IDP Instant Reaction & Waivers Week Thirteen (13)

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The cheek clapper supreme was back in business this week.


Week thirteen is in the books and man it was a weird one. Upsets left and right and tons of studs letting down their owners, especially on the offensive side of things. There was chaos and shenanigans abound in the DFS community the last week or so as well, the pressure of the last few weeks of the regular season is showing in many different forms. We can only control what we can control, make sure you’re on top of your lineups and setting alarms before the games to check inactives. The fantasy gods will clap our cheeks anyways but now more than ever we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot as well.

I usually use this part of the article to talk about whatever is on my mind this week and to be honest it’s nothing NFL related. College fantasy playoffs finished up this past weekend and I finished year two of college fantasy with two titles and a host of second and third place finishes. It was another incredibly fun season and it’s nice because it’s still growing and isn’t nearly as crowded as regular NFL fantasy football is. Only a few diehards are really into it so far but I can already tell it’s going to blow up. College football is just as popular as the NFL but the drawback is most of those fans really only follow their alma mater and don’t know a ton about other teams nevermind all of the fantasy relevant players in the power five conferences.

College fantasy’s greatest strength, it’s massive player pool, is also it’s greatest weakness since most people have trouble learning the fantasy relevant players on all 32 NFL teams, trying to do the same with the over fifty colleges in the power five that sites like Yahoo use for their player pool is a big ask. However having that many players available each week allows for much easier streaming and player replacement for poor performance or injury. Just like anything else if you just dive into the shit you’ll learn to swim soon enough. College IDP is likely right around the corner as well since sites such as Fantrax have already started running it and Yahoo is already having massive success with their college leagues so far, expanding the player pool to defense seems a logical next step.

If you have an interest in college football I would highly recommend you take the plunge and play next season, Yahoo makes it really simple to get into a free and basic league so you can start learning and take it from there. The lack of a million screaming voices on Twitter and the camaraderie between the few players there are that I talk to has sold me many times over. I freaking love it. And you learn a ton about the incoming NFL rookies just by watching them and rooting for them to do well on your college fantasy teams. It’s going to be the next big thing there’s no doubt about it. I’m probably going to be shitcanning my start or sit article next year and doing a college fantasy article in its place instead to make sure we here at idpguys are in on the ground floor of this thing.

Anyways, just wanted to rant about that for a bit. It really does make Saturdays as fun as Sundays so I would highly recommend it. Alrighty, let’s get back to the NFL and break down week thirteen in IDP fantasy football and make sure everyone’s ready to go for week one of fantasy playoffs coming up. I would burn baby Groot in a fire to keep baby Yoda warm.


Be sure to follow all the IDP writers at idpguys.org for a faster take on waivers and to make sure you’re covered from all angles with your IDP information, @IDP_Dude and @Joeythetooth are must follows. Apologies that this article comes out after waivers but it’s either ALL of the detail and it comes out late or NONE of the detail and you’ll have it for Tuesday night waivers. Anyone that knows me knows I don’t do things “some of the way”. Anyways, let’s get into it and prepare to have our cheeks clapped by the football gods again this week.


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Roquan Smith doesn’t sit down to pee.

Bears @ Lions

Chicago Bears

Performed as expected: Roquan Smith (LB) Nick Kwiatkowski (LB) Fuller & Amukamara (CB’s) Eddie Jackson (S)

Possible waiver adds: No new producers this week.

Flash in the pan: Bilal Nichols (DT) only played 43% of snaps and hasn’t done much this season, besides his production was just slightly elevated nothing super impressive, pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Khalil Mack (EDGE) only had two solo tackles on the day but still played 89% of snaps and is having a fine season overall. This is a nature of the position thing, EDGE or OLB guys won’t go off every week, he should be back to sacking the QB and putting up monster numbers in big play leagues soon enough. Remain calm. Everyone else who was supposed to produce this week did so even Eddie Skidmarks Jackson (S) who saved his day with an interception on the last play of the game.

