Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Well this it. We’re finally here as the final week of the NFL season will commence Sunday with the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts playing in Super Bowl XLIV, and it would be hard to ask for a better matchup. Not only do we have two elite teams with good offenses and defenses, more specifically we have two of the game’s elite quarterbacks, Peyton Manning for Indianapolis and Drew Brees for New Orleans, battling it out against each other.

So, most fantasy football leagues are done and most playoff challenge leagues forced you to lock in your Super Bowl picks during the conference championship round but that’s not going to stop us from releasing our weekly rankings. Why, you may ask? Well, we get a kick out of breaking down matchups and analyzing potential fantasy value for any regular or postseason game. Plus, we figure it gives you something fun to read. So let’s not keep you waiting any longer. Here are the Bruno Boys Quarterback Rankings for Super Bowl XLIV.

1. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) vs. New Orleans

Knowing how good the Saints defense is at intercepting the ball, we still decided to go with Manning as the top dog this week and that’s for a few key reasons. First of all, we’ve seen that the young players who needed to step up this season, guys like wide receivers Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon, have not only done so but have played extremely well in the playoffs and in pressure situations. Manning started to develop a lot of trust in those guys from the moment Anthony Gonzalez went down with injury in Week 1, and that has helped the offense become so reliable this late in the season. Manning trusts those guys and that’s huge considering the Saints know they won’t be able to just shut down Reggie Wayne. Then of course, you also have tight end Dallas Clark, who always seems to make huge plays. The Saints may be able to slow down the Colts at times, but Manning simply has the offense operating at too high of a level for him not to register a good amount of fantasy football points with the Super Bowl on the line.
Point Projection: 22 Points

2. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) vs. Indianapolis

While the Saints have been known for their offense since Brees’ arrival, it has been their defense that’s been the key thing for them in the postseason. Though New Orleans got a clutch win over the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Conference championship game the offense really struggled for the majority of that game as it gained just 257 total yards. The Indianapolis defense isn’t as stout as the one Minnesota had but the Colts are still very underrated on that side of the ball. The key thing here is the health of Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney. Dealing with an ankle injury, Freeney won’t practice at all before the Super Bowl and even then he is questionable to suit up on Super Sunday. If Freeney doesn’t play that will significantly hamper the Indianapolis pass rush and would allow Brees more time in the pocket, thus helping him generate more fantasy football points. But this is the Super Bowl and we’re betting that as long as Freeney wakes up on Sunday that he’ll find a way to play. Brees will still have a solid game, but Manning has been here before, he has the experience and the ability to deal with everything that’s going to come at him. We can’t say the exact same about Brees, who’s making his first appearance in a Super Bowl.
Point Projection: 20 Points

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

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

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