Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Hello and welcome to the first installment of an eight installment series breaking down all 32 NFL teams from the Individual Defensive Player (IDP) perspective. This series will be taking a look at each team’s respective defensive schemes and how those schemes affect the value of certain defensive players. We will also be discussing some varying levels of sleepers as well as some players to avoid, or better known as busts. Let’s get things started with the NFC West.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

DEFENSIVE SCHEME: The Seahawks run a 4-3 with a decent amount of cover-2 looks. Expect Seattle to show some 3-4esque looks with an “elephant” player (i.e. a standup defensive end) this season. It remains to be seen who would fill this type of role, though Aaron Curry, David Hawthorne, or possibly Lawrence Jackson seem to be the leading candidates. Pete Carroll has stated that Aaron Curry is going to blitz more this season and could big a nice late-round pick in big-play leagues. 

EVERY-DOWN LINEBACKERS: Lofa Tatupu, David Hawthorne/Aaron Curry

STONE COLD LOCK: When healthy, Lofa Tatupu is a top notch LB2. The problem is he hasn’t been healthy the last two seasons and he’s lost some perceived value because of it. You should still still have faith in the 27 year old linebacker out of USC. As long as he stays healthy, he will give you top-30 fantasy numbers.

ON THE RISE: David Hawthorne helped many IDP owners win their fantasy championships last year. He was one the best fantasy football linebackers during the second half of the season. Although he finds himself moved to the weak side of the defense with the return of Lofa Tatupu, he should still provide owners with solid LB3 numbers. 

BUST POTENTIAL: How can you not like Earl Thomas as a player. He has the makings of someday being an NFL superstar. However, he landed in a less than optimal position in Seattle. The Seahawks run a lot of cover-2 schemes which require the safeties to drop back in deep coverage decreasing their tackle opportunities. This decrease is further compounded when the team has good outside linebackers (which Seattle does). People are expecting too much out of Thomas as witnessed by his positional ADP of 17.

COMATOSE SLEEPER: Seattle is really hurting at defensive line. So much so that they moved former defensive tackle Red Bryant to the starting left defensive end position. The lineman will the best shot at getting the majority of defensive snaps is starting defensive end Chris Clemons. He will go undrafted in 99% of leagues and could be a decent pick at the very end of deep drafts or as waiver wire fodder.

ST. LOUIS RAMS

DEFENSIVE SCHEME: Under new coach Steve Spagnuolo, the Rams have adopted a more aggressive, blitzing 4-3 defensive scheme similar to the one that was used in New York during their super bowl run in 2008. However, good system or not, you have to have talented players and the Rams just aren’t up to par with the rest of the NFL. They finished 31st in points allowed last season and only really have a couple of bright spots on their defense.

EVERY-DOWN LINEBACKERS: James Laurinaitis, Bobby Carpenter

STONE COLD LOCK: Without a doubt, the most valuable and dependable fantasy football player on this defense is second year player James Laurinaitis. He quickly became the leader of the defense at middle linebacker and, although he lacks superb lateral agility, top-notch physicality, and only has average diagnostic skills, he’s still a very solid player. Expect Laurinaitis put up 100+ solos and be a top 10 linebacker again this season.

ON THE RISE: Is this the year that defensive Chris Long finally breaks out? It usually takes defensive linemen two to three years to hit their stride and finally start living up to their expected potential. Long really struggled during the first half of last season; however he finished strong with five sacks in his last eight games. Expect that momentum to carry over into 2010. The only concern is that Long doesn’t have much talent surrounding him on the defensive line and that he will consequently be facing a good amount of double teams. That aside, he’s talented enough to overcome some of these obstacles and put up top 20 defensive lineman numbers. 

BUST POTENTIAL: Oshiomogho Atogwe has been the Rams best playmaker on defense the last few seasons. What you should be concerned about is his offseason injury and contract issues. Atogwe underwent major surgery in January to repair a dislocation and torn labrum in his shoulder and also had a hernia injury. Combine this with his dissatisfaction over his contract situation and you could have the makings for a down season. Still draft Atogwe as a top-5 safety, but don’t expect a repeat of his 2009 statistics.

COMATOSE SLEEPER: Being a huge Cowboys fan, I had the displeasure of watching Bobby Carpenter come in to play in nickel packages. Although he was overrated coming out of college and a huge disappointment in Dallas, it wasn’t all his fault. He was severely miscast in the Cowboys 3-4 system and should play much better as a weak side backer in a 4-3, where he will have more freedom to run and get after ball-carriers. “Carp” is also likely going to be a three-down linebacker on a defense that is going to be on the field a ton. Considering he’s going undrafted in 95% of leagues, Carpenter is a guy you can grab in the last round and get good value from.

Need help organizing your fantasy draft? We’ve got you covered….

NFC WEST  |  NFC SOUTH  |  NFC NORTH  |  NFC EAST

AFC EAST |  AFC NORTH |  AFC SOUTH |  AFC WEST

If you have any further IDP questions feel free to shoot Ryan an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or drop a line in our IDP Forums.

As always, for more great IDP information, visit the IDP Guru at www.idpguru.com.