Detroit Lions

Performed as expected: Tracy Walker (S) Jarrad Davis (LB) Coleman & Slay (CB’s) Trey Flowers (DE) Devon Kennard (LB)

Possible waiver adds: Tavon Wilson (S) was on the field with both Tracy Walker (S) and Will Harris (S) for the first time in weeks so we finally got an idea of how the Detroit safety situation should look for the rest of the season assuming everyone can stay healthy. Wilson actually saw the most snaps playing 100% with Harris playing the next most with 88% and Walker in last with 80%. I think they are likely easing Walker back in but it looks like Wilson and Walker will both be IDP relevant going forward, that wasn’t the case the last time all three of these guys were healthy and it was Walker and Harris as the full time safeties with Wilson playing sporadic snaps. Wilson should be a nice safety option for the remaining few games of the season, there is some risk in it though since the Lions are clearly out of the playoff race and could be getting playing time to guys who normally don’t see the field in an effort to see what they have in these next few meaningless games so keep that in mind if you do decide to play him going forward.

Flash in the pan: Amani Oruwariye (CB) had the third most playing time for Lions corners this week behind Coleman and Slay, he played 91% of snaps but will likely see less than that going forward if he even plays again, see what I just wrote in the paragraph above, same thing applies here. There are better, safer options for streaming corner out there that are guaranteed 100% of snaps I would much rather roll with one of them over this guy who hasn’t touched the playing field until this week and was clearly the third corner in the grand scheme of things. Pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Jahlani Tavai (LB) saw his playing time reduced to 31% of snaps this week and his production fell along with it to just two combined tackles on the day, he’s still just a dynasty piece. Damon Harrison (DT) was injured and out so he couldn’t disappoint us this week which was nice. Trey Flowers (DE) came back from missing a week due to injury and put up a real nice game. Everyone who was supposed to produce did so this week and we even got a possible waiver wire safety with Tavon Wilson (S) who has been a nice fill in recently but the concerns over his playing time with the return of Tracy Walker (S) and what role he would take with Will Harris (S) healthy as well seemed to have been answered this week and I personally feel a lot better about starting Wilson going forward. Remain calm across the board.

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Jaylon Smith was among the few Cowboys to do their job this week.

Bills @ Cowboys

Buffalo Bills

Performed as expected: Micah Hyde (S) Tremaine Edmunds (LB) Wallace & White (CB’s) Shaq Lawson (DE) Jordan Poyer (S) Matt Milano (LB) Trent Murphy (DE) Ed Oliver (DT) Jordan Phillips (DT) Star Lotuleilei (DT)

Possible waiver adds: Taron Johnson (CB) outsnapped Levi Wallace (CB) as the second cornerback 85% to 60% and had a really nice day overall. Wallace has seen a reduction in playing time the last two weeks but overall this season has been a terrific corner to stream against pass happy offenses. Johnson looks like he’s going to be slipping into that role, the playing time still isn’t ideal but even Tra’Davious White (CB) only played 92% of snaps this week so no Bills corner was in for every play. Honestly this is the time of year to really not screw around with stuff so I might just keep White as my Bills corner to stream and ignore this other situation entirely but Johnson is there and likely not owned in your league if you do need a corner to stream going forward, your call.

Flash in the pan: Ed Oliver (DT) only played 51% of snaps this week and has been playing less than that most of this season and has been extremely spotty with his production, this is a true flash in the pan and he remains a futures piece in dynasty. I would not consider this as something you can count on the last few games this season, check his weekly scores since week one if you think I’m crazy. Pass in redraft, hold in dynasty.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Jerry Hughes (DE) was the only IDP relevant member of the Bills defense who didn’t put in a solid or at least serviceable game this week. He still played 78% of snaps and remains a defensive end two preferably three in deeper leagues over the course of this season and going forward. Besides him this IDP corps absolutely feasted this week, especially the pass rush that gave Dak Prescott (QB) fits all game long. Remain calm across the board.

Dallas Cowboys

Performed as expected: Jaylon Smith (LB) Sean Lee (LB) Micheal Bennett (DE) Byron Jones (CB) Christian Covington (DE) Demarcus Lawrence (DE)

Possible waiver adds: Darwin Thompson (S) was in for Jeff Heath (S) once again as the other full time safety this week, he played 100% of snaps and recorded four combined tackles, half a sack, half a tackle for loss and one pass defended. As long as Heath ends up inactive before each game Thompson remains a nice waiver wire safety going forward, especially in deeper leagues.

