Streaming Defenses: Picking a Week 1 Defense

This article is part of our Streaming Defenses series.

New York Jets - The Jets will be facing a rookie QB in Derek Carr, who was just this week named the Week 1 starter over Matt Schaub. He should be held in check, as his wide receivers consist of Rod Streater, James Jones, Andre Holmes and Denarius Moore. The Jets secondary might be without Dee Milliner, who is questionable right now with a high ankle sprain. Without him, this is a thin bunch, but fortunately the Raiders receivers aren't going to overwhelm anyone. As for the run game, this is where the Jets shine with DEs Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson, two of the better 3-4 defensive ends in the league. Last season the Jets finished first in yards allowed per rush attempt (3.4) and had NT Damon Harrison, who rated out as the best 3-4 NT against the run last season, in part to thank for it. I don't expect Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden to be shutout all game long, but if they're held to a modest total, it's going to be difficult for Carr, in his first game, on third and longs. Another factor at play here is the Raiders are a West Coast team going to the East Coast and playing an early game, which would be like them playing this game at 10am their time. Vegas has this over/under set at 39.5 with the Jets favored by 5.5, which puts this at about a 23-17 game. Facing the Raiders at home, the Jets defense/special teams have an ownership of 23 percent at CBS Sports, 5.9 percent at ESPN, and nine percent at Yahoo.

Detroit Lions - The Lions will be taking on a Giants offensive line that's down guard Chris Snee, who retired in the off-season, and guard Geoff Schwartz, who is dealing with a toe injury. With DTs Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh, this unit should generate a solid pass rush against Eli Manning, who led the NFL in interceptions a season ago and did little to inspire confidence this preseason. Moreover, he's likely to be without rookie WR Odell Beckham, as he deals with a hamstring injury. WRs Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle are a formidable duo, and it's not like the Lions have a strong secondary, so it'll be up to the line to put the pressure on the passing game. As for the Giants run game, Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams don't figure to run wild on the Lions, who were an average run defense a season ago, thanks mostly to LB Stephen Tulloch. Vegas has this over/under set at 47 with the Lions favored by 5.5, which puts this at about a 27-21 game. If the Giants offense is anywhere near as bad in Week 1 as they were last season or in the preseason, this will be a great play. Facing the Giants at home, the Lions defense/special teams have an ownership of 21 percent at CBS Sports, 6.6 percent at ESPN and 33 percent at Yahoo.

Philadelphia Eagles - I actually like the Jags this season and think they'll be much better on offense as the season progresses, once QB Blake Bortles takes over. For now though, they have Chad Henne and an offensive line that needs to improve from 2013. The WR corp has young depth, but it's inexperienced as Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns are all rookies, behind veteran Cecil Shorts. Again, this group should grow as the season moves on, but it's tough to see them jelling as a unit after one pre-season. RB Toby Gerhart should do fine in this game, but I question how many touches he'll see, if the Eagles jump out to a double-digit lead with their quick strike offense. I don't expect the Eagles to shut many offenses down this season because their own offense scores so quickly, but to ask them to take advantage of clear passing situations with a few sacks and turnovers doesn't seem too much. Vegas has this over/under set at 52.5 with the Eagles favored by 10.5, which puts this at about a 31-21 game. Facing the Jags at home, the Eagles defense/special teams have an ownership of 27 percent at CBS Sports, 13.4 percent at ESPN and 21.0 percent at Yahoo.

Minnesota Vikings - QB Shaun Hill is likely to be a slight downgrade from former starter Sam Bradford this season, but for Week 1, I have to think he's a bigger downgrade than some realize due to the lack of reps he's gotten with the first team offense and the new playbook he's learning. Not to mention, it's been since almost 2010 since he's been a full-time starter, so there might be some real rust to knock off. The Rams WRs have upside with Kenny Britt, Tavon Austin, Brian Quick and Chris Givens, but none are established producers around which you build a defensive game plan. TE Jared Cook similarly has shown no consistency in his career as a playmaker, either. RBs Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham figure to be the focal point of the offense, which is fine because the way you score points in today's NFL is in the air, not on the ground. The Vikings defense was awful last season, but I have to think new head coach Mike Zimmer makes at least a bit of an impact, considering how great he was as the defensive coordinator for the Bengals all those seasons. Vegas has this over/under set at 43.5 with the Rams favored by four, which puts this at about a 24-20 game. Facing the Rams on the road, the Vikings defense/special teams have an ownership of 21 percent at CBS Sports, three percent at ESPN and three percent at Yahoo.

Oakland Raiders - Starting a rookie QB on the road worries me, as it could put the Raiders defense on short fields, if the offense sputters or worse, turns the ball over in its own territory. Still, Derek Carr inspires more confidence than the shell-shocked Matt Schaub, who was a pick-six machine last season. That risk aside, the Jets offense is a good one to pick on. QB Geno Smith got an offseason upgrade at WR with the signing of Eric Decker, but he alone can't help a group that features Jeremy Kerley and David Nelson. As for Smith, he should improve from last season, but even then, he's at best a league-average QB and that's on a good day. The Raiders defense is perennially one of the league's worst and likely figures to end the season in the basement again in 2014, but it's not for lack of trying something new, as they brought in DEs Antonio Smith and Justin Tuck, LB Lamarr Woodley and CBs Tarrell Brown and Carlos Rogers all in the off-season. Stopping RBs Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory will be job number one, which shouldn't be too difficult as Johnson now plays like a shell of the RB we saw back in 2009, when he racked up over 2,000 rushing yards. The West Coast team going to the East Coast worries me, but at least the Raiders are traveling Thursday for this game in hopes of ending their East Coast losing streak which dates back to 2009. As mentioned earlier, Vegas has this over/under set at 39.5 with the Jets favored by 5.5, which puts this at about a 23-17 game. Facing the Jets on the road, the Raiders defense/special teams have an ownership of seven percent at CBS Sports, 1.9 percent at ESPN and one percent at Yahoo.

Here are my rankings for this week, the next four weeks and the remainder of the season: