Retirement isn't what it used to be. Just weeks after Baltimore Ravens coordinator Dean Pees hung it up for Baltimore to (reportedly) spend more time with his family, he's decided to join the Titans new coaching staff as its defensive coordinator. Fantasy-wise, it seems like he can only make things better for this defense.
The Titans finished 18th among fantasy defenses a year ago (scoring 1 point for sacks, 2 for turnovers, 6 for touchdowns). That was actually their only top-20 finish in the last five years (24th, 27th, 24th, 20th and 18th in that timeframe). It's not as if they've been a terrible defense (13th in yards allowed last year), but it hasn't translated into key fantasy areas (sacks and takeaways).
Pees has been the defensive coordinator for the last six years in Baltimore. Previously he was New England's defensive coordinator for four years (2006-2009; he had a two-year break as a positional coach for Baltimore). Including last year's Ravens defense (2nd only to Jacksonville), he's overseen four top-12 fantasy defenses in those 10 years.
That's not to say he's always been successful. His other six defenses were all below-average fantasy groups, or worse. About half were above-average in sacks (average is about 36-37). Slightly more than half were above-average in takeaways (average has been around 22-25 in recent years). Here's the history.
| PEES AS DC (RAVENS) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Sk | Take | FF Rk |
| 2017 | 41 | 34 | 2 |
| 2016 | 31 | 28 | 12 |
| 2015 | 37 | 14 | 24 |
| 2014 | 49 | 22 | 17 |
| 2013 | 40 | 24 | 19 |
| 2012 | 37 | 25 | 14 |
| PEES AS DC (PATRIOTS) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Sk | Take | FF Rk |
| 2009 | 31 | 28 | 21 |
| 2008 | 31 | 22 | 29 |
| 2007 | 47 | 31 | 3 |
| 2006 | 44 | 35 | 10 |
So he'd had some success, and comes off his defense's best fantasy performance. It's a positive for the Titans. But not a shoo-in to make their defense fantasy relevant, I don't think.
--Andy Richardson