One of the most overlooked facets of player projections is opponent strength of schedule and best interpreting it. We’re taking the guesswork out of the equation and preparing a series of in-depth looks at strength of schedule and relating it to your fantasy football draft.
As a preview of more to come, the following is a series of lists comparing the best and worst fantasy defenses against the run, pass, and, because you’re probably curious as I was, both. To determine these rankings, each team’s allowed yards, touchdowns, and yards per play attempt were considered, but more on that later.
For now, scan the lists below to see the defenses that most often gave offenses (and fantasy owners) headaches — or gifts– last season. Each list is preceded by some notes of interest, and the number that follows each team is the number of fantasy points it allowed last season based on standard scoring rules — the numbers don’t always line up because the ranks were determined according to an adjustment created using yards per play attempt (either rush or pass).
10 Best Fantasy Football Defenses — Running GameQuick Notes: It’s remarkable how much better the Steelers are than the competition — they allowed 50 points fewer than the second best rush defense (and 273 fewer than the worst) … Not a lot of surprises on this list, though it’s interesting San Francisco is third
1. Pittsburgh Steelers – 130
2. Baltimore Ravens – 180
3. San Francisco 49ers – 209
4. Miami Dolphins – 208
5. New York Jets – 211
6. Chicago Bears – 228
7. San Diego Chargers – 234
8. Minnesota Vikings – 224
9. Tennessee Titans – 227
10. New York Giants – 228
10 Worst Fantasy Football Defenses — Running Game
Quick Notes: Denver’s defensive line weakness is really on display in these numbers — ouch … Denver allowed more than three times as many fantasy points as the top-ranked Steelers … Note that the only one team on this list made the postseason: Indianapolis
1. Denver Broncos – 403
2. Buffalo Bills – 379
3. Arizona Cardinals – 346
4. Jacksonville Jaguars – 309
5. Detroit Lions – 308
6. Washington Redskins – 294
7. Oakland Raiders – 298
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 283
9. Indianapolis Colts – 287
10. Carolina Panthers – 318
10 Best Fantasy Football Defenses — Passing Game
Quick Notes: See number two for proof it wasn’t a good idea to start a quarterback against the eventual Super Bowl champs … Chicago was on both this list and the top ten rush defenses (#6) … So were the Chargers (#7), Saints (#10), Steelers (#1), Jets (#5), and Ravens (#2) … The point difference between the best and worst fantasy pass defenses (135) is just half as significant as the rush defenses (273)
1. San Diego Chargers – 198
2. Green Bay Packers – 195
3. New Orleans Saints – 198
4. Chicago Bears – 214
5. Pittsburgh Steelers – 210
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 234
7. New York Giants – 248
8. New York Jets – 245
9. Carolina Panthers – 229
10. Baltimore Ravens – 249
10 Worst Fantasy Football Defenses — Passing Game
Quick Notes: Denver is #5 on this list and #1 on the worst rush defenses … Note the Patriots, Eagles, and Seahawks all made the postseason
1. Houston Texans – 333
2. Jacksonville Jaguars – 299
3. Dallas Cowboys – 307
4. Seattle Seahawks – 312
5. Denver Broncos – 283
6. Washington Redskins – 287
7. New England Patriots – 282
8. Philadelphia Eagles – 274
9. San Francisco 49ers – 270
10. Cleveland Browns – 262
Related Posts:- Final Review: 2010 Quarterbacks
- Does Kyle Orton Give Denver the Best Opportunity to Win?
- Panthers Acquire Tight End when Bears Trade Olsen
- Arizona Spends Big to Acquire Kolb
- Carolina Considering Derek Anderson
Original Story:
http://www.nflminute.com/2011/08/04/o...
