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Defensive Notes

A few recent news items relating to team defense and IDPs:

- Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman reportedly has two torn ligaments in his knee. At the moment he says he’s going to try to play, but realistically, he too is done for the year – or at best, will miss a good chunk of time. He’s obviously a risky draft pick in IDP formats, and the Chargers defense isn’t quite as clear a No. 1 on our board. Losing Merriman definitely brings them back to the pack.

- Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora (knee) is out for the season. This hurts the Giants defense; they can’t replace him. We’ll talk about it more in Thursday’s update, when it becomes clearer what the team will do. Retired end Michael Strahan is a possibility.

- Washington defensive end Jason Taylor could miss the opener with a knee injury suffered Saturday night, but it’s considered minor; he’s comparatively lucky.

Other news and notes:

You don’t want to place too much stock in exhibition games, but then again, what happens in those contests does provide a piece of the puzzle when it comes to analysis. With the season just two weeks away, there are a few conclusions we can draw.

Philadelphia could be a bounce-back team. Few defenses were as disappointing as Philadelphia’s last season, but there was a lot to take from the team’s last couple of exhibitions. Asante Samuel looked healthy, and Lito Sheppard hasn’t been traded, so the team should have one of the best trios of cornerbacks in the league. Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson still knows how to bring the pressure, and Juqua Parker might be a nice bookend pass rusher to Trent Cole. And with rookie DeSean Jackson in the return game, they should be more dangerous than they’ve been in years in that regard, too.

Pittsburgh might be bad. With all due respect to Trent Edwards, it was a little disturbing the way he carved up Pennsylvania’s other team last Thursday. If they’re going to be that ineffective against Buffalo’s offense, what’s going to happen in four games against Carson Palmer and Derek Anderson? Injuries are a factor, but the early signs aren’t good for this defense. And did we mention they play a ridiculously difficult schedule? There’s still plenty of talent here, but they’ll be drafted like a top-10 defense, and they shouldn’t be.

Buffalo and the Jets look stellar in TD-only formats. For years it’s seemed like both of these teams have special kick returners, and maybe they do. But when you see a new guy bringing back a kick for a touchdown every preseason – Leodis McKelvin for Buffalo, Dwight Lowery for New York in the first two preseason games – you start to think, well, it can’t just be the players. No matter who these teams put back there, they’re going to be right up there just short of Chicago (Devin Hester) in being candidates to produce a return touchdown in any given week. (Cleveland was another in that class, but Joshua Cribbs’ high ankle sprain suggests the Browns will be a little less dangerous in the return game until they have him back on the field.)

It’s reasonable to be a little concerned about Green Bay. The linebacking corps looks strong (unless A.J. Hawk’s chest injury is serious), and the team has solid starters almost everywhere else. But the dropoff to the backups in the secondary looks precipitous; it was particularly ugly against San Francisco in the second exhibition game. If older cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson miss some time, the fill-ins would likely struggle. Injuries and Johnny Jolly’s felony arrest make a once-deep defensive line look dangerously thin. The run defense was shoddy at Denver last Friday. Not a great offseason, or preseason, for the Packers thus far.

—Andy Richardson

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