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Ultimately, this switch in defensive trends in the NFL is having a serious impact on how we approach and play Fantasy Football from an IDP perspective. The top 3 pass-rushers last year were all OLB's who played in 3-4 defenses (Demarcus Ware, Joey Porter, and James Harrison). Although this trend has increased the amount of worthwhile LB's available to IDPers, it has also significantly reduced the amount of true defensive lineman available. The confusing part is that many of these "OLB's" are truly defensive end's in an upright position but are classified as an OLB.
As more and more teams adopt a 3-4 defense, the question of classification becomes more pertinent. Do we classify them as an OLB or DE or both? From a fantasy football perspective, this classification is very important because it determines position eligibility.
It will be interesting moving forward to see how Fantasy Football Management Websites (e.g. ESPN, MFL, Yahoo!) handle this situation.
Any thoughts?
2 comments:
Indeed.
Without a doubt on a per-pick basis I have needed to put the most research into DL this year. Even though they account for the smallest percentage of points on the team they are very difficult to choose from. You have to consider the system they play in, the match-up, the o-line, the opposing teams play style, etc.
Something you also have to consider is when teams switch between the 3-4 and 4-3 based up the weekly match-up. You may pick a linemen up in a 4-3 system but that week the team decides to put in a lot of 3-4 looks...all of the sudden you likely made a bad pick.
Position classification is certainly vital. :)
I do have a certain gripe with dual-eligibility and that comes down to laying out the rules and guidelines as to how to make use of these players. If someone has dual-eligibility can you freely move that person between said positions based on match-ups or do you declare there position when you pick them up? This also opens the door to essentially having twice the number of linebackers on your team which is a huge advantage.
All the above points are valid. For me, the issue really boils down to the fact that I think players such as Demarcus Ware, Joey Porter, James Harrison, etc. should be classified as DL not LB. When you rush the passer 85-90%, I think that makes you a defensive lineman. However, it also depends on what your definition of defensive lineman is from a Fantasy Football perspective.
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