Week 7: Defense/Special Teams Fantasy Rankings

Must Starts:

1. Tennessee vs. Kansas City. This is a dream match-up for Titans’ fantasy owners. Tennessee has a dominating defense - probably the best in the game - and this week, they head into Arrowhead to face a team that was beaten 34-0 two weeks ago against Carolina. The Chiefs’ offense is in disarray. The team’s passing game is non-existent and the running game can’t get going, a sure formula for losing. Look for Tennessee to get up early in this one and then defensively, “pin their ears back,” forcing KC into multiple turnovers.

2. Tampa Bay vs. Seattle. The Bucs are drooling over the prospects of facing a Seneca Wallace led Seahawks’ team. Seattle has been bad - beyond bad lately - and come into Tampa wounded and demoralized. Conversely, the Bucs just whooped division rival Carolina last Sunday, 27-3, and are playing very well on the defensive side of the ball. The only worry in this one is it might be a trap game; they head to Dallas next Sunday and might be looking ahead. If not, they should pulverize the Seahawks and force its back-up QB into a few turnovers.

Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati. After seeing a Ryan Fitzpatrick led team, as I witnessed last week vs. the Jets, the Steelers have to be very confident about this match-up. He holds the ball far too long because as a young QB he hasn’t developed his pocket awareness yet. Against a pressure-style defense like Pittsburgh, that should translate into a few turnovers. Also, if this game gets out of hand, look for the Steelers to pour it on and up their sack total considerably.

4. New York Giants vs. San Francisco. The Niners travel across the country for this one while the Giants are hungry after being humiliated on Monday night. While San Francisco’s offense has put up points this year, they’ve also been very generous with the ball and that goes back to J.T. O’Sullivan and his penchant for turning the ball over. Look for the Giants to get an early lead on Sunday, take RB Gore out of the game, and then make O’Sullivan’s life miserable with a heavy blitz package that should translate into 3 or 4 sacks.

Sleepers:

1. Houston vs. Detroit. Detroit’s offense was anemic before this week. Now, after trading away one of its best players, WR Roy Williams, and putting QB Jon Kitna on IR, it’s really bad in Motown, and even a team like Houston can be a strong play for your fantasy team. We see Houston going up early in this game and then DE Mario Williams and Co. taking over. I know that hasn’t happened in a while… but it’s Detroit. Look for the Texans’ D to come up big and be a great sleeper play.

2. Buffalo vs. San Diego. San Diego played extremely poorly in its last cross-country game two weeks ago in Miami and we see the same thing happening again this week in Orchard Park. The Bills are a good team, not great, but they play very well defensively, especially at home. The Chargers, while having a good offense, have been unable to get RB Tomlinson untracked and that has led to their inconsistent performances this season. Look for Buffalo to contain San Diego’s offense in this close contest and possibly force Rivers into some turnovers.

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