IDP Position Spotlight: NY Jets Inside Linebackers (1 Viewer)

[Aaron Rudnicki]

2009 IDP Spotlight Series

One of Footballguys best assets is our message board community. The IDP Forum here has grown quickly over the past few years and is probably the best place on the internet to discuss, debate and analyze all things related to IDPs. In what we hope to make an annual tradition, the IDP Spotlight series will be a key part of our preseason effort this year. As many of you know from what has been done with offensive players over the years, we consider the Player Spotlight threads the permanent record for analyzing the fantasy prospects of the player in question. This year, we hope to publish IDP Spotlights for approximately 20-30 players, which should account for many of the most interesting IDP starters for this year and possibly years to come.

Each week we will post a list of players to be discussed. Those threads will remain open for the entire preseason, and should be a central point to discuss expectations for the player in question. Importantly, analysis done in the first week (or possibly longer) of posting will be part of the permanent record in two ways.

1) At the end of the week (or longer when necessary), we will tally the projections into a consensus.

2) We will select a number of pull quotes from forum contributors who make a compelling statement or observation. Both the projections and pull quotes will be part of a published article on the main website.

Thread Topic: New York Jets Inside Linebackers: David Harris, Bart Scott

David Harris Player Page

Bart Scott Player Page

Each published article will include:

Detailed viewpoint from a Footballguys staff member
Highlighted member commentary from the message board threads
FBG Projections
Consensus Member ProjectionsThe Rules

In order for this thread to provide maximum value, we ask that you follow a few simple guidelines:

Focus commentary on the player or players in question, and your expectations for said player(s)
Back up your expectations in whatever manner you deem appropriate; avoid posts that simply say "I hate him" or "He's the best"
To be included in the final synopsis and consensus outlook, we request that you provide projections for the player(s)Projections should include the following categories at minimum:

For DLs: Solos, Assists, Sacks, PD
For LBs: Solos, Assists, Sacks, INT, PD
For DBs: Solos, Assists, Sacks, INT, PDNow let's get on with the conversation! We look forward to your contributions and let me offer a personal thanks in anticipation of the great debate and analysis.

 

[Jene Bramel]

I think the ILB pair here is even more difficult to project than the GB ILB pair. I'm convinced one or both of these players will have LB2+ value, but I can't convincingly argue in favor of either. Bart Scott is talented and versatile, but it's unclear whether he was overshadowed by the collective in Baltimore and Ray Lewis specifically or if he does everything well but doesn't transfer his talent to the boxscore. David Harris has had huge statistical runs, but isn't a dynamic talent and may not have the range or coverage skill to produce with an improved surrounding cast. For now, there's enough to suggest that Scott will be put in a better position to succeed and he's certain to play every down. That's enough to carry the day for me, but I'd hesitate to declare him a clear top 20 player until we see what happens in camp.

Projections

Bart Scott >> 87 solos, 28 assists, 3 sacks, 3 FF/FR, 2 INT, 7 PD

David Harris >> 81 solos, 20 assists, 2 sacks, 2 FF/FR, 0 INT, 4 PD

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

I'm just going to copy my posts from another thread cuz I'm lazy.

Harris was largely a superstud in his first year due to a couple things --- 5 sacks in the second half of the year, and a very memorable first 2 games as a starter where he was in on 17 and 24 tackles against BUF and WAS.

The remainder of the year he did very well in tackles, but I think those first couple games are what made the impression in everybody's mind.

I don't recall the details on the BUF game, but I think he had about double normal opportunity in the WAS game.

I'd be interested to see his opportunity in '07 vs '08, and I'd imagine '09 would probably stack up favorably in that dept.

'07 and '08 were nearly identical in terms of plays faced by the defense at 1020 and 1016, although I should go back later and break out the games he actually started.

The biggest difference was in pass attempts faced, with only 470 in '07, but a whopping increase of 102, for 572 in '08.

Getting 5 sacks in roughly a half season from an inside linebacker is pretty huge, so I'd want to look at his role in Ryan's defense and how his counterpart was used in Balt.

That might be a stat that bounces back from a disappointing '08 in a more aggressive '09 defense.

I thought I'd check out his '08 season a little more in depth, and found out that weeks 8 and 17 he barely played.

So, if we take his remaining 9 games and extrapolate those out to a full 16 game season, we'd get 89 solos and 39 assists.

That's not bad, although he put up pretty much goose eggs in all other stats -- that's kind of a killer.

 

[Sidewinder16]

From the Star-Ledger:

The hope is that Scott and Harris can wreak the same type of mayhem that Scott and his all-universe former teammate, Ray Lewis, did for the past four seasons in Baltimore. Anchored by the pair, the Ravens never finished lower than sixth in the NFL in total defense during that stretch.

This season, Harris will be given more freedom. In the 3-4 scheme, he was solely a run stuffer. Now, he'll be able to blitz, drop back into pass cover and play the run. Ryan calls him a ''complete'' middle linebacker.

''All the linebackers are excited,'' said Harris. ''Opposing offenses will never know what's going to come. We're going to be flying around. We think it's going to be a special year.''

In Baltimore, Scott was the set-up man for Lewis, doing all the dirty work while Lewis got all the glory, and the tackles. This season, Scott will again play the role of the facilitator, crashing into lead blockers so Harris can make the tackle. But there will be a new twist.

Whereas Scott and Lewis weren't interchangeable, Scott and Harris are. Thus, Harris will sometimes run interference for Scott and the pair will share the accolades.