2011 Fantasy Football Week 8 IDP Rankings

Got a lot of requests for some Individual Defensive Player (IDP) rankings. So I played my hand at it.

There is a lot of discrepancy in how points are awarded for IDP slots. I am in an IDP league that rewards points heavily to the players with a high volume of tackles. Some of the research that went into these rankings gave only fractional points for tackles and more for turnovers. While some of them were evenly split.

If you see that your IDP league is more tackle heavy, you might have to adjust. I have provided some statistics to help you mix and match how your league is played.

This is my first IDP article, so please tell me in the comments what you think.

Defensive Linemen Rankings	Asst Tackles	Solo Tackles	Sacks	Total Turnovers
1) Jared Allen	8	21	11.5	5
2) Terrell Suggs	3	17	5	3
3) Jason Pierre-Paul	6	24	7.5	1
4) Trent Cole	2	12	3	0
5) Ndamukong Suh	7	16	3	0
6) Charles Johnson	4	18	6	1
7) Robert Mathis	3	9	3.5	2
8) Haloti Ngata	8	16	3	5
9) Osi Umenyiora	3	7	5	2
10) Andre Carter	7	16	2.5	0
11) Brian Robinson	3	14	4.5	1
12) Jason Babin	4	15	7	1
13) Justin Smith	5	17	4.5	2
14) Greg Hardy	6	20	3	1
15) Dwight Freeney	3	7	4.5	2
16) Calais Campbell	10	21	2.5	1
17) Jeremy Mincey	6	18	2	1
18) Chris Long	2	9	3	0
19) Kyle Vanden Bosch	5	12	4	4
20) Chris Clemons	6	14	5	1

Linebacker Rankings	Asst Tackles	Solo Tackles	Sacks	Total Turnovers
1) Patrick Willis	10	37	0	3
2) Sean Lee	17	34	0	5
3) Paul Posluszny	23	36	1	0
4) D'Qwell Jackson	15	40	2.5	3
5) Derrick Johnson	9	35	0	0
6) Nick Barnett	20	28	0	3
7) James Anderson	16	43	1	1
8) Ray Lewis	10	40	2	3
9) Demarcus Ware	3	17	8	1
10) David Hawthorne	17	23	1	1
11) Pat Angerer	39	41	0	2
12) D.J. Williams	5	17	2	2
13) James Laurninaitis	15	32	0	2
14) Daryl Washington	4	26	2	1
15) Chad Greenway	13	39	0	0
16) Daryl Smith	12	38	2	2
17) Brian Cushing	15	32	1	0
18) Navarro Bowman	13	43	0	1
19) Jerod Mayo	5	20	0	1
20) Stephen Tullock	12	32	2	2

Defensive Backs Rankings	Asst Tackles	Solo Tackles	Sacks	Total Turnovers
1) LaRon Landry	4	28	.5	1
2) George Wilson	14	43	0	4
3) Quintin Mikell	5	33	1	4
4) Jarius Byrd	10	36	0	2
5) Troy Polamalu	15	28	1	1
6) Kam Chancellor	8	30	1	4
7) Patrick Chung	15	22	1	1
8) Yeremiah Bell	13	39	1	1
9) Eric Weddle	8	26	0	3
10) Roman Harper	11	31	3.5	1
11) Antoine Bethea	24	34	0	1
12) Jason McCourty	6	32	0	0
13) Ryan Clark	12	30	0	1
14) Antrel Rolle	7	38	0	2
15) Ladarious Webb	7	29	.5	3
16) Kyle Arrington	10	24	0	4
17) Craig Dahl	3	23	0	1
18) Dawan Landry	11	31	0	1
19) T.J. Ward	8	23	1	1
20) Terence Newman	2	9	0	1

Week 8: Pick'em Predictions

A pretty damn straightforward week here.

Looking at pick'em sites you will see that 9 of the 13 games are picked by 90% of the voters. So lots of pretty easy  guarantees this week. Titans, Saints, Giants, Panthers, Ravens, Texans, Bills, Lions, 49ers.

Some upsets are possible here. Part of me is looking at the Vikings to make a run at the Panthers on the legs of Peterson. And I've got a funny feeling that the Chargers/Chiefs game could be a lot closer than San Diego fans want it to be.

I've only got one upset picked here and that is the Steelers over the Patriots. Definitely a high score possible here, but I think Big Ben will get it done through the air. Potential big game for all Steelers receivers here.

If you've got an upset in store, let me hear about it.

	Jordan	Andrew	MGLS
Record (LW) (Total):	(8-5)(63-40)	(8-5)(60-43)	(7-6)(53-50)
Colts @ Titans	Titans	Titans	Titans
Saints @ Rams	Saints	Saints	Rams
Dolphins @ Giants	Giants	Giants	Giants
Vikings @ Panthers	Panthers	Panthers	Panthers
Cardinals @ Ravens	Ravens	Ravens	Ravens
Jaguars @ Texans	Texans	Texans	Texans
Redskins @ Bills	Bills	Bills	Bills
Lions @ Broncos	Lions	Lions	Broncos
Bengals @ Seahawks	Bengals	Bengals	Bengals
Browns @ 49ers	49ers	49ers	49ers
Patriots @ Steelers	Steelers	Steelers	Patriots
Cowboys @ Eagles	Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys
Chargers @ Chiefs	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers
Survival Pick	Eliminated	Eliminated	Eliminated

2011 Week 8 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

Another week and another round of position rankings. A bunch of new faces are gracing the top spots at a number of positions after the Week 7 injury bus rolled in.

The running back rankings took the biggest hit as we see some surprise names stepping up from their RB2 and RB3 positions into the fantasy football spotlight. It is going to be a fun week to watch for sure as sleepers are everywhere on the board.

While we are getting primed to look at what some rookies and backups are able to do in Week 8, let’s first take a glance at the fantasy football position rankings..

As per usual, now is the time to start asking your questions. And let me know if there are any repeats or gross errors, or if you have a sleeper you think should be on the list.

2011 Week 8: Waiver Wire Pick-Ups

Just like every other week, we have all been hit hard by injuries. If you were fortunate enough to escape them before, you are most certainly reeling now.

I'm sure that you all have read about the injuries and replacements from other major fantasy football sites, but lets break it down a little bit more. GHL will do some research for you. Here's a list of your top pick-ups for Week 8.

Bernard Scott, Cincinnati Bengals

Not an injury to start with, but a suspension. Cedric Benson will serve his one-gamer. Scott could be the best of the backups here and is among the least owned, currently just 4% in ESPN leagues. Seattle is giving up 105 per game, which isn't too shabby considering that they are always playing from behind.

Scott has averaged roughly 4 yards per carry in his career. He only has 700 yards and two scores since starting his career in 2009, but he does have upside this week if you are in a pinch.

Alfonso Smith, Arizona Cardinals (0.1% owned)

Beanie Wells with a knee injury that will likely cost him a game or two. Really, it was just a matter of time. Arizona has been able to run the ball well this year, making his backup a pretty interesting grab. Alfonso Smith will be in front of Larod Stephens-Howling in the depth chart when the Cardinals go up against the Ravens.

Ravens are definitely a tough team to run on, and LSH had a great reception after Wells went down, so Smith, again is definitely on an "only if you desperately need him" status.

Roy Helu, Washington Redskins (15.3% owned)

We all know that Hightower is gone for the year, making the Mike Shanahan-induced running back roller coaster a bit more bearable. It is easy to imagine that most of the work will go to Ryan Torain, but if we can learn anything from the Redskins' past, we know that Helu has a chance for a couple big games this season.

So far this year, Helu is averaging nearly 5 yards per carry, the same as Torain. Making it even more interesting knowing that one of these guys is going to have a big statistical week every time the Skins touch the field. I like him as a pickup. Washington is a running team, and while he is still a risk, he has a great deal of upside.

Lance Ball, Denver Broncos (0.1% owned)

Willis McGahee suffered an injury as well this weekend. And Moreno will be getting the start. But, lets not forget that Moreno is pretty terrible. It is not too big a stretch to imagine that backup Lance Ball will get some work as well, and perhaps even take over most of the carries, much like McGahee did at the beginning of the year.

Ball has done very little in his career, but hasn't had much time to show what he can do. Definitely a reach here. I really just wanted to put him here to impress some people with my depth of knowledge of the Broncos rush offense. You like it, I know.


I'm going to avoid Leon Washington here. Marshawn Lynch has not been able to get the job done this year due to the lack of passing game and the terrible blocking on the Seahawks front. Chances of a breakout here are slim to none.

Also saying no to Kregg Lumpkin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Earnest Graham was having a great run with Blount out of the picture, but don't expect the same from Lumpkin. Bucs have a bye this week, and Blount could very well be returning by the time they hit the field again.

Michael Bush is a great play with McFadden's injury. His backup Taiwan Jones is a hell of a stretch as well. He has had little to no work so far. He will likely see a handful of carries as long as McFadden is missing, but Bush should be the star for the time being.


If you have not put a claim in for Jabar Gaffney, then now is the time to do so. I expect Fred Davis to be the big winner in Santana Moss's injury, but Gaffney has been playing well this season and his targets should be going way up as the number one receiver.

Second wide receiver pickup would be Michael Jenkins of the Minnesota Vikings. Percy Harvin reinjured his ribs and has not been putting up the numbers we have been expecting. Jenkins is coming off a great week and Ponder is performing very well.

Week 7 Advice Time, Injury Updates, and Bye Week Fillers

I will be answering questions up until kickoff on GHL and on Twitter @godhateslosers. If youve got any questions leading up to game time, now is your chance.

Click "read more" for injury updates and some great bye week fillers.

NFL Week 7 Pick'em Predictions

Alright, I've been doling out some pretty solid fantasy football advice, I have to say. So I'm going to take that as a consolation for having another pretty crap week in Week 6 at pick'em. 52-38 is not sexy.

Jordan and I disagree on a couple of games this week, so lets check them out:

Bears vs Bucs. Game is in London, should be windy, probably rainy. Bucs still without Blount, Bears still without an offensive line. I think the Bears are going to win this one, but all I can pretty much guarantee is that this one will be pretty sloppy.

