Fantasy Football Week 17 Rundown

Welcome to Week 17 of the NFL, which is generally the hardest week of the season for fantasy football fanatics. The fate of many NFL teams has been decided. Some teams have already locked their playoff positions, while others are planning family vacations and golf outings.

Week 17 ends up being a lot like Week Four of the preseason, where many teams rest star players. Teams either want to avoid an injury to a player that they will need if they are going to make a playoff run or if a team is out of the playoffs they may play their back-ups so that they can see how they look in a game situation. This is the last chance to see many players in a game situation before the NFL Draft.

So if you are in a league in which you have a meaningful game Week 17, please enjoy the Bruno Boys Weekly Rundown as we try and help you find some of the players that will be playing Week17, hopefully you are putting the finishing touches on a fantasy football championship.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful fantasy football season and your dream of a fantasy football championship comes true. The Bruno Boys look forward to giving you the “Rundown” once again in 2009.

Frank Gore probable for Wee 17, going for a milestone

San Francisco 49ers RB Frank Gore was limited in practice both Wednesday and Thursday, but not on Friday. He practiced in full with the first team on Friday and is listed as probable for Sunday’s game versus the Washington Redskins.

Neither the 49ers nor the Redskins have a lot to play for in this game, but Frank Gore does. He is 22 yards shy of 1,000 yards rushing on the season. If Gore reaches the 1,000 yard plateau he will be the first 49er running back in history to go over 1,000 yards rushing in three straight seasons. The fact that he only needs 22 yards will lead owners to be a little nervous, but Gore should be looked at as a low-end RB2 this week.

Pierre Thomas has ailing back, does not practice all week

New Orleans Saints RB Pierre Thomas has a sore back that he aggravated in the Detroit game Week 16 and has not practiced with the team all week. This could be a major blow to fantasy owners as Thomas is officially listed as a game time decision.

Thomas has been a nice pick-up for many owners during the stretch run as he has scored in double figures in six straight games. He is very likely one of the big reasons you are even still playing for something Week 17.

Keep an eye on this situation up until game time, Saints head coach Sean Payton has said he will workout Thomas before the game and make a decision. If he does start he may be a bit of a risk with an injury and the fact that this game doesn’t have a lot of meaning. The Saints will likely rely heavily on Deuce McAllister in the running game against the 22nd ranked Carolina Panthers run defense.

Brian Westbrook practices Friday, likely to play versus the Cowboys

Philadelphia Eagles RB Brian Westbrook practiced with the team on Friday and is expected to get the start Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. He has been plagued with many nagging injuries this season and has lost some playing time, but he has played in nine straight games.

Westbrook is a must start this week as he is a dual threat that should rack up points on the ground and in the passing game. He has scored in double figures in four of his past nine games while dealing with the various injuries. The Eagles do have some playoff hope, they would need a win with a combination of various other teams losses to get in, but there is hope. The Eagles will be looking to win this game and Westbrook is their best player.

Brandon Jacobs questionable, still dealing with knee injury

New York Giants RB Brandon Jacobs was listed as questionable heading in to Week 16 against he Carolina Panthers, but he ended up playing and managed 24 carries for 87 yards with three touchdowns. He has been a nice pick for many owners this season and is one of the players that helped many owners into championship contention this season.

The difference between Jacobs questionable listing this week compared to last week is the fact that the Giants have locked up the top spot in the NFC playoffs and have nothing to play for this week.

It seems likely that Jacobs could sit this week and rest for the playoffs, this would give him two weeks to rest his knee and get ready for round two of the playoffs. Consider Jacobs a risky start this week, especially with a capable backup in Derrick Ward who had 15 carries for 215 yards rushing against he Panthers Week 16.

Anquan Boldin misses practice Friday, questionable for Week 17

Arizona Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin missed practice again on Friday and is still suffering from a shoulder he injured Week 15. He is listed as questionable for the team’s Week 17 match-up at home against the Seattle Seahawks.

Consider Boldin a risky start this week with the injury and the fact that this game does not have any meaning for the Cardinals, as they can’t do any better or worse then the number four spot in the NFC playoffs. Although Cardinals' head coach Ken Whisenhunt has said that he will play this game all out and try and get his team back on track; it even appears QB Kurt Warner could play the entire game. Either way, Boldin is still a risky start this week.

Bruno Boys Game of the Week (fantasy style): Denver Broncos @ San Diego Chargers

Choosing the Bruno Boys Game of the Week for Week 17 actually proved to be very easy. Sure there are a lot of good football games being played this week, but as we stated at the beginning of this column there are many games that just don’t have a lot of meaning with many teams playoff fate having been decided.

So when looking for this week’s game of the week a major factor was a game that meant something to both teams and there is not one single game that holds more importance then the Denver Broncos @ the San Diego Chargers. The winner of this game will win the AFC West and the loser will start planning family vacations and golf outings.

Both of these teams will be led by young stud quarterbacks who have been playing extremely well of late. Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers is ranked No. 1 and the Broncos Jay Cutler is ranked No. 3 on the Bruno Boys Weekly Quarterback Rankings. The team that wins this game will likely be the one that has the superior passing game. Rivers will look for his two favorite targets, wide receiver Vincent Jackson and tight end Antonio Gates.

Jackson has emerged into a very good fantasy wide receiver and is ranked the #6 wide out by the Bruno Boys this week. Gates has been a top fantasy tight end for years and is ranked No. 2 at his position by the Bruno Boys this week. The Broncos have an outstanding trio for Cutler to pass to. Wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal are No. 2 and No. 23 respectively on the Bruno Boys Weekly Wide Receiver Rankings.

Tight end Tony Scheffler rounds out this trio and is the Bruno Boys No. 5 ranked tight end this week. Consider all of the above-mentioned players in this game as very solid fantasy football starts this week.

The running game will likely take a back seat to the passing game in this match-up this week, although if you own LaDainian Tomlinson he is a must start RB1 in this game. The Broncos have been extremely suspect against the run this season and Tomlinson is ranked No. 4 on the Bruno Boys Running Back Rankings.

He may not have been the superstar many owners were looking for this season when he was drafted No. 1 overall in almost every fantasy football draft this summer, but Tomlinson should reward any fantasy owner who stuck with him in a great matchup this week. The Broncos will start Tatum Bell at running back after putting seven different backs on injured reserve this season. Bell has very little value and should not be starting this week.

Both teams have solid kickers who have a chance to put up good numbers in this game that should be high scoring. The Chargers Nate Kaeding is ranked No. 2 and the Broncos Matt Prater is ranked No. 8 this week by the Bruno Boys and both could post double-digit points this week. In what has been the norm this season with the Bruno Boys Game of the Week, keep the D/ST teams reserved, as a high scoring game should lead to minimal points by the defenses.

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