IDP General Admission - Week 7
Updated 10/22 by Dave Baker, Exclusive for Footballguys.com
Well gang, we're here again. Another year of fantasy football and the sixth year of this column. I focus, of course, on the IDP slice of this hobby and hope I can offer some interesting tidbits as we go along. I encourage reader feedback and suggestions. Welcome to IDP General Admission...
A look at Week 6...
One of the many surprises in college football has been the undefeated University
of Cincinnati. One of their more recent alums was Connor Barwin, currently playing
DE for the Houston Texans. Barwin played for the Bearcats for four years before
getting drafted by Houston in the second round of the draft. Remarkably, Barwin
played Tight End for Cincinnati until his senior year. He also played basketball
as a sophomore. I always like defensive linemen and linebackers who are athletic
enough to play at a skill position and/or excel in other sports...
So Barwin's life as a DE is really only entering its second year and as such, he certainly has his work cut out for him. He also obviously has a ton of room for improvement. On Sunday, Barwin had his first career NFL sack, as well as 2-0 tackles. It was somehow fitting for Barwin's first career sack to happen in Cincinnati. He's playing mostly on special teams now, and backing up Mario Williams, but busting his chops to gain a more significant role is nothing new for Barwin, who had to do the same in college. It might take a year or two, but I think Barwin will become a legitimate IDP pass rusher...
If you're in a dynasty league and were still keeping an eye out for Detroit LB DeAndre Levy, it's too late. I doubt he's still available...
Lion's DE Cliff Avril, drafted in the third round of the 2008 draft, ended his rookie season nicely with four sacks and three forced fumbles in the last six games. He became a full-time starter this season but has been hampered with hamstring problems. Already an excellent pass rusher, the Detroit coaching staff wants Avril to become more well rounded and recently urged him to be more aggressive and confident. He has responded in the last two weeks with 10-2 tackles and 1.5 sacks...
I know I won't be the only FBG IDP writer to talk about Will Witherspoon, but the 29 year old LB will no doubt be in a better situation for his IDP owners as the starting MLB in Philadelphia than he was playing for the Rams. Witherspoon, who averaged 97-16 tackles, five sacks and four fumbles in his first two seasons with St. Louis, fell off pace last year and for the most part thus far this year. The trade should move Witherspoon back up the charts for IDP owners and he might even be had for a bargain in some leagues...
The Eagles had high hopes for the MLB position this season until starter Stewart Bradley suffered a season-ending torn ACL in early August. The team moved quickly to insert Joe Mays as the replacement, but that notion went away in preseason with the blink of an eye. Mays was not the man for the job, so the team inserted 2007 starter Omar Gaither. But Gaither has not been the ideal guy there either and the team brought back Jeremiah Trotter after a two year layoff to help out Gaither...
Trotter was burned by Raider's TE Zach Miller for an 86-yard touchdown on Sunday, a key reason they lost the game. It can't be a coincidence that Witherspoon is known for his pass coverage skills. But even more important was the injury Gaither suffered towards the end of the game. Gaither sprained his foot and will be seeing a foot specialist soon. Coach Andy Reid has indicated it's unlikely he'll play this week and the trade for Witherspoon could be indicative of how serious the team believes the injury to Gaither may be...
Witherspoon, who can play in the middle and on the weakside, might have some challenges playing in a new system midway through the season, but with the Rams he was already playing under Steve Spagnuolo, and Spagnuolo was previously an assistant with the Eagles using the same type of defensive schemes. Witherspoon played on the weakside for the Rams, but he played in the middle for the Carolina Panthers earlier in his career...
In his first two seasons, Viking's LB Chad Greenway, a former first round pick selected 17th overall, has averaged about 80-30 tackles. He also has five sacks, five forced fumbles, four recovered fumbles and two interceptions. Those numbers have been good enough to make Greenway an LB1 or LB2 at worst. The concerns this year stemmed around the possibility of Greenway playing on the strong side as well as the return from serious injury of MLB E.J. Henderson. Playing on the strong side has generally been a negative thing for IDP owners, and Henderson's return could mean fewer opportunities for tackles for Greenway...
Some of those fears for Greenway are dissipating as Greenway seems to be warming up and playing on the weakside. He had ten solo tackles against the Ravens on Sunday. Greenway was already named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week after his week two performance against the Detroit Lions. In that game, Greenway recovered a fumble and had an interception, with both plays resulting in Viking touchdowns...
Greenway played quarterback for his high school team that won consecutive state titles in his junior senior year. See my earlier comments about defensive big men playing skill positions or other sports...
Until next week...
Please e-mail me with any comments or suggestions at baker@footballguys.com.