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Defensive Notes

By Andy Richardson

Individual defensive players are a bit of a novelty to many owners, to the point that many will develop draft lists based almost exclusively on the previous year’s statistics. That’s fine for the vast majority of players, but many others will fall through the cracks.

We’re not just talking about rookies, although those players can’t be forgotten either. The Bills seem ready to throw second-rounder PAUL POSLUSZNY into the fire at middle linebacker, where he’ll make plenty of tackles right off the bat. The same is true of defensive linemen like ADAM CARRIKER in St. Louis and GAINES ADAMS in Tampa Bay. There’s no reason why all of these projected rookie starters, among others, can’t be productive starters in fantasy lineups.

But don’t forget the non-rookies who didn’t do anything in 2006 – but could do a lot in 2007. CHAD GREENWAY was the Vikings’ top pick a year ago, but missed his rookie season due to injury. He’s the projected starter at weak side linebacker, with a reasonable chance of being a top-25 player at his position. Then there’s another Buffalo linebacker, KEITH ELLISON, who should also start on the weak side. He’ll replace Takeo Spikes and should make an immediate impact.

In the preseason magazine, we grudgingly included the CAROLINA PANTHERS among our top 10 defenses. We had reservations about their personnel at safety, but thought they’d address those concerns before the start of the season. Instead, veteran Mike Minter retired this week, leaving them with another hole. Trading for Chicago backup Chris Harris helps; he’ll start right away, probably at strong safety (though he can play both positions). The other spot, though, will be manned by either veteran Deke Cooper, second-year man Nate Salley, or a rookie; perhaps seventh-rounder C.J. Wilson. In short, it’s a major question mark, and the fact that a player they traded for during training camp is immediately their best option at the position suggests a season-long problem. Carolina has fallen from our top 10 defenses.

Michael Strahan insists he’s just trying to make up his mind on retirement, but his preseason holdout is having a major effect on the N.Y. GIANTS’ defense. Because the team anticipated Osi Umenyiora and Strahan starting at defensive end, it switched lineman Mathias Kiwanuka to linebacker – where, by most accounts, he’s struggling so far. If Strahan retires, the team may return Kiwanuka to his natural position as a pass-rushing defensive end. The team has said it’s ready to move on without Strahan, but that’s easier said than done with a difference-maker like Strahan on the fence. The guess here is that the veteran will ultimately return; if not, look for the Kiwanuka linebacker experiment to come to an end. Either way, the Giants will be better off the sooner Strahan makes his decision. At the moment, we have little interest in their defense.

The loss of Anthony McFarland (knee) is a big deal for the INDIANAPOLIS defense, but from a fantasy perspective, it merely makes an undraftable group even less attractive. Maybe the Colts will be fine with two new starters at cornerback, and maybe Freddie Keiaho will do fine replacing Cato June at linebacker. Those were a lot of maybes already, especially considering how dismal this group was at stopping the run for virtually the entire season a year ago anyway. Maybe the Colts, who dumped Corey Simon barely a day before McFarland’s season-ending knee injury, figured “What are we clinging to?” And it’s true; perhaps a little too much has been made of the Colts losing several starters from a defense that didn’t play well until the playoffs anyway (and that was primarily against offenses with problems of their own at the time). For now, though, we only have interest in the Colts in IDP formats, where linebackers like Keiaho, Gary Brackett and Rob Morris should post high tackle numbers – they’ll be spending plenty of time on the field.

NEW ENGLAND has been working Adalius Thomas at inside linebacker, rather than on the outside (where he played in Baltimore). If that continues, he should be very productive as a tackler, but have fewer sacks (he had 11 a year ago). … The team’s acquisition of cornerback Dante Wesley from the Bears doesn’t mean the end of franchised holdout Asante Samuel’s tenure with the Patriots; Wesley will likely provide depth at a position where the team has been thin due to injuries in recent years. With that said, though, the chances of Samuel winning his contract stalemate seem remote. The Patriots have a history of not giving in to player demands, and they probably won’t in this case either. The guess is that Samuel will report before the start of the season.

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