{"id":120,"date":"2012-08-03T03:07:58","date_gmt":"2012-08-03T03:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigredsportsmachine.com\/?p=120"},"modified":"2012-08-03T03:09:13","modified_gmt":"2012-08-03T03:09:13","slug":"2012-top-ten-fantasy-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/?p=120","title":{"rendered":"2012 Top 10 Fantasy DEFs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not sure about you, but this over saturation of synchronized diving, ballet dancing and gymnastics has the Machine just itching for some football.\u00a0 We\u2019d take Pro-Bowl effort football at this point.\u00a0 (Side note: The Machine confused the frolicking, spinning, and overall concerted effort that the synchronized divers put into getting from the pool to the hot tub as ballet dancing.\u00a0 Is this the Summer Olympics or a bad episode of \u2018Blind Date\u2019)?\u00a0 Anyways, our final \u2018Top 10\u2019 fantasy ranking is Defense. You know, D-[insert picture of picket fence here].\u00a0 We\u2019ll be updating the lists as training camps, preseason and Bryant Family BBQ\u2019s wrap up this summer.<\/p>\n

Defenses certainly don\u2019t win fantasy championships.\u00a0 Last year, the difference between the #1 (Chicago) and #10 (Philly) defense was 31 points, just under 2 points a week.\u00a0 However, the difference between Philly and #20 (Dallas) was another 24 points.\u00a0 You definitely want to identify the top 6 or 7 fantasy defenses and get one of them as late in the draft as possible.\u00a0 It\u2019s also worth pointing out that a fantasy defense hasn\u2019t repeated at the number one overall spot in a decade.\u00a0 A number of factors contribute to this trend: first, significant fantasy scoring stats such as fumbles (recovered), interceptions and special team touchdowns are as reliable as the transmission in a \u201991 Dodge Daytona.\u00a0 Secondly, the current rules of the NFL have all but abolished the days of the \u2018dominate\u2019 defense.\u00a0 The Machines approach to evaluating defenses is simple:\u00a0 give us a defense that can consistently put pressure on the opposing teams quarterback.\u00a0 This yields the most potential for sacks and mistakes (ie interceptions, fumbles, etc.).\u00a0 With that in mind we present the Top 10 Fantasy Defenses for 2012:<\/p>\n

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  1. San Francisco<\/strong> \u2013 Feeding off of Patrick Willis\u2019s intensity, this defense brings the lumber every game.\u00a0 Aldon Smith is a pass-rushing phenom.\u00a0 This defense finished 4th<\/sup> last year while only scoring 1 TD! If a few more balls bounce their way look out.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    1. New York<\/strong> Giants<\/strong> \u2013 The G-men boast the deepest, most talented defensive line in football, just ask Tom Brady.\u00a0 JPP has the chance to win multiple defensive MVP awards if he stays healthy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      1. Green Bay<\/strong> Packers <\/strong>\u2013 This defense will get plenty off opportunities to pin their ears back and rush the passer.\u00a0 Their first six selections in the draft were defensive players; Nick Perry and Jerel Worthy should be able to contribute right away.\u00a0 Their secondary has a few playmakers that are willing to gamble for the big payoff.\u00a0 It looks like a great year to buy into the GB DEF.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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        1. Philadelphia<\/strong> Eagles <\/strong>\u2013 They added some nice pieces via free agency, trades and the draft.\u00a0 Their defensive line is dynamic, if not undersized, and built to attack the quarterback.\u00a0 At this point the only thing this defense is missing is a legitimate coordinator.\u00a0 While we have zero faith in Castillo, even he\u2019d be hard pressed not to have success with this defense\u2026(again)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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          1. Chicago<\/strong> Bears <\/strong>\u2013 Da Bears!\u00a0 Their defense always seems to translate well into the fantasy realm.\u00a0 They seem to have the uncanny ability to turn turnovers into touchdowns.\u00a0 Oh, and it doesn\u2019t hurt to have the best punter returner in history.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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            1. Buffalo Bills <\/strong>\u2013 We\u2019re drinking the Kool-Aid that this defensive line is going to wreak havoc.\u00a0 It\u2019s been quite a long time since the Bills were known for getting after the QB, so this could be a very fun group to watch.\u00a0 They also have some young and talented secondary players in Bryd, A. Williams and rookie S. Gilmore (who will challenge Revis for the best corner in the conference within two years!)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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              1. Houston<\/strong> Texans <\/strong>\u2013 Wade Phillips\u2019 defenses are tried and true.\u00a0 They generate sacks and interceptions.\u00a0 Even with some big time free agency departures they have a talented front-seven.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                1. Detroit<\/strong> Lions<\/strong> \u2013 This defense will stomp on your face, literally.\u00a0 While The Machine is nervous that the Lions might not be able to field an entire squad at their current arrest rate, what has us even more uneasy is the fact that they scored 7 DTDs last year.\u00a0 We don\u2019t like their chances of hitting that number again this year.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                  1. Baltimore<\/strong> Ravens <\/strong>\u2013 Oh how the mighty have fallen.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to back a team with so many aging veterans (R. Lewis, E. Reed) and that lost their best (player) pass-rusher in T. Sizzle Suggs.\u00a0 We\u2019d rather be a year too early jumping off this wagon than a year too late.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                    1. Seattle<\/strong> Seahawks <\/strong>\u2013 Here is a defense that flies under the radar.\u00a0 They finished 6th<\/sup> overall last year (8.3 fpt\/gm).\u00a0 Sure, it helps when you play six games against Sam Bradford\/Kevin Kolb\/Alex Smith, but this defense deserves some credit.\u00a0 They did everything well and have an under rated secondary.\u00a0 Earl Thomas is one of the best young safeties in the league.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      Not sure about you, but this over saturation of synchronized diving, ballet dancing and gymnastics has the Machine just itching for some football.\u00a0 We\u2019d take Pro-Bowl effort football at this point.\u00a0 (Side note: The Machine confused the frolicking, spinning, and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fantasy-football"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Bp3y-1W","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=120"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120\/revisions\/125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bigredsportsmachine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}