Fantasy Football drafts are drawing closer and owners everywhere are all
scrambling to get their facts in order. To help alleviate some of the madness,
the Bruno Boys have released our 2008
Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets, our Top
150 Cheat Sheet and have also sounded the "Snooze
Alarm". Now, it is time to start putting the finishing touches on your
draft prep. Now that the "Snooze
Alarm" went off and we know our sleepers, it must be time for the
"pepto" and the busts, those guys that can give you an upset stomach and
make you want to drink the pink.
What do Neil Rackers in 2006 and
Robbie Gould in 2007 have in common? Both of these kickers were
overvalued based on the previous season and thus taken too early in drafts and
continued to cause stomachaches for owners all year long. In 2005, Rackers was a
guy that owners were willing to take a last round flier on, mainly because the
Arizona Cardinals had a young up and coming offense. Owners that took a
chance on Rackers were rewarded with 152 fantasy points, as he converted 40 of 42 field goal attempts. Gould had a
similar 2006 season. He also was either drafted late, or available on waivers in
2006 and ended up putting up 143 fantasy points hitting 32 field goals and 47
extra points. Now we point out a trend, both Rackers and Gould followed surprise
high output seasons by being drafted sooner and producing an average of 25 less
points the next year.
As you prepare for your upcoming draft, remember
you don't want to be the one to overvalue a player (especially a kicker) and end
up with this year's BUST. To make sure that doesn't happen, it is now
time for the 2008 Bruno Boys "Bring out the Pepto" Kicker
Rankings.
Ranking System: The higher the "Bring out the Pepto"
ranking, the more likely a player is to
bust.
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Mason Crosby - Green Bay
Packers
Mason Crosby was not even a name many fantasy football owners
mentioned at drafts last season. Dave Rayner was projected by many to be
in the lead to be the Packers starting kicker during camp and thus he was
drafted in fantasy leagues, not Crosby. Those who were swift enough to pick
Crosby up off the waiver wire were rewarded with 156 points after he hit 31
field goals and added 48 extra points. Now, if you follow the trend that was
mentioned earlier in the intro paragraph of this article, Mason Crosby
should come back down to earth and have some decline in production this
year, as Rackers and Gould did in previous seasons. Kicking is a fickle game and the fact that the
Packers will have a new inexperienced quarterback in Aaron Rodgers means
it's a good bet Crosby doesn't have a repeat performance. For this the Bruno
Boys offer you THREE BOTTLES OF PEPTO if you draft Mason
Crosby before the last round.
Crosby is ranked 7th in the 2008
Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets and will make a
nice starting kicker. Just don't overvalue him based on last season and take him
with the elite kickers. Remember kickers are important to your team, but a
new sleeper appears each season (see Bruno Boys "Snooze Alarm" Rankings) and
these sleepers are usually found in the final round, or even on waivers. Keep
your eye out for this year's hot kicker, not last year's. If you're going to get
indigestion, it should be caused by some good food, not your fantasy
kicker.
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Neil
Rackers - Arizona Cardinals
As was previously stated Neil Rackers was a fantasy stud in 2005 scoring
152 fantasy points. He plays for a Cardinals team that features big names like
wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, running back Edgerrin James, and either former MVP Kurt Warner or former Heisman trophy winner
Matt Leinart at quarterback. The problem
is all of this tends to get Rackers overvalued. He has followed up '05 with 118
points in 2006 and 116 points in 2007. Even after looking at these stats many
fantasy fanatics will look at the potential offense on this team and draft him
at an overvalued position. For this
the Bruno Boys offer TWO BOTTLES OF PEPTO.
Rackers is the 11th ranked
kicker in the in the 2008
Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets and can
be a lower end starting kicker, but the Cardinals appear to be looking ahead to
the future and starting Matt Leinart at
quarterback, which means it may take a little time before this offense gets
going. Rackers has enough leg to be drafted, but only after the top options are
off the board. Anything sooner and Rackers will be your BUST and you will have
the heartburn to prove it.
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Josh Brown - St. Louis Rams
Coming off a
career year in which Josh Brown scored
133 points he was signed away from the Seattle
Seahawks by the division rival St. Louis
Rams. Initially this sounds like the making of a great fantasy pairing, a
young strong legged kicker at home in a dome with the "Greatest Show on Turf".
But wait, while this is the Rams and they do play in a dome, Mike Martz is long gone, Marc Bulger and Torry Holt have battled injuries, Steven Jackson was a training camp holdout
and over his career Brown has struggled kicking in domes (especially on the Rams home turf). Now we are not saying
that you shouldn't draft Brown, just make sure it is at the end of your draft.
Any sooner and you will need ONE BOTTLE OF
PEPTO.
The Bruno Boys have
Brown ranked as the 6th best kicker in the 2008
Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets and we believe he will make a solid number one
kicker option in 2008, just don't overvalue him and take him before the last
round. He is 22 of 30 lifetime in domes and he will have eight home games in a
dome this year. It may take him a while to get used to the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis and he is not
guaranteed to match last year's numbers.
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Fantasy Tip: Kickers can be an underrated position on a fantasy
team and if you have a good one he can help lead you to fantasy glory, but
overvaluing a kicker can cause an upset stomach that lasts all season long. Keep
away from the Pepto by taking your kicker in the final round; this is where they
have the best value and you should always target one on a top ten offense.
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Position by Position BUST Rankings (click to view)
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Quarterbacks
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Running Backs
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Wide Receivers
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Tight Ends
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Kickers
Bring out the Pepto (Bust) Rankings - Team Defenses
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Position by Position Sleeper Rankings (click to view)
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Quarterbacks
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Running Backs
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Wide Receivers
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Tight Ends
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Kickers
Snooze Alarm (Sleeper) Rankings - Team Defenses
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