All About the Solo: Week Four

One of the most frustrating things in IDP leagues is seeing your stud linebacker fly all over the field on game days only to see the home score keeper dilute his performance by divvying up his tackles as assists. On the flip side, if your league doesn’t score solos and assists too differently, you’ll have a better idea of which teams hand out assists like candy. Not everyone knows this, but the NFL does not recognize a tackle as an official statistic. Tackles are scored by the home team’s official score keeper and those are the stats you see on the news and websites. The league made an effort to standardize what is and isn’t a solo tackle back in 2007 when they sent a video to all NFL teams, but it is still the discretion of the home score keeper. Even after this effort there is a still a large discrepancy from team to team and week-to-week. I will be tracking this throughout the season to give you a better idea of what to expect when choosing your IDPs each week.

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Luke Kuechly put up a solid day versus Tom Brady and the Patriots with 12 solo tackles and two assists while playing all 70 defensive snaps. The other interesting tidbit was Shaq Thompson playing 69 of 70 snaps a week after playing 91% of the snaps. He played just 46% of the snaps in each of weeks one and two. Could the ageless Thomas Davis finally be passing the torch to Thompson?

I don’t know if Danny Trevathan was trying to murder Davante Adams or not (he should have been tackling with his head up regardless), but he finished the week with 13 total tackles and a one game suspension after having it reduced from two games for being a first time offender. This leaves the Bears woefully thin at inside linebacker with Jerrell Freeman on injured reserve and Nick Kwiatkowski nursing a pectoral injury. This leaves a ton of tackle opportunities for Christian Jones and a player to be named later. This looks like a solid opportunity for Latavius Murray and the Vikings to find their stride without Dalvin Cook.

Telvin Smith had a good statistical game against the Jets but the Jaguars defense is #NotGood. They let Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire run completely unchained all day long combining for 256 yards and a pair of scores. Smith and Myles Jack can be locked and loaded as every single week starters for the rest of the season because they’re going to see a billion tackle opportunities….and I may be low balling it.

As much as I don’t want to admit it, Jon Bostic is a thing. Once again he’s playing 100% of the defensive snaps for the Colts and has the look of this year’s Craig Robertson. The thing is, Steve Wyremski tried convincing me he wasn’t good coming into the league and I was drinking the Kool-Aid. A couple of years later I admitted defeat and gave up on Bostic. After bouncing around the league for a few years he’s finally found a home. If you picked him off waivers you can take comfort in knowing you have a very solid LB2+ for 2017 but if you near the trade deadline in your league and you’re not a contender, trade him. Jon Bostic is not a dynasty hold.

It’s been an interesting start to C.J. Mosley’s career. He was a rookie sensation who took a statistical step backwards in year two in favor of Zachary Orr, who literally came out of nowhere. I thought Mosley was going to be one of those players who remained a much better NFL player than fantasy asset, a player who draws all the attention while funneling tackles to his teammates. So this off-season I took a low cost flier on Kamalei Correa when I should’ve been buying low on Mosley. Mosley has taken charge of this defensive unit once again and has reasserted himself into top five dynasty territory.

Three Steelers linebackers played 97% of the snaps this week, Ryan Shazier, T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree. Shazier delivered 10 solo tackles and an assist. Watt and Dupree each finished with four tackles, the latter also chipped in half a sack. The odd man out appears to be Vince Williams who played just 59% of the snaps and totaled three solo tackles. Williams isn’t droppable because of Shazier’s injury history but he can’t be started right now with any confidence except in deep leagues.

With Vontaze Burfict back from suspension, Nick Vigil remained an every down linebacker playing 98% of the team’s defensive snaps while Burfict played 80% in his return. Now the question is, can Vigil keep the gig? He’s been impressive and deserves playing time but Burfict is a game changing difference maker. The Bengals have been able to produce multiple IDP linebackers over the last few years so they both carry big upside.

Joe Schobert is an interesting player to watch. He’s played every single defensive snap for the Browns this season while also still playing special teams. He’s not a big play threat and collects as many assists as he does solo tackles. That usually tells me he’s more of “pile jumper” and might be a step slow. He reminds me of A.J. Hawk. Based on playing time alone he’s at worst a LB3.

Preston Brown has 30 total tackles through four games but he’s not scoring well in any IDP leagues. He has zero sacks, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries or interceptions. On top of that, 20 of his 30 total tackles have been assists. He’s getting the playing time so you have to roll with him but he’s been underwhelming so far.

First, the good about Jaylon Smith, he’s playing and he’s playing a lot. He has 34 total tackles through the first quarter of the season. Each week he looks a little bit better than the week before as he continues to recover from that devastating knee injury. Now the bad, he’s still not the player we saw at Notre Dame. His acceleration is lacking and at times he almost looks like he’s lumbering. Having said all of that, I still love this guy and I think playing this season as he recovers will force him to rely less on pure athleticism and be more cerebral. He’s without a doubt a top 15 dynasty linebacker.

Julius Peppers sure is a fun guy to root for. He’s 37 years old and has been a force for the Panthers this year as a situational pass rusher. He has 4.5 sacks through the first four games but he’s the textbook definition of “feast or famine”. He’s a high upside DE2 for 2017.

Much like Peppers, Elvis Dumervil is an old vet who has transitioned into a role player in the twilight of his career. The two sacks of Carson Palmer this weekend gave him 101 sacks for his career, which actually shocked me a bit. It’s easy to forget how good he’s been for so long but he’s not a dependable asset any longer and is purely a matchup play while he’s only playing a third of the snaps.

Khalil Mack continued his march towards dominance with two more sacks in week four. He now has at least one sack in three straight games and is now entering a favorable stretch of the schedule. He’s a monster and Superman wears Khalil Mack pajamas to bed. He’s a top two defensive end and a top 12 linebacker.

It was nice to see Danielle Hunter register his first two sacks of the season this weekend. He’s an elite defensive end and someone who I start without thinking about it. This weekend he gets to face a decimated Bears team giving rookie Mitchell Trubisky his first career start. It’s time to eat.

It’s feast or famine with Yannick Ngakoue. He popped off in week one for a pair of sacks and then totaled three tackles combined in weeks two and three before turning in another two sack game in week four. He’s a guy I’ve really liked and he’s seeing a ton of snaps, so there really isn’t much more I can ask for out of a DE2.

The Lions have found something in second year defensive end Anthony Zettel. He has at least one sack in three of four games this year including a pair in week four. I think he’s a lock for double digit sacks this year playing across from Ziggy Ansah and he’s a guy I’m holding in dynasty leagues. He’s become one of “my guys”.

Follow me on Twitter @OlingerIDP.

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