Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Last year was a year of change for the Denver Broncos. They had a new head coach (Josh McDaniels replaced Mike Shanahan) and a new quarterback (Kyle Orton replaced Jay Cutler). The early success was shocking to some, as the Broncos rolled off six straight wins to start the season. But after losing eight of their finals 10 games and missing the playoffs, questions began to surround what McDaniels was telling his guys on the field.

For fantasy owners, the players on the field produced a mixed bag of results. Orton had a great year, throwing for 3,802 yards and 21 touchdowns. He connected early and often with stellar wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who had 101 catches for 1,120 yards and 10 touchdowns. One wide receiver who did not get open much was Eddie Royal, who after a rookie season where he had 91 catches for 980 yards and five touchdowns, only nabbed 37 passes for 345 yards and not scoring a touchdown. With the additional passing the running game never blew up, as rookie Knowshon Moreno ran for a mere 947 yards and seven touchdowns (and not one 100 yard game) and his backup Correll Buckhalter ran for 642 yards and one score. It also didn’t help that the Broncos split the carries two to one, an approach many in fantasy football didn’t expect.

A big positive from last season was the defense for Denver. A unit that was ranked so low by many that it was believed any offense facing the Broncos would have a field day ended up being one of the best in fantasy football. One big reason was the addition of both a veteran defensive back in Brian Dawkins and another was the defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. The defense was able to total 39 sacks and 37 turnovers on the season, good numbers from a unit projected at the bottom to start the year.

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In a division which features the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants, it has been the Redskins who have not had much success in the difficult NFC East. Washington came off an 8-8 year in 2008 to only post half of the amount of wins (4) in 2009.

That sent Washington into another offseason wondering what needed to be done. Their offense was not very impressive, although quarterback Jason Campbell threw for 3,618 yards. He only had five more touchdowns to interceptions (20-15) and did not feature any one wide receiver in the offense, as no one was able to reach 1,000 yards. Santana Moss led the receiving game with 70 catches for 902 yards and 3 touchdowns. The passing game was not very effective due to the running game struggling, as Clinton Portis was the Redskins leading rusher with 494 yards and one touchdown.

Injuries did play a big part in why Washington couldn’t get the offense going. Portis missed eight games, his backup Ladell Betts missed six games, and tight end Chris Cooley missed nine games. Add that the defense, despite the Albert Haynesworth addition, did not get much better and you see why the Redskins were one of the worst NFL teams in 2009. One positive from last season was the production from rookie defensive end Brian Orakpo from Texas, who registered 11 sacks and 50 tackles.

Now Washington will go back to the drawing board for 2010. With the players currently on the team and the money in owner Daniel Snyder’s wallet, the Redskins clear goal was to try and load up instead of rebuilding. It has been an offseason of change which includes a new head coach (Mike Shanahan) and a new general manager (Bruce Allen). As for the players, well, the roster seen a shake up too.

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It’s going to be weird to not see No. 5 under center on opening day for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2010. It’s the dawning of a new era in the city of brotherly love. Donovan McNabb won’t be forgotten any time soon as he will see the Eagles twice since he is now the quarterback for the Washington Redskins. Not only is Philadelphia’s long-time quatertback gone, so is the standout running back Brian Westbrook. There’s a reason why the Eagles would let both McNabb and Westbrook leave. Westbrook’s time as an elite running back is gone, and now, he’d be lucky to just be helpful to some other team. McNabb’s best years are behind him, and the Eagles obviously liked Kevin Kolb enough for him to take the helm to lead this new crop of stars the Eagles have now. The times they are a-changing in Philly.

There are still some familiar faces that fantasy football owners will recognize on draft day. Up-and-coming stars like DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek will be receiving passes from Kolb in 2010. Running back LeSean McCoy has some big shoes to fill in the backfield, but he’ll get his fair share of carries,  making him one of 2010’s more interesting fantasy players. The NFC East is one of the toughest divisions in the NFL, but those defenses gave up a lot of fantasy points in 2009, making the future bright for the Eagles’ 2010 stars

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After 5 straight wins to start the season, it seemed like the New York Giants may be on their way to a great year. But four straight losses followed by an up and down end of the season gave New York an 8-8 record. That brought questions marks all over, but mainly to a defense that was so dominant in their Super Bowl XLII run in the 2007-2008 season. The unit gave up the third most points in the league (26.7 points per game), while only totaling 32 sacks and 24 turnovers. An overhaul was much needed in the offseason and a quick turn around could mean good things for fantasy purposes.

The offense on the other hand had a huge role reversal, taking on a totally different identity. The Giants went from being a running team to a passing team, making quarterback Eli Manning earn that big payday he recently received. Manning had his best season ever in 2009, throwing for a career high in both yards (4,021) and touchdowns (27). The big reason was the chemistry developed with his young wide receivers, Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, and Hakeem Nicks. Smith was the big star, catching 107 passes for 1,220 yards and 7 touchdowns. Meanwhile the running game took a hit, as no single running back totaled 1,000 yards for the first time since 2001.

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The Dallas Cowboys always seem to be just a step away from winning the NFC and advancing to the Super Bowl. They enter the 2010 season with the same expectations, despite playing in one of the best divisions in the NFL. You would think that a team this talented would be loaded with fantasy football star power. While the Cowboys do have some fantasy studs, there are a lot of question marks surrounding not only the offense, but the defense, as well.

