Team Defense Rankings–Week 10

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, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers.

Three Matchups To Target

New York Jets (vs. St. Louis Rams)—The Rams offense does have a chance to be explosive, but the NY Jets defense has been a great source of fantasy points this year.  They do give up almost 25 points a game, but they are among the top handful of teams in sacks and they also have forced 13 turnovers.  They have also scored a handful of touchdowns to really get you points. 

There is a chance the Rams could put up some big points with Bulger, Holt and Avery, but now that it looks like Stephen Jackson isn’t going to play, the Jets look like a good play.

Miami Dolphins (vs. Seattle Seahawks)—Not only is the Miami offense much improved, but the defense is a big reason that they Dolphins are back to respectability.  They are allowing just 20.4 points a game, are fourth in the league in forcing turnovers with 15, and have collected 18 sacks this season. 

Word has come down that Matt Hasselbeck will be back behind center…..in Week 11.  That means Seneca Wallace and the bumbling Seahawks offense will be back on the field in Week 10 and that means that the Dolphins should be a nice fill in if you are in need of a defense.

New England Patriots (vs. Buffalo Bills)—The Patriots defense has not been anything like we thought it would be.  They have dealt with the injury bug and I think that has a good deal to do with their struggles.  They are doing well at allowing only 18 points a game, but they have had a hard time getting to the quarterback and they haven’t been good at forcing turnovers. 

However, the Bills offense has been sputtering the past few weeks as they have gone from 4-0 to 5-3.  Look for the Bills to struggle to score again this week, and the Pats to be a nice replacement defense.

Three Matchups To Avoid

San Francisco 49ers (vs. Arizona Cardinals)—The Cardinals have had one of the best offenses in the NFL this season led by MVP candidate Kurt Warner.  The Niners have forced the third least number of turnovers with just eight, are horrible at putting pressure on the quarterback with only 14 sacks, and they allow the third most points in the league with nearly 29 a game. 

Even with the change to a defensive coach with Mike Singletary, don’t expect sweeping changes with the Niners.  Their defense is just bad outside of Patrick Willis, and will continue to be.

Kansas City Chiefs (vs. San Diego Chargers)—The Chiefs are only slightly better than the Niners as they only allow 27.9 points a game.  They have the fewest sacks in the league with just four (think they should have held on to Jared Allen?), but they are great at forcing turnovers with 18, the second most in the league. 

However, Philip Rivers has been a man on a mission as he nearly has 20 TDs already.  The Chiefs are the worst rush defense in football, and the Chargers trot out that LT guy.  You think that is a recipe for success?   Ah, no.  Look for the Chargers to put up 30+ points and the Chiefs to give you four fantasy points or less.

Atlanta Falcons (vs. New Orleans Saints)—The Falcons are the definition of a middle of the road defense.  If you look at the major statistics for fantasy defenses (turnovers, sacks, points against) they are almost exactly in the middle of all. 

Unfortunately for them, Drew Brees and the Saints eat up good defenses for breakfast, imagine what they can do against the Falcons.  Atlanta lucks out that Reggie Bush will miss one more week, but look for Brees to go for 300-350 and the Saints to score 30 points or more.

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.