Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Cory Steger
- Edited by Marc Caviglia
- Predictions are based on Staff Consensus

::WEEK 8 RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF OCTOBER 30, 2010::

We’ve got an interesting week of football in store for us. The Denver Broncos play at the San Francisco 49ers, though the game is being held at Wembley Stadium in London. What better way to generate interest in American football in Europe than to stage a game featuring teams with a combined 3-11 record? Also, Week 8 in the first of two weeks - the second being Week 9 - that there are six teams with byes. That’s right, six teams are on bye this week, and that features some pretty good quarterbacks with guys like Eli Manning of the New York Giants, Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens, Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons and Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb of the Philadelphia Eagles. Speaking of Vick (ribs), he is expected tol return for Philadelphia’s Week 9 game against the Indianapolis Colts.

This week has some intriguing matchups, the best of which features the Houston Texans and the Colts in a Monday Night Football game. How will quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Matt Schaub fare? Check out our Fantasy Football Week 8 Quarterback Rankings to find out.

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

1. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) vs. Houston

With five multiple-touchdown games this season, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is playing at his usual high level. Not only that, but this week the Colts are playing at home against the Houston Texans, and Manning likes playing against the Texans. In the last five games between the two teams Manning has thrown 11 touchdowns with just four interceptions, and the Colts went 4-1 in those games. The one they lost was earlier this year, and Manning and the Colts are going to play for revenge this time out. The only thing hurting Manning right now is the loss of tight end Dallas Clark, who is out for the rest of the season with a wrist injury and the injury wide receiver to Austin Collie. However, that won’t affect him too much, remember last year when Manning had to rely on two inexperienced and unheralded receivers in Collie and Pierre Garcon, and still he ended up with good numbers.
Point Projection: 21 points

2. Tom Brady (New England Patriots) vs. Minnesota

When the Minnesota Vikings travel to New England to play the Patriots this week it represents an interesting matchup for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Statistically the Vikings are one of the better defenses in the league as they rank 13th in passing yards allowed. However, playing at home is going to benefit Brady and the Patriots. In three home games this year Brady has thrown for 802 yards with seven touchdowns and just two interceptions. In the Vikings last two road games, they’ve given up 486 passing yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Brady may not rack up the yards but will find the end zone a few times as the Vikings slow down the New England running game.
Point Projection: 20 points

3. Matt Schaub (Houston Texans) @ Indianapolis

Playing at the Indianapolis Colts doesn’t not appear to be a recipe for success for the Houston Texans. Houston has never won at Indianapolis and altogether the Texans have beat the Colts just twice since entering the league in 2002. Though a win does not appear imminent, that doesn’t mean you should expect a bad game from Texans quarterback Matt Schaub. In his last two games coming off a bye week Schaub has combined to throw four touchdowns and no interceptions. Expect a similar performance this week, and even if he turns the ball over he will do enough otherwise to offset it. Start him with confidence as your QB1.
Point Projection: 19 points

4. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) vs. Tennessee

The thing that’s great about the San Diego Chargers is that even when they’re losing and playing poorly, quarterback Philip Rivers still manages to score a good amount of fantasy points. Last week when the Chargers lost to the New England Patriots, Rivers threw for 336 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and he was playing without receivers Malcom Floyd and Legedu Naanee. The Tennessee Titans defense averages just under 11 fantasy points per week to opposing quarterbacks, yet that is of little concern. Rivers gets the job done regardless of the situation, and is another good start this week.
Point Projection: 18 points

5. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) @ New Orleans

It’s been two weeks since Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has returned to action from his suspension for violating the league’s conduct policy, and it’s looking like he never left. In those games he’s got five touchdowns and just one interception. The New Orleans Saints defense has only given up six passing touchdowns this season, but they also only have four interceptions. Last year this matchup wouldn’t have been a good start for Roethlisberger, but now it is. The Saints are banged up defensively, with injuries to cornerback Tracy Porter (knee) and Jabari Greer (shoulder), and linebacker Scott Shanle (hamstring), that could keep those three players out. Also consider that players like safety Roman Harper and defensive end Will Smith aren’t yet 100 percent, and this looks like another good day for Roethlisberger.
Point Projection: 18 points

6. Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos) @ San Francisco — Wembley Stadium in London)

What the heck happened to the Denver Broncos last week? Losing to the Oakland Raiders is bad, but losing to the Raiders 59-14 is flat out embarrassing. Quarterback Kyle Orton had his fourth multiple-touchdown game of the season but that was offset by an interception and a lost fumble. That game is more of an aberration than anything, and it would be absurd to think Denver would play that poorly against the San Francisco 49ers this week. San Francisco ranks 24th in the league in points allowed and has given up nine passing touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks. As long as the Broncos aren’t too jetlagged from their trip to England, which we don’t see happening, then Orton is a good start this week.
Point Projection: 17 points

7. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) @ New York Jets

It would appear that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a tough matchup this week playing at the New York Jets. After all the Jets are giving up just 16.8 points per game, and star cornerback Darrelle Revis is back in the lineup. However, the Jets are giving up 229 passing yards a game and are allowing an average of 15.7 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, which makes them the sixth-worst defense in that regard. Don’t expect a huge game from Rodgers, but by no means is the Jets defense as legendary as some people make it out to be.
Point Projection: 17 points

8. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) vs. Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is only giving up around 10 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Pittsburgh ranks first in the league in points allowed at just 12.3 per game, and they have forced eight interceptions. There’s many reason why New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees isn’t ranked in our top-5 in Week 8. Last week the Saints lost at home to the Cleveland Browns, yet Brees threw for 365 yards with two touchdowns. His four interceptions hurt his fantasy totals, but he’s not likely to throw that many picks in a game again. New Orleans running back Pierre Thomas is going to miss the game this week and while Reggie Bush is going to try and practice, there is no guarantee he plays. This means the Saints will need to rely on Brees’ arm, and that generally leads to fantasy points. However, because he’s facing Pittsburgh, tone the expectations down a bit.
Point Projection: 17 points

9. Carson Palmer (Cincinnati Bengals) vs. Miami

Owners of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer are hoping that the Miami Dolphins take a big lead early this week. Palmer seems to generate a good amount of points when his team is down, including last week when he threw for 412 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in trying to rally the Bengals over the Atlanta Falcons. Regardless of if the Dolphins take that early lead or not it should be a solid week for Palmer. He’s got multiple-touchdown games in three consecutive games now, and the Dolphins defense has just four interceptions on the season. Plus, they will have trouble defending Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens on the outside.
Point Projection: 17 points

10. Josh Freeman (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) @ Arizona

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman appears to be on his way to becoming a star. Last week he led another fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the St. Louis Rams - the fifth of his career - and now he has seven touchdown passes against just three total turnovers. Right now he doesn’t score enough points to be a consistent week-to-week option, but he has become a solid backup and spot starter. The Arizona Cardinals are giving up an average of 14 fantasy points a game to quarterbacks, as well as 26.7 points per game. Looks like another solid game is in the cards for Freeman.
Point Projection: 16 points

11. Matt Cassel (Kansas City Chiefs) vs. Buffalo

In his last three games Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel has five touchdowns and no interceptions. He appears to be well set up for a fourth consecutive game without an interception as the Chiefs face the Buffalo Bills this week. Buffalo has just one interception this season, and the Bills defense is yielding an average of 16.8 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Considering how many points the Chiefs have put up in the last two weeks (73) Cassel is a good spot start this week with potential for a huge game.
Point Projection: 16 points

12. Chad Henne (Miami Dolphins) @ Cincinnati

Though it came in a losing effort, Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne looked good last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers as he went 23-for-36 for 257 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He didn’t fumble either, which means he had no turnovers against one of the league’s best defenses at creating them. The Bengals do have seven interceptions on the year, and they do tend to play better at home as evidenced by them giving up just 17 points per game in Cincinnati compared to season average of 23.5. So even though Henne appears set up for a big game, keep the expectations down a bit though he is a good spot start.
Point Projection: 15 points