Aldon Smith @ Seahawks - It took Aldon Smith a few games into his rookie year to make an impact for the 49ers, but since his breakout game week four against the Eagles, Smith has gone on to post 13 sacks in the past 11 games. In that time, Smith has only failed to post a sack in three games, and he has five and a half sacks in his last three games. A hobbled Ben Roethlisberger felt the wrath of Smith, and h ...

Colin McCarthy vs. Saints - Since filling in for Barrett Ruud, the Titans middle linebacker of the future Colin McCarthy has played like a LB-1 of late. In what should be another solid mathcup, McCarthy will likely surpass 10 total tackles as the Saints figure to dominate in time of possession, giving McCarthy more opportunities to make plays. We've seen the Titans middle linebacker position put up some goo ...

Von Miller @ Vikings - Before the news that Von Miller underwent thumb surgery on Wednesday, I had him ranked as the second linebacker on our week 13 linebacker rankings. Miller is on fire of late with ten total tackles each of the past two games, as he continues to rack up sacks weekly. Clearly, the defensive rookie of the year, Miller is showing us why it is ok to select an outside linebacker in the top f ...

DeMarcus Ware vs Seahawks - Somewhere in the Cowboys horrible loss to the Eagles, IDP fantasy owners with DeMarcus Ware were loving like as he posted four sacks. Another reminder of how talented this linebacker is, especially when you consider that the Eagles kept the football on the ground for the most part, with LeSean McCoy ripping through the defense for over 170 yards. This week the Seahawks come to to ...

Start'em Aldon Smith vs Browns - As a 49ers fan, I must admit I was a little disappointed when the 49ers drafted Aldon Smith as a top ten selection. While Vic Fangio and Jim Harbaugh understand the players, they want to bring in for their 3-4 defensive scheme, it was likely that Smith wasn't going to make a sudden impact on the field as he would be converting to play linebacker from begin a defensive end, a ...

Jerod Mayo @ Steelers - Don't be surprised if Jerod Mayo is back this week, but I'm not sure he will return to the stud linebacker, we watched last year, at least for IDP purposes. The Patriots will be using a decent amount of 4-3 scheme looks, and when they go to that setup, they tend to use Gary Guyton and move Mayo out of the middle. Navarro Bowman vs Browns - Coming off another strong performance, Navar ...

The Houston Texans are set to change their defensive scheme from a 4-3 to a 3-4 as Wade Phillips takes over as the new Defensive Coordinator. With this change, star strong-side linebacker Brian Cushing is projected to lineup with DeMeco Ryans as an inside linebacker, which will help him continue to be a force in IDP fantasy football leagues. While I've seen Cushing ranked outside the top 25 linebackers for ...

Join us throughout the 2011 NFL draft as we will be posting live updates of every selection in the first round. The Panthers are expected to get things rolling with the first overall pick, and it appears likely they will go with quarterback Cam Newton. While it looks like players will be back to work next week, teams are not expected to use players like Kevin Kolb in trade, at the draft. Instead teams can u ...

1. Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton, QB, Auburn If he isn't the pick, open your windows and listen to half the world cheer and the other half to gasp in disbelief. 2. Denver Broncos: Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama Best defensive lineman in the draft goes to the team with the worst defensive line. It's the circle of life. 3. Buffalo Bills: Von Miller, OLB, Texas A&M I'm not convinced this is the pick. Why? It ...

The 2011 NFL Draft has a few potential headlines. They'll either involve a player slipping in the draft, for example, the rumors of Blaine Gabbert slipping out of the top ten. But what the headline should be, no matter what, is about how many defensive linemen will be drafted in the first round. There will at least a dozen of them. That's crazy. Unheard of. But with all these teams who need a QB, that may n ...