DBs (Defensive Backs)
Safety Patrick Chung(NE) has come on strong the last few games for NE with 12 total tackles, a sack & an INT. He gets' Miami where he has decent opportunity of more than 5 tackles, a sack and/or an INT. He's NE's 2nd round pick from the 2009 draft out of Oregon, so he has a lot of upside.
SS Afalava(CHI) is a nice play vs. ARIZ. He finished with 5 tackles & 2 pass deflections week 8 vs. Cleveland& facing Warner is always a huge bonus for any DB.
FS D. Goldson(SF). I know many of you will ask about Goldson since I recommended him last week and he got 9 solos an assist and a pass deflection vs. Manning. However, he's listed here this week because I do not "fully" recommend him against Tennessee week 9. Don't get me wrong, I think he can still get 6-7 tackles so he's still above average, but Vince Young is no Peyton Manning.
CB Munnerlyn(CAR) & SS Chris Harris(CAR) & CB R. Marshall(CAR) all go up against Drew Brees week 9. Brees instantly boosts the stats of all corners & safeties. Carolina just finished playing Warner and Munnerlyn finished with 7 solos & a pass deflection, Harris got 5 total tackles and Marshall got an INT. Monitor that Munnerlyn definitely gets the start again, but going against NO is always a nice place to start looking for FF flyers.
FS E. Wilson(HOU), SS Pollard(HOU) & CB Dunta Robinson(HOU) all get Manning week 9. The one I would trust most out of that group would be Pollard, who's averaging a solid 10.5 FF points a game (if you're in a tackle heavy league). Wilson & Robinson have the higher upside based on past players who covered Wayne in the past and play vs. Peyton from the Free Safety position.
I have 3 DB PICKUPS OF THE WEEK based on availability in your league. My first and strongest recommendation for DB pickup of the week is S Brian Dawkins(DEN), who's been a mad man in Denver and he got 7 tackles, 1 assist & 1 pd vs. Baltimore last week. He gets Big Ben who's very similar to Flacco, only I think Ben will pass even more without the luxory of having a Ray Rice on his team. Next is Jacksonville's DB R. Nelson, who's been on fire lately & get's KC week 9. Matt Cassell throw's it out of necessity and I could see Nelson getting an INT, tackle opportunities and maybe even a sack opportunity. My last recommentation is CB Fabian Washington(BAL) facing Carson Palmer week 9. He got 6 tackles 2 assists and a pass deflection vs. Denver week 8. Palmer will throw even more.
LBs (Linebackers)
LB D. Hawthorne(SEA) had 3 tackles, 2 assists, a pass deflection & 2 sacks vs. Dallas. Seattle gets Detroit week 9 and I like the idea of him picking up some more sacks in that one. The risk is he's hard to get a read on so far. He gets 15 solos in his only other start vs. NYG and now he gets low solo #'s, but adds 2 sacks. If he did not get those 2 sacks, his 3 solos, 3 assists would not be worth talking about. So he's still a risk, but a very intresting risk at this point.
MLB Will Witherspoon(PHI) came down to Earth a little with 5 solos, an assist & 1 assist, but he just missed a sack this week on Eli. So now the big question is, "Who would you rather have? Witherspoon or Akeem Jordan, who got 8 solos 1 assist week 8. I'm still Jordan at this point. But's it's very close week 9 vs. Dallas as Romo is suseptible to being sacked and that tips the scales in Witherspoon's favor.
ILB D. Levy(DET) ended up being E. Sims(DET) instead Sims was an IDP stud back in the day and led his fellow LBs in tackles with 4 solos & 3 assists vs. STL week 8. He doesn't have the best matchup vs. Seattle week 9, but he's worth a strong look. I'd still go Akeem Jordan or Witherspoon over him.
ILB Demorrio Williams(KC) continues to be a solid, sneaky play. Last time, I recommended him, it turned out to be close to the trade deadline so the Chiefs tried to show off Derrick Johnson at ILB instead to try to sell him, but there were no takers and they went back to starting Demorrio the following week. He put up 7 solos week 7 vs.SD. Week 9, they get Jacksonville, who will run.
Gary Guyton(NE) is going to be the other ILB next to Mayo facing Miami week 9. As you may recall. Miami does wonders for LB IDP #s. Guyton could get anywhere from 5-7 tackles in that one.
