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Defensive Notes

A political science professor of mine used to explain the challenges of his job by observing, “This isn’t 18th-century romantic poetry, so consequently things do tend to happen.”

That’s how it is in fantasy football, which is why defensive players -- projected starters, even -- continued to be traded and cut after our preseason magazine went to press on June 15. Notable defensive changes are covered below.

1. Bears cut defensive tackle Tank Johnson. It looked like Johnson had dodged a bullet, so to speak, in getting only an 8-game suspension from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last month. Johnson’s suspension would have been reduced to 6 games had he merely managed to not screw up over the next few months. No such luck; a late-night run-in with police resulted in the Bears cutting him. Somebody will give Johnson another chance, but it may not be this season.

As for the Bears, while they knew he’d be gone for roughly half the season anyway, his permanent loss is a major blow for a defense that had concerns along the line anyway. Johnson will be replaced by either former 49er Anthony Adams or total unknown Dusty Dvoracek. Meanwhile Chicago’s other tackle Tommie Harris is returning from injury and end Alex Brown wants a trade.

These D-line issues aren’t enough to drop the Bears from atop our rankings, but they do make Chicago a slightly less attractive pick. Teams that struggle against the run tend to see their critical fantasy stats (sacks, turnovers) decline, and the Bears weren’t an elite group in that respect anyway. If the Lance Briggs holdout stretches into the season, the wisdom of spending a high enough selection to secure them on draft day looks even shakier.

2. Jaguars cut safety Donovin Darius. Darius had no character blemishes; his only sin was getting old. It’s a curious move considering the Jaguars knew they’d be starting top pick Reggie Nelson at one safety position already, but clearly they felt Darius could no longer be the player he once was. In his place, Jacksonville will likely go with Gerald Sensabaugh, who started the final six games a year ago and has 9 starts in his first two seasons. With the rookie Nelson, that gives Jacksonville a pretty inexperienced duo at safety, which should be welcome news to opposing quarterbacks like Peyton Manning.

Even if Jacksonville is fine without Darius -- and it’s far from certain they will be -- there’s reason to believe he could make a major contribution to another defense this year. Veterans including Rodney Harrison, Lawyer Milloy, and Robert Griffith changed teams in recent years, proving to be important contributors to their new teams and viable fantasy options in leagues that use individual defensive players (IDPs). The hard-hitting Darius will likely sign with another team prior to training camp, and that defense could jump several spots in our rankings as a result. Carolina, which has little at the position aside from veteran Mike Minter, might be a good fit -- although they might be hesitant to field by far the league’s oldest safety tandem.

3. Broncos sign defensive tackle Sam Adams. This move happened in time to include it in our magazine, but not early enough to discuss it. Adams is 34 and his stat won’t show it, but he remains a run-stuffing force in the middle that should make an already-strong Broncos defense even better. We’re not as high on them as some; middle linebacker Al Wilson will be missed, and the pass rush has been erratic in recent years. Adams’ presence, however, should help free up this linebacking corps to make more big plays than it did a year ago, so all the burden won’t fall on the team’s stellar secondary.

4. Rams trade defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy to Broncos. We mention this development for two reasons. The first is that although it was expected that top pick Adam Carriker would earn a starting spot in the middle of the Rams’ defensive line, this move confirms it. While a breakout performance from Carriker alone won’t enable St. Louis to turn one of the league’s worst run defenses into one of its better ones, it certainly couldn’t hurt.

The second is that after having spent the last two offseasons acquiring mediocre defensive linemen from the Browns, the Broncos have apparently turned their attention to underachievers from the Rams. As a former first-round draft pick, Kennedy has potential, but he never showed it in four seasons in St. Louis. The price (a 2008 sixth-rounder) was cheap enough that Kennedy was worth a look, but don’t expect him to be a major factor -- the Broncos likely won’t either.

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