Week 6...

Arizona - BYE... We continue to hear good things about DT prodigy Darnell Dockett, who is looking like a steal in the third round, and playing more like a first rounder. The Karlos Dansby watch has already been initiated, and SS Adrian Wilson is fulfilling his potential as one of the more physically imposing and athletically gifted safeties in the NFL. He is having a career season, and his patient owners are reaping the rewards of a breakout campaign. In terms of talent their may not be a substantive dropoff from Roy Williams and Ed Reed... and he is easily outdistancing them in IDP productivity.

Atlanta - Chalk it up to the influnce of defensive-minded HC Mora, Jr, but the Falcons continue to look sharp. They gave up the most points they have given up all season in a 21-20 thriller over the Chargers, for their fifth win in six games. While Vick got his freak on late in the game, Atlanta's defense has been a huge factor in their blazing start. After effectively putting up a season's worth of sacks between weeks 2-4, DE Patrick Kerney has re-entered the stratosphere, being held sackless the past two games and held to just 3 combined solos. Maybe it is not a coincidence that DT Rod Coleman (who has deflected a lot of attention away from Kerney with his dangerous interior rushing presence... leads all NFL DTs with 4 sacks) was a late scratch due to a car accident the day before... it was not thought to be a serious injury, as far as the rest of the season. WLB/MLB Keith Brooking provides veteran leadership and has been steady and consistent, tracking for 96 solos (106, 114 & 126 in the prior three seasons). MLB/WLB Chris Draft is following up his 105 solos in 2003 with an extremely rocky start to 2004. The switch from WLB to MLB with Brooking may have been ill-advised... so far he has had 1 solo in three games and 6 in the other two (missing week six with a toe injury). Atlanta might be better off sliding Brooking back to his original MLB position and injecting the phenomenal athleticism of fourth round WLB Demorrio Williams into the starting lineup. The former Nebraska standout played his best game with 4 solos and 1 assist, and looks like he is getting worked into the mix more and more... his talent could compel the Falcons coaching staff to find ways to keep him on the field, and he could be an entrenched starter before the end of the season (he has gotten props from DC Donatell). He helped keep the lid on the always dangerous LT II, who could only scrape up a meager 64 yards on 23 carries. CB Kevin Mathis led the way with 9 solos, but is merely keeping the position warm until prized draft pick (1.08 - '04) DeAngelo Hall returns, which could be this week. Unable to take anything but mental reps since breaking his hip socket in the pre-season, he has elite, big time make-up/recovery speed to compensate for mistakes (Hall was one of the fastest players in the nation in his respective prep and collegiate classes), and he is a threat to take it the distance every time the ball is in his hands with natural open field run instincts. SS Bryan Scott had an uncharacteristic and nondescript outing with only 3 solos and no big plays (sack, INT or FF)... he may have been suffering from the after-effects of a blow to the head (ie -concussion) against the Lions the week before.

Baltimore - BYE... two major developements to report until the next installment... ILB Ray Lewis is getting blocked and starting to look human (at least a half human MANSTER), and OLB Terrell Suggs is emerging as one of the top young defensive playmakers in the NFL.

