Ask the Experts

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly, with answers to a new question being posted every Thursday morning.

How the guest experts responded when we asked them:

Which fantasy defense would you most like to own the rest of the way?

NICHOLAS MINNIX

The obvious answer might be a defense like that of the New England Patriots or Baltimore Ravens. However, the Pats may be resting key defenders by the time the fantasy playoffs roll around; the Ravens have disappointed a bit and have an unfavorable schedule. One defense KFFL is eyeing is that of the San Diego Chargers. They have recorded 15 sacks, seven interceptions and seven fumble recoveries in seven games this year. They have a renewed outlook following their disappointing start. With some major playmakers, the Bolts are capable of posting big fantasy points while also limiting points and yards. It helps to have a schedule that reads like this: Tennessee Titans (Week 14), Detroit Lions (Week 15), Denver Broncos (Week 16) and Oakland Raiders (for those playing in Week 17). Unlike last season, San Diego may be fighting for their postseason lives at that stage of the season, so motivation likely won't be in short supply.

KFFL offers football as well as baseball content and has captured over a dozen expert league championships. Founded in 1996, this company offers daily news, preseason draft guides, player rankings, sleepers, busts, weekly newsletters and more. KFFL also provides fantasy content to various organizations including SportsTicker and Yahoo! Sports. For more information, visit www.kffl.com .

DEAN RAMSAY

I really like the way the Giants have come on as of late. They are playing very aggressive which creates turnovers and ultimately increases fantasy points. Looking down the rest of the season they have some very good matchups with the exceptions of Dallas in Week 10 and New England in Week 17.

Ramsay is the senior analyst for draftchamps.com. Draft Champs has been providing custom cheat sheets and value-based draft guides to the fantasy football community since 2003. For more info, visit www.draftchamps.com.

DAVID DOREY

The Patriots have to be considered to have the best defense to own since their offense throws every opponent into a pass-heavy attack every week. That yields sacks, interceptions and the chance for a defensive touchdown as much higher. It doesn’t hurt either that the defense is also one of the better ones in the league anyway. There is no denying that this is the year of the Patriots and the power of that offense places the defense into a favorable situation every week.

Dorey is the co-founder of TheHuddle.com and the lead NFL analyst. He has been projecting players and predicting games since 1997 and has also authored the book Fantasy Football: The Next Level which is available at all major bookstores and at Amazon.com. Mr. Dorey is one of the top prognosticators in the Fantasy Football Index Experts Poll every year and won it in 2005.

BRIAN SWAW

I would have said the Chicago Bears, but after watching the Eagles avoid Hester like the plague, that's a trend that is likely to continue. I like the way the Chargers are playing and their schedule sets up real nice; the only real threat the rest of the season for them are the Colts and Ravens. I see the Chargers as top defensive unit the rest of the way and anything they can get from their special teams is a bonus.

Swaw is senior writer and owner of GameTimeDecisions.net and the co-host of two fantasy football radio shows for ESPN AM 1000 in Chicago -- Fantasy Football Island and Fantasy Expert. He has been a keynote speaker for the FSTA and several fantasy football conventions with the likes of John Clayton, Chris Mortensen, Sean Salisbury and Mark Schlereth. For more info, visit www.gametimedecisions.net.

PATRICK GLEESING

With Devin Hester scoring a touchdown every other game, Chicago is still the class of the league. They will get healthy and prideful, and, feast on a relatively moderate schedule through the rest of the year. They will shake off the after-Super Bowl-bug and behind a hard working Griese be resurgent.

Gleesing is the owner of and senior writer for fantasyfootballdrafthub.com. He can be reached at patrick@fantasyfootballdrafthub.com.

JEFFREY KAMYS

I like the Green Bay D; they can put a ton of pressure on the QB, and now that the weather is changing, they will begin to get the turnovers created by bad weather playing in Green Bay.

Kamys is president of Dr. Stats Fantasy Sports. His company, via the web, offers player news, injury reports, cheat sheets, projections, weekly matchups, statistics, and a customized team tracker. Dr. Stats Fantasy Sports also e-mails preseason newsletters and reports throughout the season. For more info visit www.docstats.com or send e-mail to webmaster@docstats.com.

STEVEN LASSAN

With the exception of a week nine match-up against Indianapolis, I would like to take the New England defense in the remaining weeks of the season. The Patriots are rolling along and their defense has been a big reason why, ranked top ten in all categories of defensive statistics. Additionally, their defense continues to force turnovers and sacks each week - which is exactly what fantasy owners want. Although the matchup with the Colts is tough, games against Buffalo, Washington, Baltimore, New York Jets and Miami are favorable and games where they would likely rank as the top overall defense in the NFL.

Lassan is a senior staff writer for Pro Fantasy Sports. For more info, visit the websites www.profantasysports.com and www.fswa.org.

ANDY RICHARDSON

I suppose I'd have to go with the Patriots, although there are some games coming up where I'd be hesitant to count on them. For a weekly start the rest of the way, I'd probably lean toward Pittsburgh, whose schedule is laughably weak. They play the Bengals twice, but Cincinnati has some problems. And a game at New England. But apart from that, the Ravens (twice), the Jets and Dolphins, the Rams, even Jacksonville and the Browns -- all of those games could be nice ones for the Steelers D. This might be the first year I've really been in favor of starting several different defenses over the course of the year. Matchups seem to be a little more predictable than weekly performance.

Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for the past six years. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections, as well as various site features. He has run the magazine's annual draft and auction leagues since their inception. Other writing credits have included FFToday.com and football coverage for newspapers in Colorado and Florida. For more information go to www.fantasyindex.com.

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