Defensive Notes

As a Political Science professor of mine used to say when asked why students had to buy brand-new books for his class each year, "This isn't 18th-century Romantic Poetry; consequently, things do tend to happen." That's true of the NFL as well, so a few things have changed since we sent the magazine to press. Some of the significant defense-related ones:

Michael Strahan retires. This was always considered a strong possibility, so the Giants remain our 5th-ranked defense -- they should be fine without Strahan. Justin Tuck is expected to replace him in the starting lineup, and that's not much of a downgrade (although overall depth suffers). Strong-side linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka, a former end himself, will also play some at end on passing downs, according to coach Tom Coughlin. Make sure you remove Strahan from your IDP rankings before you draft, while moving Tuck (currently 11th among linemen) and Kiwanuka (57th among linebackers) up a few spots. Both now get a larger share of the sack opportunities, as does Osi Umenyiora (5th among linemen) on the other side (although he could also see more double-teams).

Pacman Jones' suspension lifted, kind of. Jones is free (no pun intended) to take the field with the Cowboys during the preseason, although he's not out of the woods yet. He needs to stay out of trouble from now through September 1st; if he does so, commissioner Roger Goodell will likely reinstate him for the 2008 season. One misstep, though, and he'll be sidelined again. A risk-reward player worth gambling on -- but not counting on -- in an IDP draft. We've got him 40th among defensive backs right now; he'd be higher if we were fully confident he'd play this season.

Jason Taylor's future still uncertain. We're leaning toward Taylor being with another team in 2008, but there's been no movement on that front of late. Taylor himself says he's definitely playing football this season, but hasn't yet committed to showing up for training camp. Palm Beach Post writer Edgar Thompson talked with Taylor last weekend; his article can be found here. Taylor would still be a force in IDP formats no matter where he plays, although it would help to know if he'll be an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense (as we've currently got him slotted) or a defensive end in a 4-3 (where there's not as much depth and Taylor should be drafted sooner). With training camps opening soon, maybe Taylor's future will be clearer before too long. As is, his value would probably increase if the Dolphins trade him, especially to a team that plays a 4-3 defense.

—Andy Richardson

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