Defense/Special Teams: Fanstay Rankings Week 6

This area is often overlooked, but a solid defense/special teams unit can go a long way towards helping you win your league each week. Make sure you start the right unit.

Must starts:

1. Minnesota vs. Detroit. This game will be a walkover; the worst team in football is heading to Minnesota to face a hungry team and a hungrier defense. After pulling out a road victory in New Orleans Monday night, the Vikings are sitting at 2-3 and ready to move to .500, while the Lions are ready to get this season over with so they can head down to the Bahamas and enjoy the off-season. Against the best of backs, it’s nearly impossible to run on Minnesota, and that won’t change this week as the interior Williams’ teammates take away Rudi Johnson and Kevin Smith. By doing so, in a game that they should have a double digit lead throughout, Jared Allen and Co. should be able to attack the Lions’ back-up QB (Kitna’s apparently out), and force him into sacks as well as turnovers. They are the best play of the week.

2. NY Giants vs. Cleveland. This match-up just got a whole lot better now that it appears star TE Kellen Winslow will be out with a mysterious ailment. He’s been in the hospital since Thursday. The Giants D is stout, and that much better now that it’s getting help from its offense. The Giants’ O is scoring a lot of points, which puts an increased amount of pressure on the opposing offenses to keep up; a tall order against Tuck and Co. In a game that the Giants should have a commanding lead, look for the D-Line and blitzers to get to QB Anderson as the Browns are forced to play from behind in this one. It should be a lopsided score, with the Browns held under 2 TDs.

3. Chicago vs. Atlanta. The Falcons are at home where they’ve won both games this season. They’re a run first team that uses that attack to set-up its passing game. The Bears come in with a very strong defense, especially against the run. They’ve rediscovered the magic on that side of the ball that propelled them to a Super Bowl appearance in ‘06. In this contest, I see them taking away Michael Turner and the ground game and forcing QB Ryan to beat them through the air, which is a tall order to ask a of rookie QB. I know he played well vs. the Packers last week but that is the Packers and not the Bears. Look for a close, low scoring affair, and a game that the Bears force Atlanta’s offense into a few turnovers.

Sleeper:

Philadelphia vs. San Francisco. The Eagles are missing a few key starters on offense, but I see them still being able to put points on the board to give them a lead. On defense, they’re healthy and stout (vs. most teams other than Dallas and Washington), and playing against a Martz led team they should be able to force a few turnovers. In fact, O’Sullivan is becoming adept at giving the ball back to the opponent through the air, so look for the Eagles to rack up the sacks in this one (O’Sullivan holds onto the ball forever) and force a few picks.