2011 IDP Game Notes: Week 6

– San Fran ILB Navorro Bowman (8 solo tackles-6 assists, pass defensed) outshined ILB Patrick Willis (5-2, 3 PD) again. Rookie OLB Aldon Smith (4-0, forced fumble, 2 sacks, safety, PD) has had three straight QB-terrorizing games. DE Justin Smith (5-2, 1.5 sacks) has found his mojo. FS Dashon Goldson (4-3) has cooled off a bit after a hot start.

– Detroit WLB Deandre Levy (7-5) has had three straight outstanding games. MLB Stephen Tulloch (2-4, 1 sack) hasn’t been quite what we were hoping for. DT Ndamukong Suh (0-2) had a very quiet game. DE Kyle Vanden Bosch (1-1, fumble recovery, FF, 1 sack) was all over the stat sheet.

– New York DE Jason Pierre-Paul (3-0, 1 sack, PD) continues his breakout campaign. FS Antrel Rolle (6-2) is having a great season. DE Osi Umenyiora (2-2, 1 sack) has been getting to the QB since returning from injury. Fourth LB Jacquian Williams (1-1, PD) disappointed after several strong games in a row. SLB Mathias Kiwanuka (6-1, FF, 1 sack) had his best game of the season. WLB Michael Boley (7-1) and SS Kenny Phillips (5-2) are having good seasons.

– Buffalo CB Terrence McGee (11-0, 2 PD) returned from injury with a bang. He sucked up all the tackles, causing FS Jairus Byrd (2-2) and third safety Bryan Scott (1-2) to have quiet statistical games. It didn’t seem to hurt SS George Wilson (7-3), who is having a fantastic season. DE Dwan Edwards (4-3) can put up good tackle numbers every now and then. Rookie DE Marcell Dareus (3-1) is coming along.

– Philly SS Kurt Coleman (5-2, 3 int, 3 PD) caught more passes from Rex Grossman than most Washington receivers did. FS Nate Allen (2-1, int, 2 PD) got one, too. Nobody else really stood out: DE Jason Babin (2-0), MLB Jamar Chaney (1-0), WLB Brian Rolle (3-2, PD), and DE Darryl Tapp (2-0, 1 sack).

– Washington SS LaRon Landry (8-0) looks ready to put up outstanding tackle numbers down the fantasy home stretch. FS O.J. Atogwe (6-2, int, 1 sack, PD) had a spectacular game. ILB London Fletcher (4-8, 2 PD) had a very active game, but he isn’t getting the solo tackle numbers we’d like to see. Rookie OLB Ryan Kerrigan (2-3) had a down game. You could do worse than ILB Rocky McIntosh (6-5).

– Cincinnati MLB Rey Maualuga went down with an ankle injury and is expected to miss “a while.” No LB shined in his absence. FS Reggie Nelson (4-3, FF) is having a good season. DE Michael Johnson (2-1, 1 sack) did much better than last week’s goose egg. DE Carlos Dunlap (0-1, 35-yd fumble return TD) isn’t putting up the numbers we had hoped for, but he took one to the house in this game. DT Domata Peko (0-1) was quiet.

– Indy’s LBs got plenty of tackles: MLB Pat Angerer (5-3), WLB Kavell Conner (4-5), and SLB Philip Wheeler (5-1). Even back-up LB Ernie Sims (3-2) had an impact after missing most of this year with a knee injury. FS Antoine Bethea (4-4) saw plenty of action. DE Dwight Freeney (0-0) and DE Robert Mathis (0-0, PD) didn’t make an impact on the stat sheet.

– Pittsburgh ILB James Farrior (6-5, 1 sack, pass defensed) had his second-straight huge game since OLB James Harrison got injured and Lawrence Timmons was moved to the outside to replace him. OLB Lamarr Woodley (4-4, 2 sacks) has also benefitted from the shift. Timmons (0-0) has most certainly not benefitted from the shift; he didn’t even register a half a little piece of a tackle in this game. DE Brett Keisel (4-2, 2 sacks, PD) was gigantic. You could do worse than FS Ryan Clark (5-5). SS Troy Polamalu (4-1) went out with concussion symptoms.

– Jacksonville MLB Paul Posluszny (9-7) is back, baby! That’s three straight outstanding statistical performances after three straight stink bombs to start the season. SLB Daryl Smith (5-3) keeps chugging along. DE Jeremy Mincey (3-5) appears to have emerged as a viable IDP option. FS Dawan Landry (2-2, PD) has been up and down this season.

– Green Bay ILB Desmond Bishop (9-5) can’t be stopped. FS Morgan Burnett (6-3, FF) played with a club on his broken hand, but it didn’t hurt his numbers. ILB A.J. Hawk (7-2, 1 sack) had the kind of game IDP owners wish he would have all the time, aside from that whole middle finger business. SS Charlie Peprah (4-5) has been serviceable. OLB Clay Matthews (1-0, 1 sack, 3 PD) and CB Charles Woodson (2-2, 1 sack) got to the QB.

– St. Louis DE Chris Long (1-1) is not having the breakout we had hoped for. MLB James Laurinaitis (5-3) has not been as dominant as we had hoped for. FS Quintin Mikell (6-1) can get it done.

