Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Week 4 is knocking at the door, which means the bye weeks are upon us and will be for the next seven weeks of the football season. In looking for the favorable match-ups to fill the void left by a bye week team, you will need to find a defense who won’t bring your team down. That means these rankings will become more and more important the rest of the season, so stayed plugged in to the Bruno Boys as we try to help steer you towards a championship with the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Week 4 Defensive Rankings!

BRUNO BOYS DEFENSIVE STAR SYSTEM

5-Stars (* * * * *) - Bruno Boys Top Plays of the Week

4-Stars (* * * *) – Bruno Boys Very Solid Plays of the Week

3-Stars (* * *) – Bruno Boys Average Plays of the Week

2-Stars (* *) – Bruno Boys Try to Avoid Playing this Week

1-Star (*) – Bruno Boys Do Not Start Unless You COMPLETELY Have To

Key Abbreviations: YPG (Yards Per Game); PPG (Points Per Game)

1. (New York Giants) at Kansas City Chiefs

The Giants defense played incredible in Week 3, not allowing a single point on the board for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while holding them to 28 yards rushing and 58 yards passing. The Giants have forced 7 turnovers in only 3 games and still have yet to peak with their pressure packages, only averaging a sack per game. Look for a strong showing similar to what they did last week against an anemic Chiefs offense.
Bruno Boys Stars: *****

2. (San Francisco 49ers) vs. St. Louis Rams

Things couldn’t get much worse for St. Louis, and the team who gets to benefit most against the beleaguered Rams is San Francisco. The 49ers defense has done well so far this year, as they have not allowed big games to good offenses like Arizona and Minnesota. Their 6 sacks and 4 interceptions demonstrate the pressure the 49ers have gotten up front, which should continue this week.
Bruno Boys Stars: *****

3. (Cincinnati Bengals) at Cleveland Browns

The Bengals defense has been solid so far, registering a league high 10 sacks in 3 games. They have, also, held opponents to a respectable 18.7 points per game and allowed a mere 88.7 yards on the ground. As good as those numbers are, their opponent is the best part this week. The Browns don’t have any idea what they want to do on offense, averaging 9.7 points per game and 218 yards per game. Until the quarterback situation is settled and they can get their running game going, any defense playing Cleveland is a must start.
Bruno Boys Stars: *****

4. (Chicago Bears) vs. Detroit Lions

The Bears have been an above average defense so far, but what makes them standout this week is their 9 sacks and 4 forced turnovers. The Detroit Lions are a young team led by a rookie quarterback in Matthew Stafford who usually makes mistakes every game. With the Bears putting up solid numbers against better teams, it should be expected that Chicago’s defense dominates in this one.
Bruno Boys Stars: ****

5. (Buffalo Bills) at Miami Dolphins

Buffalo has been a ho-hum defense so far but look at 2 of the 3 offenses they have played - the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints, who have the first two quarterbacks taken in most fantasy drafts. Now, they get to play a 2nd year pro that has never started a game in Chad Henne. Sure, Buffalo’s defense has given up 117.3 yards per game on the ground and Miami loves running the ball. But, if you’re Buffalo, you will likely drop an extra man in the box to stop the run and see what Henne can do with his arm to beat you. With a bunch of average plays defensively this week, rolling the dice on Buffalo may end up being worth the gamble.
Bruno Boys Stars: ****

6. (Washington Redskins) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington has had some great match-ups the last couple weeks for their defense, and so far, they have only taken advantage of one of the two. With the third and final game where you can play the Redskins D, will they come to play? As long as the offense can keep them off the field for at least half the game, then yes. Surprisingly, what has hurt Washington is their inability to stop the run (127.7 yards per game), and lack of pressure (4 sacks in 3 games). With Tampa Bay starting a new quarterback, though, this may be the game Washington needs to turn things around.
Bruno Boys Stars: ****

7. (Baltimore Ravens)  at New England Patriots

Ok, the Ravens defense played great against two terrible offenses in Kansas City and Cleveland but only average at best against San Diego. Well, they get a good rating here because right now, New England has not looked as explosive on offense as they did a couple years back. Baltimore’s 7 sacks and 6 interceptions shows they are still getting pressure on the quarterback, and as we saw in the Patriots-Jets game, when that happens, New England’s offense tends to sputter.
Bruno Boys Stars: ***

