Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
Here are the 10 toughest passing defenses in the NFL right now in terms of yds given up per game. We should look at them and see if they are really as good as advertised.
10. San Diego: They are giving up 192 a game and have allowed 3TD so far…not too bad but they are also giving up almost 8 yds per attempt…and that’s not so good. I still feel they can be passed on when teams have the right personnel.
9. Arizona Cardinals: They are really starting to come around this year. Only 1 TD so far and 190 yds a game. Teams are throwing a the ball a lot but not having great success and only completing 55% of their passes.
8. The Eagles have only allowed 1 TD thus far vs 2 interceptions. 188 yds a game and pretty low 5.8 yds per attempt. QBs have a rating of 65.2 against them…not too high.
7. Indianapolis Colts: 179 yds a game, 5.5 yds per attempt, but a 65% completion percentage. They sort of play bend but don’t break defense IMO.
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6. Kansas City Chiefs: 169 yds a game, 6.9 yds per attempt and a 64% completion percentage aginst them. I think teams need to test their secondary more but I doubt the Vikings will this weekend.
5. New England: Have given up 4 TD but only 158 yds a game. The 2 blowouts they have been involved in are impressive and I am sure the secondary gets pretty laxed towards the end of the games…I don’t think QBs are a great play against them but some of the better WR will have decent days in garbage time if nothing else.
4. St Louis Rams: 149 yds a game so far and 3 TD vs no picks. QBs have a 110.0 rating against them so don’t be fooled by the yds they are yielding…teams are running on them to keep Bulger and crew on the sidelines but this team does not have a great secondary.
3. Pittsburgh: QBs have a rating of 61.1 against them. And those QBs would be Charlie Frye(3rd string in Seattle now), and JP Losman. They are good, but just how good?
2. Jax Jags: Only team in the league to have not given up a passing TD yet. 117 yds a game thru the air too. I know TN ran all over them in week 1 but that didn’t happen last week. Will be interesting what Cutler can do against them at home.speaking of the Broncos…
1. Denver Broncos: 62 yds a game, unreal. 1 TD vs 4 Interceptions. QB rating of 38.2, WOW! And a 4.5 yd per attempt allowed.
Let’s look at the match ups this week. I will simply run through the games and then we can open up the discussion on certain players you have a vested interest in.
Arizona at Baltimore:
Matt Leinart: Baltimore is giving up an avg of 1.5 TD per game and a little over 200 yds. My thing is this, they are going to shut down Edge and that running game, Whisenhunt is familiar with the Ravens and must know this. You have 2 of the more talented WR in the NFL with Fitz and Boldin, they can’t get dominated every down so why not turn them loose a bit like Cinci did in week 1? I’m not the OC though, so you probably can’t make Leinart much better than an average start as best this weekend.
McNair/Boller (Bench ‘em): Doesn’t matter who starts really. The Cards are looking better in their secondary and the Ravens’ best WR, Clayton, is banged up so I wouldn’t be in too much of a hurry to wheel these guys out.
Buffalo at New England
JP Losman: Maybe he will get some garbage time stats but to me that isn’t a reason to start a guy really. He and Lee Evans had some success last year on the Pats…but that was last year, this is this year and the Pats are pretty good. They are giving up a 90.9 passer rating to opposing teams however…interesting stat.
Tom Brady: Buffalo is allowing a passer rating of 81.2 so far. Allowing 267 yds a game and an avg of just 1 TD…I think New England will test that secondary on Sunday, don’t you?
Detroit at Philly
Jon Kitna: “It’s a miracle”…I think it was desperation to try and win a football game. Kitna should be cleared to play this week. Philly has a good sound pass defense but Detroit can light it up on almost anyone…this is the 2007 version of Houston Run n Shoot…so holding the Lions in check will still probably be in the 250-300 yd range and 1-2 TD…I just don’t see them getting shut out very often.
Donovon McNabb: There has been a lot of controversy surrounding McNabb this week. I have always admired McNabb, and thought very highly of him as an athlete and a human being in the NFL…that opinion is not going to change and I respect what he is saying, even if I don’t agree with him 100%. What does that have to do with how he performs this weekend? I think he is going to take out his frustrations on the Lions…but for the record they are putting a 59.7 QB rating on opposing teams. 2 TD vs 6 Interceptions although Tarvaris “Robin Hood” Jackson has a lot to do with that.
Indy at Houston
Peyton Manning: Last week shows that even though you automatically play Manning each week, he is going to have his weaker days just like everybody else…just far fewer of them.
