I love football. As a newly employed educator, I have taken in a couple of recent high school football games in central Minnesota. I have never played the sport, but I have been indulged in it since I can remember. Saturdays used to include homemade chili and Minnesota Golden Gopher Games. Sunday’s involved church, morning brunch and rushing home for the noon kickoff of the local Vikings. Now, fall Friday nights include walking down the street from my house to the high school field. I watch as my brother’s friends who used to come over when we were younger rush onto the field in front of a few thousand screaming fans, many of them students who come together and arrive early with signs and wearing the jersey of their best friend or significant other. A local group of boys arrive a little later than the rest of the students. “The Blue Crew” as they call themselves, wait until the rest of their friends and fellow students are in their seats before they rush up the stairs. From there, they lead in cheers and chants that provide an atmosphere that make me happy to be from a small community. The players are heroes, the fans are loyal and win or lose, the community has their back. It is simple, it is beautiful, it is perfect.

As we know from our experiences though, perfection isn’t always easy to find. Last week we discussed the glass being half full or half empty. We talked about my streaming defenses for week four and how only half of them helped out. This week we take another fraction lesson (I am a teacher after all) and look at 3/4. Week 5 brought us ¾ or a 75% success rate as 3 of the top 10 defenses were brought to you here free of charge! Let’s jump into how they did and look forward to week 6 of the NFL schedule!

How did I do last week?

• The Bears went up against Carolina, picking off Cam Newton once, recovering two fumbles, and also racking up two sacks! Total: 7 Fantasy Points
• The Steelers didn’t have the offensive production that everyone expected but their defense picked it up in a huge way! 1 TD, 2 picks and 1 Sack can make any fantasy owner happy. Total: 16 Fantasy Points
• The Eagles racked up a huge score for the 2^nd straight week. 19.5 % owned defense has put up 41 ESPN standard scoring fantasy points in the past two weeks! Following their three TD performance, the Eagles D/ST got into the end zone two more times this week, while adding three fumble recoveries and four sacks! Total: 18 Fantasy Points
• The Browns were the disappointing streaming option of the week. While they still scored positive fantasy points, they missed out on a huge opportunity and allowed the Titans to walk all over them before they come back in historic fashion to win. Three sacks was the highlight of the day for fantasy owners. Total: 3 Fantasy Points

Week 6 Targets:

Tennessee Titans: The sleeper pick of the week is where we will start. 1.1% of fantasy owners own the Titans D/ST, and I understand why (-6 and -3 in the last two weeks). That is until you look at their week six opponent. There doesn’t need to be more analysis than this: the Jacksonville Jaguars have allowed every defense they have played to score double-digit fantasy points. The Titans will likely be the add of the week in fantasy football.

Baltimore Ravens: Tampa Bay is hard to figure out this year. Sometimes they look like contenders, while other nights they look like they should be playing in the CFL. With Tampa giving up the third most fantasy points to opposing D/ST units this year, I am going to take a chance with the Baltimore. The Ravens have been positive in scoring every week this year, averaging about five fantasy points per game. If they can hold Vincent Jackson out of the end zone and make them run the football, I think we see a big game for the Baltimore Ravens defense in week 6.

Philadelphia Eagles: Don’t be surprised if their ownership percentage jumps to 100% after this week. Double-digit points in three of the five weeks, including 23 and 18 respectively the past two Sundays. The Eagles take on the Giants in an NFC East showdown. Eli has looked great lately, and they are coming off a 30-20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. That being said, Eli also has a tendency to throw interceptions and will have a tough test against the red-hot Eagles Sunday night.

Photo cred: http://goo.gl/QtvdFy

Jared “Minnesota Nice” Hines is a fantasy football contributor at The Sports Script. Follow him on Twitter @Jared_Hines27!