Flash in the pan: Jourdan Lewis (CB) had a monster day but still only played 81% of snaps and is the third corner for this team and has been all season. He’s had the occasional nice game but I’d much rather stream Awuzie or Jones who both play 100% of snaps each week and have been far more consistent over the course of this season.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Chidobe Awuzie (CB) had a down week but still serviceable especially if in a corner premium league, he still played 100% of snaps and has been a reliable and consistent streamer all season, the Bills aren’t exactly a throw first team so this never was going to be a great game to stream Cowboys corners anyways, remain calm. Sean Lee (LB) saw a small spike in playing time up to 85% of snaps this week and remains a nice waiver wire linebacker option in medium to deeper leagues. Besides that we patiently wait for Leighton Vander Esch (LB) to return from injury and resume putting up points for us. Remain calm all around.

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Cameron Jordan leveled up to Ultra Mega Cheek Clapper Ten Thousand this week.

Saints @ Falcons

New Orleans Saints

Performed as expected: Saints Corners, Demario Davis (LB) Marcus Williams (S) Cameron Jordan (DE) Vonn Bell (S) Marcus Davenport (DE)

Possible waiver adds: NA, this one game doesn’t mean Sheldon Rankins (DT) is back, I would really love it if that was the case but we need to see more before turning the ship around. No new producers this week.

Flash in the pan: CJ Gardner Johnson (S) dropped to just 41% of snaps this week and saved his production with an interception. He’s been up and down all season in both playing time and production and is likely too big a risk to play going into fantasy playoffs, pass. Craig Robertson (LB) only played 54% of snaps and seems to be the “second linebacker of the week” for the Saints, it’s been either AJ Klein (LB), Kiko Alonso (LB) or now Craig Robertson (LB) getting the next most snaps behind the always reliable and productive Demario Davis (LB). Whoever that second linebacker is they only usually play around 50% of snaps, 54% this week for Robertson, and never seem to produce all that much. Playing the guessing game on who this is going to be every week is the last thing you want to do heading into fantasy playoffs, pass on all of them. Trey Hendrickson (DE) hasn’t done anything in weeks and only played 45% of snaps this week, pass as well. Sheldon Rankins (DT) had his second IDP relevant game of the season this week but has been terrible the majority of this season, also pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Everyone who was supposed to put up numbers this week did so and then some, even traditionally IDP irrelevant guys had monster days against this god awful Falcons offensive line. There were many flash in the pans this week but the guys we all were counting on, Saints corners plus Jordan, Davenport and Davis all did their jobs very well this week. Remain calm everywhere.

Atlanta Falcons

Performed as expected: Deion Jones (LB) Grady Jarrett (DT) Ricardo Allen (S)

Possible waiver adds: Desmond Trufant (CB) once again outsnapped Isiah Oliver (CB) 100% to 82% and was clearly the other full time corner along with Kendall Sheffield (CB) this week, both of which played every defensive snap. He only registered two solo tackles on the day but is in the perfect division to stream corner playing the Saints and Bucs twice a year. He remains a great option for streaming corner going forward and has only been back from injury two weeks now so could still be available on the waiver wire if an ideal matchup to start or stream him comes up in the next few weeks.

Flash in the pan: Foye Oloukon (LB) only played 34% of snaps this week so we can ignore his slightly elevated production.

Abandon ship or remain calm: De’Vondre Campbell (LB) came back to earth this week and looked a lot like the guy we used to know recording only three combined tackles, half a tackle for loss and one pass defended on 94% of snaps, which is actually more playing time than Deion Jones (LB), 90%, once again and is extremely weird once again. He has been a monster all year and the Falcons actually managed to put together a nice run on time of possession later in this game so their defense wasn’t on the field as much as we all thought it would be. Overall Campbell is having a career season there’s no reason to pull the plug now, remain calm. The Falcons “pass rush” came back to earth this week doing absolutely nothing like they normally do and we briefly talked about Isiah Oliver (CB) being displaced by Desmond Trufant (CB) above. Besides those issues everything went as predicted this week including Grady Jarrett (DT) taking advantage of an ideal matchup and further improving his already career best season. Remain calm all around.