Matt Schaub(Bench him): A guy I was behind the 1st couple of weeks but with Andre Johnson out this week, you would be better to sit Schaub and see what he does without him before you play him again. I see a lot of dump offs to Ahman Green and Owen Daniels, but the long ball may be missing form his arsenal on Sunday.
Miami at New York Jets
Trent Green: Green could be a sneaky play on Sunday. Miami/NYJets games can be barn burners at times and these two teams don’t exactly have stellar pass defenses right now. The Jets have given up 5 TD thru the air and over 240 a game right now.
Chad Pennington/Kelly Clemens: I need to see an updated injury report on Friday before I would say yes or no on this situation. I would think you might have better options on your roster.
Minnesota at Kansas City
Tarvaris Jackson(Cut him!): Awful so far. Threw 4 interceptions last week. I know some of you play in 12-16 team start 2 QB leagues…god help you.
Damon Huard: While the Vikes are allowing 264 yds a game thru the air, I mostly attribute that to the stour run defense they have. Only a 68.9 passer rating against them so Huard will virtually no help at WR probably won’t be able to exploit anything on Sunday.
San Diego at Green Bay
Phillip Rivers (Bench him): He is facing the Pack but they have held McNabb and Eli in check so far. 205 a game thru the air and only 2 TD so far(the Pack). Also only allowing about a 65 passer rating. Rivers hasn’t looked good and can’t find any WR to throw to outside of his TE, Gates. Now he is on the road again, leave him on the bench till he starts producing. Can someone dig up some good QB years under Norv Turner…Troy Aikman was never that great of a FF starter.
Brett Favre: Will have an average day but nothing like what he produced last week.
San Fran at Pittsburgh
Alex Smith (Bench him): Has done almost nothing so far. Probably your QB2 in most leagues, let him sit. Pittsbirgh is not the place for him to suddenly bust out for the season.
Big Ben Roethlisbeger: Astonishing that he didn’t have another 4 TD last week. I better stop before I tick off the Steeler Nation. If the early part of the season is any indication, Big ben will have a very average day on Sunday. I know many of you have him on your rosters. I would likely start him ahead of maybe the bottom 10-15 this week, I don’t see him as a top10 QB this week, really. The Niners are giving up about 215 a week thru the air and 1 TD. Leinart and Bulger combined for a QB rating of 73.9…middle of the road numbers this week from BB.
St Louis at Tampa Bay
Marc Bulger: Has not looked sharp so far. But he is in the top10 for QBs, so if this is the worst he is going to play, things can actually get better. The loss of Pace will have an impact all season on the passing game. The Bucs are giving up an avg of 224/1 a week. 88.0 passer rating against them. Bulger could possibly put the passing game into overdrive. I look for a reasonable day on Sunday.
Jeff Garcia: Despite the Rams being 4th in the league in passing yards allowed per game, opposing QBs are notching a 110.0 QB rating. The Bucs passing game came alive last week and Michael Clayton should have gotten credit on Galloway’s long TD…what a block! Garcia should fare well this week. Might not be as good as last week against the Saints but you could find much worse situations this week.
Cincinnati at Seattle:
Carson Palmer: 6 TD last week, certainly is going to see that number drop this week. The Seadogs are only giving up .5 TD a week so far, and they have seen Joey Galloway, Larry Fotzgerald, and Anquan Boldin…so they have seen some great WR so far. I think Palmer will do fine but I don’t think he will have anywhere near the impact he had alst week. Folks are calling for a shootout here but I don’t see it that way in Seattle which is a very tough place for teams to play on the road.
Matt Hasselbeck (Start him): I have been leery of him the past 2 weeks and with good reason. Look for Matt and his WR crew to take to the air and try and capitalize on a weak secondary that made Derek Anderson look like a Pro Bowl QB last week. Top10 hopefully for Hasselbeck owners this week.
Cleveland at Oakland
Derek Anderson: Great to see him torch the Bengals last week but I imagine a trip back down to Earth is in store for him this week. Don’t be foolish and chase last week’s points.
Josh McCown: I don’t understand why he is starting and especially since he is hurt right now. He looked terrible last week. I know Cleveland has given up 10 passing TD and a 113 rating to opposing QBs but McCown is a different QB from Carson Palmer and Big Ben so leave him alone.
Jacksonville at Denver
David Garrard: Have to be nuts to start him this week.
Jay Cutler (Bench him): Will have his worst outing of the young season this weekend. He almost gave the game away last weekend. The Jags are pretty good at stopping the pass so look for a quiet day from Cutler.
Carolina at Atlanta
Jake Delhomme: We talked last week how he typically will have a string of good games…who is going to cover Steve Smith this week on the fast surface of the Dome? You can’t pencil him in for 3 TD again but at the same time he should be good for at least 1-2 and maybe 200-250 passing. He has looked so far this season and has lots of favorable match ups the rest of the way. Early candidate for surprise top10 production.
