Fantasy Football Advice

Week 7 is already upon us and with it comes a schedule where 7 of the top 10 scoring defenses are either on bye or have a questionable matchup. Most notably, the NYJ coming off a big game against Miami will have a tough matchup against San Diego coming off their bye week. This week has also left us with few choices for a backup plan in the Team DEF position on our rosters. However, there are still some Defenses that are available and should provide the points you need to lead your team to victory this week.  Let’s take a look:

Dallas vs. STL

Streaming the Dallas DEF is almost a no-brainer this week as they host a battered St. Louis team that averages the lowest total points scored this season. To add injury to insult, A.J Feely may be starting in place of a limping Sam Bradford, leaving Steven Jackson the workhorse against a very strong Dallas Run Defense. The Cowboys have racked up 6 interceptions and 16 sacks through 5 games and should only build on these numbers through the weekend.

San Diego vs. NYJ

After their bye week, the San Diego defense is available in the majority of Yahoo! Leagues and about 65% owned in ESPN Leagues. This is a great opportunity to pick them up against a shaky Jets offense. Although they have only amassed 8 sacks and 5 interceptions, the Chargers possess one of the top pass defenses and should be a headache for Sanchez and company. They will force the Jets to stick to their ground game that has only averaged 80 yds rushing and in turn, create havoc for when they must put the ball in the air.

Surprise Streamer of the Week

Denver vs. MIA

If you are in desperate need this week, Denver is a high-risk, high-reward play this week against the struggling Miami offense. In Monday night’s game, we saw Matt Moore get sacked 4 times and intercepted twice due to his inability to move in the pocket and see any other receivers than Marshall. Although this performance was against the Jets, the Broncos will still be a respectable test for Moore. The Dolphins have allowed the 4^th most sacks in the league and also have produced the 2^nd lowest total points on the board this season.

Week 6 of the NFL is here folks! I hope everyone is enjoying the ups and downs of a season without much needed offseason work outs. It seems as if the lockout has had a greater impact on players, teams and Fantasy Football than many anticipated as we have seen a slew of injuries and slow starts. But this has also created a very interesting season from a Fantasy perspective; full of sleepers and duds.  If it looks like your defense might end up being a dud this week, this article was written for you.

Week 6 is full of Divisional and Conference matchups and you can bet that means defenses will be playing with an extra chip on their shoulder. Every game is important, but when it comes to wild cards and playoff standings, they know that divisional and conference standings are the kickers that decide who is in and who is out.  So here are some team Defenses that can replace some iffy matchups:

Cincinnati vs. IND

It seems that every week, I suggest streaming the defense that is playing the Colts, and last week was certainly an upset w KC getting scored upon left and right. This week, however, IND faces the 6^th ranked DEF in terms of points allowed and the #1 ranked in total yards allowed. Although the Bengals have only gotten 1 int thus far, they’ve racked up 13 sacks and forced 7 fumbles. This week will definitely prove to be tougher for Painter and the Colts than last week’s matchup.

Detroit v. SF

This is going to be a real test for the 49ers offensively and defensively against the undefeated Lions. Suh and company will keep the pressure on Alex Smith and also do their best to keep Gore at bay. They have totaled 12 sacks, 7 interceptions, 2 int for touchdowns, and 5 forced fumbles. If Detroit gets ahead on the scoreboard, San Fran will really struggle to keep it close, which will only bode well for the Lions’ Defense.

New Orleans vs. TB (more…)

If you’re looking at your team defense and feelin’ a little iffy about their upcoming matchup, have no fear, I’ve got some fillers for ya! This week, if you own Pittsburgh or you own Dallas or you own Detroit, you know that they could potentially be your downfall, and at this point in the season you need all the help you can get.  Yes, the Steelers and Cowboys can rack up the sacks on indecisive QBs, but they’re also facing teams that know how to rack up the score. So here are some other options on defense that aren’t owned in the majority of leagues out there and could easily lead you to victory.

