Sleeper Defenses (1 Viewer)

[Zow]

Tampa had one of the worst run D's in the league last season but drafted DT with their first 2 picks (McCoy, Price). On paper, these guys should help the DE's get better, and a better D-line as a whole should help the LB's / DB's get better....An easy test as to whether the Bucs could be a good WW D will be after week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. If they can shut down the Browns rushing attack things might start falling into place for this D.

I'd be very happy to grab Tampa in the last round and then just user waiver defenses after Tampa's favorable week 1 matchup

 

[QUEZILLA]

Tampa had one of the worst run D's in the league last season but drafted DT with their first 2 picks (McCoy, Price). On paper, these guys should help the DE's get better, and a better D-line as a whole should help the LB's / DB's get better....An easy test as to whether the Bucs could be a good WW D will be after week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. If they can shut down the Browns rushing attack things might start falling into place for this D.

I'd be very happy to grab Tampa in the last round and then just user waiver defenses after Tampa's favorable week 1 matchup

I don't know if a match-up against Cleveland would be that favorable. Cleveland is going to pound the ball which isn't going to give the Bucs much of an opportunity to make big plays. If they can contain the run I would jump all over them. Stopping the run against Cleveland would be a great accomplishment for a team that had the worst run D last season.

 

[Hagger]

Buffalo- Their D actually wasn't all bad last season. With 28 picks, 5 fumble recoveries, 2 TD's and a blocked kick, they posted solid numbers. Their problem was inconsistency, which should improve this season.

Finish is traditional scoring leagues- 10th in fantasy points

This. Obviously it's a bit of a homer pick for me, but it's also true. They have a highly underrated defensive backfield and solid linebacking group. DL is a bit shakier. If the offense can keep them off of the field a little more than last year (big if) their defense will show it.

I would not rely on the Buffalo offense for much beyond being a team that you must start your defense against.

Their offense really shouldn't be any worse than last year when their defense finished 10th in fantasy points in most scoring systems. So, an improved offense isn't crucial for them to be a quality fantasy defesne. They fit the description of a sleeper defense.

 

[Chaka]

Buffalo- Their D actually wasn't all bad last season. With 28 picks, 5 fumble recoveries, 2 TD's and a blocked kick, they posted solid numbers. Their problem was inconsistency, which should improve this season.

Finish is traditional scoring leagues- 10th in fantasy points

This. Obviously it's a bit of a homer pick for me, but it's also true. They have a highly underrated defensive backfield and solid linebacking group. DL is a bit shakier. If the offense can keep them off of the field a little more than last year (big if) their defense will show it.

I would not rely on the Buffalo offense for much beyond being a team that you must start your defense against.

Their offense really shouldn't be any worse than last year when their defense finished 10th in fantasy points in most scoring systems. So, an improved offense isn't crucial for them to be a quality fantasy defesne. They fit the description of a sleeper defense.

20th in my league.

 

[NajehHejan]

My league scoring for my upcoming draft is heavily weighted towards points allowed and then on turnovers. So I went through all 32 NFL teams and picked 5 teams that I think will have a tough time scoring and/or will be prone to a high level of turnovers. This of course is not an exact science as it's tough to predict how an offense will perform solely based on past years. Taking the past into consideration and also looking at offseason changes, here are the five offenses I identified as the most likely to have trouble scoring and to have too many turnovers:

1) St. Louis

2) Buffalo

3) Cleveland

4) Oakland

5) Detroit

Even with the addition of guys like Spiller and Best, I still think the Bills and Lions will struggle to score. The Rams and Browns should struggle as well, and I don't think Campbell will be the answer in Oakland.

I then looked at the other 27 teams and added up how many times each of those teams would play the five teams listed above from weeks 1-16. Here are the leaders:

Miami - 5

New England - 4

KC - 4

Many others - 3

Both Miami and New England also play the Jets twice each, so I like those games to be grind it out and low scoring, and Sanchez has proven to be a turnover machine, and I don't see that changing just quite yet. I'm thinking of going with a Miami/New England defense by committee. Both can be had cheaply in the later rounds. The only negative is that they both have a week 5 bye, so I'd need to find room for an additional roster slot come week 5.

 

[QUEZILLA]

Tampa had one of the worst run D's in the league last season but drafted DT with their first 2 picks (McCoy, Price). On paper, these guys should help the DE's get better, and a better D-line as a whole should help the LB's / DB's get better....An easy test as to whether the Bucs could be a good WW D will be after week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. If they can shut down the Browns rushing attack things might start falling into place for this D.

I'd be very happy to grab Tampa in the last round and then just user waiver defenses after Tampa's favorable week 1 matchup

I don't know if a match-up against Cleveland would be that favorable. Cleveland is going to pound the ball which isn't going to give the Bucs much of an opportunity to make big plays. If they can contain the run I would jump all over them. Stopping the run against Cleveland would be a great accomplishment for a team that had the worst run D last season.

Bucs DTs looked great in the last game. McCoy is a stud and so is Price.

 

[senyera]

Tampa had one of the worst run D's in the league last season but drafted DT with their first 2 picks (McCoy, Price). On paper, these guys should help the DE's get better, and a better D-line as a whole should help the LB's / DB's get better....An easy test as to whether the Bucs could be a good WW D will be after week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. If they can shut down the Browns rushing attack things might start falling into place for this D.

I will be keeping an eye on them. Last season in my league scoring they were 4th, this year week 14, 15, 16 they have @Was, Det, Sea.

 

[ericttspikes]

New Orleans, Carolina, Denver, Dallas, Buffalo(let me explain)

New Orleans- Last season, their upgraded D is what ultimately got them to the Super Bowl, and a win there. Expect them to continue last season's great play Finish is traditional scoring leagues- 4th in fantasy points

Carolina- a great defensive schedule, and a D that went under the radar last season

Finish is traditional scoring leagues- 7th in fantasy points

Denver- They dominated on D for 6 weeks, then fell off for most of the remainder of the season. Expect McDaniels to get those dominating results for a longer run this season as he and the team continue to grow together

Finish is traditional scoring leagues- 8th in fantasy points

Dallas- The Cowboys really started to put it together late in the season last year, and their defense got scary. Expect that to be closer to the norm in 2010.

Finish is traditional scoring leagues-11th in fantasy points

Buffalo- Their D actually wasn't all bad last season. With 28 picks, 5 fumble recoveries, 2 TD's and a blocked kick, they posted solid numbers. Their problem was inconsistency, which should improve this season.

Finish is traditional scoring leagues- 10th in fantasy points

I'd like to know more about Carolina D from Panther fans. I haven't seen them play this preseason, but they have some impressive defensive stats. They seem to have lost a lot of talent. Is this a case of a preseason mirage? Kind of hard not to notice #1 overall, #1 pass and #2 rush D. I don't think they have been taken even as a backup D in any of my drafts so far.