Surprise Defenses (1 Viewer)

[CrossEyed]

So based on week 1, what defenses that might be on the waiver wire in a lot of leagues look like a consideration for fantasy purposes? SF? Cincy? Ten? Hou? Are the Ds better than we may have thought, or did they just play lousy offenses?

 

[zamboni]

As with most defenses, it's hard to say just yet. Week 2 should shake out who looks like they're for real and those that just lucked out versus a bad offense in week 1.

 

[CrossEyed]

As with most defenses, it's hard to say just yet. Week 2 should shake out who looks like they're for real and those that just lucked out versus a bad offense in week 1.

But the trick is to try to get one of those Ds before everyone else realizes they're for real. Cincy should be a good pickup for week 2 against the Browns. SF added some folks in their secondary and looked like the covered Boldin & Fitz pretty well. Houston has a pretty favorable schedule for the most part. Anyone like these Ds to be respectable fantasy options? Anyone I'm missing?

 

[The Man with the Plan]

As with most defenses, it's hard to say just yet. Week 2 should shake out who looks like they're for real and those that just lucked out versus a bad offense in week 1.

But the trick is to try to get one of those Ds before everyone else realizes they're for real. Cincy should be a good pickup for week 2 against the Browns. SF added some folks in their secondary and looked like the covered Boldin & Fitz pretty well. Houston has a pretty favorable schedule for the most part. Anyone like these Ds to be respectable fantasy options? Anyone I'm missing?

Colts defense. Other than them however I like the Bengals defense. They have good ends in Geathers and Smith that can put pressure on the qb and force turnovers. It also helps that they have a good offense that can jump ahead quickly forcing teams to pass and potentially make mistakes.

 

[CMU37484]

So based on week 1, what defenses that might be on the waiver wire in a lot of leagues look like a consideration for fantasy purposes? SF? Cincy? Ten? Hou? Are the Ds better than we may have thought, or did they just play lousy offenses?

Just acquired the Packers defense last week. If they're still available, go get em right now.

 

[Fear The Turtle]

In my deep, start 2 D's league I picked up Houston. I'm mildly optimistic about them but the problem is they lost yet another safety, Simmons, for the year. I know he sort of sucked but he was a starter. Safely is definitely the weak link there. I will hold them for a week or two and see.

 

[CrossEyed]

Any homers care to chime in with some perspective on possible improvement on Ds that slipped under the radar?

 

[Statcruncher]

Anyone who plays the Browns, 49'ers, Cardinals, or Bears.

 

[Kevin Ashcraft]

Anyone who plays the Browns, 49'ers, Cardinals, or Bears.

or CHiefs....But I would say, pickup the KC D...they allowed 13 to HOU on the road.

 

[GoinDeep]

Picked up Minnesota in the 14th rd. of a 12 teamer.

 

[BoulderBob]

Anyone who plays the Browns, 49'ers, Cardinals, or Bears.

I like this strategy, although the Bears will light-up most "surprise" defenses.

 

[Mystery Achiever]

Picked up Minnesota in the 14th rd. of a 12 teamer.

you had 14 rounds of waivers?

 

[CrossEyed]

Anyone who plays the Browns, 49'ers, Cardinals, or Bears.

or CHiefs....But I would say, pickup the KC D...they allowed 13 to HOU on the road.

Not sure playing against SD, Denver and Oakland twice each will be a picnic.

 

[MrJimiT]

Anyone who plays the Browns, 49'ers, Cardinals, or Bears.

Add Falcons to this list of offenses.

 

[broncofan13000]

Green Bay is a strong defense that might be out on some WW's....their matchup vs. NYG looks juicy

 

[MarcO]

I've been watching the TEN DEF since the end of last year and they seem to be coming together- also just traded for Bryce Fisher so that could definitely help them. The get JAX this week and then have two rough games against IND and NO then a BYE - after that are some great matchups:

ATL, TB, HOU, OAK, JAX, then it get tough again - maybe a good BYE week filler?

