Welcome back for week 3 of The Hive!

Last week saw the possible resurgence of Keith Bulluck, as well as the continuing poor production from such IDP mainstays as Julius Peppers and Jared Allen. We’ve also seen some injuries to some big name IDP’s in the last week, including Bob Sanders, Atari Bigby and Roy Williams. Tough week to be a DB I guess. Without further ado let’s examine these situations and many more in the week 3 roundup of IDP goodness!

How we rank `em!

Giddyup! – YEEEHAW!!

SINS! – solid if not spectacular

Hellno! – Get it? Got it? Good.

Kansas City @ Atlanta Sunday 10am PT

KC

Giddyup! – Bernard Pollard, Brandon Flowers

SINS! – Brandon Carr, Pat Thomas, Jarrad Page, Tamba Hali

Hellno! – Donnie Edwards, Demorrio Williams

ATL

Giddyup! – Michael Boley, Curtis Lofton, John Abraham

SINS! – Thomas DeCoud, Keith Brooking, Chris Houston, Erik Coleman

Hellno! – Jamaal Anderson, Lawyer Milloy

Game notes: KC will be starting 2 rookie CB’s this week, and possibly from here on out, as Grand Valley State ’s very own Brandon Carr will start opposite Brandon Flowers. Carr came in for an injured Pat Surtain last week and did what he could to stop the awesome onslaught of the Oakland Raiders (let me have my moment). Carr is an interesting IDP dynasty prospect, as he has displayed nice tackling skills and it looks as though the Chiefs defense may not come off the field until 2011. For Atlanta I am really liking John Abraham this week, and I think all of the LB’s will put up nice totals.

Oakland @ Buffalo Sunday 10am PT

OAK

Giddyup! – Kirk Morrison, Thomas Howard, Gibril Wilson, Deangelo Hall

SINS! –  Derrick Burgess

Hellno! – Richardson/Edwards, Michael Huff

BUF

Giddyup! – Terrance McGee, Paul Posluszny, Aaron Schobel, Kyle Williams & Marcus Stroud (in DT required leagues)

SINS! – Donte Whitner, Kawicka Mitchell

Hellno! – Keith Ellison

Game notes: Behold the mighty, mighty Oakland Raiders juggernaut!! Expect such outlandish behavior from yours truly for the other 3 or 4 Raiders wins this season. One of which will NOT be this week. If I could start every Buffalo DL on their roster I would do it. I might start Bruce Smith this week.

Tampa Bay @ Chicago Sunday 10am PT  

TB

Giddyup! –  Barrett Ruud

SINS! –  Phillip Buchanon, Gaines Adams, Ronde Barber, Jermaine Phillips, Tanard Jackson, Greg White

Hellno! – Kevin Carter, Cato June, Derrick Brooks

CHI

Giddyup! – Brian Urlacher, Charles Tillman, Lance Briggs

SINS! –  Adewale Ogunleye, Kevin Payne, Mike Brown

Hellno! – Mike Anderson, Brandon McGowan

Game notes: For the Bucs you gotta like the start Barrett Ruud is off to, and I expect the onslaught to continue. Don’t look now, but Tanard Jackson just might be developing into an IDP starter. Greg White is outproducing starter Kevin Carter as the 3^rd DE, and I expect that to continue. White is roster worthy in DL required leagues. For Chicago Brandon McGowan, one of my sleepers going into the season after a great preseason, is done for the year with an ankle injury. Kevin Payne takes his place and is roster worthy in deep leagues.

Carolina @ Minnesota Sunday 10am PT 

CAR

Giddyup! –  Chris Harris, Chris Gamble, Jon Beason, Julius Peppers

SINS! – Thomas Davis

Hellno! – Tyler Brayton, Ken Lucas

MIN

Giddyup! – EJ Henderson, Antoine Winfield, Jared Allen

SINS! –  Chad Greenway, Cedric Griffin

Hellno! – Kevin Williams

Game notes: With Frerotte starting for Minny at QB, I personally will be starting Chris Gamble and Chris Harris in my dynasty league this week. They should go off. I’d give Peppers one more week unless I had a great option ahead of him. If he doesn’t do something this week I’ll jump right off the bandwagon with the rest of you. I haven’t yet because after watching the entirety of last weeks game I can say that Peppers has been extremely disruptive, it just hasn’t shown up in the stat sheet yet. He’s close. For Minny Jared Allen showed signs of life last week, you need to stick with him. I’ve given up on Kevin Williams, even in my DT required league, as Kyle Williams was on the wire. He’ll blow up eventually, but if there are better options on your wire I’d grab one.

