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Erik Brandstetter

Linebacker Analysis: Week 3

September 25, 2009 2:10pm CDT

Is there anything more awe-inspiring than watching a bone-crushing hit from a linebacker? Perhaps a great white shark leaping ten feet out of the water to mangle and devour its prey. Or a head-on collision between two 70 mph freight trains at capacity. Maybe even a close-up of a distant sun exploding and engulfing every planet in its system. But it's debatable. Linebackers are the backbone of the NFL and the pinnacle of IDP. We like linebackers.

1. Great Scott !!!

Scott Shanle wasn't even on IDP radars in some of the deepest leagues this preseason. The 29-year-old former Cornhusker really didn't have any reason to be. No offense to the guy, but he's a former seventh-round pick (37th selection in the last round to be precise) and caught his first and second career interceptions this September. But there ya go - Shanle has 14 solos, two assists, two interceptions, and a couple passes defensed. Now, whether this is sustainable has obviously yet to be determined, but for now we've got to wonder what they put in ol' boy's health shake. If he's still on the wire, he's probably worth picking up.

2. Sucks to Be You, Dude

The latest big name linebacker to be sidelined indefinitely is….Ernie Sims! Yes, Sims owners, congratulations, you're now a member of the [Expletive]!!! Club. Yessiree, the former ninth overall pick has an apparent shoulder injury and no timetable for return. Just start everybody vs. the Lions this week and until further notice (as if you weren't already). As it stands, either last year's second-rounder Jordon Dizon or rookie DeAndre Levy are in line to take over the spot in relief. Look somewhere else for now.

3. Thumbs Down

Well if there was any hope that Jermaine Phillips would come back and reclaim the weak-side linebacker spot, that chance got crushed along with Phillips' broken thumb. Geno Hayes is pretty well entrenched at the spot and looks like a potential every-week starter, particularly with Phillips on IR. Hayes has 11 solos and five assists through the first two weeks of the season and the Bucs suck, so he'll be busy. On a related note, strong-side linebacker Quincy Black is also looking like he might be a consideration for rostering in deeper leagues (especially with all the damned injury news like EVERY DAMNED DAY) as he's sitting on nine solos and four assists thus far. You don't really need to be told about Barrett Ruud, do you?

4. Dawgged Out

Yikes. What happened to D'Qwell Jackson last weekend? Two solos and an assist? Indeed, that blows. Obviously this is no cause for panic as everyone has a bad day now and then. But here's the thing - last year D'Qwell led the league in tackles, but a huge number of those tackles were assists. Eric Mangini was brought in for the head coach gig and he did bring his buddy, Eric Barton along with him. Barton had the exact same output in each of the two first weeks of the season - six solos, two assists. Now, we can't really draw any conclusions here, but some folks were concerned that Jackson's numbers might take a dip in the new scheme with the addition of Barton. So….yeah.

5. Guess it Does Strike Twice

Kevin Burnett was considered a key acquisition and the potential answer to the Chargers' woes at inside linebacker (next to Stephen Cooper). He kicked ass in the preseason, lighting up ballcarriers and the stat sheet. He reportedly flat-out won the starting gig for all three downs over incumbent Tim Dobbins. He was a major sleeper on a lot of IDP cheat sheets (mine included). Well, he couldn't even nail down the starting gig for the first game, and it was confirmed that Burnett and Dobbins are in a timeshare. Bummer. Move along.

6. Rookie Watch

Without going into a full-on statistical breakdown of each rookie here, admittedly because I just don't feel like it, what you need to know is that James Laurinaitis is emerging as a fantasy stud and he's an every-week starter. It's tempting to say the same thing about Houston's Brian Cushing, and the only thing preventing me to do so is the fact that he plays on the strong-side. Rey Maualuga's looking a bit inconsistent, but he absolutely needs to be owned in dynasty leagues. Aaron Curry has been a minor disappointment thus far, particularly with injuries to both LeRoy Hill and Lofa Tatupu, as he's seemingly stuck at four solos per game. Apparently there were other linebackers in the 2009 class but I don't know any of 'em.

7. Can We Put This to Bed?

Ricky Brown had another solid outing with six solos and an assist on Sunday. Kirk Morrison had 13 solos. We cool?

