When I started this weekly feature in 2009, I’m not exactly sure I thought I would ever get to this point. It has taken 6 2/3 years to reach 100 Blitzes and, much like an aging NFL veteran listening to his body, the fantasy gods have toyed with my emotions enough over that time to make me think about life after football. The good thing is the mind is usually much more resilient (and recovers faster from the weekly wounds that fantasy football delivers) than the body, so it is not impossible to think another 100 might be possible. After all, the Fantasy Hall of Fame can’t deny me entrance if I reach 200 in-season articles, right? I guess only time will tell.

Let’s get to the more important business at hand. Every so often, the inspiration for a story idea comes from the world outside of the annual redraft leagues that we have come to know and love.

Daily fantasy has changed the way I think about fantasy football and I’m fairly certain that is the case for many owners. For most of the last month, I’ve taken a little bit of time at the end of Monday Night Football games to observe what the top few entries in DraftKings’ Millionaire Maker did to reach the level of success they did that week. One particular entry caught my eye this past weekend and made me wonder a bit about the logic that is involved in this relatively new hobby of ours (this entry was enough to make me question more than this owner’s thought process, if you know what I mean). For the sake of not dragging a poor soul or two through the mud (but now fairly rich souls, even though they didn’t finish first), I won’t name them or list their full team, but rather some of the selections they made.

We start with Jeremy Langford, who was recently priced at $4,800 last week. While I understand his price point was probably what ultimately led the 4.7 percent of owners who started him to do so, Darren McFadden and LeGarrette Blount were priced only $100 more and legitimate cases could be made that both had better match ups (as we will see below), especially when one accounts for expected game flow, home versus road and a host of other factors. Little known fact: Ka’Deem Carey got the start ahead of Langford the week prior on Monday Night Football against the Chargers. Assuming we know what HC John Fox is thinking has almost always led to fantasy disappointment, especially when it comes to running back usage. In other words, one good game on MNF is hardly enough evidence to say for certain Fox would ride the rookie hard last week. Nevertheless, 4.7 percent of owners started him. Perhaps starting Langford was just a gut call for these lucky folks, so we move on to the next one.

One top-performing entry in particular had both Antonio Brown ($8,800) and Martavis Bryant ($5,500) as two of their three receivers. Did that entry realize all three of Landry Jones’ touchdown passes have been to Bryant? Did that entry have some crazy feeling that Ben Roethlisberger would save his fantasy day coming off the bench despite an injury that was supposed to sideline him through the bye? If two receivers from the same team were worth starting in DFS, it would sure seem logical that owners would want to stack them with their quarterback. No dice. Next…

Doug Baldwin ($3,400) was started by 0.2 percent of owners. He made a bit of sense as far as DFS dart-throws go, but I’m not sure he would have made my list of top five receivers under $4,000 last week given the matchup (Arizona) or recent production (no more than 10 PPR fantasy points since Week 4).

Lamar Miller ($5,400) was reasonably priced considering his recent production last week, but the matchup (Philadelphia) was brutal as the Eagles had allowed one touchdown rushing and one touchdown receiving to running backs all season long. Furthermore, the Dolphins had let it be known during the week that Jay Ajayi would be receiving more work.

The one that probably puzzles me the most is Charcandrick West ($4,800), who was started by 1.2 percent of owners (roughly 3,000 of a quarter-million entries). What part of Denver’s defense screamed he was a must-start?

Those are only a few of the examples. I understand the good ‘ole gut leading an owner to go with one or two of these two players, but some went with three or four of them. Even in a contest that features over a quarter-million contestants, I find the odds extremely long for more than a handful of entries - even those trying to be contrarian – to defy the matchup, expected game flow and recent production in order to land on that combination of players.

Meanwhile, a player like DeAngelo Williams ($6,500), who finished 17th, first and first in the three weeks in which he started a game this season, was only started in 41.8 percent of owners in the best matchup he will probably see all year? Jordan Reed ($4,600) was only started by 38.7 percent of owners against a team that coughed up three touchdowns to a pair of Tennessee Titans tight ends the previous week? Who was Kirk Cousins – started by 12.2 percent of owners – going to throw all of his touchdowns to?

Most weeks, I can rationalize what the top-performing owners were thinking with the majority of their selections. Let’s just say if I was ever to conduct an investigation into DFS, last week would be my Exhibit A that something is a bit off. Consider me skeptical at best.

