Fantasy Football 2011: Week 9 IDP Guide

Week 1 all the way to Week 7 were good times here at IDP Guide, but Week 8 was arguably the worst. We did hit on quite a few guys in all three positions, but two of the three "Start of the Week" guys were duds. At least Pat Chung exploded. Well.. Let's get down to business.

As always, follow me on Twitter @MikeSGallagher for IDP updates throughout week and instant analysis on Sunday. You can also ask me anything about your IDP squad, too. Add/drops, start/sit, you name it. The tougher the question the better.

Linebackers on the Rise

London Fletcher- Forget Joey Galloway, London Fletcher is the new Ageless Wonder. The 36-year-old linebacker racked up 19 tackles and added a pass deflection in the ugly loss to Buffalo. The Skins offense is going to be horrible for the rest of the season, so Fletch should have more big games than Fletch had sequels. The first Fletch is hilarious by the way. Fletcher should flirt with LB1 status for the rest of the year.

Derrick Johnson- A couple weeks ago I said to get ready for a Derrick Johnson outburst and he is rolling right now after winning Week 8 Defensive Player of the Week. He has a nice schedule and that slow start should be a thing of the past. He's probably going to be in the top 10 for the rest of the season.

Lawrence Timmons- Stay with me here. Timmons has been absolutely trash and he should have been let loose when the news came down he was moving to the outside. He's been dreadful. This week it's a little different as James Farrior and James Harrison are both expected to miss Week 9 against the Ravens. Let's hope Dick LeBeau will shift him to the inside. If you are going to start Timmons, then keep your eyes peeled for news. I'll certainly have you covered on Twitter. He's currently ranked at 25 in hopes that he gives it a go.

 

Rank	Linebacker	Team
1	Nick Barnett	BUF
2	Derrick Johnson	KC
3	James Laurinaitis	STL
4	D.J. Williams	DEN
5	Patrick Willis	SF
6	D'Qwell Jackson	CLE
7	Desmond Bishop	GB
8	Pat Angerer	IND
9	London Fletcher	WAS
10	Ray Lewis	BAL
11	David Hawthorne	SEA
12	NaVorro Bowman	SF
13	Daryl Washington	ARI
14	David Harris (Q)	NYJ
15	Curtis Lofton	ATL
16	Sean Weatherspoon	ATL
17	DeMarcus Ware	DAL
18	Brian Urlacher	CHI
19	Karlos Dansby	MIA
20	Brian Cushing	HOU
21	Lance Briggs	CHI
22	Jonathan Vilma	NO
23	Barrett Ruud	TEN
24	Jerod Mayo	NE
25	Lawrence Timmons	PIT
26	Rey Maualuga (Q)	CIN
27	Rolando McClain (Q)	OAK
28	Jamar Chaney	PHI
29	Rocky McIntosh	WAS
30	Donald Butler	SD
31	Leroy Hill	SEA
32	Takeo Spikes	SD
33	Brandon Spikes	NE
34	Mason Foster (Q)	TB
35	Clay Matthews	GB
36	Aldon Smith	SF
37	Kavell Conner	IND
38	Brian Orakpo	WAS
39	Tamba Hali	KC
40	Wesley Woodyard	DEN
41	Bradie James	DAL
42	Von Miller	DEN
43	Paris Lenon	ARI
44	Michael Boley	NYG
45	Kevin Burnett	MIA
46	A.J. Hawk	GB
47	Phillip Wheeler	IND
48	Geno Hayes	TB
49	Will Witherspoon	TEN
50	Calvin Pace	NYJ

 

Defensive Backs on the Rise

Jason McCourty- I have never been a proponent of starting corners at defensive back, but McCourty has been outstanding this year. He's still a guy would try to sell high though.

Darian Stewart- Stewart's value just became a giant peach compared to Craig Dahl being the size of James. Oh yes. That was a Roald Dahl reference. Stewart got all the headlines for his pick-six play on Drew Brees and he had a nice game to go with it. The Rams are vulnerable in stopping the run which means Stewart would have to make some tackles at the second level now that he won't be playing the pass-happy Saints. He has enormous upside and any owner that isn't sure about their current DB might consider making the switch.

