Jeff Pasquino
Footballguy
Defenses (and their rankings) are highly dependent on the respective scoring systems used by each league.That said, if I had a pool of 8-10 "whatever" defenses at the bottom of my list - what would I use to separate one from the other? Potential explosiveness / scoring on special teams, that's what.Thanks, Jeff.I think you're right about the Dolphins defense. It's been over a month, and I hadn't adjusted the defensive rankings since then. At that time, there were more questions about Ginn's health...I like him much better than Booker as a returner. Also factoring into the original ranking was the overall aging of the defense, which could be a hindrance to playmaking, as well as concerns about the ability of the offense (pre-Green acquisition...and post-Green acquisition for that matter) to pitch in and do their part to keep the defense fresh.Hey F&L....
Great thread here.
Leave it to me to ask a ? about defenses.
Given that Miami has both Booker and Ginn to return kicks and they have good playmakers on defense, why are they so low?
I'd also bump NO up one tier just because of Reggie Bush.
On the other hand, if you check out post #447 I did pick the Dolphins as the lowered tiered defense with the best chance to make the leap into the upper tiers this season. I don't think you have to look hard to see upside here. I'm pretty sure I'll move the Dolphins up a tier next time I sit down and revisit the rankings.
Re: Bush & the Saints. I think I give significant weight to an explosive return game as long as there's also something intriguing going on with other aspects of the defense. I can't really find much to get me excited about the Saints fantasy defense beyond their punt-returner, so I don't know that it really raises the level of their whole unit ahead of any of the other bottom tier wild card defenses. For example, I think you could make a better argument for the Cardinals or 49ers defenses.
IIRC, the Saints had Bush returning punts last season, and they managed a ranking somewhere around 25-30 overall among defenses. What is it that makes you believe they're going to have a significant turn around in defensive scoring?
To me that screams New Orleans, even if their D doesn't improve from 2006. I think it will (it would be pretty hard not to), but that's why I'd put NO and MIA higher than where they were - just so I knew that they were worth a little more than a team with little to offer at kick returning.