Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Brad Berreman
- Edited by Allie Fontana

When looking for potential fantasy football breakout quarterbacks for the coming season, a lot of different factors come into play.  Perhaps an upgrade in the talent around him during the past offseason, or finally getting an opportunity to start after a few years on the bench leads to an opportunity for a guy.  Even a change of scenery can be beneficial for some players.  Changes in the coaching staff, in particular the offensive coordinator, can also lead to a quarterback having a breakout season if a new coach brings a scheme that better suits the player’s talents.  Sometimes something as simple as having another year of experience can be a prelude to an uptick in a quarterback’s numbers.

Using these factors as the jumping off point, here is the Bruno Boys’ list of five potential breakout quarterbacks for 2010. 

Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore Ravens – Flacco started off his second NFL season in 2009 very well, throwing 11 touchdowns and five interceptions while averaging 279 passing yards per game (including three games with 300+ passing yards) over the first six games of the season as he completed 64.4 percent of his passes.  But after that point he never attempted more than 36 passes in a game and threw 10 touchdown passes and seven interceptions over the final 10 games of the season as the Ravens’ offense became more run-oriented.

The offseason acquisition of wide receiver Anquan Boldin and the drafting of a couple young tight ends in Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson should add a couple of nice new weapons to Baltimore’s offensive arsenal.  The loss of another offseason acquisition, wide receiver Donte Stallworth, to a broken foot for two months this past weekend hurts some, but Flacco’s fantasy potential is still good.  Running back Ray Rice is a nice dual threat out of the backfield, and wide receiver Derrick Mason remains a reliable veteran target.  Tight end Todd Heap is also still around to give Flacco another capable veteran target, if he can stay healthy and fend off the youngsters.

Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron may be willing to let his young quarterback loose a little this season, and Flacco definitely has the size (6’6”, 235 pounds) and arm strength to be up to the task.