Team Defense Rankings–Week 7

Here are the team defenses that you should go for or stay away from if your team is either on bye or underperforming:

Start regardless of matchups (including teams on bye): Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers.

Five matchups to target:

Miami Dolphins (vs. Baltimore Ravens).  Not only is the Dolphins’ defense starting to perform and giving you some decent fantasy points, but this week they are facing a Ravens’ team that could only be described in this politically correct world as “offensively challenged.”  I know that Baltimore is excited about the future with Joe Flacco, but he really isn’t not putting up any kind of fantasy stats as of now.  The Baltimore running game is a total mess, and this has all the makings of a 10-7 game.  The Dolphins will also throw in a few sacks and easily one, and maybe two picks of Flacco.

Houston Texans (vs. Detroit Lions).  Here comes the weekly “picking on the LionAs” portion of this article.  But, how can we resist.  We thought the Lions were bad at the beginning of the season, but they are really putting their fans to the test now.  Not only did they put Jon Kitna on IR this week (ending his season), but they also just traded Roy Williams away to the Cowboys for a handful of draft picks.  So, now the playmakers for Detroit include Dan Orlovsky, Rudi Johnson, and Shaun McDonald?  Poor Calvin Johnson, he is all alone on this team now.  Yeah, the Texans are a good play.

New York Jets (vs. Oakland Raiders).  Another one of those “offensively challenged” teams, the Raiders put a whopping three points on the board last week. I do think they are better than that, but the Jets’ defense has been a pretty decent source of fantasy points. They are among the league leaders with 10 takeaways, and their 18 sacks are tied for second most in the NFL. They have been giving up far too many points, but the sacks and turnovers help to make up for it, and the Raiders haven’t put up more than 23 points in any game this year.

Washington Redskins (vs. Cleveland Browns). Everyone will be getting ready to jump back on the Browns bandwagon after they took they Giants apart on Monday night. But let’s not get too crazy. This team put up only 46 points over their first four games, and I’m a long way from saying they are back on track. The Redskins have been disappointing as a fantasy defense as far as turnovers and sacks are concerned, but they are allowing under 20 points a game. I see them bouncing back big after losing to the Rams, and the Browns having a let down on a short week after shocking the Champs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. Seattle Seahawks). The Bucs have been solid again on defense this season, particularly against the run where they haven’t allowed a rushing touchdown yet this season. Their 11 sacks so far this year is pretty much middle of the pack, but they have been great at forcing turnovers. The Bucs are second in the league with 13 takeaways, including 11 interceptions. Put those opportunities to score fantasy points with the fact that they are allowing the third fewest points in the league and you have a team defense that is might appear on the ’start regardless of matchup’ list next week. Not to mention that they are playing a ‘Hawks team that is in complete disarray on offense, and if they are LUCKY will be starting Seneca Wallace at quarterback this week. Start the Bucs with supreme confidence.

Five matchups to avoid:

New Orleans Saints (vs. Carolina Panthers). Take a look at the Panthers’ team and you see they have some talent. Delhomme isn’t a great quarterback, but you could do far worse. DeAngelo Williams and Johnathan Stewart have formed a nice one-two punch at running back, and now that Muhsin Muhammad is back, some of the pressure has been taken off of Steve Smith. The Saints defense has been shaky at best and has been pretty average as far as turnovers and sacks are concerned. This is a game that has the feel of both teams scoring in the 30s, so it would be a tough call to start New Orleans this week.

San Francisco 49ers (vs. New York Giants). When a team underperforms one week, you can usually count on them coming out and making amends for that the following week. Let me rephrase that. When a GOOD team struggles. When the 49ers struggle one week, they will most likely struggle again. When a team like the Giants struggle like they did Monday Night, you don’t want to be next on their schedule. Compounding the trouble is the defense is San Fran. They have some talent with Patrick Willis, Nate Clements, and Justin Smith, but they are among the worst at allowing points, and have been bad against the pass. The main problem is when you have an offense that struggles, your defense is on the field so much that they are bound to give up big plays eventually. Look for Eli and Jacobs to hang 30+ on the Niners.

St. Louis Rams (vs. Dallas Cowboys). Seems like whoever is playing the Rams finds their way on to this list. But, it is with good reason. The Rams defense has been equally sucky against the run and the pass and have given up a lot of points. Whether Tony Romo plays or not, I expect the Cowboys to put up some points. Even with a 40 year old quarterback, they should be able to move the ball with Terrell Owens and newly acquired Roy Williams. Marion Barber is a stud and can run on anyone, so look for Dallas to top 30 points.

Indianapolis Colts (vs. Green Bay Packers). This might be a surprise considering that Indy is a pretty highly rated defense, but I see this being a shootout and a bunch of points going up. Aaron Rodgers is really looking like he is ready for this assignment, and he should be able to throw a couple touchdowns. Greg Jennings has taken the next step towards being an elite receiver. Ryan Grant hasn’t gotten it together yet this season, but this could be the week. The Colts have been a pretty good defense this year, but I would try to find a better matchup this week.

Green Bay Packers (vs. Indianapolis Colts). See above except change the names from Rodgers to Manning, Jennings to Wayne, and Grant to Rhodes. Actually the Packers defense has been pretty good against the pass, but they are allowing many more aerial scores than Indy has. Now that the Colts have proven that they remember how to score, expect them to keep it up this week. Especially now that they let out their “dirty little secret” about Manning having that second surgery, now they won’t have that weight on their shoulders about lying to the public! Ok, that might be stretching it, but look for Peyton to have two, and Rhodes to have one, with perhaps another score thrown in there somewhere.

As always, your comments and questions (adds/drops, trade advice, lineup questions, etc) are welcome at [e-mail]. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.