The Hive Week 13 Edition – Part II

Welcome to part deux of The Hive! Well so much for Terrell Suggs and Justin Smith last night huh? Such is the life of the IDP DL. Multiple sack point fests one week and 2 assists the next. Oh well, at least I got a good game out of Bart Scott in my keeper league. Lets take a look at the Sunday afternoon, Sunday night and Monday night IDP matchups!

Oakland @ Houston Sunday 1:05pm PST

Oakland

Studs – Derrick Burgess – about the best matchup he has had all season. Quietly has 8.5 sacks, only a couple off the pace for the AFC lead.

Kirk Morrison – a tackle machine.

Strong starts- Thomas Howard – while Hawk and Sims are turning it on, Howard has cooled a bit from his hot start. He continues to put up solid, if not spectacular, tackle numbers for his owners though.

Stuart Schweigart – a top 10 safety in a lot of formats this season.

Gut checks – Nnamdi Asomugha – Has 5 picks this year, and vs AJ is a definite possibility this week, especially in CB required leagues.

Michael Huff – Improving, but not an IDP factor yet.

Stay away – Warren Sapp – has had a few sacks lately, but with all the roll outs Kubiak has installed for Carr, combined with the Texans’ inability to run up the middle, DT’s have scored poorly vs them this season.

Houston

Studs – Demeco Ryans – has performed well against other teams with pathetic running games, no reason to think this week will be different.

Strong starts - Mario Williams – was owned by D’Brickashaw Ferguson last week. Is the plantar fasciitis bothering the rookie or is Ferguson that much of a stud? I’m betting on the former, I think he will get his vs likely the worst OL he has faced all season.

Gut checks – Dunta Robinson – Had 3 solos, 2 passes defended and a forced fumble last week. Is a stronger start in a CB required league.

Glen Earl – will the Raiders advance the ball past the front 7 enough to make Earl relevant? Could go either way.

Morlon Greenwood – has not performed as well as Ryans against pathetic offenses. He scares me a little this week.

Stay away – Anthony Weaver – Tempting vs this OL, but not a fantasy factor.

Jacksonville @ Miami Sunday 1:05pm PST

Jacksonville

Studs – Daryl Smith – Has been a little up and down recently, but I think this will be an excellent week for him.

Rashean Mathis – no Ronnie means Joey should chuck it a lot on Sunday. I think Mathis will be huge.

Strong starts – Gerald Sensabaugh – obviously losing Darius hurts their secondary in real life, but Sensabaugh should be a solid IDP DB the rest of the way out.

Gut checks – Clint Ingram – has actually led them in total tackles the last 2 weeks, but I don’t expect that trend to continue.

Stay away – Jags DL’s – Henderson or Stroud in a DT required league maybe, but since CPep went out the Fins haven’t been giving up many sacks.

Miami

Studs – Jason Taylor – a big fat zero last week, all the more reason to start him this week if you follow his numbers at all.

Zach Thomas – just imagine if you had waited 5 rounds and drafted Zach Thomas instead of burning that 3^rd or 4^th rounder on Urlacher. Good times.

Strong starts – Channing Crowder – the Jags will run a ton this week. Crowder should be solid.

Gut checks – Vonnie Holiday – Much like his own team, the Jags have given up far less sacks after the removal of their fat and immobile starting QB.

Renaldo Hill – don’t know if the Jags will throw enough to make him relevant.

Stay away – Dolphins CB’s – useless.

Dallas @ N.Y. Giants Sunday 1:15pm PST

Dallas

Studs – Bradie James – Should see plenty of Tiki and Jacobs this week. Has been playing really well the last few weeks.

Strong starts – Roy Williams – on pace for a career low in tackles, but gets enough takeaways to still be an IDP factor.

Gut checks - Akin Ayodele – Had a pick last week and is really coming on. If you have injury issues at LB Ayodele might be an option for you. He isn’t very consistent, but he will have his moments.

Cowboys CB’s – Henry and Newman seem to take turns having good games. Whichever one draws Burress this week should produce.

Stay away – Bobby Carpenter – a better dynasty prospect at this point as he is sharing snaps with Al Singleton.

New York

Studs – Antonio Pierce – On fire!

Gibril Wilson – the Giants corners are sad, so Gibril should get plenty of mop up tackles this week.

