Four fantasy defenses set for improvement in 2008

By Os Davis  |   Sunday, July 13, 2008  |  Comments( 3 )

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Defense, as they say in the NFL, wins championships. In fantasy football, the entire unit is just another single member of a given team, far less important than two halfbacks and about on equal par with, say, the starting tight end.

Or is it? RealFootball365.com argues that a good defense in fantasy separates contenders from pretenders, despite the low importance given to that ‘D’ (or ‘DST’) spot on the roster. Last year (by the system detailed below), defenses like San Diego (16.4 fantasy points per game), New England (15.0), Indianapolis (13.4) and the New York Giants (12.18) boosted fantasy teams in their standings over those saddled with average corps like that of the Baltimore Ravens (8.5) or dead-last beatdogs the New York Jets (6.8). Five points per game – the difference between Colts and Ravens – may not seem like much now, but this fantasy owner’s team, the Os Holes, might have been bucking for playoff contention with two more wins in weeks we lost by five or fewer.

While too early to attempt a ranking of fantasy defenses, below run a handful of units which already look prepared to improve upon their 2007. For purposes of this article, the scoring system breaks down like this:

• defensive TD is worth six points, safeties are good for two;

• interceptions and recovered fumbles, two points each;

• sacks, one point per;

• zero to six points scored against equals eight fantasy points; seven to 13, six; 14 to 20, four; 21 to 27, two points; and

• zero to 49 yards allowed equals 12 fantasy points, 50 to 99, 10; 100 to 149, eight; 150 to 199, six; 200 to 249, four; and 250 to 299 is worth two.

Dallas Cowboys. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to acknowledge Adam Jones’ presence as a gamebreaker. For fantasy ball, the man was a straight-up stat machine in 2006; on defense alone, Jones racked up four interceptions, two fumble recoveries, a sack and a TD as a Tennessee Titan: Stats good enough for over one fantasy point per game himself. Plus he’s been even more valuable in leagues that play ‘DST’, with three TDs on punt returns in his last active season. Add a serious Jones to a ‘D’ third highest in sacks and fourth in fewest points allowed totaling up for 19.6 fantasy points per game and you’ve got one of the top four fantasy defenses in the league, alongside the units of the Colts, Chargers and the ...

Green Bay Packers. While everyone was watching the Green Bay offense and a certain quarterback, the young Packer ‘D’ was seriously impressing opponents with its consistent shutdown play all season. Statistically speaking, however, the Pack was a bit shortchanged in managing just 11.5 fantasy points per game; that will improve in 2008. The schedule is a bit of a mixed bag with low-turnover and/or high-scoring offenses like Indianapolis, Dallas and Jacksonville on the slate; on the other hand, Green Bay does see 10 games against the NFC North and NFC South – fantasy points for the picking there.

Oakland Raiders. Three compelling reasons to consider Oakland as a fantasy ‘D’ (though probably only a backup): The wicked teaming of accomplished cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall, two Pro Bowl-level players certainly good for at least eight picks combined in the pass-happy AFC West; a potentially lethal offense that will help take some pressure off the ‘D’; and, simply put, it can’t get much worse than 7.75 fantasy points per game for this talented bunch.

Buffalo Bills. Currently entering about Year 3 of a five-year plan, 2008 will probably not see the Bills making a championship run, but should be the season when the defense gathers respect from the football-viewing world at large. The up-and-coming Buffalo ‘D’ showed quickness to the ball in 2008 (thus meaning lots of yummy fantasy points) in snagging 18 interceptions and recovering 15 fumbles. And while the Bills allowed a respectable (for a 7-9 team) 22 points per game, the total decreases to just over 17 per contest when removing three games for which most thinking fantasy owners would have benched Buffalo (at New England, vs. New England, vs. New York Giants) – that’s four fantasy points per game all in itself. Signing Kawika Mitchell, trading for Marcus Stroud and performing well in the draft with first-round corner Leodis McKelvin, the Bills' defense could well be the clever fantasy owner’s starter in 2008. Just be sure to bench ‘em against the Patriots.

Fantasizing about the monster defense throughout the year at RealFootball365.com
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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