FFGuidebook.com 13th in Fantasy Index Rankings for Defense; 9th overall

James Serra of First Place Sports Software, earlier won
the tight ends portion of the Fantasy Index Experts Poll competition; now
he's won the defensive section as well.

This one was close. Serra beat David Dorey by only 2 points ­ essentially
nothing in a category where all 20 competitors scored over 30,000 points.

With the back-to-back category wins, Serra has moved to an overall lead of
over 1,000 points. Scott Pianowski (Yahoo! Sports), Chris Liss
(Rotowire.com), Rick Hawes (Fanball) and Dorey are next in line. But we're
only halfway done grading, and we always save the most telling categories
for last ­ quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers.

Scoring is based on a complex formula that awards points for every selection
by every expert at every position. For each guy, 120 picks are scored, with
players weighted more heavily the higher they are ranked.

At the defense position, Serra won out in large part because he got it right
with the Pennsylvania defenses. He was the only guy to rank the Eagles No.
1, and they were the top-scoring defense in this format. Serra also was one
of only two experts to drop the Steelers down to 6th; most of the other
experts ranked them first.

However you slice it, Serra is the leader for now.

Defenses are graded using the scoring system of 6 points for touchdowns
(including special teams plays) and 2 points for every takeaway, sack and
safety. The only controversial play was Robert Meachem's fumble return for
New Orleans after he stripped a defensive back following an interception.
That type of TD was specifically not allowed in the rules laid out last May
(though the Saints did receive 2 points for a takeaway on the play). Only
one expert (Jeffrey Kamys) ranked the Saints in his top 20 anyway.

When the scoring is done for all six positions, the top 11 finishers will
win spots in our Mock Draft league (with the No. 1 finisher getting to
choose where he would like to select). That field should be set in a few
days.

FANTASY INDEX EXPERTS POLL: DEFENSES

Points
32,446 James Serra
32,444 David Dorey
32,332 Rick Hawes
32,312 Louis Tranquilli
32,264 Jeffrey Kamys
32,172 Bob Henry
32,140 Lenny Pappano
32,136 Scott Pianowski
32,014 Chris Liss
32,010 Christopher Harris
31,938 Alan Satterlee
31,816 Michael Nazarek
31,802 Sam Hendricks
31,766 Pretzel May
31,752 Colin Darlington
31,742 Cory Bonini
31,684 Kevin Marshall
31,672 Bo Mitchell
31,592 Nathan Zegura
31,552 Scott Endsley

FANTASY INDEX EXPERTS POLL: OVERALL (so far)
Includes kickers, tight ends and defenses:

Points
79,101 James Serra
78,028 Scott Pianowski
77,863 Chris Liss
77,757 Rick Hawes
77,235 David Dorey
77,102 Pretzel May
76,960 Alan Satterlee
76,909 Christopher Harris
76,617 Sam Hendricks
76,586 Nathan Zegura
76,570 Bob Henry
76,506 Michael Nazarek
76,215 Jeffrey Kamys
76,208 Louis Tranquilli
76,186 Lenny Pappano
75,891 Kevin Marshall
75,857 Colin Darlington
75,726 Bo Mitchell
75,471 Scott Endsley
74,966 Cory Bonini

FANTASY INDEX EXPERTS POLL: DEFENSE MULTIPILIER NUMBERS
Below are the 2009 stat totals for the 32 NFL teams for defensive
production. They are ranked using the scoring system of 6 points for TDs and
2 points for each sack, safety and takeaway.

Points
204 Philadelphia
196 New Orleans
180 Green Bay
178 San Francisco
164 Minnesota
162 Arizona
162 Denver
156 Pittsburgh
154 Miami
152 Baltimore
152 San Diego
150 NY Jets
146 Carolina
146 Chicago
144 Cleveland
144 Dallas
144 Tampa Bay
142 Buffalo
142 Cincinnati
142 Houston
142 Tennessee
138 Indianapolis
136 New England
136 NY Giants
132 Kansas City
130 Atlanta
120 Detroit
120 Seattle
114 Oakland
114 Washington
96 St. Louis
78 Jacksonville

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