Buffalo - The Bills got off the snide in an epic, titanic battle of winless teams (to be fair, unlike their hapless opponents, they have played better than their record would seem to indicate). Miami QB Jay Fiedler had fared well against Buffalo in recent years, but this is no recent year. This is a driven up the throat of a nightmare like some reverse-digested, salmonella-tainted, food poison-inducing chicken nugget kind of season for the Dolphins, holding the unfortunate distinction of being the league's sole remaining team with a zero in the win column (though heading into week seven, EIGHT teams have only 1 win, a full quarter of the league... ARI, BUF, CAR, CHI, CIN, KC, SF & TB)... as resident comedian Bob Harris put it, the Good, the Bad... and the Dolphins. DE Aaron Schobel's career arc and trajectory was clearly pointed up leading into this season... his first three seasons in the NFL have seen his sack totals grow from 6.5-8.5-11.5. Though he didn't get his first sack until week 5, he is building momentum with sacks in consecutive games, and a multi-sack game Sunday. DT Sam Adams got in a heated exchange with his position coach on the sideline after being replaced due to ineffectiveness. Replacement Ron Edwards made it easier to bench Adams with an outstanding (for a DT) 4 solos and 2 sacks. WLB Takeo Spikes promised fans he would give them something to cheer about, and he was true to his word with an early INT/TD return, though he has only 4 solos in his past two games COMBINED. While not a whippersnapper at 29, MLB London Fletcher continues to play at a high level. He has gotten 100+ solos in three of the past four seasons (the year he failed to crack the century mark he narrowly missed with 93 in the Rams 2001 Super Bowl season), and is tracking for 120 this year, which would be a high water mark in a career that has been illustrious if not Hall of Fame caliber. Fletcher came up the hard way as an obscure, unheralded free agent from football factory John Carroll, but when Rams Director of Personnel Charlie Armey timed the 5'10" 245 wrecking ball with limbs in a surreal, CB-like 4.4, he knew he had spotted a diamond in the rough. SS Lawyer Milloy has missed the past seven weeks with a broken forearm suffered in the pre-season, and the secondary needs an infusion of his moxie and veteran savvy. The Bills safety play has been putrid, and that is the generous and sympathetic assessment. CB Terrence McGee led the team in solos for the second week in a row (including a 10 solo outburst in the loss to the Jets), but he will immediately be shunted back to his accustomed nickle CB role once CB Troy Vincent returns back to the fold.

Carolina - As has happened so often in recent years, the hangover from a Super Bowl loss resembles waking up face down in an alley after too much fortified wine. After it seemed like news couldn't get any worse when DT Kris Jenkins had to be shut down for the year with season-ending shoulder surgery, DE Mike Rucker's owners got spooked when they heard a heart murmur was detected... team doctors and officials insist it does not appear to be serious or reflect any anatomical/physiological abnormalities. DE Julius Peppers, the second overall pick in the '02 draft, has been one of the few bright spots in a dismal 1-4 start. While not amassing the prodigious sack numbers of his rookie year or the second half of last season, only the Saints Charles Grant and the Falcons Patrick Kerney have more solos (26) than his 22, overall among DEs. He has flashed the pure athleticism and raw talent that could enable him to be probably one of the few players in the NFL that could be an NBA power forward (he was a key sixth man on a good North Carolina team that advanced to the playoffs)... in addition to 2 sacks, he has 2 FFs and an INT that resulted in the longest return in league history that DIDN'T result in a TD... 101 yards. MLB Dan Morgan, knock on veneer, has not missed a game and we are almost two months into the season. His season so far includes a low game with a not too shabby 7 solos (in which he had 5 assists), three 8 solo games along with a 9 solo start. Morgan is in fact tied for second among ALL LBs with a resurgent Derrick Brooks at 45 solos (Miami MLB Zach Thomas, in large part due to the collossal ineptness of his offense, is in another level statistically... his 60 solos are a third higher than the aforementioned next closest tacklers league-wide). He is beginning to fulfill his extraordinary promise... always had the talent, but could never play three games in a row. If Morgan can stay out of the whirlpool and on the gridiron, he has the goods to be a perennial top 3-5 LB/IDP weapon, and is the subject of this weeks In-Depth Profile (of some concern is that he had to be spelled for some plays recently for undisclosed reasons). Mike Minter seems to be firmly mired in the nightmarish hangover season like so many of his teammates, and is way down the list among safeties. He is pacing for 64 solos, that would be his lowest output since he got 19 in a sophomore slump season way back in '98 in which he only played 6 games. The Panther coaching staff is said to be disappointed in the run support (or lack thereof) proferred by last season's INT machine CB Ricky Manning and the coveted multi-tasking Buckeye CB Chris Gamble, who they engineered a trade to move up in the first round with the 49rs for in the '04 draft. Gamble had only played the position for two seasons prior to the draft as a WR conversion and must have had very diffuse positional coaching playing as he did a lot on offense his sophomore National Championship season, and he turned pro after his junior season so it was to be expected he would be somewhat raw in matters of defensive technique. Earlier, before the losses began to mount and take their toll, he was praised for how well he was holding up in coverage... but that doesn't pay the IDP bills. Gamble should ultimately prove to be more blackjack than snake eyes, but in the near term sceptics may want to hedge their bets.

