Seattle had a below-average fantasy defense last year. Even a bottom-10 defense in some formats. That just doesn’t seem right. Is it time we adjusted scoring for this position?
Wouldn’t it be nice, after all, if defenses scored enough that somebody would select one in the second or third round of a fantasy draft? And wouldn’t it improve the fantasy game if most everyone was carrying two defenses (and selecting their first defense before the 10th round?). You look at some defenses (like Seattle and San Francisco in recent years) and it seems like they should be coveted.
To get there, I think, we need more production, and we need statistics that can be more easily predicted. There’s an element of luck in grabbing an interception or fumble, and then another factor of chance in hoping said takeaway can be carried back for a touchdown.
The category to target with defenses, I think, is how good it is at stopping other teams from scoring. That’s the ultimate job of a defense, isn’t it?
So one option, I think, is to give credit for how many points under some threshold the defense allows. NFL teams should average about 24 points per game, so that’s a good figure to work off. If your defense allows 24 or more points, it gets nothing. If it gets a shutout, it gets 12 points. And the other points could fall in a linear scale, with 1 fantasy point for every 2 NFL points (20 NFL points = 2 fantasy points, 10 NFL points = 7 fantasy points). That might work.
Another option, I think, is work off touchdowns. If you’re starting the Cleveland defense, after all, should you be penalized if Josh McCown has an interception returned for a touchdown? That’s not on the defense.
In the NFL, if a defense allows 2 TDs in a game, that’s good. That’s a little above average. So I would be in favor of allowing 3 fantasy points for such an effort. If the same defense allows only one touchdown, that’s really good, so how about we award another 6 points for that? And an additional 6 points (15 total) if the defense can allow no touchdowns at all.
If you go with this kind of scoring, I think it will end on the popular strategy of just blowing off defenses. With that kind of format, you’ll see fantasy teams going after defenses like the Seahawks, Bills, Jets and Ravens.
And that’s a good thing, isn’t it?
Using those scoring systems, the Seahawks, Bills, Ravens, Cardinals and Kansas City had the top 5 defenses last year, and I’m fine with that. Those were all really good defenses last year. Conversely, we’re seeing Tennessee, Oakland, Philadelphia, Washington and Atlanta at the bottom. That’s again correct – that’s how those defenses played.
Not sure if this should be a stand-alone scoring system or added to what leagues are using already, but I like the sound of it.
Here’s how teams finished last year using those systems. “Points” is the one giving credit for points allowed under 24. The TD system is the one giving 3-9-15 points for allowing 2-1-0 touchdowns.
| DEFENSES, ALTERNATE SCORING | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Points | Rk | TD | Rk |
| Seattle | 73.0 | 1 | 84 | 1 |
| Buffalo | 55.0 | 5t | 75 | 2 |
| Baltimore | 59.0 | 2t | 72 | 3 |
| Arizona | 59.0 | 2t | 69 | 4 |
| Kansas City | 55.0 | 5t | 66 | 5t |
| St. Louis | 51.0 | 8 | 66 | 5t |
| New England | 50.0 | 9t | 63 | 7 |
| Indianapolis | 49.0 | 11 | 60 | 8 |
| Detroit | 59.0 | 2t | 57 | 9t |
| Cincinnati | 50.0 | 9t | 57 | 9t |
| Minnesota | 42.0 | 14t | 57 | 9t |
| San Diego | 42.0 | 14t | 57 | 9t |
| Miami | 44.5 | 13 | 54 | 13t |
| Green Bay | 40.5 | 16 | 54 | 13t |
| San Francisco | 40.0 | 17 | 54 | 13t |
| Carolina | 48.0 | 12 | 51 | 16 |
| Houston | 52.5 | 7 | 48 | 17 |
| Cleveland | 33.0 | 20 | 45 | 18t |
| NY Giants | 28.5 | 22 | 45 | 18t |
| Pittsburgh | 26.0 | 24 | 45 | 18t |
| Jacksonville | 25.0 | 26 | 45 | 18t |
| Denver | 38.0 | 18 | 39 | 22t |
| Chicago | 29.0 | 21 | 39 | 22t |
| Tampa Bay | 28.0 | 23 | 39 | 22t |
| NY Jets | 24.5 | 27 | 36 | 25t |
| New Orleans | 21.5 | 29 | 36 | 25t |
| Dallas | 33.5 | 19 | 33 | 27t |
| Atlanta | 21.0 | 30 | 33 | 27t |
| Washington | 20.0 | 31t | 33 | 27t |
| Philadelphia | 25.5 | 25 | 30 | 30t |
| Oakland | 20.0 | 31t | 30 | 30t |
| Tennessee | 22.5 | 28 | 24 | 32 |
—Ian Allan