Miami @ New England Sunday 10am PT

MIA

Giddyup! – Channing Crowder, Yeremiah Bell

SINS! – Matt Roth, Akin Ayodele, Kendall Langford

Hellno! – Jason Allen

NE

Giddyup! – Jerod Mayo, Rodney Harrison, Ellis Hobbs

SINS! – Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Ty Warren

Hellno! – Richard Seymour

Game notes: Miami is going to get slaughtered, Tom Brady or no Tom Brady. I like pretty much all of the starting LB’s on both sides, as we may not see both teams combine for 300 yards passing. Lots of running and short passes, lots of Crowder and Mayo etc. Richard Seymour is back and disruptive as hell again, and he’s no more of an IDP option now than he was in his previous incarnation. He’ll have one or two big statistical games a year, but his impact is not measured in IDP stats.

Cincinnati @ New York Giants Sunday 10am PT

CIN

Giddyup! – Keith Rivers, Dhani Jones

SINS! –  Rashad Jeanty , Leon Hall, Nedu Ndukwe, Domata Peko (in DT required leagues)

Hellno! – Jonathan Joseph

NYG

Giddyup! – Justin Tuck, Aaron Ross

SINS! – Mathias Kiwanuka, Fred Robbins (in DT required leagues), Antonio Pierce

Hellno! – Wilkinson/Kehl

Game notes: This should be another bloodbath. For Cincy you have to think Rivers, Jones and to a lesser extent Jeanty will be very busy with the three headed NYG running attack. Joseph will likely sit this week, keep him benched if he’s on your squad. For the Giants the entire defense could be in for a big play field day versus the thus-far inept Bengals. I wouldn’t put too much stock into Kiwanuka’s zero last week, old Orlando Pace still has some skills. Kiwanuka faces much lesser competition this week and is also another seven days removed from the ankle injury that was still bothering him against the Rams.

Houston @ Tennessee Sunday 10am PT

HOU

Giddyup! – Demeco Ryans, Mario Williams

SINS! – Morlon Greenwood, Zach Diles

Hellno! – Jacques Reeves

TEN

Giddyup! – Kyle VandenBosch, Cortland Finnegan

SINS! – Keith Bulluck, David Thornton, Michael Griffin, Nick Harper

Hellno! – Ryan Fowler

Game notes: For the Texans we had to wait a week, but now we get to see if Zach Diles is for real or not. There should be opportunities for all the LB’s against a Titans team that loves to run. For Tennessee it figures that as soon as I say bench Bulluck he blows up. I benched him in my dynasty league for Rocky McIntosh. FAIL. We’ll give him a go this week, but he hasn’t earned his way back into the top tier until he strings a few old school Bulluck games like week two in a row.

Arizona @ Washington Sunday 10am PT

AZ

Giddyup! – Karlos Dansby, Adrian Wilson

SINS! – Rod Hood, Gerald Hayes, Travis LaBoy, Bert Berry

Hellno! – Eric Green

WAS

Giddyup! – London Fletcher, Carlos Rogers, LaRon Landry

SINS! – Rocky McIntosh, Jason Taylor, Fred Smoot

Hellno! – Chris Horton, HB Blades

Game notes: This should be an interesting game. For the Cards start the usual suspects, and as far as the `Skins go be careful when looking at last week’s stats. Blades and Horton, while they probably outperformed the people ahead of them on the depth chart, were only playing due to injury. Look for Horton to join Landry at safety again sometime this season, the rookie from UCLA can play. He’s just a dynasty stash for now, as is Blades, who played for an injured Marcus Washington.

New Orleans @ Denver Sunday 1:05pm PT

NO

Giddyup! –  Jonathan Vilma, Roman Harper (double check injury reports)

SINS! –  Will Smith, Tracy Porter

Hellno! – Mike McKenzie

DEN

Giddyup! – DJ Williams, Champ Bailey

SINS! –  Nate Webster, John Engelberger

Hellno! – Jarvis Moss, Boss Bailey

Game notes: This could be a big time shoot out. Lots of IDP goodness to be had here if you know where to look. Sleeper alert, Tracy Porter will be getting abused by Marshall or Royal all day, and is coming off an 8 solo game last week. Yoink! For Denver I like the LB’s, except Boss Bailey, who is more of a TS/TG than an LB. Get back at me, I’ll flip you for real.

St. Louis @ Seattle Sunday 1:05pm PT

STL

Giddyup! – Will Witherspoon, OJ Atogwe

SINS! –  Tye Hill, Chris Long, James Hall

Hellno! – Leonard Little

SEA

Giddyup! – Lofa Tatupu, Pat Kerney, Laurence Jackson, Marcus Trufant

SINS! –  Julian Peterson, Leroy Hill

Hellno! – Kelly Jennings

Game notes: Living in Oregon I can bet you I will be stuck with this monstrosity of a game. Shoot me. Bonus points for the fact that Laurence Jackson or Pat Kerney might do some sort of Mortal Kombat FATALITY maneuver on Marc Bulger. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Detroit @ San Francisco Sunday 1:05pm PT

DET

Giddyup! – Ernie Sims, Daniel Bullocks

SINS! – Paris Lenon, DeWayne White

Hellno! – Jordan Dizon

SF

Giddyup! – Pat Willis, Nate Clements, Michael Lewis

SINS! –Walt Harris, Manny Lawson, Justin Smith

Hellno! – Dashon Goldson

Game notes: As a frustrated Gerald Alexander owner, may I will now express my severe displeasure with Rod Marinelli with a haiku:

                         Why you bench Gerald?