Joey Harrington: Just holding down the fort till Byron learns a little bit of the offense.
New York Giants at Washington
Eli Manning: Watch the injury reports but the Skins have been pretty stingy on their pass defense. Only 1 TD this far on the season. Eli probably should not have been playing last week.
Jason Campbell: 127.8 QB rating is what the Giants are giving up. If there is ever a week to play Jason Campbell this would be it but I have a feeling most teams don’t really need him so don’t start him over a Delhomme or Hasselbeck this week. Campbell is really a bye week filler like what you drafted him for. Was god to see and Santana connecting on MNF…but he hurt owners by missing a wide open Moss in the 2nd half on what would have been a nice long TD play.
Dallas at Chicago
Tony Romo: Looks like it could be a little rough for him but I still would start him this week. The Bears are better at stopping the run than the pass right now. Opposing QBs are completing over 71% of their passes. Don’t bench Romo for a lesser QB this week.
Rex Grossman (Bench him): Till he shows he can make plays this season, leave him alone. Another week or two of the same and we might start hearing about Brian Griese.
Tennessee at New Orleans
Vince Young (Start him): Should be able to be productive for owners this weekend. Saints are allowing a 137 QB rating against them. They have allowed 5 TD and had no INT on the season…owners have something to look forward to on MNF.
Drew Brees: He is quickly becoming a “Do I start this guy again?” The Titans played well last week but they are giving up almost 250-260 yds a game but they are not allowing a lot of TD…only 2 on the season. If you have a safer choice you might want to roll with it this week. Would be interested to hear who people might think about starting over Brees.
This is just the basis to get some good analysis and banter going back and forth. I do ask you try not to be obvious with a WDIS post…something like Hasselbeck or Smith, which one? 1st of all, you know based on what I post, how I basically feel about those 2 QBs this weekend. We would much rather hear who you are leaning on and why, then if myself or other board members think you are going in the wrong direction we can jump in and that way everyone benefits more.
If you have a Hasselbeck/Delhomme combo, odds are some one else does too. Folks with Manning and Palmer usually don’t have a dilemma at QB, but it’s the folks that paried 2 QBs in the 5-15 range, or 3 in the 12-25 range that have the choices every week.
Good Luck!
10. San Diego: They are giving up 192 a game and have allowed 3TD so far…not too bad but they are also giving up almost 8 yds per attempt…and that’s not so good. I still feel they can be passed on when teams have the right personnel.
9. Arizona Cardinals: They are really starting to come around this year. Only 1 TD so far and 190 yds a game. Teams are throwing a the ball a lot but not having great success and only completing 55% of their passes.
8. The Eagles have only allowed 1 TD thus far vs 2 interceptions. 188 yds a game and pretty low 5.8 yds per attempt. QBs have a rating of 65.2 against them…not too high.
7. Indianapolis Colts: 179 yds a game, 5.5 yds per attempt, but a 65% completion percentage. They sort of play bend but don’t break defense IMO.
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6. Kansas City Chiefs: 169 yds a game, 6.9 yds per attempt and a 64% completion percentage aginst them. I think teams need to test their secondary more but I doubt the Vikings will this weekend.
5. New England: Have given up 4 TD but only 158 yds a game. The 2 blowouts they have been involved in are impressive and I am sure the secondary gets pretty laxed towards the end of the games…I don’t think QBs are a great play against them but some of the better WR will have decent days in garbage time if nothing else.
4. St Louis Rams: 149 yds a game so far and 3 TD vs no picks. QBs have a 110.0 rating against them so don’t be fooled by the yds they are yielding…teams are running on them to keep Bulger and crew on the sidelines but this team does not have a great secondary.
3. Pittsburgh: QBs have a rating of 61.1 against them. And those QBs would be Charlie Frye(3rd string in Seattle now), and JP Losman. They are good, but just how good?
2. Jax Jags: Only team in the league to have not given up a passing TD yet. 117 yds a game thru the air too. I know TN ran all over them in week 1 but that didn’t happen last week. Will be interesting what Cutler can do against them at home.speaking of the Broncos…
1. Denver Broncos: 62 yds a game, unreal. 1 TD vs 4 Interceptions. QB rating of 38.2, WOW! And a 4.5 yd per attempt allowed.
Let’s look at the match ups this week. I will simply run through the games and then we can open up the discussion on certain players you have a vested interest in.
