Captain_Apocalypse said:
Yeah, I wonder whats up with Gaither too, can't believe no one has said anything in here. IDP forum in general has been very lacluster this season.
I think the IDP A/C forum, while great at keeping the WDIS posts out of here, probably killed it a little.
I disagree. Since we opened the IDP AC Forum, we've at least tripled the number of advice requests per week during the season (we're now averaging over 200 a month) and the main forum has been busier than ever. Just two seasons ago with all posts in one forum, it was a busy day if 5-7 threads were active on any given day and 2-3 were hopping with multiple posts in the middle of the day. That's almost the norm during the offseason now. Today, there are ten threads active and nearly 75 in the past week with at least one post -- in the main forum alone.
That's not meant to be defensive. To the contrary, I'm excited that we've raised the bar of IDP discussion so much that 500 new threads a month is considered lackluster.
Anyway...
...to the question at hand.
Over the past five weeks (to end with this week's column), I've been taking my annual look at each team's depth chart and discussing some deep dynasty prospects by position in my Reading the Defense. Those columns may be of interest to you, although guys like Gary Guyton, Beau Bell and Cliff Avril may be too marginal for this thread. I've been (or will this week in the case of Boiman and Jordan) writing about many of the below situations often in my column. For those who aren't subscribers, each of the situations in the original post have or will get extended discussion in our weekly podcast.
With regard to those listed in the original post...
I don't think Xavier Adibi has come down to earth at all. The drop from 13 solos to four was significant on paper, but, as always, there's much more to it than that. The number of tackle opportunities for Adibi was significantly less -- 64 against Indianapolis compared with 33 against Cleveland. The quality of opportunity was also worse. Whereas Adibi was free to roam in the nickel package against Indy's short passing game and rush attempts from the spread, he had less freedom against the Browns and very few short passes to clean up (e.g. only one catch by Winslow). Four solos and a FR was actually a solid effort. If anything, the most important thing to take from last week was that the coaches did not hesitate to leave him as the every-down starter (without rotating) ahead of a healthy Morlon Greenwood.
Rocky Boiman is a little tougher call. Long-term, he's not for real. Short-term, he's a product of his opportunity and the lack of a viable surrounding cast. He'll probably be closer to his five solo average of Week 9-11 than the nine solos of Week 12, but he's probably got LB3 value for the rest of 2008, assuming that Donnie Edwards doesn't bump him from the nickel or the Chiefs don't make good on the rumor to move Derrick Johnson to the middle.
I think Witherspoon is what he is -- a LB2 with some upside if you catch him in the right matchup. The shoulder issues won't help a drag tackler, though.
McIntosh has always been a solid performer. He's been limited by better SS play after Horton entered the lineup, some rotation out of the nickel (though rarely) and a sizable decrease in tackle opportunity due to the improved Washington defense. Fletcher has a foot injury now, which may help McIntosh a little, but he'll probably still be an inconsistent LB2.
The Jaguar linebacker situation is marginally clearer this week. Peterson only rotated in every third series. I see no upside in Peterson continuing to play for a team that's out of the playoffs and has little interest in retaining him. I still think Durant takes the WLB job every-down soon.
The Gaither situation was surprising to everyone outside the Eagles locker room. I'm getting lazy toward the end of this post, so I'll just post a blurb from this week's upcoming column:
Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson was quoted as saying that the change was made to match up better with the frequent screens run by the Ravens, but also to get “more production” out of the WLB position. Jordan finished with a solid line score, posting eight solos and two tackles for loss. Jordan looked more physical than Gaither, regularly crashing gaps and taking on blockers, though he wasn’t particularly successful in slowing Rice down on the outside. Johnson was non-committal on Jordan’s play after the game, telling beat writers that he wanted to see tape before passing judgment. The “more production” comment is probably the most telling note for IDP owners. It was almost certainly more than the screen issue that cost Gaither his job and the team is very likely to keep Jordan in the lineup for more evaluation since they’re all but out of the playoff race. He should be able to produce as well as Gaither did -- inconsistent LB3 numbers with the occasional big game.
