2011 IDP Stockwatch: Week 6

ByRyan Sitzmann Posted on Updated on
Written By: Bill Edwards

Hello and welcome to this season-long series for IDPGuru.com. In this article, I will discuss a few players whose fantasy value has either gone up or down depending on their performance, role changes, injury concerns, etc. from the previous week. I will try to get this article out every Wednesday for your reading pleasure.

Stock Up

ROLB – Brooks Reed – (HOU) – Mario Williams is expected to be out the remainder of the year with a torn pectoral muscle. His backup, rookie LB Brooks Reed, will fill in for him. Reed showed flashes of his potential earlier in the preseason. He will have a lot to learn, but should be in a great position to succeed with Houston’s defensive schemes. LB3/4

MLB – Barrett Ruud – (TEN) – Ruud has shown up the last 2 weeks after a few weeks of being a fantasy disappointment. In week 4, he had 7 tackles and 10 more in week 5. He is on pace for 118 total tackles with the possibility of 135 tackles as a ceiling for him. He should be back in your lineups and hopefully is over what ever ailed him in the first few weeks of the season. LB2

SS – Charles Godfrey – (CAR) – With the season ending injuries to Beason and Davis, the Panther’s linebackers are not as strong against the run. This has allowed Godfrey more tackle opportunities since tackles are being missed at the first level. Godfrey’s tackles per game have increase over the last few weeks. He is a good fill in for your bye weeks and a decent start in deeper leagues. DB2/3

SS – Sean Jones – (TB) – Jones has been on a tear as of late and is on pace for 102 tackles. He finished week 5 with 9 solos. Tampa Bay is currently ranked tied for 23rd against the run. Jones has seen more tackle chances with teams exposing their inability to stop the run. Tampa has also been behind in many games and teams have tried to run the clock out against them. DB2/3

RILB – D.J. Williams – (DEN) – Williams is back from an elbow injury that made him miss the first few weeks of the season. Since he’s been back, he has recorded 17 tackles and 1 sack. He is on pace for 112 tackles if he remains healthy. Williams has been a solid tackle guy finishing with 119 tackles or more 3 out of the last 4 years. LB1


Stock Down

LDE – J.J. Watt – (HOU) – Watt is averaging 3 tackles per game in his rookie campaign. He does have 1 sack to his credit but hasn’t been overly impressive to this point. With the loss of Mario Williams, Watt’s numbers may actually decrease. Teams will not have to prepare for 2 strong pass rushers like Watt and Williams. Watt is probably only worth owning in keeper leagues or dynasty leagues at this point.


ROLB – Joey Porter – (ARZ) – Porter has been on the decline since the 08-09 season when he had 17.5 sacks for Miami. He hasn’t been getting to the QB and doesn’t make enough tackles to be a good fantasy LB. Probably best left on your waiver wire unless your in an extreme bind for a bye week fill in.

RCB – Ronde Barber – (TB) – Barber has been one of the best CBs in the league for years. 14 years to be exact. He is in his 15th season and is on pace for one of his worst tackling years of his career (60 total). He has been on the decline since his 06-07 season when he last approached 100 tackles. He should be sitting next to Tiki doing TV ads or broadcasting at this time next year.

LILB – A.J. Hawk – (GB) – Hawk has been kind of slow in the tackle department this season. He is up to 19 on the year. That would be 60 for the season if he continues at this pace. I don’t believe it is all his fault though. Green Bay has been scoring fast and often so far this season and teams are in throw first mode in the opening quarter. Teams know they have to score 28pts or more just to compete with Green Bay. So Hawk is seeing fewer chances at tackles. When the weather gets colder and games turn into street fights, Hawk will return with some better numbers, but until late November comes, he should be on your bench.

RILB – Clint Session – (JAC) –Session is averaging 3 tackle per game. He is sharing the field with a beast in Posluszny. That is not an excuse for Session to only have 16 tackles heading into week 6. Jacksonville is ranked 10th in rushing and passing defense. Seems as if Session is not a big part of why they are the 8thranked defense overall. Maybe it is that Daryl Smith and Posluszny are eating all the tackles up and leaving only scraps for Session. Either way he should be on your waiver wire unless some injuries occur to either Smith or the Poz.

Thanks for reading! Comments, suggestions or questions are welcome below or by email at billedwards@idpguru.com. You can also follow my active Twitter feed @edwards7aces.

Last Updated: October 11, 2011