Tampa Bay vs. IND

If there’s one thing that is certain so far this year, it is that the Colts are a completely different team when they are without Peyton Manning. Last week, they almost managed to pull off a surprising win against the Steelers, but I don’t think they will have a repeat this week. With racking up turnovers and sacks left and right, the colts have almost turned into a guaranteed offense to stream a defense. With the questions they face at QB this week and a dominating Buccaneers’ defense; you should see a big game for this defense.

 Atlanta vs. SEA

Seattle is struggling this year on offense and that is not an understatement. Even with the return of Sydney Rice, they still have trouble moving the ball and scoring. In their win last week, they still only put up 13 pts against Arizona, bringing their average pts per game to just 10 points per game. Atlanta should be able to turn the ball over and add a few sacks while keeping Seattle’s score low and thus making them a very viable option to plug if your defense is facing a strong offense this week.

Minnesota vs. KC

I hate to kick ‘em when they’re down, but the Chiefs are in very sad situation this season; just one year after having one of the most electrifying offenses in the league. In their defense, they’ve lost some key starters and finally got a Bowe his first touchdown of the season; so there are some positives. But if the Vikings are smart, they’ll shutdown Bowe and try to let KC run the ball without Jamaal Charles. Expect Jared Allen and the recently healed defense to bring the heat and cause a huge headache of Cassel and the Chiefs.

Surprise Streamer of the Week

Tennessee vs. CLE

The Titans defense is doing surprisingly well this year and has played a huge role in their wins by allowing the second fewest points scored in the league. They have also allowed the fewest total yards this season by averaging 89 rushing yards allowed and 172 passing. Cleveland will struggle against this defense with its passing game and try to rely on Hillis to pound his way through their D-Line. All and all this will be a hard fought battle and I expect the Tennessee defense to hold its ground and give little way to Hillis and the Browns.

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As you prep your line up for this weekend’s matchup, you glance down your roster and are feeling confident until…. BAM you notice that your defense is facing a high octane, high scoring, rip roarin’ offense. We have all had it happen. Well before you start to panic, I have some good news for you. In the famous last words of Yoda “There… is… a…nother… Sky….wal…ker……” Except in this case, replace Skywalker with team Defense.

Last week, if you decided to start a defense like San Diego, Oakland, or Chicago you know that you were definitely hurt by the lack of performance on their part, and you obviously didn’t read the last article on this subject. Every week, there will be teams that will fare better than some of the high profile offenses due to their matchups. For example, any defenses facing New Orleans, New England, Green Bay are all going to have trouble keeping points off the board and you may want to substitute your defense with a team that has a better chance of keeping the score low and creating havoc in the back field. So here are some team defenses you may want to consider for plug ‘n’ play this week:

Cincinnati Bengals vs. SF

There is hardly a team in the NFL that has not suffered the loss of at least one starter due injury so far this season and San Francisco is certainly no exception. It looks as if they will be without WR Braylon Edwards this week and possibly Michael Crabtree as well. The latter is recovering from a foot injury that held him out of last week’s game and it very well could sideline him this game as well. Either way, QB Alex Smith is not known for keeping the ball out of opposing defense’s hands and hasn’t gotten a single WR more than 38 yds in game so far this year. As long as the Bengals can hold down Gore as well as they did Peyton Hillis in week 1, this should be a good showing for their defense.

Arizona Cardinals vs. SEA

It looks like it’s going to be a rough season for the Seahawks unless they make some serious changes in the offense. So far this season, they’ve only been able to score two TDs, granted they have had some pretty tough matchups in their first two games. But with an unhealthy Sydney Rice and banged up offensive line, you can expect a lot of pressure getting to T Jackson. This looks to be Seattle’s best matchup to date, but you really can’t expect much from an offense that has only managed to score an average of 8.5 points per game.

