Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Each and every fantasy football contest from here on out has the make-up of a do-or-die outing. With that being the case, the Bruno Boys know you have questions. We address some of these in the Week 14 edition of the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Roundtable.

WEEK 14 BURNING QUESTIONS

1. Entering the month of December, a new wrinkle arises when it comes to setting fantasy line-ups as weather will begin to play a factor in many football contests moving forward. This always leaves fantasy owners in a dilemma. Do they play their stud, who’ll be in the snow, or do they roll with a match-up play in a dome? What’s your advice for fantasy owners when it comes to dealing with mother nature?

Bruno Boys Whooley: Weather is a tricky thing when it comes to fantasy football, as mother nature can always come and ruin what looks to be a nice match-up on paper. However, while mother nature can often times act as an additional defender, she does so not through the use of snow, sleet, or rain. After all, New England Patriots’ quarterback, Tom Brady, seemed to do just fine in the powder in week 6 when he threw for 380 yards and 6 TDs against the Tennessee Titans. Nope, mother nature uses gale force winds to slow down aerial attacks, which is why wind is the most important aspect of weather for fantasy owners to pay attention to.

Bruno Boys Jimbo: It has to be pretty harsh conditions for me to bench a stud due to weather. I think a bigger concern is your studs getting rested for the playoffs in the final week or two of the regular season. You obviously need to take into account injuries, matchups and things of that nature on a game-by-game basis, but generally speaking, I think you always have to play your studs.

WEEK 14 LIGHTNING ROUND  (Fantasy Football Questions in a Flash)

Real Deal or One-Week Wonder

1. Bruce Gradkowski, QB, Oakland Raiders (26 fantasy points in week 13)

Bruno Boys Jimbo: ONE-WEEK WONDER: Last week’s performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers I’m calling a fluke. The Steelers are in the dumps right now, and they were ripe for the picking by any team. This is still the Oakland Raiders were talking about here. They still have a pathetic offense overall in general, and I’m not sold on any of them by any means.

Bruno Boys Whooley: MATCH PLAY. Did you know that the 26 fantasy points Gradkowski posted in week 13 were 5 more than JaMarcus Russell had in the 9 games he played this season? Granted, you or I could play a better quarterback than Russell, which is why I’m hesitant to jump on the Gradkowski band wagon, but I will acknowledge that with three straight double digit performances he is a guy to watch going forward.

2. Louis Murphy, WR, Oakland Raiders (24 fantasy points in week 13)

Bruno Boys Whooley: ONE WEEK WONDER. Murphy may have racked up 128 receiving yards and 2 scores last week, but he did so while catching just four passes. Averaging 17.9 yards per catch, Murphy is more a big play receiver than someone you can rely on for consistent production on a weekly basis. As such, I’m staying away.

Bruno Boys Jimbo: ONE-WEEK WONDER: I can pretty much put “see above” from my comment about Gradkowski for this one, as well. I will say, however, that while I don’t think Louis Murphy for the rest of this season, there may be hope for him in the long term from a fantasy end.

3. Devin Thomas, WR, Washington Redskins (22 fantasy points in week 13)

Bruno Boys Jimbo: REAL DEAL. It’s not what Thomas can do as much as it’s been what Jason Campbell has been doing in recent weeks. Campbell has quietly been putting up pretty good fantasy numbers in recent weeks, and with Chris Cooley gone and Santana Moss nowhere to be found, Thomas could finish the year on a pretty good note.

Bruno Boys Whooley: ONE WEEK WONDER. Thomas’ 22 fantasy points in week 13 proved the kid has potential and could be a big part of the Redskins’ passing game for years to come, but the fact that he had just 21 points on the season prior to week 13, tells me he’s not ready to be trusted by fantasy owners.

4. Jerome Harrison, RB, Cleveland Browns (21 fantasy points in week 13)

Bruno Boys Whooley: REAL DEAL.