Bernard Pollard- The guy that messed up Tom Brady's (this T-shirt idea still amuses me) has been playing much better with five tackles in his last three games each. He is far from the beast he once was in Houston or Kansas City, but he is at least on the radar in deeper formats.

Start of the Week

Antrel Rolle- Rolle should be a busy man against Tom Brady.  He's expected to have his hands full with sticking the likes of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. What's more, the Giants are ranked 28th in rushing defense, so compound that with how they will likely be in a lot of nickel packages and it should bode well for Rolle to make some tackles at the second level in the running game.

 

Rank	Defensive Back	Team
1	George Wilson	BUF
2	Patrick Chung	NE
3	Kam Chancellor	SEA
4	Antrel Rolle	NYG
5	LaRon Landry	WAS
6	Tyvon Branch	OAK
7	Yeremiah Bell	MIA
8	Antoine Bethea	IND
9	Morgan Burnett	GB
10	Eric Weddle	SD
11	Jason McCourty	TEN
12	Darian Stewart	STL
13	Roman Harper	NO
14	Dashon Goldson	SF
15	Kenny Phillips	NYG
16	Tanard Jackson	TB
17	Earl Thomas	SEA
18	Jordan Babineaux	TEN
19	Reggie Nelson	CIN
20	Jon McGraw	KC
21	Eric Smith	NYJ
22	Quintin Mikel	STL
23	Brandon Flowers	KC
24	Charles Woodson	GB
25	Sean Jones	TB
26	Jairus Byrd	BUF
27	Kyle Arrington	NE
28	Troy Polamalu	PIT
29	Donte Whitner	SF
30	T.J. Ward	CLE
31	Devin McCourty	NE
32	Adrian Wilson	ARI
33	Ladarius Webb	BAL
34	Richard Marshall	ARI
35	Rashad Johnson	ARI
36	Steve Gregory	SD
37	Antonio Cromartie	NYJ
38	Bernard Pollard	BAL
39	Patrick Peterson	ARI
40	Ryan Clark	PIT

 

Defensive Linemen on the Rise

Chris Long- Long looked like his papa on Sunday with one of the most dominating performances of the season of any lineman. He brought Brees down three times in the backfield on Sunday and could not be blocked. A lot people forget about how great Coach Spags can be at putting pressure on the QB and Long might become a stud in no time.

Pack a Sack Lunch at U of P- The Cardinals and Rams have two of the worst offensive lines in football and there are four lineman in this game that are ranked in the top 13 in these rankings. A lot of Rams love this week.

Aaron Maybin- Maybin has a great motor lately and there's a good chance he gets to show what he can do against the team that cut him. By the way, how come nobody says things like, "that guy has a bad motor"?

Start of the Week

Andre Carter- Another gentleman that has been mentioned multiple times in IDP Guide, he is rolling with three very good games in a row including back-to-back five-tackle, two-sack games. The Giants are going to have to spread them out and not have much protection off the edge to keep Carter at bay.

Note: I completely whiffed on Michael Johnson last week since I went out on a limb a bit. This week I'm going with the more proven guy. He really should be owned in all leagues, too.

 

Rank	Defensive Lineman	Team
1	Terrell Suggs	BAL
2	Trent Cole	PHI
3	Jason Babin	PHI
4	Andre Carter	NE
5	Chris Long	STL
6	Calais Campbell	ARI
7	Julius Peppers	CHI
8	Justin Smith	SF
9	Jason Pierre-Paul	NYG
10	James Hall	STL
11	Chris Clemons	SEA
12	Osi Umenyiora	NYG
13	Darnell Dockett	ARI
14	Will Smith	NO
15	John Abraham	ATL
16	J.J. Watt	HOU
17	Haloti Ngata	BAL
18	Aaron Maybin	NYJ
19	Robert Mathis	IND
20	Ray Edwards	ATL
21	Lamarr Houston	OAK
22	Richard Seymour	OAK
23	Carlos Dunlap	CIN
24	Justin Tuck	NYG
25	Elvis Dumervil	DEN
26	Dwight Freeney	IND
27	Marcell Dareus	BUF
28	Jabaal Sheard	CLE
29	Stephen Bowen	WAS
30	Dwan Edwards	BUF

 

Thanks for reading and post your comments below!