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Factoid

Tampa Bay turnaround?

Fantasy defense could get a boost from coach, free agent

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven't had much of a defense in recent years, in NFL or fantasy terms. They've ranked 21st or worse in points allowed in each of the last three seasons, while their fantasy ranking (1 point for sacks, 2 points for turnovers, 6 for touchdowns) has been 14th, 22nd, 21st and 18th in the last four years.

But now Lovie Smith is running the show, and as we've pointed out in the past, his defenses in both St. Louis and Chicago were among the NFL's best in fantasy terms, with some impressive opportunism. Better yet, there's a free agent cornerback who could be an ideal fit for the Bucs: Chicago's Charles Tillman.

Tillman turns 33 this month, but he's still playing at a high level. He's recorded at least 3 interceptions and forced at least 3 fumbles in each of the last four seasons. He's been a large part of why Chicago ranks 3rd in total interceptions over the last five years.

What's interesting is that Tampa Bay has been better than you might think in that area over the last five seasons, even with their defense generally struggling. They've recorded the 6th-most interceptions since 2009, trailing only teams well-known for their opportunistic secondaries: Green Bay, New England, Chicago, Buffalo and Seattle. With Smith in town, and if the Bucs can complement Darrelle Revis with a player like Tillman, they're a candidate to really break out defensively in 2014.

Team interceptions over the last five seasons are presented below.

INTERCEPTIONS, 2009-2013
TeamTot20132012201120102009
Green Bay1141118312430
New England1031720232518
Chicago971924202113
Buffalo942312201128
Seattle932818221213
Tampa Bay912118141919
Arizona902022101721
Philadelphia90198152325
San Francisco881814231518
NY Giants871721201613
Atlanta861020192215
Baltimore851613151922
Carolina842011141722
Tennessee801319111720
Cincinnati792014101619
Kansas City77217201415
Washington751621131411
NY Jets721311191217
San Diego721114171614
New Orleans7112159926
Detroit70151121149
Miami701810161115
Cleveland69141791910
Denver69171691017
Dallas68157152011
Jacksonville681112171315
Houston66715171314
St. Louis65141712148
Pittsburgh641010112112
Indianapolis61151281016
Oakland5891118128
Minnesota56121081511

--Andy Richardson

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