Thomas Howard.....why are dynasty rankings so low on him? (1 Viewer)

[fridayfrenzy]

If you use FBG scoring, Thomas Howard, OLB has been LB24, LB10, LB11 in the three years he has been in the NFL.

Can anyone explain to me why the dynasty rankings have Thomas Howard as LB38?

http://subscribers.footballguys.com/apps/v...p;howrecent=300

Seems odd that a player who has finished as a LB1 in the past two seasons but is being ranked as the 38th LB going forward.

What am I missing? Why are people down on him that much after putting up LB1 type numbers for two years in a row.

Has he changed LB positions? Are they changing their scheme? I don't get it.

 

[5Rings]

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

I don't understand it at all as well... Was this just a big miss by the staff members?

 

[stevegamer]

There's a scheme change in Oakland.

 

[sgtrobo]

i'm making a possible move for Thomas Howard, and I was wondering the same thing. What's up? Why such a big drop? Does Kirk Morrison lose value too?

 

[stevegamer]

John Marshall (ex-Seahawks) is the new DC replacing Ryan. He's a read-and react kind of guy. Ryan was trying to bring pressure, but had his hands tied in some ways.

I bumped the scheme change discussion from earlier this year:

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...howtopic=450299

 

[Dirty Hairy]

I'm not doing the rankings, but I traded Thomas Howard away last year because his stats are heavily dependent upon big plays, such as interceptions. The years he scored so well, he had several interceptions with a couple returned for touchdowns. Similar to cornerbacks, these big plays are extremely difficult to repeat from year-to-year. While Howard has been somewhat successful in garnering big plays each year, his stats are not dependent upon regular tackle numbers like most LB1 & LB2s. Anyone making projections will naturally reduce these big plays to something more reasonably achievable, thus also reducing his fantasy point projection (to #38 in this case).

IMHO

 

[Anthony Borbely]

If you use FBG scoring, Thomas Howard, OLB has been LB24, LB10, LB11 in the three years he has been in the NFL.

Those rankings for Howard are OLB rankings only. Howard ranked 31st last year if you include all LBs. He had 80 solos last year and unless he finds a way to get into the 90 solo range, he won't be much more than a mid to high LB3 at best in FBG scoring. I don't see it happening. I have him in a large tier of LB3 types right now.

 

[5Rings]

I'm not doing the rankings, but I traded Thomas Howard away last year because his stats are heavily dependent upon big plays, such as interceptions. The years he scored so well, he had several interceptions with a couple returned for touchdowns. Similar to cornerbacks, these big plays are extremely difficult to repeat from year-to-year. While Howard has been somewhat successful in garnering big plays each year, his stats are not dependent upon regular tackle numbers like most LB1 & LB2s. Anyone making projections will naturally reduce these big plays to something more reasonably achievable, thus also reducing his fantasy point projection (to #38 in this case).

IMHO

2008 80 17 2 1 1 52007 77 18 6 1 11

2006 88 22

Don't agree. The guy is good for 90-100 tackles per year. The tackles alone put him in that LB2 zone, and the big plays have bumped him higher. I see a guy who puts up LB2 stats that you can get as a low end LB4 = value.

I'm not sure I agree with the scheme making a big difference--Oakland is still a lousy team with a lousy DL. There will be plenty of tackles for Howard and Morrison this season, IMO.

 

[massraider]

John Marshall (ex-Seahawks) is the new DC replacing Ryan. He's a read-and react kind of guy. Ryan was trying to bring pressure, but had his hands tied in some ways.

I bumped the scheme change discussion from earlier this year:

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...howtopic=450299

They are still in a 4-3, Howard is still a 3-down backer, and he still won't be blitzing. Ryan didn't have him blitzing last year, not sure what difference a new scheme makes.

 

[Jene Bramel]

I'm no fan of Thomas Howard -- had downgraded him significantly last season with Gibril Wilson around to soak up those pursuit tackles that buoyed him in previous years. But I've got him too low right now, especially with the safety situation back to a bunch of meh players. He won't be in my top 30, but he'll move up in my rankings in the next update. This is the player I usually avoid though, even as a LB4. I'm not very interested in a guy with a legitimate chance to finish with fewer than 80 solos as an every down player. I'd rather have more upside than Howard provides with that floor.

The scheme change will probably be blunted by the lack of a surrounding cast. The read-and-react scheme won't hurt him much because he was never much of a downhill player and his pursuit instincts should still be highlighted.