Hopefully your reading this as you sit back in your chair with a big smile on your face because you have already clinched a playoff spot and this week is for fun. Realistically I bet a lot of you are reading this freaking out because you need the W this week to get into the playoffs. We here are some team defense rankings to help you get this important W.
Around this time of year a new factor comes into my rankings.....Which teams still have something to play for and which teams are basically holding "live" auditions for next season. The only good part about teams holding said auditions is usually one or two players step up and earn their spot on the roster next year by making game changing plays. That's nice but I try not to bank on it. Couple of teams can punch their playoff tickets this week and should shut down their opponents.
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Here are my week 13 team defense rankings
1. San Francisco 49ers - The 9ers D has been rolling the last couple of weeks and as they get closer to clinching a playoff spot I think the 9ers come out firing vs. St. Louis this week. StL's offensive line will have their work cut out for them with the 9ers front 4 which usually leads to the all important INT's.
2. Baltimore Ravens - Didn't think i'd see Baltimore up this high again this year. A rivalry match up vs. a Charlie Batch lead Pittsburgh Steelers usually gets you shot up the rankings. Pitt had trouble holding onto the ball last week and I can see Baltimore creating at least 2 turn overs this week.
3. New England Patriots - New England's D has been on fire as well as of late and currently in standard scoring leagues NE is the #2 ranked D. Solid match up this week in Miami vs. an offense that still really doesn't scare me. NE has made some huge additions to their D that have already shown their value.
4. Houston Texans - Texans linebackers have been dropping like flies. That is why the Texans are ranked higher with their match up vs. the Titans. J. J. Watt needs to rally the troops to play one more elite game so the Texans can clinch their playoff spot and rest up some of their injured starters.
5. Chicago Bears - Bears are a little banged up and the defense is starting to show their age a little bit. Charles Tillman and Lance Briggs should be able to go. Seattle QB Russell Wilson doesn't have a great QB ranking on the road but Wilson has shown he knows how to win games. If this game was in Seattle these ranking would be completely different but I like the Bears at home this week.
6. Dallas Cowboys - Tony Romo and the boys are holding on for their playoff lives. This week they get a Philly team that is stacked with back ups. I think Bryce Brown comes back to earth this week and Nick Foyles isn't going to hurt any NFL D this year. Dallas is a safe start this week.
7. Green Bay Packers - Minnesota's offense is hurting with Percy Harvin being injured. Green Bay's 11th ranked run defense will be tested this week by Adrian Peterson but I definitely think Christian Ponder will turn the ball over a couple times this week.
8. Seattle Seahawks - The Bears are still waiting for the "Big Boy" offense to show up. Until then the Bears have an already bad offensive line made worse this week due to injuries. Jay Cutler should be busy running for his life this week. Once again if this game was in Seattle, the Seahawks would be number 2 on this list. Seattle still is just having trouble figuring it out on the road.
9. Arizona Cardinals - Tougher match up on the road this week vs. the Jets but lets face it the Jets offense stinks of something fierce. Arizona's defense is the only thing that is keeping the Cardinals relevant.
10. Denver Broncos - I still like the Broncos for fantasy teams that are heading into their playoff run. This week is a tough match up vs. a great Tampa offense. Josh Freeman and Doug Martin have been torching defenses but Elvis Dumervil will have his defense ready.
11. San Diego Chargers - San Diego is basically playing for their coach. They get a Cincinnati team in San Diego this week that has a pretty good passing attack lead by Andy Dalton and A. J. Green. The Chargers will have no problem stopping the Cincy run game but I would show some concerns vs. the pass this week. I do like the fact that this game should be an arial shoot out which usually leads to a couple of picks.
12. Cleveland Browns - Sleeper pick this week vs. Oakland. Carson Palmer and crew struggled to move the ball last week and Cleveland's D has been starting to open up some eyes with their pursuit of opposing QB's. I can definitely see Joe Hayden and crew picking off Palmer at least once this week.
13. New York Giants - It looks like the Giants have decided to play again. Last week the Giant's D was all over Aaron Rodgers this week they have a tough task of chasing down Robert Griffin III. RG 3 hasn't been making too many mistakes lately and he has minimized stupid turnovers. I think the Giants D will contain Washington but I don't see big fantasy points here because of the lack of turnovers.
14. Carolina Panthers - Basically the Panthers cracked the top 15 due to the fact they are playing KC. Ron Rivera needs to rally the troops this week if they want any shot at playing in the post season (not likely) but KC's pass game is weak just beware of Jamaal Charles.
15. Cincinnati Bengals - As I said earlier the game this week vs. San Diego should turn into a shoot out which usually creates turnovers. Cincy's 8th ranked pass D should be able to pick Philip Rivers off once or twice this week.
16. New York Jets - Arizona's offensive line is terrible plain and simple. The Jets are going to have to rely on their D to win them football games. I could see this being my **HIGH RISK HIGH REWARD** play this week.
17. St. Louis Rams - The Rams D has flown under the radar all season. St. Louis's secondary has been producing some serious fantasy points this year. Tough match up this week vs. San Fran but don't sleep on the Rams as a potential playoff sleeper team for your fantasy league.
18. Pittsburgh Steelers - I know that Pitt has the number ranked D in the NFL. Big thing they aren't even close to the top with regards to fantasy D's. Pittsburgh shuts teams down but they haven't been creating turnovers. This week they go into Baltimore and Joe Flacco is looking to get his team into the playoffs.
19. Tampa Bay Bucs - I'm not thrilled about the Bucs this week but they make the list just based off of what they've done so far this season. Terrible pass D vs. Peyton Manning usually doesn't make for a good fantasy match up.
20. Washington Redskins - The skin's secondary has come along nicely with regards to creating turnovers. If you are desperate and are looking to roll the dice on a D you can go ahead and play Washington vs. Eli Manning.
Good luck this week and hopefully i'll see you here next week when we will be talking playoffs. Once again make sure you are here this Sunday 90 minutes before kick off to get some free advice from some devilishly handsome men.