Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Kyle Smith
- Edited by Marc Caviglia
- Predictions are based on Staff Consensus

::WEEK 1 RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2010::

Much to the annoyance of numerous wives and girlfriends (not to mention a few husbands and boyfriends) across our Star Spangled country, fantasy football has returned. However, the Bruno Boys staff is ready to help lead you to a championship, and back into your significant other’s good graces (provided your league championship has a nice prize for the winner, of course). We begin our shared odyssey with a look at the initial tight end rankings for the 2010 season.

**RANKINGS BASED ON STANDARD SCORING - 1 POINT PER 25 PASSING YARDS, 1 POINT PER 10 YARDS RUSHING/RECEIVING, 4 POINTS ALL PASSING TOUCHDOWNS, 6 POINTS ALL OTHER TOUCHDOWNS, -2 POINTS ALL TURNOVERS**

1. Dallas Clark (Indianapolis Colts) @ Houston

Clark didn’t play at all in the preseason, due to a minor leg injury, but you should be more worried about an asteroid crashing from outer space and hitting you squarely in the head than about his status for this week. Clark will suit up, and his match-up is superb, considering the damage he did against the Houston Texans last season. In two games against Indy’s divisional foe in 2009, Clark caught a total of 23 passes for 182 yards and one score. In fact, in 11 games against the Texans since 2004, Clark has amassed eight touchdowns, or just under 20 percent of his career total of 41 touchdown catches. Start him with confidence.
Point Projection: 14 points

2. Antonio Gates (San Diego Chargers) @ Kansas City

Just as the aforementioned Clark has carved up Houston in his career, Gates has similarly shredded the Kansas City Chiefs in his. In 12 career games against the Chiefs, Gates has caught 68 passes for 803 yards and 11 touchdowns. Included in that is his 23 fantasy-point game against them in Week 12 of last season. This year, without Vincent Jackson, Gates is the team’s best receiving threat by a wide margin. Gates should once again exploit the Chiefs and give fantasy football owners oodles of points.
Point Projection: 13 points

3. Jermichael Finley (Green Bay Packers) @ Philadelphia

No tight end was as productive this preseason as Finley, who led all players at the position with 163 receiving yards, scored twice, and tied for the most catches among tight ends with 12 (11 of which went for first downs).  The third-year pro is the chic pick for breakout player this fantasy football season, and for good reason. He’s an athletic marvel, and an utter mismatch for whomever is attempting to cover him. His match-up is also sterling. No team allowed tight ends to catch more passes or rack up more yards last season than the Philadelphia Eagles, and only the New York Giants gave up more fantasy points in 2009 to tight ends than Philly.
Point Projection: 13 points

4. Vernon Davis (San Francisco 49ers) @ Seattle

Davis was in the news more this preseason for his, um, disagreement with teammate Michael Crabtree than for anything he did on the field, but that’s not anything to worry about. Davis strained his right knee in the first preseason game and didn’t suit up thereafter, but will be ready to go when he and the Niners take on the Seattle Seahawks this week. We mentioned Finley’s athletic prowess, but Davis is an anomaly unto himself in that category, and finally came into his own last year. He terrorized the ‘Hawks in Week 13 last season for 111 yards on six catches, including one for a touchdown. We don’t think he’ll reach quite that level in the opening contest of 2010, but he’ll still register double-digit fantasy points.
Point Projection: 11 points

5. Brent Celek (Philadelphia Eagles) vs. Green Bay

There’s a ton to like about Celek this season after he soared to the upper echelon of fantasy football tight ends during the 2009 campaign. If you’re worried about him now that Kevin Kolb has taken over the reins of Andy Reid’s offense, don’t be. When Kolb was under center in Weeks 2 and 3 last year, Celek had eight catches for 104 yards in each contest, along with one touchdown grab; those 100-yard games were two of the three he accumulated during the year. His match-up this week against the Green Bay Packers is a good one. Green Bay allowed the 11th-most fantasy points to tight ends in 2009. That’s not a staggering number, but it is one that should make you take notice.
Point Projection: 10 points

6. Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys) @ Washington

Witten had all the numbers fantasy owners expected of him a season ago – except, of course, the most important one: touchdowns. He caught 94 passes for 1,030 yards (just the second time in his career he achieved 90+ catches and 1,000+ yards), but hauled in a measly two touchdowns. Two! For a player as talented as Witten, the expectations were much higher, and rightfully so. Thankfully, the Dallas coaching staff has acknowledged that they didn’t do a good enough job of getting him the ball near the goal-line, and are said to be focused on rectifying that this season. He’ll face the Washington Redskins this week, a team that he had some success against in 2009, despite not scoring against them (of course). He did accumulate 11 receptions for 160 yards in two games against them last season, including a 117-yard game in Week 16.
Point Projection: 10 points