------------------------------------

Having aired my grievances, I’m reasonably certain that I am wrong, so I decided to expand my focus this week in an effort to give all of us one more tool to use in our to plight to become DFS millionaires. Much like the logic behind the Consistency Rankings Analysis piece I have done each of the last two preseasons, sometimes it is just easier to process a single number or rank as opposed to an average that doesn’t have much context behind it. Unlike Consistency Rankings Analysis, I will not be charting consistency in the traditional sense or computing a consistency score (like my Simple Ratings System in said article) that reflects it. Instead, this week will be all about observing what defenses are surrendering to each position.

What does that mean?

Below you will see four charts, one for each of the four primary fantasy positions. (The bolded numbers at the top obviously reflect the week.) Of the utmost importance are the numbers directly to the right of each team, which signify that defense’s rank against that position in that particular week. As an added bonus, I felt it was pertinent to highlight which of those performances came against high-caliber competition. Thus, the ranks that you see in red print reflect those performances that came against one of the top 10 players at that position (eight for tight ends). I felt that by attacking this story from that angle, I would not only help those owners hoping to get an edge in their DFS contests, but also provide some context in regards to how (and against whom) those ranks were achieved. Obviously, the ranks achieved in certain weeks didn’t come as a result of only the primary running back, but I think this kind of study is very helpful nonetheless.

The primary goal here is to give players a quick and handy reference tool when it comes to their DFS needs. To help you understand this better, let me provide an example or two: Andy Dalton squares off against Arizona this week. The Cardinals have faced exactly one top-10 quarterback (Drew Brees in Week 1) and allowed one top-10 fantasy performance to a quarterback (Nick Foles in Week 4). Cleveland has opposed top-10 quarterbacks four times and yielded a top-10 fantasy effort in that week every time.

As is usually the case, I’m not going to attempt to rationalize or explain how every rank was achieved, but rather pick and choose some teams or trends that catch my eye. While I will be approaching this article from a DFS perspective this week, I think there are obvious benefits to “regular” owners as well.

The top-10 quarterbacks through Week 10

1. Tom Brady
2. Carson Palmer
3. Aaron Rodgers
4. Drew Brees
5. Eli Manning
6. Cam Newton
7. Philip Rivers
8. Andy Dalton
9. Derek Carr
10. Blake Bortles

Quick Observations:

- The Bills’ defense has been mostly a disappointment, although I’m not sure we needed a chart to tell us that. Buffalo has picked it up since the bye week, however, and I expect this week’s showdown with a banged-up New England offense to be more of a true measure of what the defense can do going forward.

- Most expected Chicago to be a punching bag for the better part of the season, but I think most would agree the Bears’ defense has been better than the sum of its parts all things considered, especially since the bye.

- DFS owners should want no part of Cincinnati’s or Minnesota’s defense when it comes to picking their quarterback.

- Remember how bad Kansas City was in September? It turns out they faced a reasonably fresh Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Andy Dalton. The Chiefs have been remarkably stingy against opposing quarterbacks since.

- As most of us know already, the Saints have been a dream matchup for opposing quarterbacks. (The average weekly finish for quarterbacks going against the Saints’ defense is eighth!!) It’s unlikely the transition from former DC Rob Ryan to new DC Dennis Allen will result in huge difference for the rest of the season, but owners need to be concerned about a short-term boost. New Orleans faces Houston and then Carolina in the first two weeks coming out of its Week 11 bye.

- “Elite” quarterbacks are 4-for-4 against the Seahawks. Don’t avoid this defense just because you have in previous years.

- Tampa Bay has been extremely hit-or-miss, almost to the point where owners with elite quarterbacks need to be fearful and those with average ones (presumably with good rushing attacks to support them) can start their signal-callers with confidence.

The top-10 running backs through Week 10

1. Devonta Freeman
2. Mark Ingram
3. Lamar Miller
4. Adrian Peterson
5. Danny Woodhead
6. Chris Ivory
7. DeMarco Murray
8. Doug Martin
9. Todd Gurley
10. Latavius Murray

Quick Observations:

- If the running back going against the Saints is out your price range in a given week, may I suggest the Dolphins? Over the last month, feel free to throw Oakland and Washington into that mix.

- Although I doubt the DFS players I spoke of intro knew this information beforehand and therefore avoided DeAngelo Williams), it is worth noting Cleveland has held its own against opposing fantasy running backs over the last three weeks.