Chicago - September hopes have segued into October shattered dreams. The honeymoon is over with new OC hire Terry Shea... Rex Grossman's replacement at QB Jonathan Quinn "Medicine Woman" was in large part ported over from the Chiefs on his recommendation. This is tantamount to being a personal reference for Ryan Leaf. Pretty soon rookie HC Lovie Smith may pack it in and go into consolidation mode in anticipation of preparing for a strong '05. Like so many teams, the Bears have been struck hard and decimated by injuries, particularly on the defensive side of the ball (though having Grossman go on IR with an ACL reconstruction is admittedly devestating... he has the NCAA record for combined freshman-sophomore passing yardage under NFL renegade Steve Spurrier's mentoring and tutelage, and Chicago built their offense around RB Thomas Jones and Grossman as the centerpieces and focal points). Arguably their three top defensive players, MLB Brian Uhrlacher, DE Adewale Ogunleye and SS Mike Brown have missed substantial time, are about to, or are on on IR and done for the season already (not to mention their CBs getting decimated). O-Gun wanted to impress his new coaches with his pain threshold and give concrete evidence that he isn't a slacker, but a recent MRI revealed significant damage to the ankle which will cause him to be shut down for an estimated two weeks. The silver lining is that Lovie and DC Ron Rivera will get to see projected DE starters leading into the season (before the O-Gun trade) Alex Brown and Michael Haynes in action, if only to get a better sense for how best to allocate snaps in the DE rotation and mix once Ogunleye returns. Brown has turned in some lackluster performances in the opening slate of games, and some insiders thought he was in danger of losing his starting gig to the well rounded and highly regarded Penn State first rounder Haynes, but he rebounded with a 5 solo and 1 assist effort. Uhrlacher's prodigious athleticism could perhaps be best exemplified with the observation that he might be the only MLB in the NFL capable of turning in an effortless 360 monster dunk like punching a clock. His play has increasingly come under scrutiny after a punchless '03 in which the former playmaker had no INTs and FFs and only a couple sacks. Yet the tale of the tape reveals that he has averaged over 100 solos his initial four seasons in the league. New HC Smith vowed to get him more involved and unleash his formidable athleticism and talent, and he did look like he would fit the new scheme (and just as importantly, it fit him... which emphasized swarming to the ball in unison and forcing turnovers) like a glove. If he had not missed two games due to a bad hammy he may have aggravated making a downfield block that sprung since deactivated Mike Brown for a coast-to-coast FR-return TD in the improbable victory over the Packers (or so it appeared before the incompetence of Green Bay subsequently became more fully fleshed out), and accounting for the bye, based on his 25 solos and 6 assists in a mere three games, that would extrapolate to 50 solos in six games behind only Zach Thomas, and second overall among ALL IDPs. But alas, he has a hammy problem that could prove chronic, and could either limit him all season or cause him to miss vast swaths of the schedule as he periodically reinjures it. Second year phenom Lance Briggs was a revelation last season as a part time SLB with 67 solos and 11 assists. After Lovie identified him early on as a potentially pivotal talent, he is now firmly ensconced in the playmaking, Derrick Brooks- WLB role. He is tracking for nearly 90 solos, and could push his way into elite LB territory if he ends up with 30+ assists, especially if he augments that with big plays like sacks, FFs & INTs that his RB pedigree would seem to suggest is possible/likely. Safeties Mike Green and Brown replacement Todd Johnson have put up consistent tackle numbers... come to think of it, since new QB Quinn started going three-and-out with regularity. Coincidence? CB Jerry Azumah's cervical disc issues have resolved themselves sufficiently to the point that he has returned to the lineup, but stud CB Charles "Peanut" Tillman is still a ways away... the much anticipated experiment of whether or not he would fluorish and thrive in the new Cover Two scheme's star making potential in the laboratory of the '04 season may have to wait another year.

