Defensive Notes
Posted Aug. 19 at 04:10 AM
Lots of Baltimore Ravens news this week, both good and bad. The bad is that Ed Reed’s shoulder is still bothering him; he’s been cleared for contact in training camp, but still not actually participating. The Ravens say he “should” be ready, but that’s not comforting to anyone who wants to draft him in IDP formats, or anyone looking for a bounce-back year from the Ravens defense after last year’s disappointment. Make sure Reed is on the field and playing before investing too high a pick in either him or his defense.
On the other hand, Baltimore’s first exhibition game revealed one thing they are doing right: returning kicks. It’s been a strength at times in recent years, notably with the since departed B.J. Sams in the lineup, but Yamon Figurs might be even better. Figurs helped the Ravens rank among the top 10 in both kick and punt returns a year ago, and in the exhibition opener against the Patriots, he returned his only kickoff opportunity for 48 yards and his only punt return for 52. Accordingly, Baltimore climbs in our TD-only rankings this week, while dropping slightly in the other scoring systems.
Another team whose return units deserve mention is the Raiders. They lost Chris Carr to Tennessee in the offseason, but maybe they’ll be fine. Backup wideout Johnnie Lee Higgins looked pretty elusive in the exhibition opener against the 49ers, taking a punt 53 yards for a touchdown. We’ve been gradually upgrading the Raiders defense, and a solid return game will only help them.
Finally, the Vikings are one of the top defenses on our board, and they’ve got some appealing IDP options, too. One of those, safety Madieu Williams, is going to miss at least the start of the season with a neck injury. Bad news for a defense that should be better at rushing the passer with Jared Allen, but may still struggle in coverage, especially with Williams out.
Quick preview of ranking changes we'll tackle in Thursday's update: Eagles and Giants up. Steelers and Packers down. More Thursday.
Other news and notes:
- Takeo Spikes is a 49er. If he ends up starting, he’ll be a reliable tackler at ILB, if not the same playmaker he used to be.
- It’s a virtual certainty that New England will be starting rookie Jerod Mayo at inside linebacker. He’s better right now than his primary competition, Victor Hobson. He’s definitely a guy to consider in drafts.
- The Bengals have one of the league’s worst defenses. They can’t stop the run. They can’t stop the pass. If you watched any of their exhibition game against the Packers Monday night, you know that they also can’t tackle. And yet, for whatever reason, they’re remarkably opportunistic, ranking 5th, 8th and 1st in takeaways over the past three seasons. It’s just a guess, but maybe their efforts to make big plays account for them blowing so many coverages and missing so many tackles. Whatever the reason, if your league’s scoring system is weighted heavily in favor of turnovers rather than sacks or points allowed, you can consider the Bengals as a last-round option.
—Andy Richardson
- Comments [4]
Readers' Comments
Add a Comment
Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.
To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.
Posted by Jeff Einarson | Aug. 19 at 11:20 AM
Concerning your comment regarding Jerod Mayo, I have noticed that historically rookies are ranked quite low on your listings, even though they could very well start at their position and accumulate a high number of points (e.g. DeMeco Ryans, A.J. Hawk, DeMarcus Ware, Ernie Sims all ranked low as rookies). So my question is why, when at ILB they are going to get the tackles and, depending on the offense, may be on the field for the majority of the game (e.g. Vernon Gholston OLB at #42 , Jerod Mayo at #46)? It appears that pedigree counts for alot, even considering age and injuries (Dwight Freeney at #18, Ray Lewis at #15).
Posted by IAN ALLAN | Aug. 19 at 11:30 AM
I just finished reading David Halberstam's book on Bill Belichick. EDUCATION OF A COACH. Very well done. I recommend it. Only error I saw was the misspelling of Rosevelt Colvin's name. Anyway, in the book, it's very clear how much Belichick likes linebackers. They're valuable tools in his defense. He had a great group of linebackers with the Giants, helping him win a couple of Super Bowls. And he's had another nice package of guys with the Patriots. With that current group getting old, you have to be very excited about what Belichick is going to do with Jerod Mayo.
Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Aug. 19 at 02:42 PM
Jeff - Pedigree is a part of it, but it's more a case of knowing they're going to be full-time players. In the case of A.J. Hawk, for example, I think I might have been too high on him as a rookie. I knew he'd start, but I also gave him more credit as a playmaker than he ended up showing. I (and everyone) was too low on Ryans. Regarding this year's rookies, Mayo has been climbing as it's become clear he's going to start. I do like him, but I think he's slotted OK for now. Gholston, by all accounts, is struggling a little making the transition to linebacker in the 3-4. He's ahead of Mayo only because of greater sack potential at OLB. I recommend (if you haven't yet) that you download the IDP stats projections in the Toolbox area of the site. That helps explain why some players are ahead of others -- maybe a certain DE is going to have more tackles than another (who's a situational pass-rusher type), earning him a higher ranking in our scoring system.
Posted by Duane Stay | Aug. 20 at 07:36 PM
The preseason isn't supposed to be paid any attention. I hope no one has watched the Vike preseason, because they look very bad. As a Vike fan I hope it turns around fast, because Hasselbeck tore them up and the next week Ray Rice tore them up. It hasn't been pretty.