pacman9478 Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 (edited) With EJ going down, I had to take a gander at the waiver wire today and it's not too good. I'm in a 16 team IDP league. Tackle heavy scoring system. Would appreciate any advice on the following players: Takeo Spikes Justin Durant Omar Gaither Derrick Johnson Spikes has started the last 2 games for SF and put up good numbers. Does anyone think this will last? Johnson seems too inconsistent and not too sure about Gaither and Durant. Any other names (sleepers) would be appreciated as well... Edited October 6, 2008 by pacman9478 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 With EJ going down, I had to take a gander at the waiver wire today and it's not too good. I'm in a 16 team IDP league. Tackle heavy scoring system. Would appreciate any advice on the following players: Takeo Spikes Justin Durant Omar Gaither Derrick Johnson Spikes has started the last 2 games for SF and put up good numbers. Does anyone think this will last? Johnson seems too inconsistent and not too sure about Gaither and Durant. Any other names (sleepers) would be appreciated as well... dynasty or re-draft? and fwiw, Spikes would be at the bottom of that list for me.....Durant would be head and shoulders #1 in a dynasty format and is still close to #1...Lots of people soured on gaither after a failed attempt at MLB last year and a slow start the first couple of weeks...but in 2006 gaither showed he could put up very good numbers playing WLB and is again doing the same...DJ is one hell of a talent but has been inconsistent...I truly would have no problem ranking those guys 1a, 1b, 1c and then Spikes #4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 (edited) Man, this is what I love about fantasy football. Keg and I are the staff IDP writers, and we usually agree on a lot of stuff, but over the past couple weeks, we've had really different opinions on some topics raised here. I think that can only improve this site's IDP content. So, with that said, I don't want to step on Keg's toes, but I am going to completely disagree. If you're looking at a tackle-heavy league, you're going to want consistency from the LB spot, obviously concentrating on tackles. Let's look at some stats: - After a somewhat slow start (perhaps due to a new team/system), Takeo Spikes has two big-scoring games: 19 points Week 4, including an INT, and 25 this past Sunday, including a ridiculous 7 solos and 7 assists. Spikes is an incredible talent that has been handcuffed by injury in his NFL career. No one is going to take the top-dog spot from Patrick Willis on the Niner defense, but Spikes is fully capable of putting up very solid fantasy stats. That said, Spikes is likely going to top my list of pick-ups based on this list. - Going in order of your list... Durant is next. As Keg noted, if you're in a dynasty format, Durant may be your choice. He was a big-time sleeper coming out of college and appears to be the incumbent LB of choice in the Jaguar system. But he appears to be somewhat injury-prone. If you're dropping Henderson, I can only assume you're in a redraft format. In this kind of format, I'd consider him more of a project... even though he's being slid back into the starting lineup now that he's supposedly healthy. Another issue I have with Durant: Jacksonville has had a solid team D for several seasons... but a] their team D, fantasy-wise, has always been average... and b] they've only really put out limited IDP fantasy value... usually limited to Mike Peterson and their interior linemen (for leagues that start DT). - Again, in order of your list... Omar Gaither. Gaither was a sleeper darling last season, moving into the productive WLB spot for the Philly D. But he was completely disappointing last season, and despite playing better football this season, is being outplayed (at least fantasy-wise) by fellow LB Stewart Bradley. Like Durant, he's a decent pick, and a better pick in dynasty leagues, but I think we're talking about a redraft here, and you're going to want the hottest, 11-week player. - Finally, Derrick Johnson. I'm a big DJ fan and would love to see him excel, but he simply has not broken out.... yet. I would put him as #2 on the list based on the fact that he's been much more active this season, and has a ton of tackling opportunities. All things considered, I'm going to rank them (for the remainder of the season): 1. Spikes - just has the best potential to both tackle and make game-changing plays... appears to be somewhat healthy, which has been his #1 detriment in years past 2. Johnson - has been rather mediocre, although pundits continue to rank him as a solid #2 fantasy LB every pre-season... but he's actually living up to the hype this season and based on the fact that the Chiefs cannot effectively move the football on offense, and their D allows teams to move the ball, Johnson and the rest of the Chief IDPs will continue to see a higher percentage of snaps. 3. Durant - in his defense, he's been banged up this season, and when he hasn't been listed on the injury report, has been pretty solid. In weeks 1 and 5, facing run-first offenses, he's logged 5 solos in each game. If he's healthy and facing run-heavy offenses, he should easily top double digits. Just don't expect him to fill up the stat line with forced fumbles or INTs. 4. Gaither - it's all about opportunity and consistency. Gaither has been given plenty of opportunities, and has not produced accordingly. He's making the most of opportunities this season, but remains second fiddle to Bradley. Caveats: Gaither has looked somewhat impressive in the past three weeks. If Durant looks slow after returning from a groin injury, I have no problem ranking Gaither #3... and perhaps #2b to Johnson. I simply think Spikes has the best chance to do more than just tackle. Yes, you're looking at a tackle-heavy league, but when you boil it down, you make your money on game-changing plays. Edited October 7, 2008 by darin3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 4. Gaither - it's all about opportunity and consistency. Gaither has been given plenty of opportunities, and has not produced accordingly. He's making the most of opportunities this season, but remains second fiddle to Bradley. while I agree with your statement i bet people would be shocked to see that Gaither only trails Bradley by 1.5 points year to date Bradley, Stewart PHI LB 66.50 20.50 6.00 12.00 10.00 18.00 Gaither, Omar PHI LB 65.00 3.50 9.00 17.00 23.00 12.50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 while I agree with your statement i bet people would be shocked to see that Gaither only trails Bradley by 1.5 points year to date Bradley, Stewart PHI LB 66.50 20.50 6.00 12.00 10.00 18.00 Gaither, Omar PHI LB 65.00 3.50 9.00 17.00 23.00 12.50 Yeah, Gaither has come on in the past few weeks but Bradley remains more consistent moving forward, IMO. Should have been more clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Yeah, Gaither has come on in the past few weeks but Bradley remains more consistent moving forward, IMO. Should have been more clear. i actually agree with you....just wanted to point out how close they actually are now as I doublt people would have guessed it would be so close Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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