Arizona at Baltimore:
Matt Leinart: Baltimore is giving up an avg of 1.5 TD per game and a little over 200 yds. My thing is this, they are going to shut down Edge and that running game, Whisenhunt is familiar with the Ravens and must know this. You have 2 of the more talented WR in the NFL with Fitz and Boldin, they can’t get dominated every down so why not turn them loose a bit like Cinci did in week 1? I’m not the OC though, so you probably can’t make Leinart much better than an average start as best this weekend.
McNair/Boller (Bench ‘em): Doesn’t matter who starts really. The Cards are looking better in their secondary and the Ravens’ best WR, Clayton, is banged up so I wouldn’t be in too much of a hurry to wheel these guys out.
Buffalo at New England
JP Losman: Maybe he will get some garbage time stats but to me that isn’t a reason to start a guy really. He and Lee Evans had some success last year on the Pats…but that was last year, this is this year and the Pats are pretty good. They are giving up a 90.9 passer rating to opposing teams however…interesting stat.
Tom Brady: Buffalo is allowing a passer rating of 81.2 so far. Allowing 267 yds a game and an avg of just 1 TD…I think New England will test that secondary on Sunday, don’t you?
Detroit at Philly
Jon Kitna: “It’s a miracle”…I think it was desperation to try and win a football game. Kitna should be cleared to play this week. Philly has a good sound pass defense but Detroit can light it up on almost anyone…this is the 2007 version of Houston Run n Shoot…so holding the Lions in check will still probably be in the 250-300 yd range and 1-2 TD…I just don’t see them getting shut out very often.
Donovon McNabb: There has been a lot of controversy surrounding McNabb this week. I have always admired McNabb, and thought very highly of him as an athlete and a human being in the NFL…that opinion is not going to change and I respect what he is saying, even if I don’t agree with him 100%. What does that have to do with how he performs this weekend? I think he is going to take out his frustrations on the Lions…but for the record they are putting a 59.7 QB rating on opposing teams. 2 TD vs 6 Interceptions although Tarvaris “Robin Hood” Jackson has a lot to do with that.
Indy at Houston
Peyton Manning: Last week shows that even though you automatically play Manning each week, he is going to have his weaker days just like everybody else…just far fewer of them.
Matt Schaub(Bench him): A guy I was behind the 1st couple of weeks but with Andre Johnson out this week, you would be better to sit Schaub and see what he does without him before you play him again. I see a lot of dump offs to Ahman Green and Owen Daniels, but the long ball may be missing form his arsenal on Sunday.
Miami at New York Jets
Trent Green: Green could be a sneaky play on Sunday. Miami/NYJets games can be barn burners at times and these two teams don’t exactly have stellar pass defenses right now. The Jets have given up 5 TD thru the air and over 240 a game right now.
Chad Pennington/Kelly Clemens: I need to see an updated injury report on Friday before I would say yes or no on this situation. I would think you might have better options on your roster.
Minnesota at Kansas City
Tarvaris Jackson(Cut him!): Awful so far. Threw 4 interceptions last week. I know some of you play in 12-16 team start 2 QB leagues…god help you.
Damon Huard: While the Vikes are allowing 264 yds a game thru the air, I mostly attribute that to the stour run defense they have. Only a 68.9 passer rating against them so Huard will virtually no help at WR probably won’t be able to exploit anything on Sunday.
San Diego at Green Bay
Phillip Rivers (Bench him): He is facing the Pack but they have held McNabb and Eli in check so far. 205 a game thru the air and only 2 TD so far(the Pack). Also only allowing about a 65 passer rating. Rivers hasn’t looked good and can’t find any WR to throw to outside of his TE, Gates. Now he is on the road again, leave him on the bench till he starts producing. Can someone dig up some good QB years under Norv Turner…Troy Aikman was never that great of a FF starter.
Brett Favre: Will have an average day but nothing like what he produced last week.
San Fran at Pittsburgh
Alex Smith (Bench him): Has done almost nothing so far. Probably your QB2 in most leagues, let him sit. Pittsbirgh is not the place for him to suddenly bust out for the season.
Big Ben Roethlisbeger: Astonishing that he didn’t have another 4 TD last week. I better stop before I tick off the Steeler Nation. If the early part of the season is any indication, Big ben will have a very average day on Sunday. I know many of you have him on your rosters. I would likely start him ahead of maybe the bottom 10-15 this week, I don’t see him as a top10 QB this week, really. The Niners are giving up about 215 a week thru the air and 1 TD. Leinart and Bulger combined for a QB rating of 73.9…middle of the road numbers this week from BB.
