Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Hello and welcome to the fourth installment of an eight installment series breaking down all 32 NFL teams from the Individual Defensive Player (IDP) perspective. This series will be taking a look at each team’s respective defensive schemes and how those schemes affect the value of certain defensive players. We will also be discussing some varying levels of sleepers as well as some players to avoid, or better known as busts. This week’s installment will be covering the best division in the NFL: the NFC East (Yes, I am a Cowboys homer).

DALLAS COWBOYS

DEFENSIVE SCHEME: The Cowboys run the “Phillips 3-4,” a scheme invented by Bum Phillips (the father of current Cowboys coach Wade Phillips). This type of 3-4 primarily uses one-gap principles along the defensive line and therefore makes the linemen in this system typically more valuable than players in many two-gap systems (e.g. Jay Ratliff).

EVERY-DOWN LINEBACKERS: Bradie James, Keith Brooking, Demarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer

STONE COLD LOCK: Dallas’ two starting inside linebackers, Keith Brooking and Bradie James, are two of the most solid and consistent IDP fantasy football producers on the market (even though not overly spectacular). As long as they both stay healthy, they are a lock for 100+ tackles and a couple of sacks each. 

ON THE RISE: Former Penn State linebacker Sean Lee has looked great so far in the preseason and plays a lot like current Cowboys linebacker Keith Brooking. The aforementioned Brooking is quite possibly in the last year of his career and when he does eventually retire, Lee will take over and immediately become the Cowboys leading tackler. He probably won’t produce a ton of big plays, but should rack up enough tackles to be a solid LB2.

BUST POTENTIAL: 2009 saw a steep decline in DeMarcus Ware’s fantasy production. He went from 20 sacks in the previous year to just 11. It’s doubtful that we will ever see another 2008-like season from Ware again. He faces too many double teams and teams tend to run away from his side of the field. However, as evidenced by his positional ADP of 15, many fantasy football owners still have an inflated expectation of Ware’s potential production. Ware will put up good numbers, just not good enough to justify his current draft position.

COMATOSE SLEEPER: With teams heavily focusing on all pro linebacker DeMarcus Ware, former first-round selection Anthony Spencer was finally able to showcase his talents. After a slow start to the season, Spencer finished the year with 6.5 sacks in his final six games. It’s very reasonable to expect that type of production to carry over to this season. And with an ADP 33 spots lower than his teammate Ware, he is a steal. 

NEW YORK GIANTS

DEFENSIVE SCHEME: The Giants are expected to run more cover-2 schemes now that Perry Fewell has become the new defensive coordinator. There are two new, main hybrid defensive formations the Giants have been experimenting with in the off-season: Four Aces and The Big Base. Four Aces places ends Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul inside and Mathias Kiwanuka and Osi Umenyiora outside with two linebackers and five defensive backs (i.e. nickel formation) and is likely to be used only in obvious passing situations. The Big Base is a short-yardage formation which is designed to get the most beef possible on the line, this front features Justin Tuck and Chris Canty at the defensive end positions and Barry Cofield and Rocky Bernard at the tackle positions. The most interesting thing about this defense is that Mathias Kiwanuka is also on the field at weak side linebacker.

EVERY-DOWN LINEBACKERS: Michael Boley (Keith Bulluck when/if he starts)

STONE COLD LOCK: Justin Tuck is the type of guy you want on your fantasy team. Suffering through an injury-plagued season in which New York’s defensive line was discombobulated, he still finished as a top-10 defensive lineman (for the third straight season). Tuck is one of the safest DL picks because even if his sack totals dip a bit, his tackles numbers are always high enough to keep him in contention for a being one of the best at his position. The Giants have reverted back to using a rotating front four, which should actually help Tuck’s production over the course of a full season. 

ON THE RISE: Kenny Phillips played in his first game Saturday night since injuring his knee in Week 2 last season. Phillips got off to a hot start in 2009 by putting up 14 tackles and 2 INTs in two games. He has the talent and opportunity to be a top-level DB1. The only concern is if his knees can hold up over the course of a season. With his current ADP at No. 44, he’s a worthwhile risk.

BUST POTENTIAL: Keith Bulluck makes this list only because of his role and situation within the defensive scheme, not because he’s an untalented player. When the Giants signed Bulluck, many expected him to immediately slid into the MLB role. However, in recent days it looks as though Bulluck may play on the strong side (which some consider to be the weak side in New York’s defensive system) and that Jonathan Goff will continue to start in the middle. If this turns out to be the case, Bulluck’s value has to be downgraded.

COMATOSE SLEEPER: Michael Boley isn’t a “comatose” sleeper, but he is going to be one of the best IDP value picks of the season, especially if Keith Bulluck has to start on the strong side of the defense. Boley will be a three-down linebacker and figures to see a lot of action this year on the weak side with incorporation of Perry Fewell’s cover-2 scheme into the Giants base defense. Boley has shown in the past that he can be very productive (93 solos, 16 assists in 2007) and was extremely productive in the games in which he played last season (7 solo tackles per game). Boley is the linebacker to own on this defense. 

