Fantasy Football 2011: Week 8 IDP Guide

There are some ups and some downs that come along with IDP. The downs are all those players have byes weeks and most of them don't have backups in standard formats. This puts IDP owners in a pickle because they either have to cut the IDP guy they'd usually start or cut some of their depth at RB or WR. Personally, two weeks ago I had to cut DeMarco Murray (the day before Felix Jones got hurt) in order to fill the spot on Kam Chancellor's bye. Worst yet, I was in the same situation last week (George Wilson on a bye) and I cut Roy Helu. Kam Chancellor is in my doghouse even though he's been playing well. Even though I was very badly burned.. IDP, I can't quit you baby.

You can follow me on Twitter @MikeSGallagher for updates throughout the week and instant analysis on Sunday. You can also ask me for a second opinion on any of your IDP decisions.

Linebackers on the Rise

Donald Butler- Butler had one of the best plays of the IDP season with stripping (and recovering) the ball from Dustin Keller and was able to take it to the house on the second play from scrimmage on Sunday. Butler also had nine tackles in the game and is starting to find his niche in the SD 3-4 D.

Karlos Dansby- Dansby was a man on a mission in the first half with 10 tackles against Tim Tebow. Dansby didn't quite look healthy to this year and was very slow in getting to the play in the early part of the year. His last two games have been very good and the Dolphins D should see a lot of time on the field with their sputtering offense. Dansby should be able to push LB2 status in most formats.

Daryl Smith- Smith is quietly having a huge year in Jacksonville. He is currently the 12th-best LB in standard formats and doesn't show any signs of slowing down. The Jaguars O is obviously going to have trouble staying on the field and the Jags' schedule favors linebackers as well. Expect Smith to flirt with LB1 value, but I wouldn't expect him to retain his 12th spot.

DeAndre Levy- Levy has double-digit tackles in four games in a row. He has his bye coming up soon and doesn't have that great of a schedule. He's sort of a sell-high guy.

Dan Skuta- Skuta is set to take over at the Mike with Rey Maualuga already ruled out for Sunday's game with the Seahawks. Skuta had five tackles last week and should be able to provide some decent value for deep leagues (ranked at 41).

Start of the Week

David Hawthorne- Hawthorne was ranked at 13 last week and he came up huge with 11 tackles, a sack, a pick and a pass deflection in the loss to the Browns. The Horned Frog was the cover boy for IDP 100 as well and all signed pointed to him having a monster season. It took a while, but now that the Hawks have the linebacker corps they wanted, owners should expect Hawthorne to flourish.

Note: All of the "Start of the Week" linebackers have exploded with double-digit tackles since we've started this format. Here's to hoping I didn't jinx it.

Rank	Linebacker	Team
1	Nick Barnett	BUF
2	James Anderson	CAR
3	David Hawthorne	SEA
4	Derrick Johnson	KC
5	Sean Lee	DAL
6	James Laurinaitis	STL
7	Pat Angerer	IND
8	Patrick Willis	SF
9	Paul Posluszny	JAC
10	D'Qwell Jackson	CLE
11	Daryl Washington	ARI
12	Ray Lewis	BAL
13	NaVorro Bowman	SF
14	DeMarcus Ware	DAL
15	London Fletcher	WAS
16	Daryl Smith	JAC
17	Donald Butler	SD
18	Karlos Dansby	MIA
19	Chad Greenway	MIN
20	Dan Conner	CAR
21	Kavell Conner	IND
22	DeAndre Levy	DET
23	Stephen Tulloch	DET
24	James Farrior	PIT
25	Barrett Ruud	TEN
26	Brian Cushing	HOU
27	Takeo Spikes	SD
28	Joe Mays	DEN
29	Jamar Chaney	PHI
30	Jerod Mayo	NE
31	Jacquian Williams	NYG
32	Rocky McIntosh	WAS
33	Lawrence Timmons	PIT
34	Jonathan Vilma	NO
35	Aldon Smith	SF
36	Brian Orakpo	WAS
37	Brandon Spikes	NE
38	DeMeco Ryans	HOU
39	Kevin Burnett	MIA
40	Phillip Wheeler	IND
41	Dan Skuta	CIN
42	Von Miller	DEN
43	Paris Lenon	ARI
44	Brooks Reed	HOU
45	Cameron Wake	MIA
46	LaMarr Woodley	PIT
47	Thomas Howard	CIN
48	Justin Durant	DET
49	Tamba Hali	KC
50	Shaun Phillips	SD

 

Defensive Backs on the Rise

T.J. Ward- The former Oregon Duck was an IDP calamity in the early part of the year by averaging below five tackles per game until his bye in Week 5. He has returned to his 2010 form with an average of 7.5 tackles in his last two games and added a strip-sack last week. There's a very good chance he is sitting out there on waivers in standard leagues and he might explode against the Niners.