                         Dynasty pick is wasted

                         Mediocrity!

I’ve also created a Daniel Bullocks voodoo doll and I’ve been stabbing it in the knees and groin. That’s right, the groin. I used a DYNASTY PICK on Alexander. Serious stuff. For the Niners play Pat Willis and then thank God he is on your roster this season. I like the DB’s as well against a Lions team that is most comfortable being down 20 or more points and airing things out.

Cleveland @ Baltimore Sunday 1:15pm PT

CLE

Giddyup! – Mike Adams, D’Qwell Jackson

SINS! – Eric Wright, Brandon McDonald

Hellno! – Andra Davis , Leon Williams

BAL

Giddyup! – Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs

SINS! – Bart Scott, Chris McCallister

Hellno! – Kelly Gregg

Game notes: For the Browns ride Mike Adams for as long as you can. As soon as Sean Jones comes back Adams will likely be useless again, but for now ride the wave. For the Ravens the early bye week didn’t help stud DT Kelly Gregg at all, he is likely out this week. The words “injured reserve” and Gregg have also been mentioned together, which would be bad news for this front seven.

Jacksonville @ Indianapolis Sunday 1:15pm PT

JAX

Giddyup! – Mike Peterson, Brian Williams

SINS! – John Henderson, Daryl Smith

Hellno! – Derrick Harvey, Quentin Groves

IND

Giddyup! – Freddy Keiaho, Robert Mathis, Gary Brackett

SINS! – Dwight Freeney, Colts DB’s, Clint Sessions

Hellno! – Raheem Brock

Game notes: This game should be a good one, as both teams are fighting to stay relevant behind the 2-0 Titans. For the Jags Brian Williams is on fire and Mike Peterson should be in your lineup as well after a false alarm about him being hurt was posted on another site that wont be named here. EPIC FAIL. I listed Harvey and Groves this week not to taunt them or their families, but because both are nice dynasty prospects. They wont stick with turds like Reggie Hayward forever, and the Harvey/Groves duo could be devastating. The Colts will be without Bob Sanders, who will be replaced by UDFA 2^nd year man Melvin Bullitt. Don’t know much about the kid, so we will see how he does this week.

Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia Sunday 1:15pm PT  

PIT

Giddyup! – James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, James Farrior

SINS! – Ike Taylor, Aaron Smith

Hellno! – Bryant McFadden

PHI

Giddyup! – Stewart Bradley, Quentin Mikell, Trent Cole

SINS! –  Omar Gaither, Brian Dawkins, Sheldon Brown

Hellno! – Lito Sheppard

Game notes: The battle of Pennsylvania is a HUGE game this time around, and I for one cant wait. For the Steelers roll with Farrior and Harrison at LB and Polamalu, who is making a nice comeback after an injury plagued 07, at DB. For the Eagles you better be loving you some Stewart Bradley, I know I am. Quentin Mikell is a bust out IDP this season and has earned stud DB status.

Dallas @ Green Bay Sunday 5:15pm PT

DAL

Giddyup! – Demarcus Ware

SINS! – Bradie James, Zach Thomas, Ken Hamlin

Hellno! – Roy Williams

GB

Giddyup! – AJ Hawk, Nick Barnett, Aaron Kampman

SINS! –  KGB, Aaron Rouse, Nick Collins

Hellno! – Atari Bigby

Game notes: This is a game with 2 injured safeties, Atari Bigby for the Pack and Roy “I coulda been a contendah” Williams. Aaron Rouse takes over for Bigby and is a nice injury fill-in, Pat Watkins takes over for Williams and is still a complete turd.

New York Jets @ San Diego Monday 5:30pm PT

NYJ

Giddyup! – David Harris, Kerry Rhodes, Bryan Thomas

SINS! – Calvin Pace, Swipe Lowery, Darrelle Revis, Eric Smith, Eric Barton

Hellno! – Vernon Gholston

SD

Giddyup! – Eric Weddle, San Diego CB’s

SINS! –  Shaun Phillips, Matt Wilhelm

Hellno! – San Diego DL’s

Game notes: Lots of IDP fun to have here, all 4 LB’s in New York’s 3-4 are start worthy this week, and I’d say the top 3 CB’s along with Weddle are all worth a shot for the Chargers. Favre doesn’t care about Cromartie, he will throw picks to anyone, so maybe Antonio gets some action on MNF. This game will have a real hard time living up to last week, but as long as the Chargers come out on the short end of the stick I can live with that.

Well that about wraps it up for week 3! Thanks for taking a moment to stop by, and good luck in all your IDP matchups this week!