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.
Has Shaun Rogers finally woken up from his slumber?
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: Panthers, Saints, Chargers
and Niners.
Top Performers from last week:
DL
Shaun Rogers, Browns (9-0-1): The big guy
seems like he’s been dogging it this year. He doesn’t seem to be enthused to be
playing in Cleveland. But the past two weeks, Rogers seems to have that extra
bounce to his step, which is bad news for opposing centers and guards. When he’s
motivated Rogers is one of the game’s top interior linemen—so if he’s gotten back some of his fire, he’d make a
sneaky good waiver pick for the stretch run.
Richard Seymour,
Patriots
(7-0-1): Seymour has been next to invisible this season, which is a shame
because I’m sure several owners drafted him. But don’t let mistakes linger; if
you have Seymour, replace him with a better option.
Brett Keisel,
Steelers
(6-5-0): Prior to last week’s game against the Giants, Keisel had a total of 4
tackles and two assists in five games. ‘Nuff said.
Chris Long, Rams (3-1-2): He hasn’t
been spectacular, but Howie’s kid is doing his old man proud. With four sacks,
playing on a team that sported an atrocious defense the first six weeks of the
season, the rookie looks to have a bright future.
DeWayne White, Lions (5-1-1, FF): White
has had a great three-week run, going 18-5-3 with two FF. He is clearly
building momentum, so if he is available in your league, go ahead and pick him
up.
LB
Jonathan Vilma,
Saints
(9-0-0, INT): Vilma has enjoyed a nice comeback season this year, averaging a
healthy 12 total stops a game. It seems as if it was the scheme in New York
holding him back, not any deterioration of skills. His pick of Philip Rivers last week was his first
of the season, marking the fifth straight year the LB has nabbed at least one
pick.
Kirk Morrison,
Raiders
(11-2-0): Morrison is on pace to top his career high in tackles and assists—which
already stands at a lofty 127-26. If you need a tackle machine to help solidify
your LB corps, Morrison is your man.
Jon Beason, Panthers (7-1-0, INT): Beason
has been keeping his IDP owners happy this season, living up to his high draft
status. Averaging 8 tackles a game, Beason is also athletic enough where the
occasional INT can be expected.
LeRoy Hill, Seahawks (10-3-0): Hill is
someone you might be tempted to grab—until you realize that he does nothing but
tackle. No sacks. No INTs. No fumble recoveries. No forced fumbles. And while
the tackle numbers are solid, they are not so lofty as to justify him being a “must-start”.
D’Qwell Jackson,
Browns
(8-1-1): Jackson has very good YTD stats, but then you look at his game logs
(or simply our Consistency
Rankings) and you’ll notice that he’s wildly inconsistent. He also
seems to get credit for a lot of assists, which is a positive attribute—think of
all those years Zach Thomas was
getting the freebie assists from the Dolphins.
DB
Brandon Flowers,
Chiefs
(5-3-0, 2 INT, TD): Most of the time, you have to work hard to earn your
interceptions. Then there are those times when Brett Favre just hands you a couple. Because he’s that nice of a
guy.
Josh Wilson, Seahawks (3-3-0, INT, TD):
Wilson has been a spot starter this season, with the emphasis on “spot”.
Actually, he hasn’t done much when he’s played, so let’s file this one under “fluke”.
Dunta Robinson,
Texans
(7-2-0, INT): Where has Robinson been all season? On the PUP list, that’s
where. Now that he has gotten two games under his belt, Robinson might be a
smart waiver wire pickup for owners that need a boost for their secondary.
Chris Hope, Titans (3-2-0, 2 INT): Hope
is a really good IDP safety who has struggled to put up points this season. His
two picks of Peyton Manning were his
first of the season, And while his tackle numbers have been OK, he’s nowhere
near his tackle totals from the past three seasons.
O.J. Atogwe, Rams (6-1-0, INT): Atogwe
continues his hot streak: he’s had four picks in his last four games.
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 Nine, here are the top strong plays
identified by Max:
