2005 Top First Half Fantasy Team Defense / Special Teams

The Players Who Were Strong Out of the Gate

Stats that reflect a player's season totals are often misleading. The NFL season lasts a long time, and players often have impressive stretches of play that get lost in the shuffle.

There are a lot of reasons why certain players have a great first half but tail off later in the year. Injuries to them or their teammates are often the cause, but other factors like strength of schedule can play a role too.

However, there are also a class of players that are simply known as fast starters. Year after year they come out strong out of the gate and post gaudy early season numbers before the grind of the season wears them down.  

Identifying and acquiring these players is critical as the outcome of the first 8 games of the year often determines who will make the fantasy playoffs. A side bonus is you can ride these guys and then trade them off before their scoring declines.

We use the Freaks' standard scoring system and all of the scoring totals are rounded to the nearest whole number. 

So study hard, and come next fantasy draft you'll have the best stocked roster in your league.

For more fantasy stats analysis, please see the NFLFreaks Stats Index.

Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends | Kickers | Team Defense / Special Teams

Int = 1 |  Sack = 1 | Fumble = 1  | Safety = 5 | TD = 6 | 0 pts = 10 | 1-3 pts = 7 | 4-7 pts = 5 | 8-10 pts = 3 | 0-150 yards = 10 | 151-200 yards = 6 | 201-250 yards = 3 | 251-300 yards = 1

Rank

Player

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Season Total

1st Half Total

2nd Half Total
1 Colts 18 13 12 6 30 5 23 0 7 8 2 17 21 3 5 2 5 177 114 63
2 Bears 9 32 7 0 8 16 16 12 10 18 22 11 17 0 17 12 0 207 110 97
3 Giants 17 12 1 6 0 10 1 29 19 18 4 5 22 7 4 8 3 166 95 71
4 Falcons 8 3 11 18 2 19 19 0 9 2 4 14 1 9 7 5 1 132 89 43
5 Buccaneers 13 24 9 8 10 12 0 5 4 5 11 8 16 9 1 11 13 159 85 74
6 Steelers 12 19 6 0 6 15 4 5 16 4 12 3 1 9 27 26 9 174 83 91
7 Lions 19 2 0 7 5 21 17 3 7 6 5 2 2 8 4 11 3 122 81 41
8 Titans 0 32 14 0 11 1 12 9 2 0 12 9 4 23 4 5 4 142 79 2
9 Eagles 7 23 1 13 7 0 18 1 6 8 5 9 7 4 1 3 5 118 76 42
10 Cowboys 7 7 5 3 17 11 7 16 0 9 12 7 6 3 1 5 5 121 73 9
11 Jaguars 7 7 14 6 6 17 0 5 10 27 7 11 5 3 11 5 6 147 72 75
12 Dolphins 13 5 10 0 9 4 2 23 5 4 1 15 8 6 9 15 10 139 71 68
13 Ravens 0 5 0 19 6 21 8 7 4 1 11 3 16 3 24 7 18 153 70 83
14 Packers 5 3 6 9 31 0 6 3 7 6 7 6 12 5 0 11 11 128 70 58
15 Rams 9 7 11 1 10 3 15 13 0 2 2 5 6 5 13 5 15 122 69 2
16 Panthers 6 8 1 3 5 18 0 7 18 27 4 13 15 6 13 10 20 174 66 108
17 49ers 14 3 11 18 4 0 1 14 0 9 1 7 7 2 5 3 11 110 65 45
18 Seahawks 3 8 8 6 6 11 13 0 8 5 5 3 45 23 0 6 6 156 63 93
19 Cardinals 14 8 0 16 2 0 15 4 4 1 7 3 15 8 8 18 8 131 63 68
20 Bengals 3 12 14 14 1 9 3 6 13 0 2 6 6 8 8 4 3 112 62 13
21 Bills 25 1 2 1 7 11 3 8 0 17 1 5 10 3 2 16 9 121 58 17
22 Chiefs 14 3 1 12 0 13 6 2 5 9 13 7 4 4 3 13 17 126 56 70
23 Broncos 3 17 9 16 4 0 2 4 0 13 26 9 3 9 4 15 23 157 55 102
24 Redskins 17 0 0 1 6 4 14 3 6 7 8 6 15 12 21 5 16 141 51 90
25 Raiders 6 5 6 5 0 2 9 14 4 2 10 6 5 5 11 3 2 95 51 44
26 Saints 5 4 7 16 0 5 5 4 5 0 4 1 12 1 3 5 4 81 51 30
27 Jets 2 13 11 5 7 3 6 0 3 7 4 4 2 20 5 10 18 120 50 70
28 Vikings 10 1 10 1 0 13 0 0 10 25 15 13 7 7 8 4 12 136 45 91
29 Chargers 5 5 3 9 4 5 8 5 6 0 16 5 17 5 7 2 7 109 44 6
30 Browns 4 3 1 0 13 2 7 8 2 9 21 7 9 4 15 3 14 122 40 82
31 Patriots 3 13 8 0 3 1 0 4 1 2 2 3 17 23 28 14 2 124 33 91
32 Texans 1 1 0 2 0 4 10 4 2 3 7 8 11 0 10 3 7 73 24 49

 

 

  

 

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