Senior Editor and Founder John T. Georgopoulos is a 15-year veteran of the fantasy sports industry. He has written for several national fantasy magazines and has appeared on sports talk stations around the country.
John has also been a six-time finalist for various Fantasy Sports Writer Association (FSWA) awards; his Fantasy Forecast column was awarded the 2006 Best Fantasy Football In-Season Series by the FSWA.
Ravens DL Terrell Suggs made an impact both on and off the field last week.
Welcome
back to IDP Insights, the original fantasy football column dedicated
solely to the review and analysis of Individual Defensive Players (IDP). Along
with my trusted companion, Mighty Max (the SportsGrumblings.com
supercomputer), I’ll be breaking down the top IDP performances of the previous
week and then give the top strong plays for the upcoming week.
So
sit back and enjoy the security that a strong defense provides… secure in the
knowledge that Might Max and I stand ready to defend your fantasy team’s
performance.
Teams on bye this
week:
Top Performers from last week:
DL
Terrell Suggs, Ravens (7-0-1, INT, TD):
Suggs had a big game, but perhaps the bigger news was his announcement that the
Ravens’ defense was putting a bounty on the head of Steelers’ WR Hines Ward for alleged dirty play. Suggs
may be a great player, but he ain’t too smart.
DeWayne White, Lions (7-3-1, FF): Gotta
give it to Mighty Max, he nailed the
pick of White last week. White has been a nice surprise this season for IDP
owners, and if he’s somehow available in your league, you should pick him up.
The Lions offense is so putrid that the D will be spending 40 minutes on the
field, minimum.
Jared Allen, Vikings (6-0-2, FF): Allen
has been somewhat quiet this season, especially considering that he was probably
one of the Top Three defensive linemen taken in IDP leagues. It’s not that he’s
had a bad season, it just hasn’t
lived up to his draft status.
Justin Tuck, Giants (3-0-2, 2 FF): Tuck
has been playing well, but it hasn’t always been reflected in his stats. The
problem for Tuck has been the absence of Strahan and Umenyiora—offenses are
double- and triple-teaming him. Despite that, Tuck is still putting up solid
numbers every week.
Trevor Scott, Raiders
(3-3-2,
FF): Scott’s two sacks came up big versus the Jets, coming at key moments in
the game. His time will probably get scaled back once Derrick Burgess returns from his injury.
LB
Demarcus Ware, Cowboys
(7-0-3):
Now that the Cowboys’ offense and
defense both officially stink, expect Ware to post bigger numbers, as he is
forced to be on the field a lot more than he’s used to…
D.J. Williams,
Broncos (10-6-0):
Last week, I implored you to grab either Williams or Nate Webster, or both, on the premise that the Broncos defense is (a)
horrible (b) the offense is pass-based and non-time consuming and (c) the
defense is built around the LBs. I hope you were paying attention.
Lawrence Timmons,
Steelers (7-3-2):
This kid is the real deal, and I am proud to say that Mighty Max has been touting him since about Week 3. Timmons looks
like a real stud for the Steelers, and the more he plays, the more consistent
his production seems to get.
Kawika Mitchell,
Bills (4-3-1,
FF, INT): Mitchell had a clutch INT last week, and despite his limited physical
abilities, can still have the occasional big game, much like he did last season
with the Giants.
Gary Brackett, Colts (10-2-0, FF):
Brackett’s situation is very similar to that of Williams and Webster (see
above), in that he is a smallish, speedy LB on a team that has very little in
the way ofa ball-control offense, so
the combination of his athleticism and time on the field will usually lead to
very strong IDP numbers.
DB
Aaron Rouse, Packers (5-2-0, INT, TD): Big
game for Rouse, but it is the exception, not the rule.
Kevin Payne, Bears (8-1-1, INT): Payne
has had some solid games this season, and he seems to be getting more
consistent as the season wears on. I’m not ready to recommend that he be picked
up in most IDP formats, but he is someone worth keeping an eye on.
Gibril Wilson,
Raiders (7-3-0,
INT): Wilson just continues to pile on the IDP points. In addition to his usual
10 tackles, he managed to grab an INT off Brett
Favre for good measure. Just plug him into your lineup and leave him there;
the only reason to bench him is either injury or a bye week.
Corey Graham, Bears (8-0-0, INT): Graham
has started the last three games for the Bears, posting a cumulative 21-4-1
over that span. That’s pretty good. As is the case with Payne, keep an eye on
this kid to see if he starts to gain more consistency.
Zachary Bowman, Bears
(1-1-0,
FR, INT, TD): For an initial impression, this wasn’t bad.
Mighty
Max Says…
Mighty
Max is the Sports Grumblings supercomputer, running an
advanced, proprietary ranking system which takes several factors, both common
and unique, into consideration to identify the strong fantasy plays of the
week.
For Week Eight, here are the top strong plays identified
by Max:
