Some offenses make defenses look good

Some offenses make defenses look good

By Bill Ordine
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
When NFL bettors size up games, they sometimes figure it's just as profitable to wager against particularly bad teams as it is to back good ones.

In fantasy football, the same strategy is occasionally the smart move, especially now that teams have shown what they are made of.

For instance, picking a defense/special team is often a crapshoot. Interceptions, fumble recoveries, and the rare touchdown return on defense or special teams - the events that pad a defense/special team's numbers - are highly unpredictable. But exceptionally poor offenses can be counted on to help an opposing defense post at least decent numbers. As a result, if your defense/special team has been unreliable or is going up against a high-powered offense, it pays to look into which teams are playing against the most horrible offenses.

This season, offenses that have boosted the totals of opposing defenses are Carolina (no surprise), Arizona, Chicago, and Minnesota.

The Panthers are a particularly attractive go-against team for defense. They play Cleveland on Sunday, and, as usual, Carolina will be piecing it together at quarterback. The Browns may not be a team that immediately comes to mind when choosing a defense, but Cleveland has put up some astonishingly big fantasy numbers on defense/special teams this season and is widely available. Granted, this is mainly a play against Carolina, but the Panthers are averaging fewer than 12 points a game and have committed 28 turnovers, so Cleveland is as close as you can come to a sure thing if you are shopping for defense.

Minnesota plays Washington, and again, the Redskins may not be a defense high on anyone's list of pickups (especially after being torched by the Eagles for 59 points on Monday Night Football a couple of weeks ago), but Vikings quarterback Brett Favre has been an interception machine with a league-high 17. And the Minnesota offense has disintegrated lately with a total of 16 points in the last two games.

Chicago plays the Eagles, and although it's a good matchup for the Philadelphia defense, the Birds' defense/special teams already are widely owned, so it's unlikely Philly will be on the waiver list. And while the struggling Arizona offense makes the 49ers' defense a consideration, San Francisco hardly has distinguished itself defensively, plus the chances of its being available on waivers are only about 50-50.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/20101126_Some_offenses_make_defenses_look_good.html#ixzz16Ognzz5Z
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