Cincinnati - One of the most revealing and suggestive quotes i saw all week was from Bengals SS Kevin Kaesviharn and is reproduced here in its entirety from an interview in the wake of last weeks Browns loss fiasco (source - USA Today). It suffices as a candid snapshot of the state of the team in lieu of more extended coverage in the next report, and was in response to a question about HC Marvin Lewis becoming more involved with the defense... "You're going to do that if you're the leader, right? ... Does it hurt us as players thinking who's in charge? Well, we know Marvin is in charge, and whatever he wants is what we'll do. Leslie knows the same thing. At the same time, we can't have conflicting ideas on how something should be run. If you want to go with something, go with it, and we'll run it. I'm not saying that's what's been going on, but that can happen." One thing is for sure... when somebody says they AREN'T saying something... clearly they are trying to introduce a subject of keen interest to them surreptitiously and through the back door, as it were. Lewis needs to suss things out and get their collective fortunes turned around in a hurry or the team is in imminent danger of slipping into regression mode and this being a lost, wasted season after so much initial promise. For a defensive-minded coach they have been appallingly bad at giving up massive chunks of yardage on the ground, and are among the sorriest run defense teams in the entire league. In retrospect it looks like their front seven has not been as good as advertised, and certainly the loss of MLB Nate Webster was a devestating blow. MLB Caleb Miller and MLB/WLB Landon Johnson have been plagued by the expected rookie inconsistency, but have compensated by being extremely injury prone. The Madieu Williams "predicament" has already been thoroughly vetted by EOTG... refer there for the latest. CB Tory James had 5 solos and 2 INTs, but the secondary was lit up for 4 TDs by the Browns QB Garcia. CB Deltha O'Neal gave up the 99 yard record tying TD reception (for the tenth time... a record that can't be broken) to one of the many Cleveland Andre Davises.

Cleveland - One thing the Browns can hang their hat on is that they are undefeated at home, despite being hammered as hard by injuries as just about any team in the league. HC Butch Davis traded almost all his picks away to get two impact players in the first and second round... TE Kellen Winslow and SS/FS Sean Jones. Both are likely done for the year. The change of scenery from Dallas seems to have benefited DE Ebenezer "Scrooge" Ekuban, who is in the midst of a career season (previous high 26 solos, tracking for 45 solos)... he only had more than 3 sacks in one of his previous five seasons, and already has 3 sacks in just five games. It seems like a long time ago (actually '99) since he was a first round pick of the Cowboys. DE Kenard Lang is another former first rounder (1.17 '97 - Redskins) on the D-Line who has cooled off after a blazing start. Chronically banged up DE Courtney Brown (already shut down with the obligatory IR designation) and DT Gerard Warren were HIGH first rounders (no pun intended) and it was hoped they would be foundational players and twin pillars the team could build their defense around. The Browns hoard first round talent like George Clinton collects rhythm monster musicians (Bootsy, Bernie, Eddie, etc.) but so far the frustrating inconsistency of the D-Line and their seeming inability to sustain any kind of intensity or momentum on a consistent week-to-week basis have been like a microcosm of the teams fortunes/misfortunes as a whole in the past few seasons... they are a seemingly inscrutable team nearly impossible to predict the fortunes of from game to game, much like the New Orleans Saints, and their respective HCs are on the hot seat for similar reasons. MLB Andra Davis (one of the many for Cleveland) has been coming on a little bit after a sluggish start. He is still somewhat of an unknown commodity, coming from nowhere, so to speak (he was actually one of the highest graded MLB/ILBs in his draft class), to ring up 108 solos last season. Davis is pacing for just 70 solos this year, which would be a disappointment to many who drafted him as a potential top 10 LB. If FS Chris Crocker supplants Earl Little, he would comprise, along with SS Robert Griffith, one of the smaller deep patrols in the NFL. But both of them will stick their nose in for run support.

Dallas - DE Greg Ellis is leading the Cowboys with 6 sacks, and has sacks now in four consecutive games... a personal best. The WLB platoon with Dexter Coakley and Bradie James looks to be a fixture, after initial hope that the versatile and multi-talented James would earn the nod. SS Roy Williams has had a better accounting for himself IDP stat-wise this season than last (perhaps due to the absence of run support hammer Darren Woodson)... though he has the talent to be a top 5 safety if he were ever fully unleashed. One can hope that the Dallas staff will continue to find ways to more enterprisingly design schemes that play to his strengths and considerable skill set.

