Week 15 IDP Waiver Wire Pickups – PERFORMANCE RESULTS

Welcome to this week’s edition of “IDP Waiver Wire Pickups – Performance Results” where I examine how accurate I was in my Weekly IDP Waiver Wire suggestions from the previous week. The scoring system is as follows:

Green = Accurate Prediction (+1 point)
Golden Yellow = Neutral Prediction (0 points)
Red = Inaccurate Prediction (-1 point)

My goal and standard will be to finish each and every week with a total score of +2 or higher.

DL

“The Untouchables”:
Jared Allen (91%)
Julius Peppers (67%)

Elvis Dumervil (67%)
Trent Cole (62%) 
Justin Tuck (58%)
Mario Williams (5
4%)
Robert Mathis (51%)
Andre Carter (49%)
Osi Umenyiora (46%)
Dwight Freeney (42%)
Darnell Dockett (42%)

1. RDE Aaron Schobel (Actual Performance:0-1-0)

Schobel completely disappeared in this game. The Bills had trouble getting to Brady and Schobel was no exception. However, I still see Schobel as pretty much an every week starter for the rest of the season.

2. LDE John Abraham (Actual Performance: 1-0-1)
Holy crap! Abraham got a sack! This is Abraham’s 1st complete sack in 10 weeks. Consequently, I’m considering this performance a victory.

3. LDE Calais Campbell(Actual Performance: 1-0-0)
The Lions actually did a decent job of protecting the QB in this game. Both Cardinal defensive ends (Dockett and Campbell) were held sackless. Campbell still remains a sneaky play against favorable matchups however.

4. LDE Ray Edwards (Actual Performance: 6-0-0)
Although Edwards didn’t register a sack in this game, he managed to come up with a nice game tackle-wise. The Panthers ran the ball very effectively against Minnesota and, consequently, Edwards had plenty of tackle opportunities.

5. DE/WLB Terrell Suggs(Actual Performance: 3-2-0)
With 5 total tackles, Suggs’ fantasy output was aligned with his average output for the year. I expected a bit more out of Suggs this week. However, it wasn’t a horrible performance.

*The IDP Guru’s Lock of the Week*
DE/WLB David Bowens(Actual Performance: 6-1-0)

Bowens had 7 total tackles against the Chiefs in what turned out to be the barnburner game of the week. I expect this type of production to continue for Bowens for the rest of the year. He plays on a defense that is on the field a ton and he is a great fantasy position for defensive lineman.

LB

“The Untouchables”:
Patrick Willis (98%)
James Harrison (95%)
Ray Lewis (83%)

Jon Beason (79%)

London Fletcher (73%)

Barrett Rudd (72%)
D.J. Williams (71%)
Demarcus Ware (68%)

Brian Cushing (70%)
Curtis Lofton (64%)

Kirk Morrison (63%)

David Harris (63%)
Demeco Ryans (56%)
Karlos Dansby (56%)

1. WLB James Anderson(Actual Performance: 9-2-1) 
Anderson sure made me look good in this performance! He was so good, in fact, that he limited Jon Beason to only 3 total tackles. I’m sure this angered many Beason owners who were counting on him to carry them to a playoff win.

2. WLB Michael Boley(Actual Performance: 4-0-0)
With the Giants dominating the game, Boley had little to no opportunities to make tackles. I thought that the game would have been closer and that the Redskins would have had a chance to run the ball. Didn’t go as expected.

3. RILB Jerod Mayo (Actual Performance: 5-4-0)
Mayo had a typical Mayo day: 9 total tackles with half of them being assists. Mayo has become one of the safest linebacker plays due to his ability to register a high amount of assists on a consistent basis. I also think this has to due with the New England scorekeeper who is notorious for generously handing out assists.

4. WLB Clint Session (Actual Performance: 5-1-0)
Session had somewhat of an off day Sunday against the Broncos. MLB Gary Brackett was largely responsible for that by going 10-2-1. Session is still pretty much an every week starter from here on out.

5. LOLB LaMarr Woodley(Actual Performance: 3-1-0.5)
Woodley didn’t have a monster game but he did manage to get to Aaron Rodgers late in the game. Woodley is starting to seriously compete with James Harrison for the title of best pass-rushing linebacker in Pittsburgh.

*The IDP Guru’s Lock of the Week*

WLB Keith Bulluck (Actual Performance: 4-1-0)
Bulluck finished with only 5 total tackles, in large part, because he got injured (actually tore his ACL) in the 3rd quarter and never returned. His counterpart, MLB Stephen Tulloch, managed 13 total tackles and I believe Bulluck would have finished with at least 9-10 total tackles if he had not gotten hurt. Sucks!

DB

“The Untouchables”:
Charles Woodson (69%)
Darren Sharper (60%)
Antrel Rolle (59%)
Brandon Meriweather (53%)
Roman Harper (52%)

Eric Weddle (51%)
Brian Dawkins (51%)
Troy Polamalu (51%)
Daniel Manning (51%)
Erik Coleman (50%)

Gibril Wilson (49%)
Charles Tillman (48%)

Oshiomogho Atogwe (48%)
(IR)
Yeremiah Bell (46%) 

Ed Reed (46%)
Antoine Bethea (45%)

1. SS Reed Doughty (Actual Performance: 4-1-0)
Not a horrible game from Doughty but not great either. Most of the tackles were sucked up by the Redskins’ linebackers (Fletcher and McIntosh) in this game. I still like Doughty as a fairly safe play the rest of the season.

2. SS George Wilson (Actual Performance: 4-3-0)
Wilson is becoming one of the best fantasy options on the Bills roster. If he remains the starting SS next year, he could be a Top 15 DB.

3. SS Erik Coleman (Actual Performance: 7-2-0)
Coleman finally snapped out of his fantasy skid. Even though he had a good game, I no longer consider him matchup independent and would only feel comfortable using him in the right matchup.

4. WLB Bryan Scott (Actual Performance: 1-4-0)
This was one of the more disappointing fantasy performances of the day. I started Scott and he really let me down! He was close to registering a sack a couple of times, but just couldn’t get there in time. In his defense, he did suffer a concussion late in the game that reduced his fantasy performance.

5. LCB William James(Actual Performance: 0-2-0)
Dud! I don’t know what happened in this game. The cornerbacks for Detroit just didn’t produce at the capacity everyone expected. This is why I usually shy away from recommending cornerbacks.

*The IDP Guru’s Lock of the Week*
SS Tyvon Branch(Actual Performance: 8-3-0)
Branch, once again, was the Raiders leading tackler with 11 total tackles. Branch is a must-start for the last 2 weeks of the season and is looking like he will be a Top 8 DB in next year’s fantasy draft (as long as he remains in Oakland in the same capacity).


After totaling up all of the points, I finished this week with a score of +2 (10 positives and 8 negatives). In other words, this means I was correct on 55% of my predictions. This was my worst week of the year but I still managed to meet the standard I set for myself.

Thanks!