– Atlanta MLB Curtis Lofton (3-4, PD) and WLB Sean Weatherspoon (4-1, PD) had down games by their standards. FS Thomas Decoud (7-1, int, PD) has shown the ability to put up numbers. DE Ray Edwards (2-1, 1 sack) has been doing a little something lately.

– Carolina SLB James Anderson (7-5) is getting it done. You can find more upside than MLB Dan Connor (4-2) offers. After two strong weeks, SS Charles Godfrey (3-0) came back down to Earth. DE Greg Hardy (2-1) has been up and down. DE Charles Johnson (4-1, 1 sack, PD) had his best game of the season.

– Oakland SS Tyvon Branch (6-2) has been consistently good all season. MLB Rolando McClain (6-1, 2 PD) has put up good fantasy numbers every week except week 1. DT Richard Seymour (1-0) has been up and down. DE Lamarr Houston (1-0, 1 sack) got his first sack of the season. Aaron Curry (2-1) didn’t do much in his debut as the WLB.

– Cleveland MLB D’Qwell Jackson (9-0) continues his strong season. Rookie DE Jabaal Sheard (4-0, FF, 1 sack) is showing flashes. Rookie DT Phil Taylor (3-0, 1 sack) is doing about as well as a rookie DT possibly could. SS T.J. Ward (6-2) had his best game of the season. Outside of an outstanding week 3 performance, DT Ahtyba Rubin (3-0) has done very little to get excited about.

– Baltimore MLB Ray Lewis (8-4, 1 sack) is immortal. DT Haloti Ngata (6-2, 1 sack) is having an outstanding fantasy season for a DT. Bernard Pollard (5-0, 2 PD) started at SS with Tom Zbikowski dinged up. CB Lardarius Webb (6-1, FF) continues his fantastic season. FS Ed Reed (3-1, PD) has been kind of quiet the last few games.  DE/OLB Terrell Suggs (0-0, PD) was unusually quiet.

– Houston ILB DeMeco Ryans (0-4) looks like a bust. ILB Brian Cushing (3-2) cannot be relied upon. DE Tim Jamison (2-0, fumble recovery, FF, 2 sacks) came out of nowhere to have a monster day. FS Danieal Manning (9-2) doesn’t usually post those kind of tackle numbers. SS Glover Quin (6-1) is trying to remain fantasy-relevant. DE Antonio Smith (3-0) failed to get to the QB for the first time this season.

– New England DE Andre Carter (4-1, 2 sacks) has had two-straight good performances. SS Pat Chung (3-7) has been good but not great. With WLB Jerod Mayo out, the LBs did OK: Brandon Spikes (6-2), Gary Guyton (5-5), and Rob Ninkovich (3-4, PD). CB Kyle Arrington (7-4, int, PD) has shown fantasy potential.

– Dallas ILB Sean Lee (6-6, int, PD) put in another studly performance. OLB Demarcus Ware (4-1, 2 sacks) had his third two-sack game of the season. CB Orlando Scandrick (5-1, PD) came back from an ankle injury.

– Tampa DE Michael Bennett (4-0) is having a good season. Rookie MLB Mason Foster (1-2) left with an ankle injury. It looks like Tampa’s safeties are in flux with FS Tanard Jackson (5-0, int, PD) back from suspension. SS Sean Jones (4-0) didn’t benefit from Jackson’s return. CB Ronde Barber (6-1, PD) is having an up-and-down season.

– New Orleans SS Roman Harper (5-1) hasn’t been setting the world ablaze the last couple of games. But really, no Saint IDP has. Witness DE Will Smith (0-1) and MLB Jonathan Vilma (5-0).

 – Chicago’s IDP LBs are slumping: MLB Brian Urlacher (5-0) and WLB Lance Briggs (3-1). DE Julius Peppers (3-0, 2 sacks) fought through a knee injury. DE Israel Indonije (2-0, 1 sack) is having a decent season. CB Charles Tillman (10-1) is a tackle factory.

– Minnesota DE Jared Allen (3-0, fumble recovery, FF, 1 sack) has gotten to the QB in each game this season. SLB Chad Greenway (7-1) is a viable option. DE Brian Robison (3-0) has been up and down. MLB E.J. Henderson (4-1, 2 PD) let little bro Erin (8-0, FF) get the tackles. You could do worse than FS Husain Abdullah (5-0). CB Antoine Winfield missed the game with a neck injury.

– New York CB Darrelle Revis (3-0, 2 int, 4 PD, 100-yd int return TD) had a highlight-reel night, but you can continue to ignore him in fantasy. OLB Calvin Pace (6-1, FF, 2 sacks) came out of nowhere with a huge game. ILB Bart Scott (4-1, FF, .5 sack) has been serviceable but unspectacular this season. SS Eric Smith (1-0) let FS Jim Leonhard (7-0, FF) do the heavy lifting.

– Miami SS Yeremiah Bell (7-0) had a good game even though he got half as many solo tackles as his last outing. ILB Karlos Dansby (6-0, 1 sack) had his best game of the season. FS Reshad Jones (6-0) continues to start. OLB Cameron Wake (2-0) has not been the beast he is capable of being.

If you have any questions for Johnny, feel free to email him at johnnydavis@idpguru.com or follow him on Twitter. Also, feel free to post any questions or comments for David in the comments section of this post.