8. Greater Googly Moogly

I'm officially giving up on making any sense out of the KC situation. Just one week after practically every linebacker on the Chiefs' roster has a fantasy-relevant day, they collectively top out at a combined nine solos. Kirk Morrison had four more solos than their entire team combined. COMBINED! The hades is that about? Oh yeah, apparently Derrick Johnson's moving up the depth chart a little - to second. Whatever. Long as they're winning right? Riiiiight.

9. Say What?

We're not going to call D.J. Williams a minor disappointment so far, but he's a minor disappointment so far. Shut up. Andra Davis is purely out-producing Williams by a decent margin (five more solos, one less assist), and chances are, he didn't get drafted in your league. Okay, we're being too hard on Williams really, he's still an every-week start and he's probably not losing any battles for your team. But when you put things into perspective, Williams owners are probably sticking pins into little Andra Davis dolls. Sorry bros, it be what it be. By the way, did you catch Elvis Dumervil's four-sack, seven-solo effort last week? Solid.

10. Good Kitties

Dude. Justin Durant and Daryl Smith have combined for 32 solos and four assists in the first two games of the season. Now, we're not going to say that the 0-2 Jaguars are doing the right thing, but owners of either player are probably rooting for continued suckitude in Jacksonville. Durant, incidentally, is still looking like a dynasty gem. And yes, I'm fully prepared for this observation to turn into a giant pile of stegosaurus turd when both linebackers get hurt or simply stop producing.

11. Don't They Shoot Horses When They're Hurt?

After another stellar outing on Sunday, Indy's undersized middle linebacker, Gary Brackett has been on the shelf with a knee injury. He's got a slightly better chance of playing Sunday night vs. the Cardinals than I do. That's just the book on the dude - he plays large but gets hurt an awful lot. The prognosis for converted weak-side linebacker Clint Session (who's making a bit of a quiet splash so far, incidentally) is that he suffered a minor ankle injury, but fully practiced Thursday and should be good to go.

12. The ATL

So we already covered Old Man Peterson and his rejuvenation in Georgia. Curtis Lofton's goin' nuts like we predicted - yay us. Stephen Nicholas? Nope, didn't call that one and I'm sorry. No, I'm not really sorry, but I'll admit that his production (12 solos, one assist, one sack) has been a minor surprise. He's worth keeping an eye on, particularly in deeper leagues.

13. You Picked the Wrong Panther

Jon Beason doubled his production level to get six ticks in the solo column on Sunday. Thomas Davis said "Get outta my house with that weak sauce, chump" and put up 10 solos and two assists. He didn't really say that. Davis has 24 solos and four assists so far in the season and Beason doesn't. Okay, yeah, I know it's still early in the season, but if this keeps up, Thomas Davis is up for IDP Stud of the Universe.

14. The Spoon

While rookie James Laurinaitis steals the IDP show in St. Louis, the guy who used to have his job, Will Witherspoon is quietly putting some decent IDP digits together. This is another dude who folks kind of wrote off after an injury-riddled 2008 campaign. He was switched back to his "natural" position of weak-side 'backer and has registered at least six solos in the first couple outings. He also has four assists and a fumble forced. Looks like the Will was made for the WILL. Sorry, that was horrible.

15. Vikes on Spikes

Damn it! That's a direct quote from an E.J. Henderson owner whose name is "me." It was quoted upon my learning that Henderson, who missed most of 2008 with a bad foot injury, banged up his shoulder last Sunday and missed Wednesday's practice. He returned to practice Thursday but didn't fully participate. He might not play this weekend which sucks out loud considering how studly he has been in the infant stages of the 2009 season. Oh well, at least the words "injured reserve" didn't leave anyone's mouth. Flying under a lot of radars was news that Ben Leber had been moved to the weak-side with Chad Greenway manning the SAM spot. Greenway's NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for Sunday's big-play performance was no joke, but here's something most folks don't know - so far, Leber's leading Greenway in the tackle department. If Greenway can repeat Sunday's performance every week, then who cares, right? I'm gonna go way out on a limb and suggest that maybe three turnovers per game isn't something to set your watch to.

That's all I got for this week. Ice it up and get back out there.

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