Defensive Notes

Several highly ranked defenses have underperformed lately. Time to kick them to the curb? Let’s take a look.

Dallas: The Cowboys can’t stop the pass, a situation that will only get worse with Roy Williams gone for the year, Pacman Jones gone at least four games, and Terence Newman still sidelined. Those struggles in coverage might be having a ripple effect on the run defense, with Washington and the Rams among the teams to run wild on Dallas lately. They’re no longer an every week start, and depending on your league size, you may be able to simply dump them; they probably won’t be a great start over the next month. The Cowboys do, however, have a seemingly favorable slate of games against some sack- and/or turnover-prone opponents from week 12 through the end of the season, including San Francisco, Seattle, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. If you can afford to leave them on your bench for a few weeks, it might be worth hanging onto them.

Minnesota: Last year’s fantasy defense of the year went out and added Jared Allen in the offseason, but considering the expectations, they’ve been a disappointment. Injuries have played a factor, as has an underperforming offense. Based on the upcoming schedule, there aren’t a lot of slam-dunk games left for this group, either. Houston and Green Bay after the bye, both of whom are high-scoring offenses; road trips to Tampa Bay and Jacksonville that they’ll probably lose; and then the Bears, who just rolled up 48 total points on Sunday. At least they’re recording fumbles, recovering 9 on the season, so in most scoring systems they’re still an OK start. But not the dominant group they were supposed to be.

San Diego: The Chargers have been fantasy’s biggest disappointment. Some of it has to do with losing Shawne Merriman, but not all. This team went up to Buffalo Sunday and failed to record a single sack or turnover. You can’t drop them until after they host a woeful Kansas City team in week 10, and in fact, that game starts a stretch of four home games in five weeks, followed by a game in Kansas City. Hang onto them, but right now they are what they are: a mediocre NFL defense that’s most valuable in home games and particularly against lousy offenses.

- Waiver Wire Defense of the Week: It’s a bye week for popular defenses like Chicago, Green Bay and Minnesota (underperforming though they are), as well as that woeful group from Denver. If you’re in a bind, here are a few one-week options.

Houston: The Texans were actually a nice one-week option last week (against Detroit), but this looks equally favorable: home against a winless Cincinnati team that will be starting Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback for the third straight week. Fitzpatrick has taken 15 sacks over the last three weeks.

Seattle: We overrated the Seahawks the last time they matched up with the 49ers, and will try not to do so again this week. At 1-5, the Seahawks can’t be counted on to play well against anyone right now. But how can we ignore the fact that the 49ers have allowed a league-high 29 sacks, while also throwing a league-high 10 interceptions? Or that J.T. O’Sullivan has played a little bit worse in each subsequent week? We can’t. The Seahawks are probably available in most leagues, and in leagues where sacks and turnovers are critical for defensive scoring, matchups don’t get much better.

On the flip side, we’re not going near the Chargers, traveling to London to play a Saints team that doesn’t give up many sacks or turnovers; or the Bills, on the road against a Miami team that should bounce back from its ugly loss to a Baltimore team that the Dolphins simply didn’t match up well against.

Other news and notes:

Individual defensive players are making news, both good and bad. First, promising Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers is out for the year with a broken jaw – that’s kind of a new one. Rivers was looking like one of the few things Cincinnati has gotten right on the defensive side of the ball in recent years; now their top draft pick is done. Also out for the year: Denver's Boss Bailey, and New England's Rodney Harrison. Denver's Champ Bailey will miss the next 4-6 weeks.

Joey Porter probably gets too much attention for his mouth, guaranteeing wins and whatnot, and not enough for his play. Porter is tied for 2nd in the league in sacks, with Pittsburgh’s James Harrison, just one behind spot behind….

DeMarcus Ware, who is singlehandedly keeping Dallas’ defense from falling totally off the map. Ware leads the league with 9 sacks, and that’s not the whole story. Ware’s last game without a sack came in week 14 of last season. A rumor had the Lions asking for Ware in the Roy Williams trade, which we can only assume that the Cowboys shot down immediately – that would have been even worse than the slew of draft picks they gave up.

--Andy Richardson

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