Broncos vs Dolphins. I'm not sold on Tebow as an elite fantasy quarterback like nearly everyone else is. But I am definitely not sold on him as a starting NFL quarterback. Sure he could run for a score, but we can see in games past that Miami is losing games because they struggle against the pass. And Denver is rocking a quarterback who can't exactly do that very well. Dolphins win their first at home.

Titans vs Texans. Take your pick really. I like the Texans this week. Not sure why, just a hometeam advantage I'm sure. Hoping Schaub finally makes a mark with a receiver with Andre Johnson gone for a while.

Chargers vs Jets. Sanchez had something like 20 yards passing in the first half of the last game against Miami. Chargers > Dolphins. I really like Malcolm Floyd as a fantasy option in this game.

I went Cowboys with my guarantee pick. Ravens, Saints, Steelers also good options.

	Jordan	Andrew	MGLS
Record (LW) (Total):	(10-3)(55-35)	(7-6)(52-38)	(6-7)(46-44)
Falcons @ Lions	Lions	Lions	Falcons
Bears @ Bucs	Bucs	Bears	Bears
Seahawks @ Browns	Browns	Browns	Seahawks
Broncos @ Dolphins	Broncos	Dolphins	Dolphins
Texans @ Titans	Titans	Texans	Titans
Chargers @ Jets	Jets	Chargers	Chargers
Redskins @ Panthers	Panthers	Panthers	Redskins
Chiefs @ Raiders	Raiders	Raiders	Chiefs
Steelers @ Cardinals	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers
Rams @ Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys
Packers @ Vikings	Packers	Packers	Packers
Colts @ Saints	Saints	Saints	Saints
Ravens @ Jaguars	Ravens	Ravens	Ravens
Survival Pick	Eliminated	Eliminated	Eliminated

Fantasy Football Strategy: How to Pick A Smart Trade

**Before we start the post. As you all probably know, the Ronnie Brown trade did not go through. If you need a RB. Get Morris. I have a funny feeling that Best isn't coming back any time soon.**

With all the noise made this week in the NFL about trades, I thought it was time to address the art of the fantasy football trade.

I get a lot of questions on the site about trade advice and while a lot of it has to do with predictions, there is a bit of a science to it that entails looking at the past. With a little bit of time, and a little bit of math, you can figure out if a trade is right for you in just a few simple minutes without getting stuck in overthinking things.

Week 7 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

Another week of rankings is all set. Got a handful of players that are surprises this week, so I'll be looking to make a sleeper post in the near future to explain them all. A few updates on trades and their impact on fantasy can be found here.

As always, feel free to ask any questions that you have. For your convenience, this post will be tagged as "Position Rankings" so later in the week instead of scrolling forever, you can simply click the category on the right. I know, I'm pretty great.

This week has been all about improvement and expansion for GHL. You all have probably noticed the new layout, so please take a minute to answer the poll on the left hand side. There will be a new one up each day, so make sure you come back and help out your fellow GHL-reading fantasy owner. I'm picking the poll questions based on comments left in the blog or questioned ask to GHL through Twitter (@godhateslosers).

As far as expansion goes, I ask each of you who finds this helpful to either hit the tweet or facebook button, or even something as simple as telling a friend outside of your league about us. The more people know about GHL, the better.

If you're looking for some light GHL reading, check out a post I did for ffblife. Its about my starts and sits for the Tampa Bay/Chicago game taking place at Wembley Stadium in London. You can find that here: http://ffblife.com/index.php/michaeliggy/210-omoavoid7

And away we go...

Trades, Injuries and Changes Shake Up Fantasy Football Rosters **updated

**updated: Detroit Lions acquire running back Ronnie Brown

For the past five weeks it seems that we have had to shake up our fantasy football rosters and rankings based on the weekly injuries constantly hitting NFL teams. Well, we seem to be alleviated from that this week, but faced with a delightful set of new problems. Rather than a host of unwanted injuries, we now get to modify our rosters based on a delightful combination of injuries, trades and replacements.

Let’s start from West to East.

GHL Feedback and Changes

Published an article at ffblife.com: "One Man's Opinion: Avoid Fantasy Football Across the Pond"
Check it out!

In the last article I posted some question for you and got some great feedback about how I can improve the site.

In the coming weeks, I will be doing all that I can to add some of these features to the site. As you can see now, in the right column, there are a handful of tags where you will be quickly redirected to the topic of your choice (pick'em, strategy, position rankings). Hopefully this will keep you from having to scroll forever to get to the information you are looking for.

Also, I'm working on creating a poll to get some further perspective on some of the tougher questions asked on this site and Twitter (@godhateslosers). Tuesday through Saturday there will be a new poll question posted allowing you to help out a fellow GHL reader. I will select the questions for the polls based on difficulty.

In the meantime, expect GHL to be running as always. And if you have any other ideas to improve upon the site, just let me know! And don't forget to tell a friend or two about us, add us on Twitter, and keep sharing the posts you love the most!