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Carlos Dunlap was a wild man this week.

Jets @ Bengals

New York Jets

Performed as expected: James Burges (LB) Neville Hewitt (LB) Maurice Canady (CB)

Possible waiver adds: Blake Countess (S) or Mathias Farley (S) will be the replacement for Jamal Adams (S) who is week to week with an injury that severely hobbled him this week and limited his production significantly. I did some digging and didn’t find a solid answer on which of these guys will be the replacement so if you really need safety help I’d add both then see how next week plays out and go from there, as the week continues there could be more information from beat writers and Twitter shedding light on who the next guy up will be.

Flash in the pan: Arthur Maulet (CB) only played 42% of snaps and is the third corner behind Austin and Canady, not enough playing time for any consistency, pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Jamal Adams (S) is the big story, the injury he sustained severely limited his playmaking ability this week. Despite still playing 98% of snaps he only recorded one tackle assist on the day and said himself that he was not able to make the plays he feels like he can normally make due to this injury. This comes at the worst possible time with fantasy playoffs around the corner, my advice would be to look elsewhere for safety help. We won’t know who the backup is until after this week unless something changes and with guys like Derwin James (S) back from injury and safety being one of the easier positions to pick up off the waiver wire that’s what I would do, even when Adams comes back who knows if he’ll be 100% and able to play like we’re used to seeing. He played pretty much every snap this week this week, 98%, but wasn’t able to have an impact at all due to this injury so even if this is a short term thing it could be risky playing him immediately upon his return. I’m airlocking him in redraft and looking for other options for fantasy playoffs personally. Now is not the time to screw around with this stuff.

Cincinnati Bengals

Performed as expected: Carlos Dunlap (DE) Jessie Bates (S) Nick Vigil (LB) Sam Hubbard (DE) Germaine Pratt (LB)

Possible waiver adds: William Jackson (CB) led all Bengals corners in playing time this week, 100% of snaps and 4% more than always IDP relevant Darqueze Dennard (CB), and also led the Bengals in overall IDP production this week. While their division and schedule don’t lend themselves to a ton of games where we look to stream Bengals corners he could be a nice streaming option going forward if they do end up against any effective passing offenses.

Flash in the pan: NA, all the right names at the top of the box score this week.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Shawn Williams (S) and Geno Atkins (DT) both had sub par weeks but still somewhat serviceable, not a total disaster. Honestly I feel like this has more to do with the train wreck that was the Jets offense this week rather than a let down from the Bengals IDP corps, they produced well as a unit especially considering how terrible the Jets offense was this week. The strength of the Bengals IDP corps is that they usually spend a ton of time on the field every week, their offense is usually god awful and goes three and out constantly leading to more than usual snaps on defense when compared to the rest of the league. This week they won the time of possession battle, something exceedingly rare for the Bengals, and the Jets offense was pretty terrible going three and out early and often and rushing for fewer than 100 yards as a team, all the factors that lead to a good time of possession for the Jets and thereby keep the Bengals defense on the field did not go as planned this week. Basically this game didn’t go how everyone thought it would, the Jets had been hot lately and many including myself expected them to steam roll this Bengals team and own time of possession and be able to run and pass at will. That didn’t happen and despite this the majority of the Bengals IDP corps was still able to produce this week which is a miracle in itself. Williams has been solid most of this season so I still trust him and Atkins is still a solid defensive tackle two or three in deeper leagues, remain calm it’s not like the Bengals are going to turn their season around or any shit like that, they’ll be back to getting smashed and spending all game on defense soon enough. This Bengals IDP unit is still one of the top three in the league I want as many pieces of as possible simply due to their average playing time as a unit per game.

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Darius Leonard had a great game but it wasn’t enough for the Colts this week.

Titans @ Colts

Tennessee Titans

Performed as expected: Jayon Brown (LB) Logan Ryan (CB) Harold Landry (EDGE) Jurell Casey (DT) Kevin Byard (S)

Possible waiver adds: If the Adoree Jackson (CB) injury is significant there could be a streamer at corner with Tye Smith (CB) or Kareem Orr (CB) but it’s probably not worth looking at this late in the game, you don’t want to be screwing around with your season on the line.

