Team Defense Rankings--Week 7

In this column we will be highlighting some of the team defenses that aren’t among the best in the league, but might be able to help you if you are one of those people who play the rotating game with your DEF, or if your team is on bye. I will not tell you to start any of the following in this article because they are no brainers:

Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, New York Jets, Green Bay Packers, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings

Two Matchups To Target

New Orleans Saints at Miami Dolphins. Miami is also coming off their bye week, and those of you who watched them dismantle the Jets defense might not think this is a good pick, but hear me out. I know Chad Henne had that beautiful bomb to Ted Ginn last Monday, but let's be realistic, the Dolphins are a pretty one dimensional offense and that is the run game. The Dolphins are the number one rated run offense with over 175 yards per game on the ground, which is more than the passing yards that they average. So, what is the strength of the New Orleans' defense? That's right, they are tough against the run. The Saints allow just 83 yards per game on the ground, and have given up just four rushing touchdowns. New Orleans is also has forced the most turnovers in the NFL with 15, and has sacked the quarterback 12 times. It should be a great matchup of a great run team against a great run defense, but besides the fact that I think the Saints will win that matchup, New Orleans will also put up enough points that the Dolphins won't be able to run as much because they will be playing catchup. I can't see the Dolphins scoring 20 points, unless there is a lot of garbage time like last week when New Orleans played the Giants.

Atlanta Falcons at Dallas Cowboys. The Falcons have been on a nasty roll the past two weeks, giving up just 24 points in those games. Dallas was on bye last week, but the last time we saw them they needed a late touchdown and a Herculean effort from their number three receiver to beat the lowly Chiefs. But it is not just the directions the team's are going that make this pick. The Falcons have been studly on defense all year long as they are giving up just an average of 15.4 points a game, not to mention that they are among the league's best at forcing turnovers with 12. Atlanta is just middle of the pack as far as getting to the quarterback, as they have 10 sacks in their first five games, but John Abraham could go nuts without warning. I could see the Cowboys scoring about 17 points, but they are also pretty likely to turn the ball over a couple of times. Dallas has only committed eight turnovers to this point, but they have just looked sluggish in their past couple games, and I could see the Falcons making them do a few things that they don't want to do.

Two Matchups To Avoid

Buffalo Bills at Carolina Panthers. This pick is much like the New Orleans pick, except the opposite. The Bills are the worst defense in the NFL against the run, and what does the entire Carolina offense revolve around? That's right, the run game. Both DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart were over 100 yards and a touchdown last week, and it seems that they are ready to roll now while they had struggled most of the season. Buffalo has allowed one 181 yards a game on the ground, and I could see the Panthers getting way more than that on Sunday. The rest of the fantasy stats don't really make it seem like this is a good play, as Buffalo is pretty good at forcing turnovers with 11, and have gotten to the quarterback 14 times this season. Carolina is only scoring 17 points a game and are one of the worst at turning the ball over with 17 giveaways. But believe me the Bills are going to get run all over this week and the Panthers are going to be able to put up at least 24 points and maybe turn the ball over once at the most. If you are looking for a defense out there, there is a better choice than Buffalo.

San Francisco 49ers at Houston Texans. The San Francisco defense was great to start the year before getting absolutely torched by the Falcons, and now they have another tough matchup in the Texans on the road. Houston has been a great offense scoring almost 24 points a game. They only have turned the ball over nine times, and allowed Matt Schaub to be sacked just ten times. The Texans are passing the ball for 292 yards and 14 touchdowns in their first six games, which is very impressive. San Francisco has been giving up 234 yards per game through the air, and I could certainly see Schaub throwing for 300 yards or at least close to it with two or three touchdowns. San Francisco continues to struggle putting pressure on the quarterback as they have only gotten 11 sacks on the season. It could be ugly again for San Francisco as they are facing an even better offense even than in Atlanta, and they haven't been doing the secondary things that will give them enough points to make up for the fact that the Texans will score on Sunday.

I welcome your comments and questions at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I can help you with roster questions, who to start/sit, etc. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.