Pick 2 LB's (1 Viewer)

[Tarheelfan]

You get to pick two out of the three...

Derrick Brooks vs. Baltimore

London Fletcher vs. New England

Shawne Merriman @ Oakland

I start two.... Im leaning towards Fletcher and Merriman but would like to see what you all think.. TIA!

 

[RAPTURE]

I would go Fletcher and Brooks.

Baltimore runs a lot and with Quarles looking like he might not play only helps Brook's value that much more.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Scoring system is key here.

Merriman carries more value if you get more than 3pts per tackle for a sack. Some leagues (Yahoo in particular) have been using systems as high as 5pts per tackle for a sack. With Merriman now likely playing in every nickel package in Foley's absence, he's edging closer and closer to an every week starter.

Otherwise my bias is to go with the consistent tackle producers in Fletcher and Brooks.

 

[Tarheelfan]

Here is the scoring system breakdown..

Solo Sack = 2 pts

Half/Shared Sack = 1 pt

Interception =5 pts

Fumble Recovery =3 pts

Forced Fumble = 4 pts

Takeaways = 4 pts

Solo Tackle = 2 pts

Assist Tackle =1 pt

Defended Pass = 1 pt

Safety = 4 pts

Touchdown = 6pts

Thanks for the responses so far, interested to see what others think, keep em coming guys...

 

[RAPTURE]

Hands down, go with Fletcher and Brooks.

You will thank me for it on Monday.

RAPTURE

 

[Jene Bramel]

That system is significantly skewed toward tackle producers rather than big play guys.

A quick look at last season's stats should really drive home how poor the value of a player like Merriman is in this system.

London Fletcher >> 288 points >> 18 ppg

Derrick Brooks >> 243 points >> 15 ppg

Shawne Merriman >> 169 points >> 11 ppg

And I was fairly generous to Merriman, projecting his last ten games over a full 16 game season (58 solos, 18 ast, 14 sacks, 2 FF/FR, 2 PD). I'm not sure how you account for "takeaways" -- I left them out of these calcs -- but if they are INT/FR then they likely don't make a huge difference in this discussion as these three are close in that category.

IMO, you have to have a real good reason to start a player like Merriman in a league like this. When you get the same number of points for a sack as a tackle, a guy like Merriman has to have a well above average game to reach the average production of the others.

 

[Tarheelfan]

Thanks,

A sack would be a 4 pt play in our league, 2 tackle and 2 sack

Also Guys...

Do you think that Merriman is going to be impacted positively or negatively regarding the Foley incident..?

 

[Jene Bramel]

Also Guys...Do you think that Merriman is going to be impacted positively or negatively regarding the Foley incident..?

Positively, but only slightly. Merriman came off the field in very long passing situations last year. With Foley out he'll likely play in all situations. And Shaun Phillips, Foley's replacement, looks to be a better pass rusher than Foley, but I doubt teams rotate blockers in his direction unless he becomes as dominating as Merriman looked at times.