Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Wild Card Weekend has come to a close here in the NFL. As per usual, with football being played, another batch of story lines have come to be examined. In Whooley’s Weekly Words, I, Bruno Boys Whooley, tackle just a few of the more interesting items to catch my eye from the weekend. This week, I’ll be discussing what Jermichael Finley’s big game means for next year’s fantasy draft and the Baltimore Ravens’ ground game.

Tight End - To Wait or Not to Wait?

Like clock work, fantasy drafts over the past few years have played out the same over and over at the tight end position. Come the third and fourth rounds, you either acted fast nabbing one of the elite names like Antonio Gates, Jason Witten, Dallas Clark, or Tony Gonzalez, or you waited until the late rounds, taking a flier on a couple of guys who you would hope could combine to get you by with at least some decent production from the position. Basically, it was a do-or-die scenario. Heading into 2010, though, it looks like all that has changed.

Yes, Gates, Witten, Clark, and Gonzalez all took up their usual spots in the top-10 in 2009, but things got a lot more crowded at the top as every member of the top-10 at the tight end position surpassed the 100 point mark. Whether a result of continued development (Visanthe Shiancoe and Greg Olsen), a return to form (Kellen Winslow and Heath Miller), finally putting it all together (Vernon Davis), or a larger role in the game plan (Brent Celek), the tight end position suddenly had a whole lot more to offer to fantasy owners. Even more so, if you consider that Owen Daniels, who had 78 points prior to going down with a season ending injury in week 8, and Jermichael Finley, who after finishing the season with four of five games of 70+ receiving yards, erupted for six catches for 159 yards in the Green Bay Packers - Arizona Cardinals’ contest this past Wild Card weekend, weren’t even among the top-10 at the position.

So, what does this influx of tight end talent mean for fantasy owners? It creates balance. No longer will you be forced to grab a tight end in rounds three or four to secure an elite option; however, at the same time, you shouldn’t wait until the end of your draft to grab a rag tag duo that you try to play the match-ups with. Play things smart in next year’s draft and look to grab a tight end in rounds five through seven. Doing so, should give you a solid tight end you can rely on on a weekly basis, while letting you load up on solid depth at the other skilled positions earlier on.

Ravens Running Wild

Had you told me prior to Sunday’s contest that Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco would complete just 4 of 10 passes for 34 yards in the team’s match-up with the New England Patriots, I would have guaranteed that the Ravens would be checking on tee times come Monday. Yet, here we stand with the Ravens preparing for a trip to Indianapolis where they’ll meet the Colts, and the Patriots the ones cleaning out their lockers.

Yes, the Ravens got minimal production through the air from Flacco, but the truth of the matter was that was because they didn’t need him to do much more than turn around and hand the ball off. Carrying the ball 52 times, the Ravens amassed 234 yards on the ground to go with four rushing scores in a true showing of smash mouth football as the team averaged 4.5 yards per carry. The key to their success? Constantly putting two blockers on Patriots’ run-stopper Vince Wilfork. Doing so, limited Wilfork’s ability to get into the back field and disrupt the Ravens’ running plays. As a result, Ray Rice and Willis McGahee were able to get into the holes and into the second line of defenders more often than not.

If the Ravens were able to run with that success against a Patriots’ team that ranked 13th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game this season and that gave up just 6 rushing TDs in all the regular season, Indianapolis Colts’ fans should be a bit weary about this weekend’s match-up as the Colts ranked 24th against the run this year, giving up 10 rushing scores on the season. After all, Peyton Manning can’t win the game from the sidelines.

Divisional Round Rankings:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  | DEF   (click to read)

Divisional Round Start & Sit:  START ‘EM  |  SIT ‘EM  (click to read)

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