Here are some other good LB matchup plays week 9: Rey Maualuga(CIN) vs. BAL, Tim Dobbins(SD) & Merriman(SD) vs. NYG, Keith Brooking(DAL) vs. PHI, and Andra Davis(DEN) vs. the Steelers.
My MLB PICK UP OF THE WEEK is L. TIMMONS(PIT) vs. DEN. He's an up and coming stud who people waited to get healthy, then got dissappointed when he came back and many dropped him and I believe he's going to now live up to the hype the rest of the year. He started showing what he could do week 6 vs. the Browns with 5 solos and 2 sacks. He got another 5 solos and a couple assists week 7. He'll be well rested coming off his week 8 bye to face Denver on Monday Night Football. This should be an evenly matched game & Denver will want to establish the running game to slow down Ben's passing attack. Althoug Orton is difficult to sack behind that solid Bronco line, I can see Timmons getting 5 or more solos and some extras. Whether that be a sack, forced fumble, pass deflection... he's a guy who makes things happen and will be extra pumped for MNF.
DLs (Defensive Line)
A. Brown(CHI) was able to pick up that sack vs. the Browns week 8 and week 9 he get's the very slow Kurt Warner so he has a chance again.
On the other side, I like Campbell's(ARI) chances of getting to Cutler.
Ty Warren(NE) is a sneaky play vs. Miami. Dolphin QB's are sacked by a few people every week, why not Warren. He also gets pretty good tackle #s and his chances of tackles are very good vs. the Miami running game.
Tamba Hali(KC) vs. Jacksonville is a pretty good matchup if you're looking for a DE with upside.
Andre Carter(WAS) vs. ATL has good potential. Carter has been one of the few bright spots for the Redskins and his #'s say it all (6.5 sacks this year and 34 total tackles.)
MY DL Pick Ups of the Week are Tampa Bay DEs Jimmy Wilkerson(TB) & Stylez G. White(TB) who get the famous GB line. White has come on late with 8 solos & a sack week 6 & 5 total tackles and .5 sack week 7. However, Wilkerson is the stronger recommendation because he's been more consistent and has a higher sack total this year with 5.5.
42 comments:
Monk
do you prefer mayo of NE over timmons of Pittsburgh
thanks
@ Anonymous
I like Jerod Mayo much, much better than Timmons!
Especially week 9 with Mayo facing Miami.
If Mayo is on anyone's waiver wire, my guess is it's a 4 person league or something because Mayo is a top 10 LB.
Which 2 Db's this week?
Ed Reed, Polamalo, Mikel or Merriweather?
Hey Monk,
Love your columns and insight.
Now that the byes are almost over, I can drop some "dead weight"...going forward which one from each group should I drop and why:
DBs - Q. Mikell, Adrian Wilson, Roman Harper.
LBs - DJ Williams, C. Lofton, L. Timmons.
My DLs are S. Rogers And Kiwanuka, should I replace either with your suggestions for the week?
Thanks,
J.Smoke
Monk love the website come here every week...love the george wilson suggestion helped out a lot...
I have Mario Williams (who has not been scoring a lot here lately the last few games...do I drop him and pick up one of these guys...
Chris Kelsay
Jimmy Wilkerson
Tommy Kelly
Jason Taylor
Richard Seymour???
I also have Ray Lewis on the bench because I have Patrick Willis and I don't want anyone else to get Ray Ray so I could drop Lewis and pick up a dl or drop mario williams
Thanks in advance
Hey Monk,
You were dead on with E. Coleman(Atl). Thanks for that. But serious question Should i cut Demarcus Ware to go after a will witherspoon or L. Timmons, demorrio williams type? He was my first IDP pick put hasnt done much all year. Is it time to cut him? Or work a trade? Thanks for all your help.
Hi Monk,
I have a choice to make between decoud and Coleman.I am leaning towards decoud as he has Washington coming and he could get a sack.what would you suggest?witherspoon or hawthorne?
Would you start Stephen Cooper over Witherspoon this week?
Which DE would you pick up for a one week play this week:
Calais Campbell
Tamba Hali
Stylez White
Jarret Johnson
Justin Smith
Thanks for all your help each week!
Stephen Tulloch or Chad Greenway for the rest of the season?
Out of this group, which DB is the best play this week?
Bryant McFadden
Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie
Al Afalava
Richard Marshall
Dunta Robinson
@ Tom
Thanks Tom. Coleman was my easiest call of the week vs. Brees. First, because he's already good and second, because he's a Free Safety facing Brees. Love those combos.
