Fantasy Focus: The Dog Days Of Summer #93

Dec 23, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) is sacked by Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins (97) and defensive end Michael Johnson (93) during the first half of the game at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

Our first defense shows up in the dog days and like kickers, defense teams can be fluky.  Sometimes defenses get on a roll and never stop rolling, but it’s always buyer beware like the year I picked the New York Jets defense early in a re-draft league because my team was stacked and the Jets were disappointing to be nice all year long.

2012-#93 Cinncinnati Bengals Defense– This unit actually got better as the season went along and is the main reason that the Bengals were in the playoffs for the second straight season.  Their best week was Week #15 against the Philadelphia Eagles when they had 4 sacks 1 Int, 1 fumble recovery and 1 Td.  Their defense is pretty young so this should be one of the first defenses off the boards in most drafts.

Retro #93 2002– Todd Pinkston WR Philadelphia Eagles- Pinkston stats for the season were 60 catches for 798 yards and 7 touchdowns with his best game coming on Week 12 against the San Fransisco 49ers with 6 catches for 94 yards and 1 TD.  My biggest memory of Pinkston was how small he looked and that I never had him on any of my teams.

Look Ahead #93

ESPN-Shane Vereen- RB New England Patriots- Vereen is more valuable for one simple reason—Danny Woodhead is no longer in New England.

CBS Sports-Tavon Austin WR St Louis Rams (Rookie) Austin is going very high in rookie only drafts and many expect him to step in right away and star in the Rams Wide Receiver corp.