IDP General Admission
Posted 10/30 by Dave Baker, Exclusive to Footballguys.com
Panthers DE Charles Johnson is someone you want to pick up in your dynasty league. Now. The third round draft pick comes out of Georgia in 2007. His rookie season didn't pan out as many had hoped due to the last gasp of pro success for Mike Rucker, but most thought his sophomore campaign would deliver better results...
As I wrote in a recent column, this year came about and the Panthers signed Tyler Brayton, who moved ahead of Johnson on the depth charts. Most on the Carolina staff believed it was only a matter of time for Johnson and did not want to rush him along unnecessarily. While his time may not have come quite yet, Sunday's two sack performance, which included a forced fumble and 2-0 tackles, against the Cardinals was certainly a good sign for Johnson owners...
Getting sacks is always a good thing for IDP owners, but getting them against Arizona QB Kurt Warner is nice because of his notoriously quick release, which has been more evident this year than since his glory days with the Rams. Both sacks came at opportune times for Carolina. Brayton is a good player but presents little pass rush and it wouldn't surprise me too much to see Johnson named the starter soon. And if Julius Peppers leaves next season in free agency, Johnson could see his stock soar. If you've got room on your dynasty roster and he's available, get him...
Tampa Bay safety Jermaine Phillips has been a highly productive IDP player the last couple years. While his numbers this year have dipped, he remained a decent play for his owners. That is, until last game. Phillips fractured his left forearm against the Dallas Cowboys and is out indefinitely. If there's good news to be had here, it's that he was not placed on Injured Reserve, at least not yet. Coach Jon Gruden has elected to wait until at least after their bye week before making a final decision, noting Phillips' significant contributions to the team, but it's expected he'll miss at least a month and likely closer to six weeks...
In place of Phillips, look for second year player Sabby Piscitelli to start. Piscitelli was the team's second round draft choice last year but had his rookie season cut short after only three games when he broke his right foot. He was subsequently placed on IR. Piscitelli has a combination of size, speed and strength reminiscent of a linebacker and there was even some speculation that he might make the switch in the pros, but he thus far remains a safety...
Piscitelli has played well as a backup and on special teams this year and could be one to keep tabs on. Phillips will be an unrestricted free agent after this year and Piscitelli is definitely the heir apparent. Depending on how you are doing in your dynasty leagues, this could be as good a time as any to swoop in on Piscitelli. In a worst case scenario, Piscitelli fills in for only four weeks or so, but the move could pay big dividends starting next year...
I remember when Lions DE Ikaika Alama-Francis was drafted in the second round last year out of Hawaii. He comes from a football family. His father, Joe Francis, played two seasons as a backup quarterback to the legendary Bart Starr in Green Bay, under the even more legendary coach Vince Lombardi. Ikaika's brother was Jon Francis, a running back for the Los Angeles Rams, who played one season and even then just sparingly, but he still scored twice...
Alama-Francis was a bit of a surprise pick for the Lions, especially after he tore his pectoral muscle at the Hula Bowl his senior year and then GM Matt Millen took some flak (as was often the case) after the pick was made. Francis played basketball in college, reminding some of what Julius Peppers was able to bring to the table. But the early scorecard was not exactly favorable as he was inactive for ten of his first twelve games as a pro, and this year he was inactive for three of the team's first five games. The Lions spun it a variety of ways, but this much inactivity from a second year second draft pick is not a positive thing, especially considering that they're not exactly overwhelmed with talent and depth at that position...
Alama-Francis actually started to play a little better and finally made his way on to the field again against Houston a couple weeks back. He responded with 3-1 tackles and a half sack. The next game he forced a fumble against Washington's Jason Campbell and had 1-0 sack, although the official stats gave the forced fumble to Cliff Avril. Is he coming on? As indicated above, he certainly does not have a ton in his way to obtain more playing time. The question now is whether he gets/earns the opportunity...
There was some discussion last year whether or not Falcons DE Jamaal Anderson was the biggest rookie bust or not. He was the eighth overall pick in last year's draft, and started all 16 games as a rookie, but he failed to get a single sack and only had 30 total tackles. Still, it often takes players a couple years to really develop and defensive end is far from an exception to that rule. Insiders in Atlanta have suggested that the team has been a little disappointed with Anderson's production, though...
Coming into this week's game against the Raiders, Anderson is now looking for his third straight game with a sack. As luck would have it, Anderson's status is now uncertain, as the team is revealing he received a concussion that forced him out of last Sunday's game against the Eagles. Anderson has given credit to his recent success to their first year defensive line coach, Ray Hamilton. Hamilton was an ex-player and long time veteran player with New England who left the coaching staff in Jacksonville to join Mike Smith and his troops in Atlanta...
San Francisco LB Manny Lawson has always remained an important figure in the 49ers defense, but his production has not warranted much for IDP owners. The former 22nd overall pick in the 2006 draft brought enough speed and athleticism that the team felt he could smoothly transition from defensive end, where he played in college, to a linebacker in the team's 3-4 defense. While his rookie numbers didn't jump out at you, there were far from shameful...
Lawson's second year brought about some bad luck, however. He tore his ACL in week two and didn't play again that season. Lawson hoped his luck would change this year, but with tackle-hogging teammates like Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Michael Lewis and Nate Clements on the roster, it seemed unlikely there would be a lot of tackles leftover for Lawson. His poor luck seemed to continue this year as he has missed two games already with a strained hamstring, which was on the same leg as the torn ACL the year before...
Talk about bad luck, Lawson recently had a couple issues with skunks. Yes, Lawson was leaving the team's Santa Clara headquarters a couple weeks ago when he crossed paths with a skunk. So Lawson made like Forrest Gump and ran. He employed the same strategy when he was chased by a baby skunk previously when leaving a teammate's house, saying later had had never run so fast in his life. Crossing paths with a skunk is typically a bad omen, but Lawson is now coming off his two best fantasy production weeks of the season, including last Sunday's 7-2 tackles and a sack against the Seahawks...
It's noteworthy to look at Lawson's career numbers last week as they came under the direction of new Head Coach Mike Singletary. Singletary, not surprisingly, is a defensive-minded coach who might very well point to the classic 3-4 scheme, and it might not be coincidental that Lawson's numbers last week were increased. Sometimes even the slightest change in scheme ideology can be enough to change a fair IDP producer to an exemplary one and Lawson certainly has the talent to succeed. Stay tuned...
Until next week...
Please e-mail me with any comments or suggestions at baker@footballguys.com.