Surprise Streamer of the Week

Carolina Panthers vs. Jax

Just a year ago, I was streaming defensive teams that were matched against the Panthers and now that Cam Newton is in town, I would almost shy away starting a defense that plays them. This week, the Panthers are looking to get their first win of the season after two upsetting losses to the Packers and Cards. With the Jaguars starting rookie QB Blaine Gabbert, they will lean heavily on the run as they always have as Gabbert is likely to make some questionable decisions as rookies often do. Although Carolina is without LBs Beason and Davis, their main objective will be to shut down MJD and their run game. As long as they keep MJD from going off and keep the pressure on Gabbert, Carolina will be worth the start.

After a somewhat surprising and certainly entertaining Week 1 of the NFL, your team could be in desperate need of something special to create the competitive edge in your matchup this week.  If you had a highly ranked defense like the Steelers fall (extremely) flat and spark the downward spiral into last place in your league, you may want to start looking at the waivers for a defense that could put the life back into your team.

Besides the stout Defenses that are taken in majority of leagues, there are favorable matchups each week that could be your Sherpa to the post season this year. Fearing the worst for your defense, here are some Defenses that are likely waiver pickups in your league that could be the game changer for Week 2:

Dallas DEF vs. SF

Barring another Ted Ginn Jr miracle this week, I like the matchup that the Dallas Defense has against a dreadful San Francisco offense.  In Week 1, we saw the Dallas D hold the typically run heavy Jets to a mere 45 total rushing yards, granted they did throw the ball 44 times. Still, they were able to swarm the pocket, force 2 fumbles, and sack the QB a total of 4 times against a very stout offensive line.  I saw a very weak and lackluster offense in San Francisco last week who only managed to put in one offensive touchdown (a rush by QB Alex Smith) against Seattle’s Defense and expect the Cowboys to come out with an extra chip on their shoulder after a very tough loss in Week 1.

Houston DEF vs. MIA

After acquiring DEF Coordinator Wade Phillips, who molded DeMarcus Ware into the sack-monster he is today, the Houston Defense displayed their dominance against a Peyton-less Colts offense from start to finish. Although Hou was adjusting to the 3-4 scheme, they were able to collapse the pocket, force turnovers, and completely eliminate Indy’s hopes of establishing any sort of rhythm.  Mario Williams looked like a natural at the OLB position and sacked the statuesque Collins twice and also forced a fumble. Although the matchup against Miami isn’t as favorable this week, Houston should be able to put pressure on Henne and create turnovers as we saw the past weekend in Houston. (more…)

As many of you know I am a proponent of streaming fantasy defenses all season long. Of course there are always some glitches in your plans due to teams already being owned, especially if your opponents are streaming as well. I try not to look too far ahead because I am a short-sighted sloth? No, well, not in this case. I want the best matchups as possible when I’m streaming because you are often picking craptastic defenses and you have to be careful. So I’m going to look at week 1 and 2 and see what we have.

Last season the best teams to start your defenses against for the season were — Carolina, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Chicago and Arizona. 3 of the 5 had young QBs and 2 had QBs that threw a whole lot of interceptions. QB play is almost the sole component I use when looking at a team to play a defense against. That and the quality of their run game and defense. A crappy/young QB can get away with being crappy and/or young if they can force their will on other teams outside of the passing game.

Teams that faced the Panthers scored 201 fantasy points and the best fantasy D, the Steelers, scored 188 points and the second best, the Packers, scored 166 points. The Steelers had 7 games under 10 fantasy points and the Panthers only gave up less than 10, 4 times. They also never had a D get negative points against them while Pittsburgh went negative once against New England. Of course you won’t be able to stream a defense against the worst fantasy offense each week, but you sure can give it a try.

So who are the crappy quarterbacks and their teams this season? It doesn’t take that much football acumen to answer this question.

Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals (@Cleveland, @Denver): Dude may turn out ok (not sure about that), but he has a ways to go.Until further notice they are pick for best offense to face.

Tarvaris Jackson, Seattle Seahawks (@San Francisco, @Pittsburgh): We may end up seeing Charlie Whitehurst rise from the grave at some point. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I doubt he is their savior.

Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers (@Arizona, Green Bay): I like the Panther’s running game and Newton’s ability to scramble enough to not be full tilt on facing my D’s against him, but he’s still young and will make plenty of mistakes. (more…)