NFL Fantasy Football Match-Up Issues: Correcting the Myths

It all starts with two bad games of lazy tackling and facing two elite running backs, and then all of a sudden the Houston Texans have one of the worst run defenses in the league.

But for the entire season?

Something I've been noticing lately, and luckily some of my opponents in fantasy haven't, is that owners get far too caught up in defense rankings and match-ups, without actually taking a close look for themselves .

The trouble is, if you hear that the Tennessee Titans defense is "horrible" in Week Six, you're bound to start any quarterback against them, no questions asked, from that point on.

But this philosophy doesn't work.

The Houston run defense got better. It got much better.

The Tennessee Titans got Cortland Finnegan back and played more controlled offensive football with Vince Young in the line-up, and now their pass defense is, you guessed it, better .

But it doesn't stop at these two defenses. Here are two more 2009 Urban NFL Legends that were begotten early in the season and are still living in the minds of many.

The Arizona Cardinals Pass Defense Stinks

Yeah, it can. But take this week for instance. They're facing Matt Hasselbeck and a Seattle Seahawks offense that they destroyed four weeks ago, 27-3. They went after Hasselbeck all day, sacking him five times, picking off a pass, and forcing him to complete just 10 of 29 passes.

He and Seattle still might get the last laugh in a revenge game, but even if they do, Arizona's pass defense will have still played its part in allowing 21 or less points in six of their eight contests this season.

That Great Green Bay Packers Run Defense

Well, I'm not so sure anyone is calling it "great", but it's solid. Sort of. I mean, if you consider stopping the likes of Jamal Lewis, Kevin Smith, Matt Forte (this season, anyways), and Carnell Williams, then yes, the Packers run defense is solid .

But like with most things, a closer look exposes the truth:

To find out what we're saying about the Packers and for the rest of this piece, head over to NFLSoup.com