 

[MOAT]

Anyone who plays the Browns, 49'ers, Cardinals, or Bears.

I like this strategy, although the Bears will light-up most "surprise" defenses.

I disagree. The Bears are a great match-up to have on the schedule. Their D will 3-and-out a lot of offenses, giving the opposing D more chances to make big plays. Combine that with Rex Grossman's decision making skills and the Bears should be a team you want your D to match up against.The Bears might occasionally light up a team but many leagues don't have a huge penalty for points against.NFC North defenses are a great option this year. Lot's of match-ups against bad QB's will translate into more than their share of interceptions and fumbles returned for TDs.

 

[AB in DC]

Colts are the only D that really impressed me in week one. Every other good performance was either from a highly rated team going into the season (e.g. MIN, GB, SD), or came about because their opponent was inept (e.g. HOU, CIN).

 

[CrossEyed]

So are the Bengals really improved on D or was that just the result of playing against a QB on his last legs?

 

[Pittsburgh United]

Discussion here: http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...howtopic=341561

 

[bollocks28]

INDY

WK OPP

1 NO - silenced a pretty potent offense here

2 @Ten

3 @Hou

4 Den

5 TB

6 Bye

7 @Jac

8 @Car

9 NE

10 @SD

11 KC

12 @Atl

13 Jac

14 @Bal

15 @Oak

16 Hou

That is a pretty sweet schedule. NE and SD are hardly cake walks but then not too many people would have been optimistic about NO. Week 11 onwards looks very nice.

 

[MDSkinner]

I disagree. The Bears are a great match-up to have on the schedule. Their D will 3-and-out a lot of offenses, giving the opposing D more chances to make big plays. Combine that with Rex Grossman's decision making skills and the Bears should be a team you want your D to match up against.The Bears might occasionally light up a team but many leagues don't have a huge penalty for points against.NFC North defenses are a great option this year. Lot's of match-ups against bad QB's will translate into more than their share of interceptions and fumbles returned for TDs.

I would say the Bears are pretty similar offensively this year to last year, though without Thomas Jones. But all in all I would expect they will perform very similar to last year.Which means against SD they will score 3 and against Detroit they will score 30 (last year 26 one game and 34 the other). I could be wrong, they may just be awful all the way this year, where as last year they were streaky, but I would wager that even without Brown the defense will be good enough to get them good field position often enough that they will have games where they put up points. Just my

 

[CrossEyed]

Discussion here: http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...howtopic=341561

I started my thread first.

 

[LawFitz]

Green Bay D looks VERY good.

Nick Barnett is an animal.

 

[MOAT]

I disagree. The Bears are a great match-up to have on the schedule. Their D will 3-and-out a lot of offenses, giving the opposing D more chances to make big plays. Combine that with Rex Grossman's decision making skills and the Bears should be a team you want your D to match up against.The Bears might occasionally light up a team but many leagues don't have a huge penalty for points against.NFC North defenses are a great option this year. Lot's of match-ups against bad QB's will translate into more than their share of interceptions and fumbles returned for TDs.

I would say the Bears are pretty similar offensively this year to last year, though without Thomas Jones. But all in all I would expect they will perform very similar to last year.Which means against SD they will score 3 and against Detroit they will score 30 (last year 26 one game and 34 the other). I could be wrong, they may just be awful all the way this year, where as last year they were streaky, but I would wager that even without Brown the defense will be good enough to get them good field position often enough that they will have games where they put up points. Just my

I agree. The Bears offense will be the same as last year. They will consistently give opposing defenses opportunities to score touchdowns. A defensive TD counts the same as a RB TD in all of my leagues. Any time I can increase the chance to get a defensive TD is good. They are a good match-up to have for your D. If your league has significant penalties for giving up more than 30 points then only start an average to above average D against anyone.