I would give Ware 1 last week. You spent the draft pick on him and I've been reading how he is REALLY getting fired up for this Philly game. I have this funny feeling he gets a couple sacks in this one. Jerry Jones personally pulled him aside this week telling him that they gave him all that money for games like this. "Make it happen." So, hold on to hime and give him 1 last chance.
@ Anonymous
I have a choice to make between decoud and Coleman. Personally, I'd go Coleman simply because he's the more proven fantasy player. What's scary about Decoud is I don't see anything that screams "good matchup" in this one and if he doesn't get a sack or INT, you're left with a potential 3 tackle performance. With Coleman, you know Campbell with try to go deep at least 5 times to Moss. Probably in desperation near the end of the game. I can see Coleman getting tackles and an INT. Your chances are better with Coleman. Remember, no more Cooley for the Skins and Portis is not getting into the secondary on runs very often. So your putting all your hopes on Decouds 1 sack. You're right, his chances are OK to get a sack, but New England's Safety Chung has a great chance at a sack vs Miami and more opportunity for tackles. I just don't see Atlanta being on defense very much in this game vs. the Skins. How about SS Pollard vs. Manning. Lots of Dallas Clark and plenty of time on the field. Not much chance for a sack or INT though. SS Afalava for the Bears takes on Warner who just threw 4 or 5 picks last week and he has a shot at a sack. See what I mean about how important looking at the matchups are, rather than the player?
You're next question is tougher than I thought it would be. witherspoon or hawthorne? Wow! We've only seen 2 games out of both of these guys and they Hawthorne is the FF leader from those 2. Dallas has not been real friendly to the MLBs for a few weeks, but Romo can be sacked. Hawthorne has the Lions and that game could either be close or be a blowout depending on which Hasselbeck shows up. The Lion's K. Smith is questionable and I don't know how many opportunities Hawthorne will get. I wish I knew if those 2 sacks he got last week were opportunistic or if they were planned and he has "secret" sacking abilities that we don't know about yet. Wow! This is really tough because I love Hawthorne's upside. I think that's your answer. You can't afford to take a risk, go Witherspoon, but if the rest of your team feels fairly solid and you need a "swing for the fences" guy, go Hawthorne. Personally, you're in the same boat I'm in. I picked up Akeem Jordan and I went ahead and took Hawthorne over Timmons to really swing for the fences. The think with Hawthorne is he could get 3 tackles & 1 assist this week. Or he could get 6 tackles a sack and a pass deflection. Witherspoon is almost guaranteed to get 5 or more tackles and an assist with the potential of a sack. So he's clearly safer. The gambler in me can't get Hawthorne's 15 tackle game out of the back of my head and now his 2 sacks from last week have me drooling. His 3 solos from last week scare the crap out of me though. So, great question! I hope I helped.
I would DEFINITELY start Stephen Cooper over Witherspoon this week vs. NYG! Why, you want to send him my way? ;^D
That's a nice group you put together, but you have to go for the guy who's been hot and is facing Green Bay, Styles White. Besides, you know you want a guy on your team who has the guts to change his name to Stylez. Much cooler than Ochosinco. Now if Chad Johnson also changed his first name to "NumeroUno", then I'd be on board.
Calais Campbell
Tamba Hali
Stylez White
Jarret Johnson
Justin Smith
@Anonymous
That's an easy one this week between
Stephen Tulloch or Chad Greenway
Greenway is on bye week 9. And I do like Tulloch vs. SF run game.
Out of the group below, it depends on your league scoring. If you are tackle heavy, go for Afalava since he's an SS. I think he even has a shot at a blitzing sack on Warner, then CB Dunta Robinson vs. Manning, and then CB Marshall vs. Brees, but safeties are always safer than CBs. Just look at T. Porter & Greer for that example. It's so hard to guess which one will go off from week to week. But Harper and Sharper are much easier to guestimate, especially strong safeties like Harper who blitz & run stop.
If you are INT heavy scoring and want to go purely for upside (swing for fences guy), you go Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie vs. Cutler. Very good chance for an INT, but risky due to lack of tackle opportunities.
Bryant McFadden
Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie
Al Afalava
Richard Marshall
Dunta Robinson
@ Anonymous
LB. Ruud or Mayo this week?
No LBs get a better matchup than Miami and Mayo is one of the best LBs out there.
Ruud is terrific, but I don't see Ryan Grant running up the gut like Miami does.
So I go Mayo over Ruud this week.
