Denver DST (1 Viewer)

[inca911]

Watching last night's game, I realized that the Denver DST is actually doing rather well of late. Denver has only allowed 1 passing TD and 0 rushing TDs this entire year.

I'm looking for thoughts from those who are able to watch Denver about their DST unit.

Their schedule is:

@StL KC @NE bye Bal Oak @Cle Ind @Pit @Oak SD @KC Sea @SD @Ari Cin SF

Next two games look very promising (Raiders at home and Browns on the road), but the schedule looks a bit challenging. Perhaps they will be a BYE week fill-in near term. Thoughts?

 

[AB in DC]

They're starting to play like the old Tampa Ds, which were great NFL defenses but lousy fantasy defenses.

Still, I'd be surprised if the sack and INT numbers didn't start going up.

 

[hofer]

Denver historically hasn't gotten many sacks since Hayward left, but they get A LOT of preassures/hits on the QB. That should lead to a few more interceptions.

 

[SSOG]

They're starting to play like the old Tampa Ds, which were great NFL defenses but lousy fantasy defenses.Still, I'd be surprised if the sack and INT numbers didn't start going up.

Tampa's Ds were lousy fantasy units? You aren't talking about the 2000-2005 Tampa Bay Bucs, are you? Because they were a top-5 fantasy unit every single year by my count- more consistant than even the Ravens, the second gold standard defensively.

Denver historically hasn't gotten many sacks since Hayward left, but they get A LOT of preassures/hits on the QB. That should lead to a few more interceptions.

You can't go with history with regards to this Denver defense. This is a DRASTICALLY different defense than last year's unit.First off, blitzing is way down. After a slow start last year, Denver turned into the most blitz-happy team in the league by midseason. They actually had a sequence against Philadelphia where they called a 9-man blitz... ON TWO CONSECUTIVE PLAYS. Seriously, Denver was throwing out some of the most ridiculous blitzes I've ever seen. The result was that offenses went max-protect and 3-step drop pretty much all season against Denver, which was why they had so few sacks, and the blitzing was why all their sacks were so spread out (Trevor Pryce and John Lynch tied for the team lead with 4 sacks each). Another result of the quick throws was that there were a lot of presnap mis-reads, which led to a lot of interceptions (as well as the fact that Bailey was gimpy, so teams threw at him a lot).This season, Bailey is healthy so teams are back to avoiding him again, and Denver's no longer blitzing, which means QBs are making fewer hurried throws or mental errors, which means I don't expect Denver to get as many INTs this year as last year. On the other hand, QBs are taking longer drops again, so I expect Denver to get more sacks than last year. At least, that's the theory behind it- in practice, if teams start picking on Bailey again, I think we'll see another big spike in INT numbers.

 

[Raiders Fan]

They were my bargin basement pick in a 14 team league.. Took them in the 15th round.. Those are the picks that make a team good.

 

[AB in DC]

Tampa's Ds were lousy fantasy units? You aren't talking about the 2000-2005 Tampa Bay Bucs, are you? Because they were a top-5 fantasy unit every single year by my count- more consistant than even the Ravens, the second gold standard defensively.

Depends on your scoring system, obviously.

 

[packersfan]

They were the last pick of my draft and I'm surprised they haven't been getting more fantasy love. The TOs haven't really been there but they aren't giving up many points and it's clear they are very talented. If the offense rounds into shape it stands to reason the TOs will come if they force more teams to play from behind or are put into passing mode frequently (both of which happened against the Ravens). I've started them every week but one (I sat them against New England and paid the price) but they're going to be a fixture in my lineup the rest of this season barring a complete collapse. They may still be on a lot of Waiver Wires too because they haven't scored a defensive touchdown and because (prior to Monday night) the turnovers hadn't really been there. This may be the last week that will be the case.

 

[Isotopes]

If they had any kind of return game they would be a much better fantasy option.

 

[2112]

If the offense rounds into shape it stands to reason the TOs will come if they force more teams to play from behind or are put into passing mode frequently

I picked them up coming off their bye for that Balt game, based on them not allowing many points / the Ravens not scoring many. And now to see the Raiders, Browns upcoming...well, I'm just

To see this defense perform similar to a Ravens or Bears squad (from an NFL perspective) is reason enough for me to hang onto them. Plus I'm looking forward to what packersfan stated, a better Den offense should lead to more sacks, TOs for their defense.

 

[Sabertooth]

They are still in the bottom 15 of my leagues mostly. But I am thinking of making a play for them this week just based on them getting better and better.

 

[CA_7]

Raiders next weekend....

:champlickingchomps:

 

[T Man]

Denver is playing great D. In the NFL they are doing well.

But as a fantasy team they are not scoring BIG. They are not in the top 15 in any of my leagues. A lack of turnovers and sacks is the problem. Against the Raiders and Browns they may be able to rectify the this.

 

[The Jacket]

If they had any kind of return game they would be a much better fantasy option.

And/or pass-rush.

 

[parrot]

Denver is playing great D. In the NFL they are doing well.But as a fantasy team they are not scoring BIG. They are not in the top 15 in any of my leagues. A lack of turnovers and sacks is the problem. Against the Raiders and Browns they may be able to rectify the this.

That's a big shortfall in most fantasy D scoring systems IMO. My league awards big points for holding down scoring and yardage as that is a more accurate yardstick of their performance than just sacks and turnovers.

 

[JRoss]

Denver is playing great D. In the NFL they are doing well.But as a fantasy team they are not scoring BIG. They are not in the top 15 in any of my leagues. A lack of turnovers and sacks is the problem. Against the Raiders and Browns they may be able to rectify the this.

That's a big shortfall in most fantasy D scoring systems IMO. My league awards big points for holding down scoring and yardage as that is a more accurate yardstick of their performance than just sacks and turnovers.

Same here. When factoring in their bye week, they're the #9 defense in our league.

 

[SSOG]

If they had any kind of return game they would be a much better fantasy option.

Don't get too hung up on their early struggles. The kickoff return issues are a problem, but the punt return issues are an aberration. Last year, Denver was 11th in the league in yards per punt return (8.5 per). This season, they're near the bottom of the standings.There are two things to keep in mind. First off, Denver's kick return game just got a big boost because Denver signed Quincy Morgan, who returned kicks for the Steelers last year (and iirc was in the top-5 in average per return). He's a big upgrade over the guys that were back there before. Second off, Darrent Williams is NOT as bad as he looked in the first 3 games (where he averaged less than a yard per punt return). Just look at the Baltimore game- 16.2 yards per punt return, with a 13 yarder, a 33 yarder, a 16 yarder, and a 3 yarder.