 

[Pittsburgh United]

Discussion here: http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...howtopic=341561

I started my thread first.

Hmmm so you did.

 

[MDSkinner]

I disagree. The Bears are a great match-up to have on the schedule. Their D will 3-and-out a lot of offenses, giving the opposing D more chances to make big plays. Combine that with Rex Grossman's decision making skills and the Bears should be a team you want your D to match up against.The Bears might occasionally light up a team but many leagues don't have a huge penalty for points against.NFC North defenses are a great option this year. Lot's of match-ups against bad QB's will translate into more than their share of interceptions and fumbles returned for TDs.

I would say the Bears are pretty similar offensively this year to last year, though without Thomas Jones. But all in all I would expect they will perform very similar to last year.Which means against SD they will score 3 and against Detroit they will score 30 (last year 26 one game and 34 the other). I could be wrong, they may just be awful all the way this year, where as last year they were streaky, but I would wager that even without Brown the defense will be good enough to get them good field position often enough that they will have games where they put up points. Just my

I agree. The Bears offense will be the same as last year. They will consistently give opposing defenses opportunities to score touchdowns. A defensive TD counts the same as a RB TD in all of my leagues. Any time I can increase the chance to get a defensive TD is good. They are a good match-up to have for your D. If your league has significant penalties for giving up more than 30 points then only start an average to above average D against anyone.

You make an excellent point. When it comes down to it, it is actually all about the scoring system for team defenses.

 

[CrossEyed]

OK, I'm thinking about going with a 3 team committee on D. Cincy, Houston and NO. It would allow me to play:

Week 2: Cleveland

3: Seattle or TEN

4: Atlanta

5: Miami

6: KC

7: Atlanta

8: SF

9: Buffalo or JAX

10: Baltimore or STL

11: AZ

12: Cleveland

13: TB

14: Atlanta

15: SF or AZ

16: Cleveland

 

[Resident A]

If Minnesota is available, they are obviously the top choice. Unless you're in a real small league, they should be gone.

Packers or Colts are the WW pick-ups to target. Both are solid. Colts will almost always be playing w/ a lead & GB gets to play Grossman twice. Somebody will jump on the Colts early & you may miss out, but GB was quiet this week & only a shark would be targeting them.

Cincy & Houston had good games vs weak offenses, those were anomalies. You can do better.

 

[CrossEyed]

If Minnesota is available, they are obviously the top choice. Unless you're in a real small league, they should be gone.

Packers or Colts are the WW pick-ups to target. Both are solid. Colts will almost always be playing w/ a lead & GB gets to play Grossman twice. Somebody will jump on the Colts early & you may miss out, but GB was quiet this week & only a shark would be targeting them.

Cincy & Houston had good games vs weak offenses, those were anomalies. You can do better.

None of those are available in my league.

 

[GoBears84]

Anyone who plays the Browns, 49'ers, Cardinals, or Bears.

Add Falcons to this list of offenses.

I'm not certain about SF. Smith played within the game plan, and unlike Grossman, didn't make any serious mistakes. Gore was limited but the announcers went on and on about how the Arizona Defense was in much better condition than in previous years.I think another team to add to this list is the NY Jets. With Pennington out they are a nice match-up.

 

[mad sweeney]

Green Bay D looks VERY good.Nick Barnett is an animal.

I thought the SF D looked pretty (not very, but pretty) good and Patrick Willis is a complete monster. I know it was against AZ but they took Boldin and Fitz out of the game pretty much and put tons of pressure on the QB.And Patrick Willis is a monster.

 

[kensat30]

Green Bay might be on waivers. I think they were by far the most surprising defense in week 1. If they can shutdown Philly, they have a chance against anyone.

 

[SoloMatisse]

waiver wire Ds are all about the matchups. Im sure there are several solid D choices on everyone's wire. But Green Bay and San Fran come to mind.

