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.
Rex Grossman, Washington Redskins (NY Giants, Arizona): I want to say start the world against Sexy Rexy, but with Shanny’s run game clicking in preseason I’m not wholy on the band wagon, but I’m not completely against it either. Arizona does get two decent matchups in a row, but they have to travel to D.C.
Chad Henne, Miami Dolphins (New England, Houston): Henne just can’t seem to get his shizz together. He actually has turned it up in preseason, but has shown flashes of decency in the past to only then flash his indecency all over the place. Plus I don’t see much of a run game in Miami yet. He’ll have to pass. Expect red zone picks. Lots of them.
Kerry Collins, Indianapolis Colts (@Houston, Cleveland): What does Collins have left? That’s the question. Can he manage a team with a good offense well enough to keep games close and not have to chuck it up in the 4th quarter? That’s another question. He’ll need help from Addai and Carter.
Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears (Atlanta, @New Orleans): Cutler is always hard to predict. He could throw for 4 touchdowns or 4 interceptions, or both. He’s a wild card for sure, but he has been good at chucking picks.
As the season progresses we’ll be able to see just how horrible these teams and quarterbacks are and just who steps up and sucks horribly. Good luck streaming this season! My pick for week 1 is Cleveland. Let’s hope they can suck less than Cincinnati!