Monk,
Your site has almost siglehandedly won a few close games to keep me at 8-0, (golston last week!!)Big Thanks...Question for you about Barton going down, who would be the best tackle heavy option for his replacement? Thanks, Will
@ Anonymous
That's a great compliment. I love hearing that Golston won you your game, but you ultimately made the decision to put him in and pick him out of the list.
You say who is the most tackle heavy replacement for Barton. If you mean on the Browns, it's Kamerion Wimbley. I'm sure the sacks don't hurt in your league either.
But if you mean "in general", I would need a list of the top guys available on your WW. Off the top of my head Denver's Andre Davis, Keith Brooking, Calvin Pace & Bart Scott are some comparable guys to a Barton. Let's face it, he was no DQ Jackson. Almost no one else was as good as DQ this year.
Yes, Mayo over Timmons. Both this week and pretty much the rest of the year unless the matchup clearly calls for to switch them.
Which 2 Db's this week?
Ed Reed, Polamalo, Mikel or Merriweather?
Answer:
Mikel really has been a disappointment & Merriweather is so up and down, but what a great matchup vs. Miami.
I think you go with the big names here, even though they are not always big FF #'s. Reed will be very pumped vs. nemesis Bengals and Palamalo plays Monday Night vs. Denver. He plays incredible on Monday Nights.
@ J. Smoke
Thank you. Very nice compliment.
DBs - Q. Mikell, Adrian Wilson, Roman Harper. (answer: Definitely Mikell. He's been replaced by Sean Jones as the new SS)
LBs - DJ Williams, C. Lofton, L. Timmons. (answer: Definitely Timmos in that group)
My DLs are S. Rogers And Kiwanuka, should I replace either with your suggestions for the week? (answer: If you've been rolling with these guys, I think you could do better playing the matchups each week at DL. I like every guy on my WW DL list better than these 2 this week. DLs are difficult to predict, but when you've got Wilkerson or Styles White or almost any DE vs. GB, your chances are good for a sack. Same goes vs. Buffalo vs. Cleveland vs. Houston or even vs. Big Ben etc. I'd play Arizona's Campbell over these 2, Alex Brown, definitely Andre Carter. Anything has to be getting you better #'s than those 2 have been doing. Pickup Buffalo's Kelsay when he's off bye or marques douglas when he's off bye because at least they get higher tackle #s. Don't get me wrong, Rogers & Kiwi are better GREAT NFL football players, but barely average in the fantasy DL world.)
@ Ash Hutto
Thank you. Glad George Wilson came through. I really like him moving forward after his bye. Keep an eye out for Bryan Scott coming back. He may steal some tackles.
IT IS DEFINITELY TIME TO DROP MARIO WILLIAMS! Tell him not to let the door hit him in the ass on his way out.
This week, it's obviously Wilkerson and even his cohert Styles White.
Moving forward, I like both Wilkerson & Kelsey. Let's see how Wilkerson does this week. If he doesn't get it done vs. GB, go with Kelsay when he comes off his bye. Good tackle #'s on top of his sacks from Kelsay. Gotta play the matchups, of course, but he's looked solid.
definitely dropping mario williams The "beast" is a "bust" (by the way, now that I say that about him, he'll go pick up 20 sacks in 7 games) haha
I got a lot of questions about Gibril Wilson. He's too confusing to trust. I'd chalk the last game up to a good matchup play and now with the stories of him being benched, there's other "matchup" fish in the sea and he's not worth the risk to your team until we see how they use him this week.
@ Swick
DO NOT DROP ATOGWE if you can help it. I know he's on bye, but he gets Brees week 10.
However, to continue answering your question, R. Harper is the guy I like best from your list and he's very close to Atogwe in my personal rankings. So I wouldn't blink much if you swapped Harper for Atogwe
Good call on Timmons ankle. He should be watched, but he should play.
I still don't like Bob Sanders yet. Of course he's a super stud when fully healthy, but vs. Houston. I can see them still taking it easy with him.
Mikell is hard to trust lately too, but I think I would go Mikell over Bob Sanders until proven otherwise.
I like Delmas over Gibril Wilson for consistency sake.
Which one would you drop? Calvin Pace or Thomas Howard?
Tough, tough question. When Pace doesn't get sacks, he's just average, but when Howard doesn't have a good mathcup, he's just average.
I think you go Pace for his upside
I like that move of going D Harris over EJ Henderson for the rest of the year. Yes.