 

[TheMaddog]

Cincy Homer here,

I wouldn't jump at Cincy yet, exept for next week vs Cleveland that is. A lot of those turnovers were fumbles that weren't forced (mcnair handoff) and one of the ints were off of deflections of the offensive player. If they revert to the 05 turnover happy bengals d they may be productive...but I'm still worried in yardage leagues about their running d. I think their yards allowed were much a function of Billick's idiocy not running more...they were well over 4+ a carry for musa and willis (aside ...and throwing the ball 5 of 6 times within the 5 in the 4th was just not good coaching)

 

[traderkirk]

waiver wire Ds are all about the matchups. Im sure there are several solid D choices on everyone's wire. But Green Bay and San Fran come to mind.

So how about that bad surprise Dallas? Weren't they supposed to take a leap to top tier status under Wade Phillips? 35 points at home to Eli and the Giants DOES not inspire confidence

 

[benbadman]

So based on week 1, what defenses that might be on the waiver wire in a lot of leagues look like a consideration for fantasy purposes? SF? Cincy? Ten? Hou? Are the Ds better than we may have thought, or did they just play lousy offenses?

Read Stuart's "Def By Committee" article. I wasn't surprised at all, I had the Vikings D in every league.Sometimes it's not important how good the defense is, rather the ineptitude of the opposing offense.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

As with most defenses, it's hard to say just yet. Week 2 should shake out who looks like they're for real and those that just lucked out versus a bad offense in week 1.

But the trick is to try to get one of those Ds before everyone else realizes they're for real. Cincy should be a good pickup for week 2 against the Browns. SF added some folks in their secondary and looked like the covered Boldin & Fitz pretty well. Houston has a pretty favorable schedule for the most part. Anyone like these Ds to be respectable fantasy options? Anyone I'm missing?

Colts defense. Other than them however I like the Bengals defense. They have good ends in Geathers and Smith that can put pressure on the qb and force turnovers. It also helps that they have a good offense that can jump ahead quickly forcing teams to pass and potentially make mistakes.

I like both of those (CIN and INDY).

MIN is for real, but we knew that.

AZ looks better than expected.

SEA could also be a surprise D.

I'd be selling Pittsburgh, as they can really only go down from here (thanks CLE).

 

[Billy1x]

Green Bay is a strong defense that might be out on some WW's....their matchup vs. NYG looks juicy

Depends on how fast Manning or Dough Boy can run. McNabb had the after burners on.

 

[djjosee]

Dumping the Giants to get the Bengals for week 2 and then Huston for week 3 4.

Edit to say four not three.

 

[Klimtology]

What does everyone thinkn of the Panthers d? Especially compared to Green Bay?

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Seattle

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

What does everyone thinkn of the Panthers d? Especially compared to Green Bay?

Depends on your scoring system.Pluses include:Sacks (Julius Peppers)Schedule (Tampa Bay, Atlanta twice)Minuses include:Secondary is a messLBs are ?able (Dan Morgan - concussions, rookie Beason looks good, but still a rook.... not much depth)Pts Against could be highYds Against could be highNot much expected from KR/PR (STs)So if you are going for a 2nd D and want to play matchups and get most of your scoring from Sacks and TOs, I like them.If you get a lot of points for PTs against, I might look elsewhere.

 

[Klimtology]

What does everyone thinkn of the Panthers d? Especially compared to Green Bay?

Depends on your scoring system.Pluses include:Sacks (Julius Peppers)Schedule (Tampa Bay, Atlanta twice)Minuses include:Secondary is a messLBs are ?able (Dan Morgan - concussions, rookie Beason looks good, but still a rook.... not much depth)Pts Against could be highYds Against could be highNot much expected from KR/PR (STs)So if you are going for a 2nd D and want to play matchups and get most of your scoring from Sacks and TOs, I like them.If you get a lot of points for PTs against, I might look elsewhere.

It's a combo deal. Thanks for the response. Anyone else?