8. (Pittsburgh Steelers) vs. San Diego Chargers

Pittsburgh’s defense has not been the best defense this season as originally projected, but they also have been without their best playmaker in Troy Polamalu. The biggest problem for the Steelers is their inability to get to the quarterback, as they have only 5 sacks and have created just 2 turnovers. Even with that being said, the Steelers have yet to play their best and usually create a lot of problems for the Chargers. If you have them, you have to keep rolling with them. No need to look for a match-up, they are still a top-10 defense in almost every week they play.
Bruno Boys Stars: ***

9. (Denver Broncos) vs. Dallas Cowboys

Yes, the Denver Broncos haven’t played a premier offense (their opponents have included the Browns, Bengals, and Raiders), but for a defense that was supposed to be terrible, they’ve put up some respectable numbers. Through 3 weeks, the team has allowed the least amount of yards (214.7) and points (5.3) per game, are tied for the most sacks in the NFL (10), and have created 8 turnovers. Now the real test comes against a Dallas Cowboys offense that is prone to turnovers but can rack up yards in a hurry. If Denver comes out of this game with stellar numbers, you may want to buy on this defense in a hurry.
Bruno Boys Stars: ***

10. (Tennessee Titans) at Jacksonville Jaguars

Tennessee’s defense has been middle of the pack so far at best, but has a good match-up in Week 4. The Jaguars strength is to give the ball to running back Maurice Jones-Drew and let him do the damage. With Tennessee only allowing 60.7 yards per game on the ground and Jacksonville only putting up 202.7 yards through the air, this seems like a good match-up play even if you have lost faith in the Titans.
Bruno Boys Stars: ***

11. (New York Jets) at New Orleans Saints

A good defense versus a good offense will likely see mixed results this Sunday. The Jets will want to pressure Drew Brees, forcing the Saints to keep their high flying aerial attack out of commission. If the Saints can get their ground game going, the Jets will have to start playing less aggressive. This is going to be a terrific match-up to watch. This will likely be as low as the Jets defense gets ranked all year, as they have been outstanding through 3 weeks of the season.
Bruno Boys Stars: ***

12. (Minnesota Vikings) vs. Green Bay Packers

Minnesota’s defense has yet to see a big challenge with three games against struggling offenses (Lions, Browns, 49ers). While the Packers offense led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers may be a good test, it still isn’t great as Green Bay has yet to blow up the offensive stat sheet. If you own the Vikings defense, you have to start them as they have been rock solid so far in totaling 8 sacks and 6 turnovers in 3 games.
Bruno Boys Stars: ***

13. (New England Patriots) vs. Baltimore Ravens

After seeing the Patriots defense play against a really good offense in Atlanta, it is time to say this defense may be worthy of a weekly start in fantasy leagues. Solid match-ups above force this team out of the top-12, but they are still a good play against the Baltimore Ravens. New England has allowed 262.3 yards per game and 16.7 points per game on the season while adding 6 sacks and 3 fumble recoveries. The question mark coming into the season was their defensive backs, but if the Patriots can shut down another young up and coming quarterback in Joe Flacco (much like they did to Matt Ryan in week 3) and possibly add their first interception of the year, they may be one of the defenses to own the rest of the way.
Bruno Boys Stars: ***

14. (New Orleans Saints) vs. New York Jets

Another defense who was supposed to be bad coming into the year, New Orleans has been able to be aggressive on defense thanks to their offense putting up so many points. This has allowed them to tally 6 sacks, 7 interceptions, and 2 fumble recoveries. The Jets have not been scorching teams on the offensive end and will likely continue to put up their average of 315 yards and 21.3 points. This makes New Orleans defense an average play for this week with some upside.
Bruno Boys Stars: ***

15. (Dallas Cowboys) at Denver Broncos

The Cowboys defense has done nothing outstanding this season, and their numbers show they are below average. After seeing them on Monday night against Carolina, you could say they simply had one bad game against the Giants. The big thing missing for Dallas is the pressure (3 sacks), which has led to fewer turnovers. Kyle Orton has taken care of the ball so far this season, but he is a QB that can throw a lot of INTs in a hurry. Dallas has a shot at righting the ship this week.
Bruno Boys Stars: **

16. (Indianapolis Colts) vs. Seattle Seahawks

Last week this team got a low ranking and out performed their projection against a high powered Arizona offense. However, they get a lower ranking this week mainly because of the loss of Dwight Freeney. If not for his injury, the Colts defense could be in the top-10 against a beat up Seattle team. But, without Freeney, the Colts defense will struggle to create pressure and force turnovers. While you could start them if you were in a bind, staying away until Freeney returns may be your best bet.
Bruno Boys Stars: **