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PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

DEFENSIVE SCHEME: Under recently deceased defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, the Eagles ran a very aggressive, blitzing-style 4-3 defense and were one of the best in the league at doing so. New defensive coordinator Sean McDermott struggled to continue that defensive success last season as the Eagles gave up 21 points per game ranking them 19th in the NFL. In defense of McDermott, he inherited the job fairly late in the off-season and didn’t a lot of time to work with defensive schemes. The Eagles should be improved this season.

EVERY-DOWN LINEBACKERS: Stewart Bradley, Ernie Sims

STONE COLD LOCK: Year after year, Trent Cole continues to post great IDP fantasy football numbers and is arguably the best fantasy option at his position behind Jared Allen. In addition to his above average tackle production, he’s posted 41.5 sacks over the last four seasons. Draft him without any worries.

ON THE RISE: Rookie safety Nate Allen was thrust into the starting FS role when starter Marlin Jackson went down for the year with a torn Achilles. Allen has really impressed coaches with his playmaking and ability to learn the defense quickly. Expect Allen to contribute to his fantasy production in various ways this season. 

BUST POTENTIAL: Brandon Graham is a fantasy player that will have good long-term value, but people are giving him too much hype right now. He was recently named the starter opposite Trent Cole, however, given the historical lack of fantasy production from rookie defensive lineman, you have the potential for a bust especially when you consider he’s currently 26th defensive lineman being taken off the board. 

COMATOSE SLEEPER: Former Detroit linebacker Ernie Sims fell out of fashion quickly with the Lions and was traded in the off-season to Philadelphia were he finds himself starting on the weak side as an every-down linebacker. Sims has been overly criticized in the media for his poor play. The majority of his on the field problems stem from injury issues. When fully healthy, Sims can tackle with the best of them. If he can stay healthy, he’s going to be a steal when picked at his current ADP of 50.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS

DEFENSIVE SCHEME: The arrival of new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has brought in a change of defensive scheme. The Redskins will be moving from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense similar to the one used by Dick Lebeau and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This switch is detrimental to the value of former defensive end Andre Carter (unless he’s still listed as a DL in your league), Albert Haynesworth, and possibly London Fletcher. The move should help LB Brian Orakpo as he will be rushing the quarterback at an increased rate over last year.

EVERY-DOWN LINEBACKERS: London Fletcher, Brian Orakpo, Andre Carter, Rocky McIntosh

STONE COLD LOCK: London Fletcher is the Chris Carter of IDP. The guy is a tackling machine. He’s failed to register less than 90 solo tackles since entering the league way back in 1991. Pretty damn good for an undrafted, free agent out of John Carroll. There are some concerns about LFB’s ability to shed blocks in the Redskins new 3-4 due to his undersized frame, but you shouldn’t foresee that being much of a problem. Even at age 35, Fletcher-Baker remains one of the best stone cold IDP locks in the NFL.

ON THE RISE: This is the year that LaRon Landry breaks into the top-10 for fantasy football defensive backs. The Redskins have committed to using him as an in-the-box style safety and he has the tackling skills to become a 5th linebacker for their defense. He is also enough of a liability in coverage to garner tackles in that way as well.

BUST POTENTIAL: This one has to be the (100) million dollar man. No, it’s not Ted DiaBiase. Yes, it’s Albert Haynesworth. Not only is he unmotivated and underachieving, he is also moving to the fantasy black hole position of nose tackle. Haynesworth will be taking on double-teams all day in Washington’s 3-4 system to give linebackers London Fletcher and Rocky McIntosh easier access to the ball-carrier. Haynesworth has the talent to be one of the more productive fantasy nose tackles in the NFL, but his poor attitude and lack of motivation make him a great bust candidate.   

COMATOSE SLEEPER: The recent injury to FS Kareem Moore opens the door for Reed Doughty to start and become a decent fantasy option in deep, tackle-heavy IDP leagues. Admittingly, Doughty’s ceiling isn’t that high; however, he did have a very healthy 75 solo tackles last year and could put up 80-85 total tackles this season if given enough playing time. Plus, he won’t get drafted in virtually any leagues so you should be able to snag Doughty on the waiver wire.

More IDP Sleepers & Busts  (click to read)

NFC WEST  |  NFC SOUTH  |  NFC NORTH  |  NFC EAST

AFC EAST |  AFC NORTH |  AFC SOUTH |  AFC WEST

If you have any further IDP questions feel free to shoot Ryan an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or drop a line in our IDP Forums.

As always, for more great IDP information, visit the IDP Guru at www.idpguru.com.

Thanks for reading and make sure to be on the lookout for the fifth installment of this series covering the AFC East which will be releasing on Monday, August 30, 2010.