St Louis at Tampa Bay
Marc Bulger: Has not looked sharp so far. But he is in the top10 for QBs, so if this is the worst he is going to play, things can actually get better. The loss of Pace will have an impact all season on the passing game. The Bucs are giving up an avg of 224/1 a week. 88.0 passer rating against them. Bulger could possibly put the passing game into overdrive. I look for a reasonable day on Sunday.
Jeff Garcia: Despite the Rams being 4th in the league in passing yards allowed per game, opposing QBs are notching a 110.0 QB rating. The Bucs passing game came alive last week and Michael Clayton should have gotten credit on Galloway’s long TD…what a block! Garcia should fare well this week. Might not be as good as last week against the Saints but you could find much worse situations this week.
Cincinnati at Seattle:
Carson Palmer: 6 TD last week, certainly is going to see that number drop this week. The Seadogs are only giving up .5 TD a week so far, and they have seen Joey Galloway, Larry Fotzgerald, and Anquan Boldin…so they have seen some great WR so far. I think Palmer will do fine but I don’t think he will have anywhere near the impact he had alst week. Folks are calling for a shootout here but I don’t see it that way in Seattle which is a very tough place for teams to play on the road.
Matt Hasselbeck (Start him): I have been leery of him the past 2 weeks and with good reason. Look for Matt and his WR crew to take to the air and try and capitalize on a weak secondary that made Derek Anderson look like a Pro Bowl QB last week. Top10 hopefully for Hasselbeck owners this week.
Cleveland at Oakland
Derek Anderson: Great to see him torch the Bengals last week but I imagine a trip back down to Earth is in store for him this week. Don’t be foolish and chase last week’s points.
Josh McCown: I don’t understand why he is starting and especially since he is hurt right now. He looked terrible last week. I know Cleveland has given up 10 passing TD and a 113 rating to opposing QBs but McCown is a different QB from Carson Palmer and Big Ben so leave him alone.
Jacksonville at Denver
David Garrard: Have to be nuts to start him this week.
Jay Cutler (Bench him): Will have his worst outing of the young season this weekend. He almost gave the game away last weekend. The Jags are pretty good at stopping the pass so look for a quiet day from Cutler.
Carolina at Atlanta
Jake Delhomme: We talked last week how he typically will have a string of good games…who is going to cover Steve Smith this week on the fast surface of the Dome? You can’t pencil him in for 3 TD again but at the same time he should be good for at least 1-2 and maybe 200-250 passing. He has looked so far this season and has lots of favorable match ups the rest of the way. Early candidate for surprise top10 production.
Joey Harrington: Just holding down the fort till Byron learns a little bit of the offense.
New York Giants at Washington
Eli Manning: Watch the injury reports but the Skins have been pretty stingy on their pass defense. Only 1 TD this far on the season. Eli probably should not have been playing last week.
Jason Campbell: 127.8 QB rating is what the Giants are giving up. If there is ever a week to play Jason Campbell this would be it but I have a feeling most teams don’t really need him so don’t start him over a Delhomme or Hasselbeck this week. Campbell is really a bye week filler like what you drafted him for. Was god to see and Santana connecting on MNF…but he hurt owners by missing a wide open Moss in the 2nd half on what would have been a nice long TD play.
Dallas at Chicago
Tony Romo: Looks like it could be a little rough for him but I still would start him this week. The Bears are better at stopping the run than the pass right now. Opposing QBs are completing over 71% of their passes. Don’t bench Romo for a lesser QB this week.
Rex Grossman (Bench him): Till he shows he can make plays this season, leave him alone. Another week or two of the same and we might start hearing about Brian Griese.
Tennessee at New Orleans
Vince Young (Start him): Should be able to be productive for owners this weekend. Saints are allowing a 137 QB rating against them. They have allowed 5 TD and had no INT on the season…owners have something to look forward to on MNF.
Drew Brees: He is quickly becoming a “Do I start this guy again?” The Titans played well last week but they are giving up almost 250-260 yds a game but they are not allowing a lot of TD…only 2 on the season. If you have a safer choice you might want to roll with it this week. Would be interested to hear who people might think about starting over Brees.
This is just the basis to get some good analysis and banter going back and forth. I do ask you try not to be obvious with a WDIS post…something like Hasselbeck or Smith, which one? 1st of all, you know based on what I post, how I basically feel about those 2 QBs this weekend. We would much rather hear who you are leaning on and why, then if myself or other board members think you are going in the wrong direction we can jump in and that way everyone benefits more.
If you have a Hasselbeck/Delhomme combo, odds are some one else does too. Folks with Manning and Palmer usually don’t have a dilemma at QB, but it’s the folks that paried 2 QBs in the 5-15 range, or 3 in the 12-25 range that have the choices every week.
Good Luck!