Sleeperz
Footballguy
Will Smith was projected by every major IDP site to finish inside the top 10 this year, at minimum. So far he has been a major dissapointment. I would love to believe that he will wake up soon and start putting up numbers at least close to what we all thought he would. But, when I have a player (any position) who is majorly underperforming week after week, I have no choice but to delve inside the numbers to see exactly what could be going wrong.
There are plenty of reasons for the high rankings that he got this year.
1. Solid rookie season (04), only started in 4 of 16 games but had enough playing time to make an impact.
2. He improved nicely in his second season (05), started in 9 games but still had to split time in a rotation with Howard, finished inside the top 20 in almost all scoring systems. (not bad for splitting time)
3. Finally starting off the season as a secure starter, thought to be an every down defensive end, Darren Howard gone to the Eagles.
Well, most of us saw #3 as the turning point. Smith primed for a monster year with noone to slow him down. With numbers like he was putting up when splitting time, what could this guy do if given the chance to start every game?
So far, no good. Which is why I took at hard look at what he actually did in each game since entering the league. What I found took me by surprise a little.
1. His best 3 games (arguably) since starting his career in 04...
(04) week 17 - 5 tackles 1.5 sacks 1 FF 1 FR
(05) week 6 - 7 tackles 1 sack
(05) week 11 - 6 tackles 1.5 sacks 1 ff
2. Has never had a multiple sack game, unless you inclue the few games where he had a half a sack.
3. Averaged just under 2 solo stops per game in 04 (granted he only started 4 games but had playing time)
4. Averaged 3 solo stops per game in 05 (started in 9 games, more playing time than in 04)
5. Averaging 2 solo stops per game thus far in 06.
6. He is on pace to record 32 solos, 13 assists, 8 sacks, 3 FRs, 5 PD's (just slightly above what he finished with in his rookie season, not anywhere near top ten material)
Taking a look at his matchups through week 6, he probably should have had much better numbers to this point. Especially against the Falcons and Eagles. Looking ahead, the road seems ok for matchups but not exactly a schedule that you would ask for. He does get the Falcons again, Bengals and the Cowboys.
After starting off slightly better than average this season and slumping the last 4 games (more or less), I think it may be time to take a stronger look at him. He seems more like a situational DL from a FF perspective after really looking into what he has done. The one plus that he does have going for him.... he started off slowly last year also.
Now I could be way off on him, but I rarely go out on a limb unless I know its sturdy enough to hold the weight.
Sleeperz
There are plenty of reasons for the high rankings that he got this year.
1. Solid rookie season (04), only started in 4 of 16 games but had enough playing time to make an impact.
2. He improved nicely in his second season (05), started in 9 games but still had to split time in a rotation with Howard, finished inside the top 20 in almost all scoring systems. (not bad for splitting time)
3. Finally starting off the season as a secure starter, thought to be an every down defensive end, Darren Howard gone to the Eagles.
Well, most of us saw #3 as the turning point. Smith primed for a monster year with noone to slow him down. With numbers like he was putting up when splitting time, what could this guy do if given the chance to start every game?
So far, no good. Which is why I took at hard look at what he actually did in each game since entering the league. What I found took me by surprise a little.
1. His best 3 games (arguably) since starting his career in 04...
(04) week 17 - 5 tackles 1.5 sacks 1 FF 1 FR
(05) week 6 - 7 tackles 1 sack
(05) week 11 - 6 tackles 1.5 sacks 1 ff
2. Has never had a multiple sack game, unless you inclue the few games where he had a half a sack.
3. Averaged just under 2 solo stops per game in 04 (granted he only started 4 games but had playing time)
4. Averaged 3 solo stops per game in 05 (started in 9 games, more playing time than in 04)
5. Averaging 2 solo stops per game thus far in 06.
6. He is on pace to record 32 solos, 13 assists, 8 sacks, 3 FRs, 5 PD's (just slightly above what he finished with in his rookie season, not anywhere near top ten material)
Taking a look at his matchups through week 6, he probably should have had much better numbers to this point. Especially against the Falcons and Eagles. Looking ahead, the road seems ok for matchups but not exactly a schedule that you would ask for. He does get the Falcons again, Bengals and the Cowboys.
After starting off slightly better than average this season and slumping the last 4 games (more or less), I think it may be time to take a stronger look at him. He seems more like a situational DL from a FF perspective after really looking into what he has done. The one plus that he does have going for him.... he started off slowly last year also.
Now I could be way off on him, but I rarely go out on a limb unless I know its sturdy enough to hold the weight.
Sleeperz