Flash in the pan: Kareem Orr (CB) only played any significant time this week due to the injury to Adoree Jackson (CB) and only played 67% of snaps this week, I’ve never seen his name before and he doesn’t play enough and his name isn’t  Logan Ryan (CB) or Adoree Jackson (CB), pass. Kamalei Correa (LB) only played 46% of snaps, not enough for any kind of consistency, and hasn’t played anything north of that all season. Pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Rashaan Evans (LB) saw his playing time plummet to just 76% of snaps this week and his production suffered significantly as well, just two tackle assists on the day. This is two weeks in a row now his playing time has been trending downward. He’s still a good linebacker two preferably three in medium to deep leagues but this isn’t a good sign for the long term and this isn’t an ideal time to be dealing with this crap with fantasy playoffs starting next week. I can’t tell you what to do but if you have another option or can get one you probably don’t want to be risking playing Evans in fantasy playoffs with all these questions about his role and playing time happening. Besides that everyone who was supposed to produce this week did so or at least had a serviceable game, looking at you Kenny Vaccaro (S), including Jurell Casey (DT) who bounced back nicely playing 83% of snaps, a significant increase from last week where they were easing him back into the lineup after his recent injury, and recording four combined tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Good stuff from everyone except Evans this week.

Indianapolis Colts

Performed as expected: Anthony Walker (LB) Darius Leonard (LB) Desir & Moore (CB’s) Denico Autry (DT) Bobby Okereke (LB) Jabal Sheard (DE) Justin Houston (DE)

Possible waiver adds: Khari Willis (S) was back playing this week and logged 77% of snaps in his first week back after injury, as a result of this Clayton Geathers (S) saw his playing time fall to 23% of snaps played and his production took a nose dive along with it. Willis recorded just three combined tackles and half a tackle for loss but is likely a little rusty and not playing his complete compliment of snaps yet. I would expect a better outing and more playing time next week, he makes a nice waiver wire safety option in deeper leagues going forward.

Flash in the pan: George Odum (S) only played 20% of snaps and hasn’t done anything else of note this season, true flash in the pan. Pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Kenny Moore (CB) once again caught an injury limiting his snaps to just 65% played this week, if he’s healthy and it’s a halfway decent matchup he’s a must play at corner, top five IDP corner for two seasons in a row now. Everyone who was supposed to produce this week did so with some unexpected bonuses as well from guys like Okereke and Margus Hunt (DT). The Titans offense put in work this week so the Colts IDP corps had plenty of opportunities to make plays all game long and they did so. Remain calm across the board.

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The Gerry-Pocalypse claimed it’s first victims this week.

Eagles @ Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles

Performed as expected: Malcolm Jenkins (S) Derek Barnett (DE) Rodney McLeod (S) Jalen Mills (CB) Nigel Bradham (LB) Fletcher Cox (DT)

Possible waiver adds: Not that I would actually do this or even recommend it but Kamu Gruger Hill (LB) played more snaps than Nathan Gerry (LB) this week, 58% to 54% of snaps, just wanted to mention that. Gerry stinks. He was never going to keep his job and playing time and now he’s playing less than Kamu Gruger Hill (LB). Lmao. So yeah I guess if you feel like playing a terrible linebacker on the Eagles Gruger Hill is the new guy to own. :::Bllllaaaarrrrrgggggghhhh:::

