Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Week after week fantasy football owners make the wrong decisions on who to start and who to sit. It can be one of the most frustrating things in fantasy football. Your bench puts up 89, and your starters put up 39. It’s happened to everyone, so while it’s completely frustrating, you’re not the only one who is dealing with these problems.

With that being said it’s now time to pay attention to our Fantasy Football Week 5 Sit ‘Ems advice so you can make the right decisions on who to place on your bench this week.

QUARTERBACKS – SIT ‘EM

Eli Manning (New York Giants) vs. Oakland

Everyone loves Eli Manning’s match-up, right? Well, we’re not as impressed. Yes, he’s been better than advertised this season especially considering we didn’t think he would have to throw as often as he does. As odd as it seems, the Oakland Raiders pass defense has been near top-10 (11th by 1 passing yard), and have only allowed 4 TDs versus 4 INTs. We also expect running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw to run all over the Raiders defense, meaning Eli probably won’t need to loft up more than 25 passes in the Meadowlands. We recommend you take caution with the Giants signal caller this week. It’s not that he won’t do well and have a solid passer rating, but Manning likely won’t put up huge fantasy numbers in Week 5. Bottom line, limit your expectations.

Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos) vs. New England

Not only is New England a solid pass defense allowing less than 200 yards per contest, but Kyle Orton isn’t exactly a fantasy stud that can produce at a high enough level to consider starting at all costs. We understand that without [insert Bye-week QB here] you may be struggling for options, but Orton is a guy that could be boom or bust this week. His value really comes as a NFL quarterback as he doesn’t turn the ball (just one interception) over. Even though that is a great quality to have in a fantasy QB, hist 1.25 TDs and 226 yards per game average isn’t exactly fantasy football good (unless you only want 12-13 points from your QB). Sit Orton and expect the Broncos vs. Patriots game to be low-scoring and a battle between mentor (Bill Belichick) and student (Josh McDaniels).

Tom Brady (New England Patriots) @ Denver

We understand that you most likely won’t sit your 2nd round pick, and that’s okay. We at Bruno Boys just want to show you that potentially great players can have bad match-ups. This is one of them. While in 2007 you’d be crazy to consider benching Brady, 2007 is unfortunately long ago. In standard leagues Tom Terrific is averaging 15.3 fantasy points per game, placing him 12th at the quarterback position. Remember, the Broncos defense has been severely altered this year and the results are astonishing. Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan has transformed this defense, and they are now ranked 3rd in passing yards per game (162.5), 1st in TD passes allowed (ZERO), 2nd in sacks (15) and passer rating (56.0). Yes, they will probably allow their first TD pass this weekend, but don’t expect Tom Brady circa-2007 stats or anything close to it.

RUNNING BACKS – SIT ‘EM

Cedric Benson (Cincinnati Bengals) @ Baltimore

Benson’s match-up last weekend versus the Cleveland Browns was his best match-up all year. To mess with fantasy football owners, it was also his worst statistical game. In his first three weeks he averaged just under 15 fantasy points per game, but against Cleveland he could only muster 8 points. Well, if he wasn’t able to dominate the Browns, how is he going to regroup against the stout Ravens rush defense? Our answer… he probably isn’t going to. On paper the Ravens are the best rush defense in football and have only given up 60 rushing yards per game and 2 TDs through four games. Benson has been better than advertised this season, but this is definitely a week to sit him if you have any other decent options.

Steve Slaton (Houston Texans) @ Arizona

Coming into this season, we would have been crazy for ever telling fantasy fotoball owners to bench Slaton. He was coming off a studly rookie season, is on a great offensive team, and he’s only getting better. Right? Well, Slaton hasn’t looked right this year and has only averaged 3.3 yards per carry, scored 1 rushing TD, and has fumbled four times in four games (lost 2). He’s playing Week 5 against a refreshed Arizona Cardinals defense (coming off their bye), and they have been stingy in 2009 against the ground game (80 ypg, 1 TD in 3 games). While he still has plenty of value in PPR leagues, 11 catches through 4 games, this is a week where we recommend using a lesser-talented RB with a better match-up.

Ricky Williams (Miami Dolphins) vs. New York Jets

Williams has been blowing people’s minds in 2009. People thought he was done after a solid 2008 campaign, but with the Dolphins emphasizing the running game, Williams has emerged as a solid flex option and perhaps a low-RB2 in good match-ups. The Jets are coming off a tough loss to a very good Saints team, and need this win against division-rival Miami. Head coach Rex Ryan will do his best to come up with a game-plan to stop the Dolphins run game in Week 5, after the Phins’ rushed for 250 yards over the Bills last weekend. While Williams’ 3 TDs in four games have been a welcomed surprise, don’t expect him to see the same kind of touches that he saw a week ago (17). We’re expecting between 8-12 touches, so probably 50-60 yards is what you will get from this Dolphin in Week 5.

WIDE RECEIVERS – SIT ‘EM

Brandon Marshall (Denver Broncos) vs. New England

As Kyle Orton goes, so does Brandon Marshall. Marshall is a great play-maker as he showed in last week’s win over Dallas, but he’s not the same No. 1 without Jay Cutler. The Patriots have a solid secondary and have only allowed 192 passing yards per game in 2009. This could most definitely a low-scoring affair and Marshall may not be able to put up the TDs that his owners were delighted with in Weeks 3 & 4. Will you bench Marshall? Probably not. But realize that it may take a TD or a fluke play for his stats to be great in this Week 5 showdown.