I’d like to start this week with my condolences to those of you who lost Brian Cushing this week. He’s always been one of my favorite IDPs due to the way he ran train on Jersey HS football during my senior year, and he emerged as a steal in drafts this year. Before suffering another devastating season-ending injury this past week, he was LB14 on the year coming of his first torn ACL. For those of you in dynasty leagues, here’s to hoping that he comes back next year chalk full of even more PEDs and better than ever.
But on to happier news…
Chris Jones – Chris Jones? Chris Jones! Stepping into a Pats front that was down a Wilfork and a Tommy Kelly, Jones did more than hold his own in a loss to the Jets, piling up 10 tackles and two sacks. His enormous stat line was assisted by the Jets pounding Chris Ivory 30+ times into the line, but also by his enormous waist line. Weighing in at well over 300 pounds, Jones figures to occupy the middle of a Pats front that should feast on the pathetic Miami O-Line in Week 8. He won’t get double-digit tackles again anytime soon, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see another two sack day against Miami or Pitt in the next two weeks.
J.J. Watt – Rebounded from a goose egg in Week 6 to put up 6 tackles and a sack against KC. If you were able to buy-low a week ago, congrats, as Watt is as much of a sure thing as we can find in this crazy IDP world.
Jamari Lattimore – Like Chris Jones, Lattimore benefitted from an injury and delivered huge results. When Clay Matthews went down, the Packer pass-rush figured to go down with him. Lattimore had other plans, racking up 12 tackles and a sack, as well as another QB knockdown. Teams will likely be better prepared for him from here on out, but his upcoming schedule is a pass-rusher’s dream. If he keeps up this production over the next month, Lattimore might have his own Fat Head.
Brandon Spikes/Don’t’a Hightower – With Jerod Mayo on the shelf for the rest of the year, one or both of these young LBs figured to benefit from the additional snaps. The answer for now is both, as Spikes and Hightower each put up 11 tackles against the Jets. I tend to prefer Spikes, but I could easily see either of them putting up top-10 numbers from here on out.
Da’Norris Searcy – It was fun while it lasted. With Jairus Byrd and Stephon Gilmore back in the lineup, and Aaron Williams entrenched at Strong Safety, Searcy will struggle to find the field in Buffalo. It will be interesting to see how the stats fall between Byrd, Gilmore and Williams, but you can safely drop Searcy for a better option.
Jamarca Sanford – While it pains me to discuss anyone in the Minnesota secondary other than Harrison Smith, it appears that we all have to move on. With Smith out for the foreseeable future, Sanford appears to be the prime beneficiary. He put up 12 tackle against the Giants on MNF, and he gets a nice slate of Green Bay, Dallas and Washington for the next three weeks. Sanford should now be owned in all leagues that require DBs, and he can put himself in must-start territory with another solid performance against the Packers.
Week 8 Rankings