Flash in the pan: Vinny Curry (DE) only played 28% of snaps this week and hasn’t played anything north of that this season, he’s been terrible for the majority of this year and will not play enough to be relevant unless there are many devastating injuries to the Eagles pass rush in the same game. Pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Brandon Graham (DE) was predicted by some in the IDP community to have a massive game this week, which I guess I could see. He did play more than Barnett, 81% to 69% (nice) this week so there’s that. Personally when I look at Barnett and Graham I see the same person, an end of tier two preferably defensive end three in medium to deeper leagues who will be more spotty than most starting defensive ends on your typical 4-3 defense. Nothing special for either and never someone who I would draft on purpose. So me personally, I’m not disappointed, I never expected anything from either of these guys in the first place, but I can see how some might be upset with Graham’s performance this week against an extremely suspect Miami offensive line. Realistically this doesn’t change much for him though, he remains a defensive end two preferably three in deeper leagues and someone who you probably won’t be able to find a better option for in those deep leagues so you’re stuck with him at this point. Pray he does better next week and move on. Nathan Gerry (LB) has completed his plummet from notoriety in the IDP landscape and is nothing more than a linebacker four preferably benched in deeper leagues. Besides that everyone pretty much did what we expected, Bradham could’ve had a better game but it was serviceable at least. The Eagles are a mess all around.

Miami Dolphins

Performed as expected: Raekwon McMillan (LB) Eric Rowe (CB) Davon Godchaux (DT) Nick Needham (CB) Jerome Baker (LB) Vince Biegel (LB) Taco Charlton (DE)

Possible waiver adds: John Jenkins (DE) who saw significant playing time last week had his playing time plummet to just 30% of snaps this week, same deal with Steven Parker (S) who also played a ton last week. Both of them had nice production as well and my advice was to add them but don’t play them, wait and see how this week played out since it was possible the Dolphins, who clearly aren’t going to make the playoffs, might just be seeing what they have in their players in real game situations as a means of deciding who stays on the team for next season. That is exactly what is happening here. Parker did not play, at all. Jenkins went from nearly 80% of snaps played to just 30% this week and once again we have a brand new name playing all the safety snaps this week. I’m not even going to tell you who it is cause you one million percent should not pick this person up, it’s likely it will be someone different again next week. This is definitely not the time to screw around with shit like this, fantasy playoffs are this week. Just ignore everyone on the Dolphins IDP corps except maybe Jerome Baker (LB) or Eric Rowe (CB). Needham, McMillan and Wilkins are likely safe as well. Everyone else is a risk.

Flash in the pan: Ken Webster (CB) is one of the new guys getting late season playing time, likely in an effort to see who should still be on this team next season, and only played 77% of snaps this week and hasn’t done anything else this season. Not enough playing time and no consistency this season, pass. Sam Eguavoen (LB) only played 59% of snaps this week and hasn’t been relevant since the preseason, pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: There’s no one you really should be relying on in regards to this IDP corps but the few IDP relevant guys there are here did end up putting up some numbers this week. This team is in flux all over the place, they could give a crap about our fantasy playoffs and each week there are new faces in new roles and I haven’t seen the same snap percentages twice for guys that have been there all season like Raekwon McMillan (LB). Bottom line is you can’t rely on these guys going into playoffs. Panic time.

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Our newest Messiah was worthy of our love this week.

Packers @ Giants

Green Bay Packers

Performed as expected: Blake Martinez (LB) Adrian Amos (S) Za’Darius Smith (EDGE) Kenny Clark (DT) Darnell Savage (S) Kevin King (CB) Jaire Alexander (CB)

Possible waiver adds: No new IDP producers this week.

Flash in the pan: Dean Lowry (DE) is a 3-4 defensive end which is traditionally a non IDP relevant position, only played 63% of snaps this week and is someone I didn’t know existed on this planet until this week which doesn’t say much about his historical production or consistency. Pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Everyone who was supposed to produce this week did so with the noteworthy exception of Preston Smith (EDGE) who is an OLB or EDGE guy so won’t be a weekly producer anyways, nature of the position. Unless you’re reading this article for the very first time you’ve heard my speech about EDGE guys and what to expect from them production-wise. If you haven’t heard that speech yet go back and read the week twelve version of this article I’m getting pretty sick of saying it every week. Remain calm across the board.

New York Giants

Performed as expected: Alec Ogletree (LB) Markus Golden (EDGE) Julian Love (S) Antoine Bethea (S) David Mayo (LB)

Possible waiver adds: Julian Love (S) is being listed as a corner in some places but is actually Jabrill Peppers (S) in disguise, he is playing the other full time safety role in relief of the injured and out Peppers and is doing a nice job so far. 97% of snaps this week and he recorded seven combined tackles and half a tackle for loss. Excellent option if you need safety help and a true cheat code if you can plug him into a corner slot and get strong safety and in the box production every week. Best looking safety option so far this week if you lost Jamal Adams (S).

