2011 Fantasy Football Week 17 Rankings: Kickers and Defenses

Most leagues wrapped up their fantasy seasons last week, but there are still plenty of titles up for grabs. Here are the LestersLegends’ Week 17 2011 fantasy football kicker and team defense rankings.

Kickers

1. David Akers @ St. Louis
2. John Kasay vs. Carolina
3. Stephen Gostkowski vs. Buffalo
4. Matt Bryant vs. Tampa Bay
5. Robbie Gould @ Minnesota
6. Mason Crosby vs. Detroit
7. Dan Bailey @ New York Giants
8. Alex Henery vs. Washington
9. Mike Nugent vs. Baltimore
10. Steven Hauschka @ Arizona
11. Jason Hanson @ Green Bay
12. Nick Novak @ Oakland
13. Sebastian Janikowski vs. San Diego
14. Rob Bironas @ Houston
15. Ryan Succop @ Denver

David Akers set the NFL record last week with his 42nd field goal of the year. He has 18 more points (even more in fantasy) than the next closest kicker. There really isn't a debate as to who the top kicker in the league is this year.

Some other kickers that should be solid this week are from high-powered offenses. Kasay, Gostkowski and Bryant will likely have their offenses score 30+ points. They are nice options because their floor is low. Even if they only kick one FG, they should have multiple PATs to give them a solid number.

Arizona (33), Denver (32), Washington (32) and Minnesota (31) are the four teams that have allowed 30+ FGs. Having allowed an average of two-plus FGs per game makes them solid options for opposing kickers.

 

Defenses

1. San Francisco @ St. Louis
2. Pittsburgh @ Cleveland
3. Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay
4. Baltimore @ Cincinnati
5. Philadelphia vs. Washington
6. Chicago @ Minnesota
7. Seattle @ Arizona
8. Denver vs. Kansas City
9. Indianapolis @ Jacksonville
10. New York Jets @ Miami
11. Houston vs. Tennessee
12. New England vs. Buffalo
13. Miami vs. New York Jets
14. San Diego @ Oakland
15. Arizona vs. Seattle

The top three ranked defenses this week feature battles of the have and the have nots. The Niners and Steelers especially have stout defenses and face inefficient offenses. Tampa Bay has been disappointing all year, and has been even worse of late, averaging 16.7 points during its nine-game losing streak.

Denver has struggled of late, but it returns home. I'm expecting the defense to rally behind Tebow as he squares off against Kyle Orton.

The Eagles are red hot and NFC teams are fortunate that they missed the playoffs. They put serious pressure on the quarterback (league-high 49 sacks). Look for Rex Grossman to be hurried all day.

Finally, the Colts are peaking at the right time (or wrong time if you wanted them to get Andrew Luck). The Jags struggle mightily to put points on the board (14.9 ppg) and rank dead last with 259.2 total yards per game. If you were relying on Green Bay or Houston this year, who have nothing to play for, the Colts could be a solid plug and play.

Also check out:

• Week 17 Fantasy Football QB Rankings
• Week 17 Fantasy Football RB Rankings
• Week 17 Fantasy Football WR Rankings
• Week 17 Fantasy Football TE Rankings
• Week 17 NFL Picks