Kurt Coleman- Some IDP owners might have forgotten about Coleman with his three-pick, seven-tackle game against the Skins in Week 6. He's the starting strong safety on a team that has good corners and is struggling to stop the run; put those two things together and Coleman has an extremely high upside for most IDP formats. If he has another big game on Sunday Night Football, there's no way he'll remain on waivers in most leagues.

Tanard Jackson- T-Jax picked his second ball in as many games since returning from suspension. The Buccaneers picked up his option today and have shown they're committed to him. He doesn't have too big of an upside, but he's equipped with a nice schedule for a safety and could easily be a DB2 for the rest of the season. He's on a bye this week.

Start of the Week

Pat Chung- Chung could be sitting on your wire with the Pats coming off a bye and Chung dealing with a finger issue earlier in the year. Go ahead and check, we'll wait. The Steelers figure to pass the ball a ton against the 32nd-ranked pass defense of New England, which bodes well for Chung. Billy Belichick may opt to use Chung in some blitz packages in an attempt to exploit the weak Pitt O-line. Oddly enough, Ben Roethlisberger has 10 TDs and just two picks in five games against the Pats, so don't expect a pick for Chung. However, he has a good chance of racking up 10 tackles with a sack as the cherry on top.

Rank	Defensive Back	Team
1	George Wilson	BUF
2	Yeremiah Bell	MIA
3	Kam Chancellor	SEA
4	LaRon Landry	WAS
5	Antoine Bethea	IND
6	Troy Polamalu	PIT
7	Pat Chung	NE
8	Roman Harper	NO
9	Dawan Landry	JAC
10	Quintin Mikell	STL
11	Antrel Rolle	NYG
12	T.J. Ward	CLE
13	Dashon Goldson	SF
14	Jon McGraw	KC
15	Charles Godfrey	CAR
16	Eric Weddle	SD
17	Ladarius Webb	BAL
18	Jarius Byrd	BUF
19	Kenny Phillips	NYG
20	Kurt Coleman	PHI
21	Jordan Babineaux	TEN
22	Kyle Arrington	NE
23	Ryan Clark	PIT
24	Dashon Goldson	SF
25	Justin King	STL
26	Ed Reed	BAL
27	Reggie Nelson	CIN
28	Husain Abdullah	MIN
29	Earl Thomas	SEA
30	Donte Whitner	SF
31	Jason McCourty	TEN
32	Asher Allen	MIN
33	Bernard Pollard	BAL
34	Jonathan Wilhite	DEN
35	Reed Doughty	WAS
36	Amari Spievey	DET
37	Devin McCourty	NE
38	Michael Griffin	TEN
39	Kevin Thomas	IND
40	Louis Delmas	DET

 

Defensive Lineman on the Rise

Trent Cole- He's back. He is as elite as they come and should be owned in all two-man leagues.

Start of the Week

Michael Johnson- It would be awesome if M.J. could rock these golden shoes or a football version of them. The Bengals get the Seattle Seahawks and their joke of an offense line this week. They lead the league in sacks allowed even though they've already had their bye. Johnson should have a nice day against young Russell Okung and should be picked up by all teams that don't have two must-start options.

Rank	Defensive Lineman	Team
1	Jared Allen	MIN
2	Charles Johnson	CAR
3	Trent Cole	PHI
4	Terrell Suggs (DL-eligible)	BAL
5	Michael Johnson	CIN
6	Jason Babin	PHI
7	Andre Carter	NE
8	Chris Clemons	SEA
9	Will Smith	NO
10	Haloti Ngata	BAL
11	Kyle Vanden Bosch	DET
12	Jason Pierre-Paul	NYG
13	Greg Hardy	CAR
14	Jabaal Shead	CLE
15	Osi Umenyiora	NYG
16	Ndamukong Suh	DET
17	Calais Campbell	ARI
18	Cliff Avril	DET
19	Robert Mathis	IND
20	Justin Smith	SF
21	J.J. Watt	HOU
22	Brian Robison	MIN
23	Justin Tuck	NYG
24	Derrick Morgan	TEN
25	Darnell Dockett	ARI
26	Geno Atkins	CIN
27	Ahtyba Rubin	CLE
28	Dave Ball	TEN
29	Antonio Smith	HOU
30	Adam Carriker	WAS

 

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