Bruno Boys Jimbo: ONE-WEEK WONDER. The Cleveland Browns scored a rushing touchdown on Thursday night, but it wasn’t from Harrison. Even with Jamal Lewis nonexistant, it doesn’t mean Harrison is the man in Cleveland just yet. Plus, the Browns still have a pretty bad offense all around.

5. Jermichael Finley, TE, Green Bay Packers (19 fantasy points in week 13)

Bruno Boys Jimbo: REAL DEAL. There’s two tight ends in this offense, but Finley is quickly becoming the main one for the Green Bay Packers. With Greg Jennings having a terrible fantasy season, Rodgers has been spreading it around more. I wouldn’t expect huge numbers from Finley, but I think he could be a good sleeper in the final weeks.

Bruno Boys Whooley: MATCH PLAY. While I fully expect Finley to be a weekly fantasy option at the tight end position come 2010, he’s not quite there yet. For every double digit outing he’s posted this season, there’s two or three outings of five points or less.

WEEK 14 MATCH-UPS  (Who’ll Have the Better Week?)

1. Marques Colston (NO) vs. Roddy White (Atl)

Bruno Boys Whooley: WHITE. It may be a bit of a gamble going with White here when you compare the two QBs throwing these guys the ball. Obviously, Drew Brees is light years better than Chris Redman, who will be filling in for the injured Matt Ryan. However, it’s Drew Brees’ talent that hurts Colston here. While Redman will key in on White, who he targeted 20 times in week 13, Brees will be more than happy spreading the ball around to the variety of weapons he has at his disposal, calmly going through his reads. More opportunities for White will translate to more fantasy points.

Bruno Boys Jimbo: COLSTON. He had a nice game the first time these two teams met, and White will not be 100 percent on Sunday, assuming he plays. Drew Brees has plenty of passing options, and Colston has definitely had his quiet games in recent weeks, but the Atlanta Falcons’ secondary is so bad right now, Colston could easily finish with 100 yards and a score. If White plays, he’s facing a much-improved defense, and he may not have his starting quarterback.

2. Calvin Johnson (Det) vs. Derrick Mason (Bal)

Bruno Boys Jimbo: MASON. Johnson won’t have Matthew Stafford throwing him the ball for starters. Secondly, after their embarrassing Monday night performance, I think the Baltimore Ravens are going to beat up on the poor Detroit Lions this week. It’s a perfect week for the Ravens to host the NFL’s best “get well” team.

Bruno Boys Whooley: MASON. Yes, Megatron is riding a three-game TD streak, but there’s something about Daunte Culpepper I just don’t like. Plus, Mason does have more fantasy points (100) than Johnson (96) on the year, and the Lions have allowed the second most fantasy points on the year to opposing wide outs. Call me crazy, but I’m going with the consistent vet here.

3. Ryan Grant (GB) vs. Matt Forte (Chi)

Bruno Boys Whooley: GRANT. The first time these two teams met, Forte carried the ball 25 times for a mere 55 yards, a 2.2 ypc average, while Grant rushed 16 times for 61 yards, a 3.8 ypc average. Neither outing is particularly eye opening, but throw in a rush TD by Grant in that week one meeting, and you’ll see why I’m rolling with him here.

Bruno Boys Jimbo: GRANT. Forte is this season’s biggest fantasy bust, and I would keep him out of my lineup for the rest of the year. Grant, on the other had, while he’s no fantasy stud, he’s facing a Chicago Bears’ defense that’s a little banged up right now. I think he’s good for 80 yards and a score. With Forte, you’d need him to get a lot of receiving yards.

4. Julius Jones (Sea) vs. Justin Forsett (Sea) vs. Chris Brown (Hou) vs. Ryan Moats (Hou)

Bruno Boys Jimbo: JONES. The matchup of two brand new RBBCs. I’m not crazy about any of these running backs this week, but Jones is the best back out of all four. In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Houston Texans’ defense has vastly improved since the season started. Still, I’d take my chances with the proven veteran back out of this bunch.

Bruno Boys Whooley: BROWN. Looks like we have ourselves a nice helping of RBBCs here. What makes this decision particularly difficult is that the roles of these backs are not yet clearly defined. One thing though seems certain and that is the fact that Chris Brown appears to be the goal-line back for Houston. As such, I’m hoping for a easy six for Brown, giving him the edge out of these four options.

5. Knowshon Moreno (Den) vs. Joseph Addai (Ind)

Bruno Boys Whooley: ADDAI. With 80+ rushing yards in each of his past four games, Moreno is showing why the Broncos’ used a first round pick on him despite already having a full stable of running backs. Still, those 80 yard performances are not enough to get the nod over Addai, who has double digit fantasy points in every game he’s played in but two.

Bruno Boys Jimbo: MORENO. I like both running backs in this game, but I’m going with Moreno because the Denver Broncos have done a great job at shutting down the running game in the past two weeks. Moreno has been a stud in recent weeks, and while I like the Indianapolis Colts to win this game, they’ll have a hard time stopping this Bronco. The Colts will win this game thanks to Peyton Manning airing it out.

6. Ricky Williams (Mia) vs. Maurice Jones-Drew (Jax)

Bruno Boys Jimbo: JONES-DREW. After the first game when the Miami Dolphins were without Ronnie Brown, Williams hasn’t put up fantasy numbers like he was when Brown was running the Wildcat. Williams isn’t necessarily a bad fantasy option, but you’re comparing him to this season’s second best fantasy running back in MJD. You have to go with the fantasy stud here.

Bruno Boys Whooley: JONES-DREW. In seven of their last eight games, the Miami Dolphins have allowed 15+ fantasy points to opposing RBs. Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars have only allowed one output of 15+ fantasy points to the RB position in their last five games. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out who has the better match-up here.

7. Fred Jackson (Buf) vs. Marshawn Lynch (Buf) vs. Jamaal Charles (KC)

Bruno Boys Whooley: CHARLES. Not only is Charles not in a time share, but he’s, also, the one running against the worst rush defense in the league as the Bills have allowed 172.1 rushing yards per game this season to go along with 16 rushing TDs.

Bruno Boys Jimbo: CHARLES. The new kid on the block has been great in the past month. Charles is facing one of the league’s worst defenses and should have a monster day. Neither running back for the Buffalo Bills has been able to do anything on the ground game in recent weeks. This one’s a no-brainer to me.

8. Cedric Benson (Cin) vs. Adrian Peterson (Min)

Bruno Boys Jimbo: PETERSON. You can’t run on the Minnesota Vikings. The Cincinnati Bengals will win this game if they can get the passing game working. The Williams Wall and Jared Allen just shut down running backs. Don’t let last week’s bump in the road scare you away from playing Peterson.

Bruno Boys Whooley: PETERSON. Benson has had success against tough run defenses with double digit performances against the Steelers and Ravens (twice), but I’m going with Peterson as I fully expect the Vikings’ passing game to open things up for the Vikings’ running back.

9. Randy Moss (NE) vs. Wes Welker (NE)

Bruno Boys Whooley: MOSS. The key number here is five. Yes, Welker trails Moss by just five yards on the season, but he, also, has five less TDs, and as we all know, TDs are were the points are in the world of fantasy football.

Bruno Boys Jimbo: WELKER. Look at the stats from the past couple New England Patriots’ games. Moss is getting the touchdowns, but Welker is racking up all the yards and receptions. If you’re in a PPR league, I would definitely take Welker here. But even in standard scoring leagues, Welker has been leading his team in catches and yards the past couple weeks.

10. Jerricho Cotchery (NYJ) vs. Antonio Bryant (TB)

Bruno Boys Jimbo: BRYANT. He’ll have this season’s best defensive back guarding him, but Bryant has been red hot in the past couple weeks. Cotchery will have his backup quarterback throwing him the ball, and I think we’ll see a ton of Thomas Jones in this game. Cadillac Williams may not play in this game, and I think you have to ride the hot hand here.

Bruno Boys Whooley: COTCHERY. Combine Cotchery’s consistency on the year, as he’s had just one outing of less than 6 fantasy points, to the fact that Bryant will be covered by CB Darrell Revis, who has shut down much better wide receivers this year, and this one is a no-brainer.

11. Steven Jackson (Stl) vs. Chris Johnson (Ten)

Bruno Boys Whooley: JOHNSON. As good as SJax has been on the year, averaging 13.2 points per contest with little to no supporting cast, Johnson has been that much better, putting up 19.4 points per contest. Throw in a match-up with the 28th ranked rush defense of the St. Louis Rams, and you have your winner.

Bruno Boys Jimbo: JACKSON. Both of these running backs will have huge days, and you can’t really go wrong picking either one. I’m taking Jackson here because he’s the one who’s 100 percent healthy right now. He’ll get the ball all day long, but Johnson may need to get spelled by Lendale White a little more than usual this week.

12. Bruce Gradkowski (Oak) vs. Jason Campbell (Was)

Bruno Boys Jimbo: CAMPBELL. Gradkowski’s performance last week was a fluke. He’s facing a more-together defense in the Washington Redskins, and he’ll have more trouble this week. Campbell has been pretty good fantasy-wise in the past couple weeks, and I think that trend will continue this week. The Redskins will win this game, and Campbell will have a nice afternoon.

Bruno Boys Whooley: CAMPBELL. With the Redskins’ putting more responsibility on the arm of Jason Campbell, the QB has seen a boost in fantasy value of late. Over the last two weeks, Campbell has posted 19 and 24 fantasy points, against the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints, respectively. A solid outing should result from this match-up, as well, as the Raiders’ have allowed 16+ fantasy points to opposing QBs in each of the last three weeks.

13. Philip Rivers (SD) vs. Tony Romo (Dal)

Bruno Boys Whooley: RIVERS. While he often gets forgotten when talking about the elite QBs in the league, Rivers has thrown for more than 200 yards in every game but one this season and has at least 2 passing TDs in two-thirds of his games this year. He should reach both marks this week against a Cowboys’ pass defense that ranks 20th in the league.

Bruno Boys Jimbo: ROMO. This game will be a shootout and both quarterbacks will have big fantasy days. I think the San Diego Chargers are a little bit more committed to the run right now, though. With all the pressure facing the Dallas Cowboys right now, I think Romo will come out slinging in this one.

14. LeSean McCoy (Phi) vs. Brandon Jacobs (NYG)

Bruno Boys Jimbo: JACOBS. I’m pretty much riding the hot hand here. Jacobs finally showed up last week, whereas McCoy was completely MIA. Jacobs’ owners have been waiting for the production they got last week, and I think he’s due for another one-yard score again this week.

Bruno Boys Whooley: MCCOY. This is a tough call as McCoy seems to be losing some of his workload to Eldra Buckley and Leonard Weaver; nevertheless, I still can’t trust Jacobs even after his 16-point outing in week 13. After all, the back still totaled just 39 rush yards in that outing.

15. Tim Hightower (Ari) & Beanie Wells (Ari) vs. Frank Gore (SF)

Bruno Boys Whooley: HIGHTOWER & WELLS. To be honest, I really don’t think any of these guys gets anything going on the ground, which means they’ll have to do their damage through the air. That’s where the advantage comes in for the Cardinals’ backs as the 49ers have shown time and time again this season that they have trouble defending the screen.

Bruno Boys Jimbo: GORE. He’s still gotta be kicking himself after that fumble last week. I think Gore will make up for it this week by putting together a decent game on the ground. I also think we could see him catch another TD this week. The Arizona Cardinals are going to pass a lot this week. You’d need Hightower or Wells to get a one-yard score to get high production from them this week.

Week 14 Rankings:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  | DEF    (click to read)

Week 14 Start & Sit:  START ‘EM  |  SIT ‘EM    (click to read)

Week 14 Waiver Wire Advice:  PICK THEM UP  |  CUT THEM LOOSE    (click to read)

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