Fantasy Football Week 5 Rankings: Top 15 Defenses

Let’s take a look at how I rank the Top 15 defenses for the upcoming week:

1. San Diego Chargers – at Oakland
2. Chicago Bears – at Carolina
3. Cincinnati Bengals – vs. Tampa Bay
4. Atlanta Falcons – at Cleveland
5. New Orleans Saints – at Arizona
6. New York Jets – vs. Minnesota
7. Philadelphia Eagles – at San Francisco
8. Green Bay Packers – at Washington
9. Minnesota Vikings – at New York Jets
10. Baltimore Ravens – vs. Denver
11. Dallas Cowboys – vs. Tennessee
12. San Francisco 49ers – vs. Philadelphia
13. Indianapolis Colts – vs. Kansas City
14. Tennessee Titans – at Dallas
15. Carolina Panthers – vs. Chicago

Thoughts:

• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are scoring just 16.7 points per game and have no certain strength to their offense.  Cincinnati’s defense is among the best in the league, allowing 299.2 total yards per game.  While they are the worst in the league in sacks (3), they are fourth in interceptions (4).  In total, it just seems like a great matchup for the Bengals to excel.
• Derek Anderson is out in Arizona and Max Hall is in.  Is that a good or a bad thing for their offense?  Who knows, but either way you have to like the prospects of a good game from the Saints defense.
• The Jets get Darrelle Revis back, while the Vikings add Randy Moss.  Let’s call it a push, given the success Revis has had against Moss in the past.  The Jets remain a strong play in all formats.
• The Falcons have a league-leading eight interceptions on the season and draw a Browns team who is likely to get Jake Delhomme back at quarterback.  Of course, Delhomme had two interceptions in Week 1 and five in his final two games of 2009 (18 overall that year).  It could be a long day for Cleveland.
• The Vikings defensive strength is their run defense.  While Mark Sanchez has passed the ball well, we all know the offense's strength is its ability to run the ball.  If Minnesota can stuff the run, it will be interesting to see how the Jets offense reacts.  It could be a long day.
• The Giants defense is coming off an impressive performance, especially in the sack department, but it’s hard to imagine them replicating it against the Texans.  The game could quickly break down into a shootout, making both teams a tough play this week.

What are your thoughts on these rankings?  Who’s too high?  Who’s too low?

Make sure to check out the rest of our Week 5 Rankings:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 40 Running Backs
• Top 60 Wide Receivers
• Top 20 Tight Ends
• Top 15 Kickers
• Waiver Worthy
• Start ‘Em or Sit ‘Em
• Sunday Sleepers

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM/FOOTBALL