Denver - The Broncos are seriously firing on all cylinders. In retrospect, the Skeletor engineering of the Champ Bailey trade looks more and more like a stroke of genius. Having one of the league's most phenomenally gifted athletes and pure shut down CBs has completely changed the complexion and tenor of what Denver can do on defense, and has allowed SS John Lynch and FS Kennoy Kennedy to creep up to the line and focus on run support. Denver is second in the NFL in the all important real-world stat of points allowed (Philly is first). Elite WLB prospect D.J. Williams has been a revelation and seems to get markedly better with each passing game. He has been bumped to the top of the Rookie Defensive Player of the Year Watch below after injury setbacks have begun to overtake early favorite Courtney Watson, Saints MLB.

Detroit - Extensive coverage this week in other FBG columns.

Green Bay - Docked coverage for the brutal MNF showing. Harsh, but the punishment fits the crime.

Indianapolis - BYE... DE Robert Mathis is not big but has exceptional speed, and is actually about the same size as Rams DE Leonard Little was when he entered the league (as an undersized LB converted rush backer from Tennessee). He looks like he could be the much needed complement to DE Dwight Freeney. SLB David Thornton continues to play at a high level and serves the coveted three down LB role in the defense... his stats may take somewhat of a dip over last seasons stellar solo total, but not as much as people feared. WLB Cato June owners are still keeping their fingers crossed (is that Gilbert Gardner coming up in the rear view mirror) that he maintains his grip on the starting position. His hold, if not tenuous, is not exactly a stranglehold, either. Hopefully the Colts got the number of the truck that hit their secondary. SS Mike Doss should finally be ready to return from a pulled hammy suffered opening Thursday night against the Patriots... this coincides with the buildup surrounding the entrance on to the screen of this years first pick (the 44th overall, in round two), former Iowa run support hammer and secondary enforcer, SS Bob Sanders, who is being converted to FS in Dungy's specialty... the Cover Two. It could be the most built up suspense and anxiously awaited entrance since Orson Welles in The Third Man.

Jacksonville - After releasing DEs Tony Brackens and Hugh Douglas, and an early season-ending injury to replacement Paul Spicer, the Jaguars decision to give reserve SLB Greg Favors a shot looks like a good one (he was a collegiate DE)... he got a sack, 3 solos and several QB pressures. One of Jacksonville's Achilles heels has been lack of said pressure, but they were in the QBs grille all day long. Stud DT Marcus Stroud added 2 sacks and OLB Akin Ayodele and MLB Mike Peterson pitched in with a combined 3 sacks from the LB position. The pressure they generated was a skeleton key to the eventual outcome of the game. Stroud, along with twin tower DT John Henderson have been playing lights out, and are among the league leaders in solo tackles for their position. The problem was teams started to run outside and away from them. In response the coaching staff tried Stroud at DE, but that two game ill-fated experiment was aborted Sunday. After making the conversion last season from WLB for the Colts to MLB for the Jaguars, Mike Peterson struggled initially to learn the nuances of playing in the middle, but he really came on strong in the second half. The asymmetry between his first and second half (a tale of two seasons) was like a beacon which pointed to significantly higher potential if his last eight games were projected over sixteen games now that he had been acclimated to the new role. Ayodele is part of the DE rotation on passing downs, but his tackle production has not suffered as a consequence. Not surprisingly, given HC Jack Del Rio was himself a former LB, Jacksonville has an enviable abundance and surplus of LB talent. Coveted second round OLB Daryl Smith is coming off of one of his best efforts of the season with 6 solos. The game before he flashed his awesome athleticism with a diving, fully laid out INT in which he tipped the ball up in mid-air with one arm, and than had the presence of mind to secure it as it fell towards him as he was sprawled on the ground. He was billed by recently deposed ESPN draftnik/guru as the second best MLB/ILB in the draft after the immensely talented and multi-faceted Jonathan Vilma of the Jets. Smith could eventually take over in the middle for Peterson if he is ever asked to do so in the future.

