Have you checked the small fantasy football boxes, like kicker? Don’t forget to look at the full list for defense. But if you need an update after the three Christmas Day games, here are a couple of last-minute defense and special teams streaming options, and one to avoid, for NFL Week 17.
The main defense off the board is Denver. And, boy, did the Broncos ever lay a championship-week egg. They were extraordinarily disappointing. Thanks a lot, Sean Payton, for going conservative. And it nearly cost his team a win.
Start ‘em — New England Patriots at Jets
It’s all about the opponent. And this week, quarterback Brady Cook looks like a shaky target for the Patriots to attack. Cook has offered three bad games, throwing one touchdown pass and tossing six interceptions.
And … wait for it … 17 sacks in thee games. Feast, Patriots, feast. What’s not to like? Pick six? Strip sack?
Mike Vrabel won’t hold his defense back. They will be aggressive.
Meanwhile, the Jets are holding out hope that Cook’s pocket awareness will improve, according to the New York Post.
“He’s just continuing to understand what we’re trying to accomplish on every play,” Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said. which I think he’s actually done a pretty darn good job of, but then also understanding the things we can and can’t do on every single play. Just for example, say on a third-and-15, we can’t take a sack even if we’re scrambling out of the pocket. We just got to throw the ball away. Or if we see a hot [read], we got to get the ball out hot and just some of those things and some of the situational football that we got to continue to improve upon.
“He knows this is a great opportunity for him, just as it is for any of the other players out there. They’re always trying to put forth their best performance on a daily and weekly basis. And for the evaluation process.”
Start ‘em — Seattle Seahawks at Panthers
The start-em list doesn’t seem as safe this week. And this is one of those situations where the defense is facing a capable offense.
However, let’s look at what the Seahawks’ defense has done on the road this year. They have been D3, D5, D5, D8, D26, D23, D1. Yes, two clunkers, but otherwise pretty impressive.
The Panthers’ ability to run the football (No. 12 in the NFL) causes some concern. But the Seahawks are No. 3 against the run. So they should be able to force Bryce Young to put the ball in the air.
Enthusiasm is high for the Seahawks as a whole as they enjoy a second straight good season under Mike Macdonald. He said the team is ready for the end-of-season challenge, according to Seahawks.com.
“It's like, it's great,” Macdonald said. “Yeah. I mean, we got our goals. We want to win games. We want to make the playoffs. In order to make our next goal, we have to win this game. So that's where we're at. I think the same thing with the Pro Bowl. It's cool. It's great. Years from now, we'll look back, and we'll love this team. And we'll love the process and the whole thing, but we got to go make it come to life right now. We can't be sitting around telling how sweet we are to everybody.”
That is the type of mental energy a defense needs for a good road performance.
Sit ‘em — Los Angeles Rams at Falcons
If you want the best reason to sit the Rams’ defense, look at the comments from Rams head coach Sean McVay about Falcons’ stud running back Bijan Robinson, according to theramswire.com.
“He’s unbelievable,” McVay said. “It's a tremendous impact. And you have to be aware of him. Bijan is so unique. He’s very similar to Jahmyr Gibbs. They can beat you in a variety of ways. Every time they touch the football, they're a threat to score. He has such great field contact balance, spatial awareness, explosion. You name a trait that's desirable for a running back. This guy is checking the box.
“Oh, and by the way, you do the same thing for a receiver. He checks those boxes, too. He's special. I have a ton of respect. I've obviously watched him closely just because of the relationship you have with a lot of coaches on that staff.”
But if the Rams focus too much on Robinson, they run the risk of getting hurt by receiver Drake London and emerging — finally — tight end Kyle Pitts Sr.
“They have great skill (players) everywhere,” McVay said. “(Quarterback) Kirk (Cousins) does a great job running the show.”
Yes, this Falcons’ offense is tough. So, if possible, avoid deploying the Rams to your championship-week lineup.