@ JayR
Thanks man. I like to hear it.
I really do love me some Mayo. I think he just keeps getting stronger the rest of the year. I especially love that matchup this week vs. Miami so you knew I was going to choose Mayo as 1 of your 4.
And the other, without a doubt, is London Fletcher facing Turner.
You'll be very happy with Mayo & Fletcher for your LBs
Durant's mathup vs. KC is not good and Hawthorne doesn't hold a candle to Mayo or Fletcher.
It's a no brainer man. Go with what works and is proven in this case.
What about T.Jennings or J.Powers from Indy this week? Are either one worth picking up? What about Gay or Taylor from Pit? Does Decoud from Atl have any value left?
Which three WR would you start this week - S.Breaston, M.Austin, M.Sims-Walker or D.Bowe?
Would you start Cassel over Orton this week?
Keep up the good work monk!
@SWAMP408
I like T.Jennings always with Manning's ability to run up the score on teams so quickly. I don't like the Pit corners in this one. Sticking with the blowout philosphy, go with either NO corner before either Pit corners. Decoud does have value, but much of it relies on needing him to get a sack or INT or FF. He makes things happen every single week since he's started though.
S.Breaston, M.Austin, M.Sims-Walker (boldin's out)
Yes, Cassel over Orton this week
@Highlander
You're right about being concerned with Timmons. DeMorrio Williams is very solid and only failed once in all of his starts this year to get 7 or more tackles. I also really like Farrior with his potential for sacks.
On a gut instinct, I'd go Merriweather this week, but if you want to be safe and ride the "hot hand" Coleman has been consistent. I know what you mean about that flex spot. You know who would be even safer? Dunta Robinson or even the Redskins SS vs. Atlanta this week. If you're just going for upside. Otherwise Leroy Hill or a Dhani Jones are your safer plays for tackles at flex.
@Bperiod
That one is too close so I'd keep Mikell this week?
The 3 I would keep are:
Quintin Mikell-this week
Dashon Goldson
Tyvon Branch-on my bench
But Decoud could easily be there instead of Golson, because Goldson is only temporary on SF
@Jack
You have to drop Mario Williams at this point.
LOVE Dawkins
@Jack
The only reason I won't tell you to start definitively tell you to start Wilkerson over Cole this week is because TB might be so horrible that Rogers might just hand the ball off all game and hardly need to drop back so sack opportunities might be as easy to come by then the times Green Bay is behind and he must pass to catch up.
I still think Green Bay with still throw and I still feel confident that TB will get at least 3 sacks. Probably not get 6 sacks like many other teams have done vs. GB this year, but I could easily see 3.
Cole might get one or a half of one, but tackle opportunities are tough to call vs. Dallas who I think will be throwing a lot to keep up with the Eagles passing game.
Mayo & Durant out of your list of Hawthorne, Mayo, Durant & Cooper
@Anonymous
I'd go Tanard Jackson over Thomas DeCoud this week at CB, and I'd go Adrian Wilson & Bernard Pollard over Michael Lewis or Louis Delmas.
@Anonymous
The NFL injury reports cannot be trusted AT ALL. So unless you see the word "OUT" next to Crowder's name, don't do the Torbor move. If he is definitely out, I like the idea of using him as a DL. Anytime you can "take advantage of the system" and use an MLB as a DL, you gotta go for it. Traditional DLs are way too inconsistent. Osi is all over the place this year. And Avril has been a bit more constistent, but still no where close to the guarantee of tackles out of a starting MLB. If Torbor gets a sack on top of his 5 tackles or so, what at deal!
@Anonymous
The 2 to start our of your 3 guys mayo, merriweather, and d harris are Mayo & Merriweather since D Harris is on bye
I like Mayo & D Harris for the rest of the year.
@Suzanne
*putting on flirty, writing voice* just kidding (sorta), but it is awesome to meet women playing IDP
London Fletcher, Curtis Lofton or D.J. Williams - WOW! You have to choose just 1 out of those 3!???
It's difficult and easy all at the same time. Easy because you can't go wrong with any of these guys and hard because it's so close. My gut is to go Lofton because he has been sooo amazing this year. But I think you have to play the matchup and go London Fletcher here. Atlanta has the better chance of running up the score on the Skins and will be able to stick to Michael Turner all day. This gives Fletcher many opportunities, especially if the Skins are on D more for those long Falcon drives.
For your DB, you have to go Yeremiah Bell over Brandon Merriweather or DeCoud
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