Kansas City - The Chiefs couldn't build on the momentum of their lone win of the year, which saw them dominate the Ravens two Monday nights ago. They lost to the Cardiac Cats in a manner that should be fast becoming familiar to Jaguar fans and heart surgeons alike... on a last second laser from field general Byron Leftwich. Despite a lot of criticism of GM Carl Peterson, HC Dick Vermiel and new/old DC Guenther Cunningham, in which they were taken to task for the lack of defensive improvement (at least in the most important metric... points allowed), there have been signals in the past few games that the new defensive system put in place is beginning to take root. The front seven have been playing with better gap discipline recently, and this should translate directly to superior run support numbers. Probably the Chiefs best IDP options are the three LBs... WLB Shawn Barber, SLB Scott Fujita and whoever they start at MLB (either Monty Beisel or Kawika Mitchell). Probably in part because they don't have a physically dominant D-Line capable of dictating their will on the opponent and getting a consistent push, they tend to have to clean up after a lot of slop. Fujita rebounded from an ankle injury, but his production is off the mark he set in last seasons breakout 100 solo season. SS Greg Wesley is not having an impact commensurate with his likely steep draft price... he has become the dreaded "just another guy" in terms of his solo tackle rank among the positional leaders.

Defensive Rookie of the Year Watch

(All Stats YTD)

1. DJ Williams (WLB - DEN)... 30 solos, 7 assists, 1 sack
2. Jonathan Vilma (MLB/ILB - NYJ)... 16 solos, 7 assists, 1 sack, 1 INT
3. Sean Taylor (FS - WAS)... 19 solos, 5 assists, 1 sack, 1 INT
4. Courtney Watson (MLB - NO)... 24 solos, 9 assists, 1 sack
5. Gibril Wilson (SS - NYG)... 23 solos, 4 assists, 1 sack, 2 INTs
6. Daryl Smith (SLB - JAX)... 21 solos, 3 assists, 1 INT
7. Teddy Lehman (SLB - DET)... 23 solos, 8 assists, 1 FF
8. Dontarrious Thomas (WLB - MIN)... 25 solos, 11 assists, 1 FF
9. Madieu Williams (SS/FS/CB - CIN)... 30 solos, 5 assists
10. Dunta Robinson (CB - HOU)... 20 solos, 7 assists, 3 INTs
11. Kenechi Udeze (DE - MIN)... 10 solos, 3 assist, 2 sack
12. Darnell Dockett (DT - ARI)... 14 solos, 1 sack
    
    Standing on the Verge (of Getting It...)

• Michael Boulware (SS - SEA)
• Karlos Dansby (SLB - ARI)
• Will Smith (DE - NO)
• Vince Wilfork (DT - NE)
• Caleb Miller (MLB - CIN)
• Chris Gamble (CB - CAR)
• Erik Coleman (SS - NYJ)
• Jason Babin (OLB - HOU)
• Glenn Earl (SS - HOU)
• Tommie Harris (DT - CHI)
• Tank Johnson (DT - CHI)
• Brandon Chillar (SLB - STL)
• Antwan Odom (DE - TEN)
• Landon Johnson (WLB - CIN)
• Junior Siavii (DT - KC)

In-Depth Profile

From the pre-season IDP Sleepers/Busts article... Morgan is like a Ming vase... his talent is rare and makes him exceedingly valuable. With that comes a price... he is also very fragile (or at least has been in the past)... breathe on him the wrong way and he breaks into a million pieces. Evil Knievel visited the emergency room less often than this former Miami and current Panther MLB standout...

Dan Morgan (6'2" 233)... "To generalize Churchill's cryptic quotation on Russia, Morgan is a sleeper wrapped in a bust inside a gamble. When healthy, he is the complete package, with athleticism, strength, speed, suddenness, instincts, intensity and a bad disposition towards the offensive side of the ball... perhaps only his size is sub-optimal (one of the lighter MLBs in the game), but he compensates with explosiveness. The former first rounder (1.11 '01) has the natural talent, ability and skills to be one of the top 5-10 LBs and overall IDP players in the league. The problem is, in his first three seasons in the league he has made "Fragile" Freddie Taylor look like Jim "Iron Man" Marshall in comparison. During that span, he has never missed LESS than 5 games (in '01 and '03) and was sidelined for half the season in '02. His seriously checkered medical record includes a troubling history of recurring concussions. He did finish the season with a bang... chalking up 13 tackles (11 solos) in the NFC Championship game against the Eagles. He played like a man possessed in the Super Bowl and was seemingly everywhere on the field, as if there were 2-3 clones on the field with him. While "officially" credited with 18 tackles (also 11 solos), once the Panther coaching staff had a chance to break down film of the game post-loss, he registered closer to 25 combined tackles. That is a half to a third of a SEASON for most mere mortal LBs. If he can somehow manage to not skip a beat, and begin the year where he left off last season, stringing together a few more games like the MONSTER Super Bowl effort with greater consistency, he could be one of the SODs. The pedigree is there... Morgan represents a leading edge of the Miami University MLB tradition, a lineage which can be traced back to the rock solid Michael Barrow (WAS) and first ballot Hall of Famer Ray Lewis (BAL), extending to the latest discovery and first LB selected in the '03 draft, Jonathan Vilma (NYJ), who looks the part of MLB prodigy. If the Panther's MLB can stay in one piece (he alluded in the offseason to getting smarter and being more selective in when to go for the killshot), getting him after 20-30 LBs are off the board could be comparable value to those who took a chance on talented skill position players bearing the stigma of the injury-prone tag like Robert Smith and Fred Taylor... the year they had their breakthrough seasons. He was on pace for about 100 combined tackles in '03, but if he can stay on the field and get in a groove, he has the goods to easily surpass 100 SOLOS."