- Here we go with the Chiefs again. Outside of the first month, it appears they have been stout. Ditto for the Vikings.

- Houston has been blasted by Atlanta (Week 4) and Miami (Week 7). Take away those two lousy efforts and the average finish for running backs against the Texans is 21st.

- The Jets have shown some cracks in the armor lately. I wouldn’t be rushing to play my running backs against them, but it is a trend worth keeping an eye on.

- Eight of nine opponents have produced a top-13 fantasy finish against the Chargers. Giddy up.

- Still think Tennessee is a pushover? The ranks above suggest even the top backs aren’t worth paying up for against the Titans. No set of running backs have solved the Steelers’ puzzle either. Baltimore has been nearly as good as Pittsburgh.

- It is interesting to note how much Washington’s defense has fallen off since the beginning of the season. The Redskins pretty much shut down three elite running games in September, but haven’t sniffed that kind of dominance since.

The top-10 receivers through Week 10

1. Antonio Brown
2. Julio Jones
3. DeAndre Hopkins
4. Odell Beckham Jr.
5. Larry Fitzgerald
6. Julian Edelman
7. Brandon Marshall
8. Keenan Allen
9. Allen Robinson
10. Brandin Cooks

Quick Observations:

- Arizona’s line is surprising to say the least, giving a fair amount of credibility to the DFS players who went with Doug Baldwin last week. However, a deeper analysis reveals that Baldwin is only the second primary wideout (as in the established No. 1 receiver on his own team) to score more than 12.5 PPR fantasy points (Tavon Austin was the other). That’s rather remarkable considering the Cardinals have faced Cooks, Calvin Johnson, Antonio Brown, Steve Smith and Travis Benjamin.

- Other than Week 4 (in which Houston benefited from more than a half of garbage time), Atlanta has been an absolute nightmare for opposing receivers. No wideout has scored more than 16.7 PPR fantasy points since that game. Carolina and Denver has been every bit as good, although that should not come as a shock to most. To the surprise of many, Dallas isn’t too far behind.

- What San Diego is for running backs, Baltimore is for receivers. DFS owners looking to stack receivers in any given week will want to target the Ravens, who have allowed seven sets of receiver duos score at least 13 PPR points.

- Keenan Allen shredded the Packers right before they went on their bye in Week 7. They’ve been getting chewed up by bigger receivers ever since.

- The Jets’ line above comes as a surprise to me even though Antonio Cromartie has been ineffective or nursing an injury for most of the season. It’s still a good idea to avoid “Revis Island” when it is clear that a receiver must visit, but targeting his teammate in DFS isn’t a bad strategy.

- St. Louis hasn’t allowed a wideout to visit the end zone since Week 5, leading to nothing but single-digit fantasy totals for every receiver to face the Rams since then.

- Considering the Bucs have faced five of the 10 receivers listed directly above and haven’t exactly had stability at the cornerback position, I’ll consider their weekly ranks a minor miracle.

The top-eight tight ends through Week 10

1. Rob Gronkowski
2. Gary Barnidge
3. Greg Olsen
4. Tyler Eifert
5. Travis Kelce
6. Ben Watson
7. Jordan Reed
8. Delanie Walker

Note: The reason I went with eight tight ends is because Martellus Bennett or Jason Witten haven’t really been consistent fantasy forces this season.

Quick Observations:

- Picking on Atlanta is a good idea at the tight end position. Philadelphia (Week 1) is the only team not to get a double-digit fantasy-point effort from its tight end against the Falcons.

- The Lions appear to be right on Atlanta’s tracks. Eight tight ends – including two from the Packers last week – have posted at least 10 fantasy points.

- Indianapolis is yet another defense that appears to be hapless against the tight end. Gronkowski’s 14-point PPR effort in Week 6 is the worst performance by a team’s top tight end over the last four games.

- The Giants and Saints are the two most accommodating defenses against opposing tight ends over the course and these ranks back it up.

- The loss of LB Alec Ogletree has taken some of the stinginess out of the Rams’ ability to defend tight ends, but the St. Louis defense is probably still one to avoid when deciding on matchups for DFS purposes.

- Sometimes, numbers lie. I think that is the case when it comes to Washington’s “ability” to defend the tight end. With the Redskins springing leaks against the run and somewhat inconsistent against opposing receivers, the need to target tight ends has been lessened. (It should be noted, however, that Washington is the only team to hold Gronkowski to single-digit fantasy points this season.)