Hello well this is how it went down , in all the history (since 2001) of the MEFL there has NEVER been an IDP pick before the 6th round, so my plan was to take P. Willis in the 5th and D. Ryans in the 6th well for some CRAZY reason T.McGee, P.Willis & D.Ryans all went in the 5th rd. before my pick. AHHHHHHHHHHH what the heck so i panicked and this is who i ended up with

B.Ruud TB
D. Harris NYJ
L.J. Henderson MIN

in the league this is how the scoring goes for Def. again Starts 3 Flex IDP players
Tackle Solo (1)
Tackle Assist (.5)
Sack (2)
Interception (3)
Fumble Force (2)
Fumble Recovery (3)
Touchdown (6)
Safety (5)
Pass Defended (1)
Block Kick (5)
Return Yards (25 yards per point; 3 points at 100 yards)
Return Touchdowns (8)

And still out there in the FA pool i could pick up are
D. Williams DEN
S. Bradley PHI
O. Gaither PHI
C. Greenway MIN
Z. Thomas MIA
A. Crowell BUF
A. Hawk GB
T. Howard OAK
And more ....but do you think i should make any changes or trades for one of these instead of the ones i have now? I need some of your help.
Any Ideas you all have would be welcome Thanks

relax and breath you have solid young LB with up side!!!! if you have room I would grab D. Williams DEN
S. Bradley PHI!!!! Ruud was on pace to be in the top 4 in tkls last year!!!!

If you have room, I like A.J. Hawk.

sacks are worthless in your league, so look for tacklers.

frankly, I like your guys, although I'd say ruud is probably the lesser of the 3.

didn't dj williams lose the middle?

anyway, don't sweat it too much --- an upgrade to ruud would get you, what, an extra point/week?
as shallow as your league is, I'd be tempted to stream at that spot.

ps

I noticed the guys you listed were all dl -- any good db's out there?
I'll bet antoine winfield scores as well as any of those -- gibril wilson and leigh bodden are gone, right?

Well antoine winfield and leigh bodden are still avalable. Gibril Wilson is gone.
I was not sure if DB's will pull in as many points as Linebackers since i am in a tackle heavy league.

Who would you say is my weakest player? Ruud?

We only have a TOTAL bench of 4 so it is hard to have an IDP player on it. but i will need to do it anyway when bye's come up.

Thanks for the advice guys does anyone know how to find out if they are a Middle Linebacker(MIKE) or (SAM) or (WILL)

check the tackle stats for those 2 db's, and I think you'll see they're pretty high.
bodden did pretty well last year, and this year he's in detroit, which plays cover 2 defense, meaning he might see more tackles in run support.
I think winfield was on pace for something like 90-100 tackles last year, but he missed a bunch of games due to injury.
check out the main idp board, and there're some links to write ups on different defensive schemes.

I think I'd prefer both of those over the alternate guys you listed, but you could also keep an eye on bradley.

if you check out the nfl.com site, and click on 'teams', there are depth charts you can use to see who's the mike, etc, but keep an eye on the idp forum, because there are occasionally position battles for a particular spot, so it's not always so clear.

mcgee is gone, right?

Our depth charts note the LB positional designations. Some are pretty fluid, however, so Henry likes to give mulitple designations in many cases. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Ruud and Henderson are MLBs, Harris is a LILB.

Oh ok Jene cool thanks
is Middle LB the best for tackles as a rule?
and what is LILB? (I told you i was new to this and learning)

My first Bye week is in Week 5 so i am hoping one of these other guys Drop some of there IDP's before then and i can steal someone from FA or i can pick up D.Williams or someone.

I think we talked about the steep learning curve after you get hooked earlier this month and the fact that you didn't necessarily need to fuss over too many details, but if you're interested, I'd recommend reading Breaking Down NFL Defenses by John Norton, which is outside the subscriber wall for the first time in memory. That should be right up your alley here.

If that whets your appetite, you might want to take the time to read the linked threads and/or listen to the introductory podcasts in my sig. There's some basic defensive concepts in there that might be helpful, but they have a fair number of in-depth specific concepts along the way, too. The discussing defenses links are the precursor to the very lengthy article on defensive schemes and IDP applications I wrote last month. While I think the links are worth reading for anyone with an interest in IDP leagues, it may be more than you want to digest if you're only starting three IDPs.

I'm no fan of defaults. 4-3 MLB > 4-3 WLB > 3-4 ILB or whatever gets used as a default may serve you well for the most part, but there are always big outliers you'll miss -- Patrick Willis was widely panned after being drafted by a 3-4 team last year for example. But, yes, as a general rule, a 4-3 MLB will be a very good tackler -- assuming there's reasonable talent in an every-down role. The LILB is one of the two inside linebackers in a 3-4 front.

I think your roster is fine. Depending on your roster situation, you can jump on a player that looks like a top 20 guy and keep him rostered through your bye weeks or just pick up the best matchup available when the time comes. Winfield and Bradley are solid IDP4 in your situation, but aren't must-haves. If your offensive depth and talent is such that you can afford rostering the extra IDP right now, it's worth considering. But in your setup, there's likely to be plenty available later.

Wow people are you serious look what Ruud put up before he was hurt, if you drop him you are crazy!!!!! If you can only afford to have one IDP on the bench grab a LB that you think will put up big tkl numbers, a DB in your leauge will be a mistake!!! there is weeks were some DB do nothing, but a solid Mike or Will always gets you at a min 5-7 tkls. I like the LB below (Z. Thomas is a high risk big reward) and I think williams will still put up big number!!!
DJ. Williams DEN
S. Bradley PHI
Z. Thomas MIA

haha...not all db's are the same --- if you get the right safety, or cover 2 corner it's kind of like getting another lb who might also get a few picks, and adds on some pd's.

here are some winfield stats:
'03 (buf) 94/15 tackles, 1 pick, 12 pd (and a few misc points)
'04 (minny) 73/15, 3, 8 (14 games)
'05 89/9, 4, 8
'06 83/14, 4, 14
'07 he missed a bunch of games w/injury
10 games played 61/9, 1, 9
of those 10 games, I don't think he played much week 11, or was playing injured at best, and week 15 against chi he only played the first half, putting up 6/6 tackles and 2 pd.
almost beat me that week, that mf --- thank christ he didn't come back in.

bodden should get more time on the field in detroit, and maybe more tackles in cover 2.
I'm hoping for at least winfield #'s , but we'll see.
I'll admit I'm definitely biased on these 2 guys.

for comparison, hawk has been about 80/30 w/a couple sacks, a pick, and maybe 5 pd.
dj williams was a 100 solo guy last year, but he loses the middle, as far as my vague recollection goes, so I think that'd hurt his production a little.
zack probably won't see the field as much in dallas as he did in mia, and you have concussion history to worry about, I think there's a whole thread on greenway over in main idp, and didn't gaither get bumped off for bradley?
but, like I mentioned before, w/only 3 idp per team, I think I'd just look for good games and stream a spot.

ok thanks for the help... so far i will stick to what i have and dj williams was picked up anyways.

I saw something awhile ago that had a list of IDP starters for every team and what players had the Mic's in there helmets. does anyone konw where i could see this list again?

Also who had the most Preseaon Takles?

Thanks

Below is the link to the every down LBs and those with mics.

Link

I don't believe anyone tracks preseason tackles because they are basically meaningless.

The link to the every-down backers thread is pinned in the 2008 Warehouse thread. I'm hoping to remember to keep it updated weekly.

You can get preseason tackle stats through NFL.com (here are the league leaders), but as Tony noted, a liberal application of reading between the lines is necessary.