Environment is the major key to fantasy football production. These rankings, updated weekly throughout the season, assess the foundation upon which fantasy football statistics rise (or fall).
NFL offenses are ranked one through 32 in the following categories: red zone trips per game, third-down conversion percentage, yards per rush attempt, yards per pass attempt, sack percentage allowed, rushing touchdowns per game and passing touchdowns per game.
You want to see the touchdowns, I know, but those must be built on a solid foundation of good performance in the sampling of these other stats. Also use these rankings to target weak offenses when selecting a fantasy defense for the coming week.
| Rank | Team | Red Zone Pos. | Third Down % | YPR | YPA | Sack % | TD-Run | TD-Pass | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Orleans (4-0) | 1 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 29 |
| 2 | Baltimore (3-1) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 31 |
| 3 | Indianapolis (4-0) | 7 | 3 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 47 |
| 4 | Philadelphia (2-1) | 6 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 57 |
| 5 | New York Giants (4-0) | 4 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 26 | 3 | 60 |
| 6 | Jacksonville (2-2) | 10 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 72 |
| 7 | Pittsburgh (2-2) | 10 | 4 | 20 | 4 | 22 | 8 | 11 | 79 |
| 8 | Dallas (2-2) | 10 | 19 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 24 | 82 |
| 9 | Minnesota (4-0) | 10 | 6 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 6 | 3 | 83 |
| 10 | New England (3-1) | 2 | 6 | 25 | 18 | 3 | 8 | 24 | 86 |
| 11 | Miami (1-3) | 10 | 1 | 3 | 29 | 16 | 2 | 30 | 91 |
| 12 | San Diego (2-2) | 4 | 9 | 32 | 2 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 93 |
| 13 | Tennessee (0-4) | 23 | 14 | 2 | 24 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 94 |
| 14 | Atlanta (2-1) | 9 | 14 | 29 | 11 | 2 | 20 | 10 | 95 |
| 15 | Chicago (3-1) | 7 | 22 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 96 |
| 16 | Denver (4-0) | 27 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 105 |
| 16 | Green Bay (2-2) | 17 | 16 | 14 | 7 | 32 | 8 | 11 | 105 |
| 18 | Cincinnati (3-1) | 17 | 17 | 11 | 25 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 115 |
| 19 | Houston (2-2) | 10 | 25 | 31 | 5 | 18 | 26 | 3 | 118 |
| 20 | Seattle (1-3) | 19 | 12 | 24 | 22 | 13 | 22 | 11 | 123 |
| 21 | Detroit (1-3) | 10 | 13 | 27 | 23 | 20 | 6 | 27 | 126 |
| 22 | New York Jets (3-1) | 19 | 21 | 17 | 20 | 26 | 8 | 24 | 135 |
| 23 | Washington (2-2) | 19 | 20 | 19 | 10 | 24 | 26 | 18 | 136 |
| 24 | Tampa Bay (0-4) | 23 | 31 | 12 | 27 | 9 | 22 | 18 | 136 |
| 25 | Buffalo (1-3) | 23 | 30 | 7 | 16 | 28 | 30 | 11 | 145 |
| 26 | Arizona (1-2) | 22 | 28 | 30 | 17 | 12 | 25 | 17 | 151 |
| 27 | San Francisco (3-1) | 27 | 27 | 18 | 21 | 31 | 15 | 18 | 157 |
| 28 | Carolina (0-3) | 27 | 24 | 13 | 26 | 27 | 20 | 29 | 166 |
| 29 | St. Louis (0-4) | 31 | 23 | 10 | 31 | 15 | 30 | 27 | 167 |
| 30 | Kansas City (0-4) | 23 | 32 | 22 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 27 | 174 |
| 31 | Cleveland (0-4) | 27 | 29 | 23 | 30 | 29 | 26 | 30 | 194 |
| 32 | Oakland (1-3) | 31 | 25 | 28 | 32 | 25 | 22 | 32 | 195 |
Executive Summary (Yes, you're an executive. You own a football team!)
Again, note the overall record of the top 10 offensive teams and the record of the bottom 10. It's an offensive game.
I can't believe that Jacksonville is a top 10 offensive environment. Upgrade all Jaguars. Stop worrying about Maurice Jones-Drew, as I have advised was justified. If you own Mike Sims-Walker, congrats. David Garrard is still just a bye-week guy, however.
With Rashard Mendenhall looking like he can go inside and outside them, the only strike against the Steelers remains their sack rate. But Ben Roethlisberger holds the ball a long time and bounces around back there trying to make plays. He's had suitable time most snaps.
San Diego is golden if you have passing shares. Forget their running game though. Houston is similar.
I remain very worried about Green Bay, allowing sacks on 13 percent of drop backs. Aaron Rodgers is putting up numbers but looks skittish in the pocket and there's no deep game with rushers coming clean and Rodgers taking off at the first flash of opposing color.
The Jets are profiling finally like a team with a rookie QB. This is a big week for Mark Sanchez. It's also a big week for Arizona, which we don't expect to run but do expect to protect Kurt Warner.
It's hard to defend starting anyone in the bottom five. DeAngelo Williams and Steve Smith owners need to be very worried.
