2011 IDP Dynasty Buy Low/Sell High: Week 6

ByRyan Sitzmann Posted on Updated on
<!–[if !mso]>st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } <![endif]–>
Written By: Eric Olinger

Bye Weeks suck no matter what, but it can suck even more in Dynasty Leagues. Carrying your entire roster over year after year leaves you at the mercy of the schedule makers, and they don’t give a crap that your best 3 LBs are all on BYE the same week. This brought up an interesting dilemma in one of my Dynasty Leagues this week. A guy took a “zero” from one of his LBs, who was on BYE, because he didn’t want to cut him. Fortunately for him, he still won. But it goes to show the calculated gambles you have to take in Dynasty Leagues. Nowhere is it more important than the waiver wire. After week 1, you couldn’t have found an owner of Lawrence Timmons that would have traded him straight up for Sean Lee. Now it’s the other way around. While talent usually prevails and I believe Timmons will eventually regain form, Dynasty IDPers have to know when to take the calculated gambles.

BUY

Aldon Smith- OLB- San Francisco 49ers
I’ve mentioned this rookie a couple of times before, but he’s really starting to come on. He has 3.5 sacks in the last 2 games and the 49ers defense is the truth. It’s nearly impossible to run on San Fran with Willis and Bowman roaming the defensive backfield like a couple of junkyard dogs, so teams are trying to pass more. In steps Smith. He’s playing in the nickel packages as a pass rush specialist and Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio has been installing plays specifically for this year’s #7 overall pick. For anyone that lost Mario Williams last week, Aldon Smith would be the perfect replacement and might actually be better! I fully expect him to keep the sack streak alive against Detroit this week in what is shaping up as the game of the week.
Brooks Reed- OLB- Houston Texans
The next man up in Houston is the No. 42 pick in this year’s draft, Brooks Reed. He’ll be the man filling the shoes of Mario Williams who went on IR Monday with a pectoral injury. Coming out of college Reed drew comparisons to Clay Matthews, but don’t get too excited. He’s worth a stash if you have the bench spot, because if he can seize the opportunity, he could keep this job long term since Mario Williams’ contract is up at the season’s end.
Adrian Clayborn- DE- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Playing as the #1 DE on Tampa Bay’s young defense as a rookie, Clayborn has 2 sacks in his last 3 games. He definitely has the potential to form a fierce tag team of disruptive pass rushers with fellow rookie Da’Quan Bowers once he gets healthy. His next 3 games are vs. NO, vs. CHI, and @ NO. With the number of pass attempts plus the turnstile offensive line of the Bears, Clayborn has the opportunity to perform well the next few weeks. If nothing else, he’s a good BYE week fill-in.
Aaron Curry- SLB- Seattle Seahawks
This is just a total hunch, but it’s something to consider. Curry has fallen out of favor with the Seattle coaching staff and been demoted to back up duties. With the trade deadline approaching, why not move Curry? You cant tell me a team like the Eagles, Giants, or Panthers couldn’t use him. This guy was viewed as a “Can’t Miss” prospect coming out of Wake Forest, the only thing he might need is a change of scenery.

 
SELL
Barrett Ruud- MLB- Tennessee Titans
Out of all the questions we get each week, I can honestly say the 3 guys we get asked about the most are Barrett Ruud, Paul Posluszny, and David Hawthorne. To me Barrett Ruud is just “a guy”. I don’t think he’s special by any means and if I had him, now would be the time I would sell high. He’s had 7 solo tackles each of the last 2 games while adding an additional 3 assists last week. Every time I watch this guy I can’t help but notice that he waits for the tackles to come to him. He’s always falling backwards and making tackles too far beyond the line of scrimmage. He’s only signed through this year and I seriously doubt he’ll be back with Tennessee since Colin McCarthy is being groomed as the future.
Ray Edwards- DE- Atlanta Falcons
Is this a case of a guy cashing in on a career year and then disappearing after his payday or a guy coming off an off-season knee surgery? Either way, he has one sack through the first 5 games. In my opinion, Edwards is nothing more than the complimentary piece to a premier pass rusher and with John Abraham nearing the end, it’s only going to get tougher. I like Kroy Biermann, but nobody is going to mistake him for Jared Allen playing opposite Edwards.
Thomas Howard- WLB- Cincinnati Bengals
Howard has been filling in for Keith Rivers who is currently on the Reserve/NFI list after having off-season wrist surgery. All signs are pointing to Rivers being ready to roll after the Bengals’ week 7 BYE. At that point, Rivers will immediately eat into Howard’s snap count. I would recommend selling before this happens. If Howard can put up a decent stat line against Indy this weekend I would try to move him while he still has some value.
Derrick Johnson- ILB- Kansas City Chiefs
Derrick Johnson is one of the most frustrating IDP Linebackers in all of Fantasy Football. He has true beast like ability, shown by his week 15 of last year stat line of 17 total tackles and 4 passes defended, but it shows up so rarely. This year he’s averaging 6 total tackles a game with no turnovers or sacks and only 4 passes defended. If you’re in a tackle only league that doesn’t reward for big plays, he would be worth holding on to, but heading into his BYE week, I wouldn’t hesitate to drop him and move on.

Thanks for reading! Comments, suggestions or questions are welcome below or by email at ericolinger@idpguru.com. You can also follow my active Twitter feed @Olinger3781.

Last Updated: October 13, 2011