Now if you have seen any of our Sunday morning fantasy football hangouts (and if you haven't your missing out) you would know that I'm a huge Chicago Bears fan. The Bears are getting my top spot again this week in the team defense week 8 rankings but that is because they have earned it. The reason I wanted it to be known that I am a Bears fan is because it pains me to admit the next sentence. It might be a good idea to consider selling high if you own the Bears D in your league.
Here is why..... The Bears have a great match up this week vs. Carolina at home but after week 8 it gets a lot tougher. The Bears will face (in no particular order) San Fran, Houston, Green Bay, Minnesota (x2), Seattle and Detroit on the road. The easy part is over. It also doesn't help that the superstars of the Bears D are all on the wrong side of 30 and the season should ware on them. It's not a terrible thing to have the Bears D for the rest of the season by any means, I just wanted to plant the suggestion in your head.
Whoa that was tough to type.
Without further ado here are my team defense week 8 rankings
1. Chicago Bears - As previously stated the Bears have a great match up vs. the struggling Carolina Panthers in Chicago. Charles Tillman is now in the conversation for defensive P.O.Y. and the Bears and their coach love takeaways. Chicago is a definite "must play" this week.
2. San Francisco 49ers - Prime time MNF match up vs. one of, if not, the worse offensive line in the league in Arizona. Sign me up. The 9ers are the best in the NFL vs. the pass and should shut down the Arizona passing game.
3. Seattle Seahawks - Last week the Bears showed the world that Mega Tron can be contained. Matthew Stafford doesn't look like a shadow of the Stafford of last year. Seattle is coming into Detroit with the 8th best pass D in the league.
4. Minnesota Vikings - Yes Tampa put up big offensive numbers last week but the Vikings D is a whole different story from New Orleans this year. Minnesota has been a force at home this season and have the 11th ranked pass D and 12th ranked run D in the league. Very well balanced and not to mention they are 3rd in standard scoring leagues with regards to fantasy points.
5. San Diego Chargers - SD takes the leagues best rushing D into Cleveland this week. The T-Rich express seems to have been slowed down and the Browns aren't even sure if he is going to play yet. I really don't see Brandon Weeden beating the SD secondary this week.
6. Green Bay Packers - The Charles Woodson injury hurts the pack but this week they are going against a terrible Jacksonville team. It was bad enough that Jacksonville was struggling with their starters playing but now MJD is out and Blaine Gabbert is banged up. Look for the Pack to just shut down JAC with out any problem. Keep an eye on how the secondary performs though for future weeks.
7. New York Jets - NY's D looked pretty good last week vs. Tom Brady and I don't expect them to let up at all vs. their rival Dolphins. It isn't a secret anymore that you can shut down Brian Hartline by jamming him at the line and Antonio Cromartie loves to do that. The only reason they aren't in the top 5 is due to their 30th ranked running D. That needs to improve this week in order to slow down Reggie Bush.
8. New York Giants - Staying in NY the Giants are facing a Cowboys team that is still struggling even after they barely beat Carolina last week. The Cowboys' starting center Phil Costa is banged up and a game time decision and it doesn't look like DeMarco Murray is going to play. Just like last year the Giants D seems to get better and better as the season goes on.
9. Atlanta Falcons - Atlanta's pass D has been good so far this year (ranked 12th in the league) and we all know Mike Vick is extremely turnover happy which leads to defensive fantasy points. The only concern I have here is how bad ATL has been against the rush. Beware of McCoy having a big game.
10. Arizona Cardinals - Arizona has forced 15 turnovers and blocked 2 kicks so far this year. The reason they are at number 10 is San Fran is usually pretty conservative with the ball. Zona's pass D has been elite (4th overall) this year but they are struggling to contain the run. Frank Gore seems healthy and good to go on MNF so Arizona finds itself at number 10 on my list.
11. New England Patriots - The Patriots should have no problem shutting down a weaker STL run game it's Sam Bradford at home that concerns me here. Bradford has shown he can put up numbers at home and NE's pass D is ranked 29th in the league right now. The Pats are worth the play this week based on the number of fumbles they love to cause (11 fumble recoveries) You pair that with a RB by committee in STL you should be able to get yourself some fantasy points here.
12. Denver Broncos - This is a good match up for the Denver secondary facing Drew Brees who everyone knows loves to throw the ball. This give the Broncos 10th ranked pass D a lot of opportunities for INT's which means points for you. Don't be scared to pull the trigger on this match up.
13. Washington Redskins - Even though they are banged up Washington's D is hanging in there. The Skins should have no trouble shutting down the Pittsburgh running game. Here is the kicker....Washington now has the worst pass D in the game. I would be cautious here because Big Ben knows how to pick apart a weak secondary.
14. Dallas Cowboys - Sean Lee going down hurts, hurts in a big way. The Cowboys rush D is already ranked 15th and one of their best run stoppers is now out for the season. Lee's injury also leaves a big hole in the middle of the field. Eli should have no problem exposing the back up MLB for the Cowboys.
15. Miami Dolphins - Yes they are playing the Jets, but the Jets offense has shown signs of life lately. Miami's D vs. the pass hasn't been good this year. They should shut down the Jets backfield but in a rivalry game emotions run high and points are usually put up in bunches.
16. Cleveland Browns - Tough match up vs. SD in SD. I think Cleveland will have no problem stopping the run but I also think Rivers will go off vs. the 26th ranked passing D.
17. St. Louis Rams - **HIGH RISK, HIGH REWARD** pick of the week. If the Rams can get through that weaker then usual NE offensive line they could be a great waiver pick up this week. That's a big IF. If the Rams fail to get to Brady then it could easily turn into the Tom Brady show in St. Louis.
18. Kansas City Chiefs - Basically the reason the Chiefs even made my top 20 is because they are playing Oakland. Darren McFadden could very easily go off in this game but KC should be able to shut down Carson Palmer.
19. & 20. Indianapolis Colts & Tennessee Titans - This game can very well get ugly fast. Filled with turnovers as well as big plays. IF you are desperate pick up either one of these team defenses and hope for a couple of offensive mistakes.
Best of luck this week and remember to check out the live broadcast on Sunday mornings