7. Tony Gonzalez (Atlanta Falcons) @ Pittsburgh

Gonzalez had a decent enough preseason, hauling in seven catches for 76 yards, but when a player is going into his 14th season, he’s pretty well established himself, don’t you think? Despite predictions of his downfall last year when he went to Atlanta, Gonzalez fared well, catching 83 passes for 867 yards and six scores. Those numbers were down a smidge from what he had accumulated in previous seasons in Kansas City, but still close. He enters this season as still one of the better tight end options for fantasy owners, just not an elite one. Still, he’ll put up good enough numbers to make him a weekly starter.
Point Projection: 9 points

8. Kellen Winslow (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) vs. Cleveland

Despite his limited work in the preseason due to yet another knee surgery in the offseason, Winslow is a good option at tight end for fantasy football owners, especially this week. He’s coming off a 2009 season in which he had 77 receptions for 884 yards (the second-highest total of his career), and tied a career-high with five touchdowns. The thing to like most about Winslow this week, however, is his match-up with the Cleveland Browns. Not only might Winslow have just a bit of extra motivation to burn the squad that drafted him, but only two teams allowed more fantasy football points to tight ends last year than the Browns, who were one of just three squads to cede at least 1,000 receiving yards to opposing tight ends. Quarterback Josh Freeman should be good to go despite suffering a broken thumb, and with a team so youthful at wide receiver, Winslow is the team’s most reliable pass-catching threat.
Point Projection: 8 points

9. Zach Miller (Oakland Raiders) @ Tennessee

The best tight end nobody knows about should finally jump into the spotlight a bit now that the sizzurp-swilling quarterback he had to deal with for the past few seasons is no longer around to throw passes 10 feet over his head. Even in a rotten situation, Miller has come through, and last year had 66 catches for 805 yards and three scores. Jason Campbell will never be confused with Drew Brees or Peyton Manning, but he’s at least competent, and is said to have acquired a rapport with Miller. This is all very good for Miller’s fantasy football owners, as is his match-up this week. Tennessee gave up the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends last year.
Point Projection: 8 points

10. Chris Cooley (Washington Redskins) vs. Dallas

A somewhat forgotten man in fantasy football drafts, Cooley has been below the radar for much of the preseason, but probably shouldn’t have been. The scuttlebutt out of Washington is that new ‘Skins gunslinger Donovan McNabb likes heaving the ball to Cooley. There are other factors at play, including the ‘Skins’ lack of proven receiving depth, as only Santana Moss is perceived as a legit threat on the outside. Fred Davis stepped in and played well when Cooley went down for the season in Week 7 of last season, but don’t forget about Cooley’s prowess before that. He had at least 730 receiving yards each season from 2005 through 2008, and scored at least six touchdowns in each of his first four seasons before crashing to earth with an uncharacteristic one touchdown in 2008 (He had two scores when he went down last year). Despite Davis’ presence, Cooley will put up solid digits, starting this week.
Point Projection: 8 points

11. Greg Olsen (Chicago Bears) vs. Detroit

This St. Louis-area author can tell you first hand that Mike Martz and tight ends do not equal fantasy gold. We watched for years as that position was pushed aside in favor of wide receivers and running backs catching the ball, and while that trend may hold, we also believe that Martz may not have a whole lot of choice but to call Olsen’s number more often than history says he will. The reason is quite obvious – under no circumstances will anyone ever mistake Johnny Knox, Devin Hester and Devin Aromashodu for IIsaac Bruce and Torry Holt. Still, we’re in the “seeing is believing” camp around here, and while we like Olsen this week against the Detroit Lions, it’s not with extreme ardor. Last season, Olsen scored in each of his two games against Detroit, although in Chicago’s Week 4 contest against them, that happened to be Olsen’s only reception, and it was for all of one yard. Still, he came back with six catches for 94 yards and a score against them in Week 17. That was one of many the Lions allowed to opposing tight ends in 2009, as no team allowed more touchdowns to players at that position than Detroit.
Point Projection: 8 points

12. Heath Miller (Pittsburgh Steelers) vs. Atlanta

Miller hasn’t seemed to get the fantasy football love during drafts this season that his numbers last year suggest he probably should have. He set career-highs with 76 receptions and 789 yards, and his six touchdowns were one fewer than his previous season-best. With Santonio Holmes gone, it was logical to think that Miller would see an even bigger increase in numbers this year, but then Ben Roethlisberger’s creepiness came to light, and he was hit with a suspension that will last four games. Clearly, that will impact the Steelers’ passing game, and Miller (and, by extension, his fantasy owners) will suffer because of it. Add in Byron Leftwich’s injury, and you have another reason to drop Miller down a notch. Still, the Atlanta Falcons were bad against tight ends last season, allowing more fantasy points to them than all but five other teams, so that’s at least something to feel good about.
Point Projection: 7 points