The league’s ninth best defense a year ago, the Cowboys’ are projected to be a top-10 selection in most fantasy draft formats in 2010. The loss of veteran leader Ken Hamlin will not help bring this defense back up to par of being one of the top squads selected on draft day;  however, the Cowboys do have some young talent that could make an immediate impact . On the offensive side of the ball, the best fantasy option is of course the emerging wide out Miles Austin, with quarterback Tony Romo a close second. There are a lot of questions surrounding the backfield. Who is the best guy to have on your team among this trio? Will Jason Witten find the end zone after scoring just twice in 2009? Should you just forget about Roy Williams altogether? How much can you expect out of hot shot rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant? As you can see there are many questions surrounding the offense but one thing is for certain.. the Cowboys will find ways to score points.

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Rumors had been flying since the epic release, when quarterback Brett Favre became a free agent after his one season with the New York Jets. Those rumors were that Favre would join one of his most hated rivals, the Minnesota Vikings. While Favre once again denied he was going to come back into the NFL, he wound up signing with Minnesota anyway, just in time to miss most of training camp. The numbers he put up showed he still is among the games best, throwing for 4202 yards and 33 touchdowns while only having seven interceptions (the fewest in a single season in his career). His teammates were better playing alongside Favre too. Sidney Rice and Visanthe Shiancoe blossomed with a steady quarterback, rookie Percy Harvin did not perform like a rookie, and Adrian Peterson was not only a consistent runner but also an integral part in the passing game as well.

That brings up that question, is Brett Favre going to return to Minnesota in 2010? All indications say he will be returning to dawn the purple. There is no way Favre will end his career by throwing an interception to lose a game. He knows there is unfinished business and feels younger thanks to the supporting cast around him who all grew up watching Favre play. Don’t be fooled by his wavering right now, as he merely wants to miss most of training camp (like in 2009) to heal his ankle and be ready when things matter most. With his return his teammates all get high fantasy football rankings due to the play of a year ago. If by some rare chance Favre decides to hang it up, everyone outside of Peterson will lose significant value.

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Normally when a team wins just two games in a season you don’t hear the word “improvement” used, but after posting the worst season in the history of the NFL in 2008 going 0-16 the Detroit Lions did improve in 2009. Sure they only had two wins the entire year and they still finished in last place of the NFC North, but Detroit fans do seem to have reason to be optimistic.

They had a solid draft in 2009 and there may be a light at the end of the dark tunnel that former general manager Matt Millen created. They appear to have found their quarterback of the future in Matthew Stafford. They also found a starting tight end in Brandon Pettigrew, a starting safety in Louis Delmas and a starting linebacker in DeAndre Levy. With what appears to be another solid draft this season and some solid moves in free agency the Lions appear poised to take another step forward in 2010.

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Entering 2009 there was excitement in the air for the Chicago Bears and their fans. The addition of Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler was a big reason for that, with supporters believing he would lead them to a Super Bowl trophy and be one of the Bears all time great quarterbacks alongside the likes of Jim McMahon and Sid Luckman. Instead Cutler threw nearly just as many interceptions (26) as touchdowns (27) while leading the Bears to a disappointing 7-9 record.

Despite the interception numbers by Cutler that cost so many fantasy football owners, his touchdown totals plus yards (3,666) show how talented the gun slinger out of Vanderbilt is. While Cutler spread the ball around the field (a fantasy owners nightmare), he did make all his wide receivers better. Both Devin Hester and Earl Bennett had over 50 catches and over 700 yards while Johnny Knox and Devin Aromashodu each had their moments of greatness.

One player who did have a down year was running back Matt Forte. He totaled 1,400 yards on the season, but only scored four touchdowns. The top four pick in almost every fantasy league struggled with Chicago going to a more pass happy attack and it didn’t help when the Bears fell behind in games. Their defense had a crushing blow, losing Brian Urlacher in the first week of the season and never quite recovered. Their unit ranked in the bottom half of the league in fantasy football circles, with only 13 interceptions and 35 sacks all season.

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After a disappointing 6-10 season in 2008 the Green Bay Packers definitely wanted to show improvement in 2009 and they definitely did. Not only did they improve their record to 11-5 they also earned a Wild Card playoff birth in the NFC. Unfortunately they lost their playoff game to the Arizona Cardinals, but it wasn’t just the best game of the Wild Card round, it may have been the best game of the entire playoff season as the Cardinals squeaked by the Packers 51-45 in overtime.

Last season proved to be a very positive season for Green Bay. Not only did they get themselves back into the playoffs, they were an extremely productive offensive team. In his second season as the Packers starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers had his second straight 4,000 yard passing season when he passed for 4,434 yards with 30 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. Ryan Grant rushed for more than 1,200 yards with 11 touchdowns, while both Greg Jennings and Donald Driver each had more than 1,000 yards receiving. Don’t be fooled and think this is a one dimensional football team, led by Charles Woodson and a solid linebacking corps they also possess one of the better defenses in the NFL. Entering 2010 the Green Bay Packers once again look poised to make a run at a NFC North title and another playoff birth.

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After back-to-back 9-7 seasons in 2007 and 2008 under then head coach Jon Gruden the Buccaneers slipped to 3-13 last season under new head coach Raheem Morris, falling to the cellar in the NFC South. The season wasn’t a total failure as they did find some new toys to play with, including a new quarterback and a tuned-up Cadillac. Rookie Josh Freeman got a chance to play at quarterback and showed signs of potentially making it as an above average NFL quarterback. Former first round pick running back Cadillac Williams who had been slowed by injuries over the last couple of seasons showed signs of regaining his form that had Buccaneers’ fans excited during his rookie season in 2005.

The team appeared to have a very solid draft this past April and it could be the start of getting this team back in contention in the division. This is no longer the Cover 2 defense that used to give offensive coordinators nightmares, but landing rookie defensive tackle Gerald McCoy in the draft is a nice building block to help revive the defense.

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