2010 Value (1 Viewer)

[robertdts]

I've joined a heavy IDP league, and inherited a terrible team. I've swung some trades that have netted some new players for me. What is the 2010 forecast for these players?

DeAndre Levy, LB, Detroit Lions

Ahmad Brooks, LB, San Francisco 49ers

Cameron Wake, LB, Miami Dolphins

Rey Maualuga, LB, Cincinnati Bengals

Aaron Curry, LB, Seattle Seahawks

Thanks!

 

[Jene Bramel]

DeAndre Levy, LB, Detroit Lions -- Strong chance that he'll be the every-down MLB next season. At worst, he looks like an every-down OLB, depending on how the Lions approach the offseason. Will need to get stronger at the point of attack and coverage to reach LB1 status, but it'd be hard to project him outside the LB2 range today.

Ahmad Brooks, LB, San Francisco 49ers -- The Bengals took Brooks in the supplemental draft with thoughts of doing exactly what the Niners did -- use him as a 3-4 OLB/DE pass rushing hybrid. Injuries and frequent position changes hurt Brooks, as did his inability to grasp the playbook. If the Niners use him as a one-dimensional pass rusher, he has some upside in big play heavy leagues, but I don't see him as anything more than a 40 solo/10 sack player.

Cameron Wake, LB, Miami Dolphins -- Limited in the same way as Brooks. Potentially a little more explosive. LB3 possibilities in very sack heavy leagues only.

Rey Maualuga, LB, Cincinnati Bengals -- The Bengals have said that Maualuga is the future in the middle and that they believe he's an every-down player. However, Mike Zimmer could be elsewhere next year and a new scheme or player evaluation could change that opinion. Maualuga still overruns plays frequently and that really rubs Lewis the wrong way. There's no guarantee Maualuga plays every-down either. He's got LB1 upside, but could be no better than the inconsistent LB4 he was this year. His value is entirely dependent on how the offseason goes.

Aaron Curry, LB, Seattle Seahawks -- Play tailed off a bit in the second half and then injuries limited him. The rookie wall is a bit of a myth, but that sequence is a strong argument that Curry struggled with the rigors of a full offseason and regular season. Seems locked in at WLB right now and showed enough this year that an every-down role should be within easy reach. Probably a LB3 with upside right now.

 

[robertdts]

Thanks!

 

[BearsFan]

DeAndre Levy, LB, Detroit Lions -- Strong chance that he'll be the every-down MLB next season. At worst, he looks like an every-down OLB, depending on how the Lions approach the offseason. Will need to get stronger at the point of attack and coverage to reach LB1 status, but it'd be hard to project him outside the LB2 range today.Ahmad Brooks, LB, San Francisco 49ers -- The Bengals took Brooks in the supplemental draft with thoughts of doing exactly what the Niners did -- use him as a 3-4 OLB/DE pass rushing hybrid. Injuries and frequent position changes hurt Brooks, as did his inability to grasp the playbook. If the Niners use him as a one-dimensional pass rusher, he has some upside in big play heavy leagues, but I don't see him as anything more than a 40 solo/10 sack player.Cameron Wake, LB, Miami Dolphins -- Limited in the same way as Brooks. Potentially a little more explosive. LB3 possibilities in very sack heavy leagues only.Rey Maualuga, LB, Cincinnati Bengals -- The Bengals have said that Maualuga is the future in the middle and that they believe he's an every-down player. However, Mike Zimmer could be elsewhere next year and a new scheme or player evaluation could change that opinion. Maualuga still overruns plays frequently and that really rubs Lewis the wrong way. There's no guarantee Maualuga plays every-down either. He's got LB1 upside, but could be no better than the inconsistent LB4 he was this year. His value is entirely dependent on how the offseason goes.Aaron Curry, LB, Seattle Seahawks -- Play tailed off a bit in the second half and then injuries limited him. The rookie wall is a bit of a myth, but that sequence is a strong argument that Curry struggled with the rigors of a full offseason and regular season. Seems locked in at WLB right now and showed enough this year that an every-down role should be within easy reach. Probably a LB3 with upside right now.

Has the view of Wake changed at all?Could he possibly land an every down spot in MIA in light of competition with Misi and others at the OLB spots?

 

[gandalas]

I was under the impression the 2 ILB spots for the Dolphins were pretty much set with Dansby and Channing Crowder, but what do I know?

EDIT: Just noticed you said "every-down", and not ILB. I have no idea who the 2 or 3 every-downers will be. Obviously Dansby should be one, but as to the others, I don't know.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Cameron Wake, LB, Miami Dolphins -- Limited in the same way as Brooks. Potentially a little more explosive. LB3 possibilities in very sack heavy leagues only.

Has the view of Wake changed at all?Could he possibly land an every down spot in MIA in light of competition with Misi and others at the OLB spots?

Wake's upside will be dependent on whether he can prove himself on early downs. His situational pass rushing numbers (a rate stat I'll be highlighting in an upcoming RTD column) were off the charts last year, so I think he's a lock to play the ROLB position on passing downs. I'm not worried about Misi, he's a LOLB. Charlie Anderson seems to be the only threat (with Quentin Moses a long shot) to the starting ROLB job and I think Wake could push his way into that conversation very easily.

I was under the impression the 2 ILB spots for the Dolphins were pretty much set with Dansby and Channing Crowder, but what do I know? EDIT: Just noticed you said "every-down", and not ILB. I have no idea who the 2 or 3 every-downers will be. Obviously Dansby should be one, but as to the others, I don't know.

I like Tim Dobbins, but I don't think he's more than a minor rotational threat to Crowder in the base defensive set. It'll be Dansby and Crowder inside. I agree that Dansby is a lock to play every down, with Koa Misi also a lock if he wins a starting job. I think the depth chart looks better at DE and S than LB for the subpackages. I suppose Crowder could see lots of nickel snaps, but I'd be reluctant to call him better than even money to play every down right now.

 

[jsharlan]

Isnt Crowder out for the year?

 

[Jene Bramel]

Isnt Crowder out for the year?

He's recovered from last year's foot injury enough to work into live drills at OTAs last month. There's a chance he'll be limited in camp but I haven't seen anything to suggest he'll miss time during the season.

 

[faux_bear]

Isnt Crowder out for the year?

A few days ago there was an incorrect report that Crowder was out for the year. It came about when a reporter was watching an old game from the 2009 season on NFL Network and the crawling feed on the network reported that Crowder was out for the year with a foot injury. The reporter, not knowing that the crawling feed was also old, tweeted that Crowder was out for the year. The news spread like wildfire for an hour or two before people realized the error.This is the kind of stuff that happens these days.

 

[jsharlan]

ah ok, I didn't catch the retraction.

 

[Warpig]

So is the belief here that Curry plays WLB now? I thought Hawthorne was the WLB darling?

 

[Jene Bramel]

So is the belief here that Curry plays WLB now? I thought Hawthorne was the WLB darling?

During OTAs, beat writers were reporting that Hawthorne was at WLB and, presumably, Curry at SLB. I did post earlier in the thread that Curry seemed likely to play WLB, but that was before the Leroy Hill issues fully developed. There were some faulty reports on alignment this time last year. We'll know more in a couple of weeks.