharp as he did in the preseason when he completed 14 of 20 passes for 182 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. For now, we’ll keep the expectations modest because he hasn’t played or practiced since the preseason until recently. If Big Ben performs well against the Cleveland Browns this week, expect his fantasy value to skyrocket considering he threw for 4,328 yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year.
Point Projection: 16 points

12. Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings) vs. Dallas

If there’s one thing the New York Jets exposed about the Minnesota Vikings offense it’s that they are susceptible to the blitz. That’s not good for quarterback Brett Favre, who is about as mobile as the lineman that block for him. However, Favre and the Vikings did an excellent job of making adjustments at halftime and put on an aerial display in the second half in Week 5. In a 20 minute span, Favre hit Randy Moss with a long touchdown pass and found Percy Harvin with two touchdown strikes, proving to his fantasy owners that he isn’t dead yet. The Dallas Cowboys have been solid against the pass, allowing just 202 yards per game, however, they will have trouble defending the Vikings’ playmakers on offense. Expect this game to be high scoring and for Favre to make it two straight week with 15-plus fantasy points. 
Point Projection: 16 points