IDP Dynasty Tip of the Week

Working the Waiver Wire... It is harder to find top notch talent on the offensive side of the ball (Anquan Boldin was a spectacular counter-example from last season, the exception that proves the rule), whereas defensive difference makers can seemingly come from nowhere and make huge impacts for their teams. After just one month, somewhat under-the-radar rookie safeties Madieu Williams of the Bengals and Gibril Wilson of the Giants could be identified as potential top 10 DBs. If you have a good team and are in a league where the waiver wire picks are qeued by reverse order of record/scoring, you will likely be having a low pick throughout the season. The top offensive talent that bubbles up to the surface from week-to-week in season (due to injuries, underperformance from starters above, unexpected ability, good fit in a given scheme, etc.) will almost always be picked over... but if you know what to look for, there is often exceptional IDP value to be found throughout the season. OUTSTANDING IDP talent slips through the cracks all the time... seize the opportunity.

Keep a lookout for telltale signs. In Williams case, there was word in training camp that he was probably the best looking rookie in training camp, and the Cincinatti coaching staff referred to him as a steal. He was supposed to begin the season as the nickle CB, but injuries in rapid succession to starting FS Kim Herring's foot and SS Rogers Beckett's bean may lead to him becoming firmly ensconced in the deep patrol, especially given the disturbing trend of Beckett's recurring concussions... though he got shut out last Sunday after a run of stellar scoring starts at CB/FS/SS. Wilson was far more unheralded, being a fifth rounder instead of a second rounder, but was given a clearer and more straightforward path to being the season-long starter when BOTH New York safeties were felled in the span of a few weeks... first FS Omar Stoutmire and than SS Shaun Williams were placed on IR, felled by knee injuries. Both gave out unmistakable signs of being able to be highly productive in their respective systems with multiple huge games, including both big solo tackle numbers, as well as big plays like INTs and sacks.

A key tool in the arsenal for IDP players is to sweep through the league leader tables by position before each weeks waiver wire window, and scan down the column. Many/most/almost all of the top talent will already have been picked over, as expected. But every season a few guys pop up at each position and zoom up the boards. This is usually foreshadowed by a few monster games coinciding with their being inserted into the lineup, possibly due to injury, or last season, in the case of Atalanta SS Bryan Scott, due to the ineffective play of the secondary that began the season starting in front of him (ditto for Chicago SLB Lance Briggs, since promoted to WLB, who began the '03 season behind the underwhelming 'tweener and DE/SLB conversion Bryan Knight). The art is in quickly identifying them before others do, while avoiding red herrings and spurious signals that offer false hope and point towards dead ends. One trick is to complement the YTD stats with a look at the PPG stats. Sometimes guys that may not have begun the season as a starter and/or already have a bye under the belt may not show up high in the former tables, yet zoom up the latter column like a bullet.

Bonus Tip... Roll four good LBs in leagues that permit it... and look for safeties and CBs that score like LBs (there are a few). Starting a defense comprised of what amounts to all LBs across the board week-in-week-out should translate to a decided advantage you can leverage over the course of a season.

HOT ROD YOUR HEAD WITH FBG IDP!