By Brian Music //
One very successful fantasy football management technique is to utilize players in favorable defensive matchups. With some of the more elite 1st-tier fantasy players, you start them regardless of their matchup for the week. But for most players, taking advantage of weak defensive matchups can lead your team to victory. Some of the NFL statistics that I tend to focus on are rushing yards allowed, rushing TDs allowed, passing yards allowed, passing TDs allowed, and scoring (points) allowed. Here are the NFL leaders through the end of Week 8 of the NFL season for 2012.
Rushing Yards Allowed:
Top 10 Ranked Defensive Teams:
Chicago (77.9); San Diego (79.9); Miami (82.0); Houston (83.0); Seattle (84.9); Tampa Bay (85.1); San Francisco (87.4); New England (88.6); Pittsburgh (91.6); and Washington (92.1).
Bottom 10 Ranked Defensive Teams:
Buffalo (176.9); New Orleans (170.1); Baltimore (142.9); New York Jets (141.4); Tennessee (139.3); Indianapolis (137.4); Atlanta (136.4); Jacksonville (135.7); Cleveland (131.6); and Kansas City (126.4).
Rushing TDs Allowed:
Top 10 Ranked Defensive Teams: Houston (0); Chicago (1); Detroit, Philadelphia, and San Francisco (2); Miami, New England, San Diego, and Seattle (3); Denver, Arizona, and Pittsburgh (4).
Bottom 10 Ranked Defensive Teams: Buffalo (13); Cincinnati, New Orleans, New York Jets, and Baltimore (9); Atlanta, Tennessee, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Jacksonville (8).
As you can see, Buffalo (last in the league in both rushing yards allowed and rushing TDs allowed) is by far the poorest rushing defense in the NFL (and thus the top team to target your fantasy team's running backs against). Other easy matchups for your running backs include New Orleans, Baltimore, New York Jets, Tennessee, Indianapolis, Atlanta (surprisingly, considering they are 7-0), and Jacksonville (who ALL rank in the bottom 10 teams in BOTH rushing yards and rushing TDs allowed). On the other hand, avoid Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Miami, New England, and Pittsburgh (who ALL rank in the top 10 teams in BOTH categories).
Passing Yards Allowed:
Top 10 Ranked Defensive Teams:
Pittsburgh (182.6); San Francisco (184.0); Dallas (187.7); Arizona (192.9); Houston (200.0); New York Jets (205.6); Indianapolis (213.0); Denver (213.3); Detroit (214.1); and Atlanta (216.9).
Bottom 10 Ranked Defensive Teams:
Washington (314.3), Tampa Bay (309.6); New Orleans (304.6); Tennessee (282.0); New England (281.1); Miami (281.0); New York Giants (273.5); Cleveland (260.8); Baltimore (257.1); and Jacksonville (251.3).
Passing TDs Allowed:
Top 10 Ranked Defensive Teams: San Francisco, Chicago, and Baltimore (6); Atlanta and Dallas (7); Miami (8); and Cincinnati, New York Jets, Arizona, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Jacksonville (9).
Bottom 10 Ranked Defensive Teams:
Washington (19); Tennessee and New England (17); Cleveland, Kansas City, and New Orleans (15); Buffalo and San Diego (14); and Denver, Indianapolis, and Houston (13).
Teams that you should target with your quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends include Washington (last in both passing yards allowed and passing TDs allowed), New Orleans, Tennessee, New England, and Cleveland (who ALL rank in the bottom 10 in BOTH passing yards and passing TDs allowed). On the other hand, avoid San Francisco, Dallas, Arizona, New York Jets, and Atlanta (who ALL rank in the top 10 teams in BOTH categories).
Scoring (Points) Allowed:
Top 10 Ranked Defensive Teams:
San Francisco (12.9 points/game allowed); Chicago (14.3); Seattle (16.8); Arizona (17.8); Miami (18.0); Houston (18.3); Atlanta (18.6); New York Giants (20.1); San Diego (20.6); and Pittsburgh (20.6).
Bottom 10 Ranked Defensive Teams:
Buffalo (32.4); Tennessee (32.1); New Orleans (30.9); Kansas City (29.9); Washington (28.4); Jacksonville (26.9); Cincinnati (26.7); Oakland (26.7); New York Jets (25.0); and Detroit (24.9).
Considering that player fantasy points are driven by scoring TDs, this NFL statistic should be looked at each week. I would recommend starting any quality player against any of the bottom 10 teams of this category. This should increase your player's chances of scoring a TD in addition to their fantasy points for yardage. But, beware of the stronger defenses that also seem to be among the top defensive teams in each category (namely San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Seattle, and Pittsburgh, to name just a few).
All in all, taking advantage of defensive matchups is often overlooked by fantasy managers. But, as you can see in the rankings, there are some teams where earning fantasy points is like taking candy from a baby. Other teams you just don't touch with a 10-foot pole. And there are many others that can be attacked by the run but not the pass, or by the pass but not the run. Make sure to focus on a team's defensive weaknessees.