Strong starts – Will Demps – the `Boys are no slouches in the run game, so Demps should get his too. He will also likely be looking to decapitate T.O. and Glenn if they dare come over the middle.

Gut checks – Giants DL’s – Strahan might or might not play, same deal with Osi. Even if they start, will they play 100% of the snaps? I’d stay away this week.

Stay away – Brandon Short – even if he starts I don’t think he will play the whole game.

Tampa Bay @ Pittsburgh Sunday 1:15pm PST

Tampa

Studs – Ronde Barber – If Big Ben isn’t careful we might see Ronde get a couple more TD’s this week.

Strong starts – Derrick Brooks – only 3 solos last week, I think he will bounce back vs FWP.

Barrett Ruud – Shelton Quarles, YOU’RE FIRED!

Gut checks – Will Allen – 7 solos last week, but has been up and down this year.

Stay away – Bucs DL’s – worthless.

Pittsburgh

Studs – James Farrior – highly underrated and extremely productive. This guy has been a beast for a couple of my teams this season.

Strong starts – Clark Haggans – run for your life Bruce!!

Ryan Clark – should be busier with no Polamalu.

Gut checks – Joey Porter – this is the type of team he usually feasts on, but I really cant stand this guy.

Stay away – Troy Polamalu – out at least 2 weeks with a sprained MCL. Tyrone Carter will start for now, but keep your eyes on future stud Anthony Smith, the rookie out of Syracuse. He is one of my favorite IDP rookies out of this year’s crop.

Steelers CB’s – the shell game continues, this past week Ike Taylor got benched and McFadden and Townsend started. Cowher cant seem to make up his mind what he wasn’t to do with FaceMeIke. I have an idea, just keep starting him to appease IDP owners pal, its not like you guys have a shot at the playoffs!

Seattle @ Denver Sunday 5:15pm PST

Seattle

Studs – Lofa Tatupu – due for a big game, and usually does well on national TV.

Strong starts – Ken Hamlin – I’m sure he is excited to face a rookie QB.

Marcus Trufant – should be matched up with Javon most of the evening.

Gut checks – Grant Wistrom – has picked it up lately, but the Broncos don’t allow many sacks.

Julian Peterson – after 3 straight terrible games he is a gut check in my mind. He will likely explode now that I bumped him down.

Leroy Hill – he is up and down as well. A good young LB, but definitely not an every week IDP play.

Stay away – the rest of the Seahawks DL – Wistrom is only a gut check, the rest don’t even deserve consideration.

Denver

Studs – Al Wilson – should pile up some tackles vs SA.

Champ Bailey – I love having this guy on my roster when the Donkeys are playing in prime time. Champ usually comes up big under the lights.

Strong starts – Ian Gold – Gold should benefit from the return of SA as well.

Darrent Williams – Has avoided the sophomore slump big time this season.

Gut checks – DJ Williams – this should be a good week for him with Alexander in town.

Stay away – Broncos DL’s – Lang, Ekuban and Dumervil have had decent games here and there, but Hass doesn’t get sacked a lot, and you aren’t getting anything on Walter Jones.

Carolina @ Philadelphia Monday 5:30pm PST

Carolina

Studs – Julius Peppers – Jeff Garcia should be very, very afraid. Julius is due for a huge game.

Thomas Davis – all this dink and dunk nonsense might make Eagles fans sick, but it will be great for Davis this week.

Chris Draft – should work out nicely for Draft too!

Strong starts – Shaun Williams – Will Garthia lob a moonball?

Chris Gamble – he better not.

Gut checks – Richard Marshall – may have taken Ken Lucas’ job. Should be productive here and there the rest of the way out.

Stay away – Ken Lucas – active last week, but saw zero action.

Philly

Studs – Jeremiah Trotter – 8 solos last week. The current ineptitude of the Philly offense is actually a boon for all their IDP’s.

Trent Cole – the Panthers OL hasn’t been playing well lately.

Strong starts – Lito Sheppard - #1 corners vs Steve Smith are almost always tasty in IDP.

Brian Dawkins – always a good option at DB.

Gut checks – Sean Considine – 7 solos last week, will he emerge as a fantasy factor?

Stay away – Shawn Barber – inactive with a knee injury last week, hopefully you aren’t actually relying on this guy.

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Best of luck in all your week 13 IDP matchups, and I hope to see you back here next week!