Flash in the pan: NA, all the right or IDP relevant names at the top of the box score.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Everyone who was in either tier one or two did what they were supposed to this week with the exception of Lorenzo Carter (LB) and Janoris Jenkins (CB). Jenkins doesn’t make sense to me this was an ideal matchup for him, however when you factor in the snow and shitty weather it makes a little more sense, besides he’s a corner there’s a reason why we stream corner, their production is spotty anyways so we look for the best matchups and play that game instead of just drafting one or two corners and playing them every week all season even when they go up against teams that can’t throw the ball at all. While the matchup was ideal, Aaron Rodgers (QB) coming off a loss and looking to air it out against a poor Giants defense we didn’t take mother nature into account. Carter also had a down week but is a spotty, unreliable linebacker three preferably four in deeper leagues who has playing time as really the only thing going for him so this one doesn’t blow me away. He’ll be fine, or he won’t, I don’t actually care I don’t own any shares of him cause he sucks. Besides that things looked good for the Giants IDP corps this week.

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Javon Hargrave and the Steelers destroyed the Browns this week.

Browns @ Steelers

Cleveland Browns

Performed as expected: Mack Wilson (LB) Joe Schobert (LB) Sheldon Richardson (DT) Chad Thomas (DE)

Possible waiver adds: Sheldrick Redwine (S) played for Damarious Randal (S) this week after the coaching staff decided to bench him just before kickoff. Redwine was in for 98% of snaps and recorded six combined tackles and a pass defended. Whether or not the Browns continue to bench Randal is something no one can know unless they work for the Browns, what we can do is pick up Redwine if you need safety help and see how this week plays out, they will likely announce Randal as being inactive like they did this last week and if that happens it should be a green light to start Redwine. It’s definitely risk, personally I’d rather grab Tavon Wilson (S) or Julian Love (S) and feel more confident that at least they will play but this is an option if you are desperate. Just don’t give me shit if it doesn’t work out, I warned you ahead of time. Justin Burris (S) remained the other starting safety this week and played 100% of snaps but only recorded four combined tackles and one tackle for loss which isn’t terrible but isn’t great either.

Flash in the pan: TJ Carrie (CB) only played 69% of snaps this week, nice, and is the third corner on this team behind both Denzel Ward (CB) and Greedy Williams (CB), I would much rather have either of those two over this guy who hasn’t done much else this season and doesn’t play enough for any kind of consistency as an IDP corner. Pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Olivier Vernon (DE) and Larry Ogunjobi (DT) were both back in the lineup this week from injury and stupidity respectively. Vernon played only 19% of snaps so it’s very likely they are easing him back in and he’s still banged up, it’s likely a large risk playing him next week since his playing time could be a shadow of what it once was if he’s still not 100% healthy. Ogunjobi (DT) played 89% of snaps and is having about the kind of season we expected from him overall, he’ll be fine it was just a down week and a nature of the position thing. Both of these guys did absolutely nothing this week but for week one of fantasy playoffs I’d only feel comfortable playing Ogunjobi, I need to see Vernon back up near where his snaps were prior to his injury around 80% or so before I would personally plug him back in. Besides those two issues everyone who was supposed to produce did so or at least put up a serviceable game this week.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Performed as expected: Devin Bush (LB) Bud Dupree (EDGE) Terrell Edmunds (S) Javon Hargrave (DT) Cameron Heyward (DT) Marc Barron (LB) TJ Watt (EDGE) Steelers Corners

Possible waiver adds: No new producers this week.

Flash in the pan: All the right names at the top of the box score this week.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Devin Bush (LB) was at 74% of snaps this week and had a much better box score than the last few weeks, he’s still slowed down significantly in overall production and his playing time is a shadow of what it once was. He still looks like he’s going to be a tier one linebacker in dynasty for a long time but for the last few games this season he shouldn’t be considered as anything more than a linebacker two preferably three in deeper leagues. Minkah Fitzpatrick (S) played 100% of snaps as usual but had another down week with only three combined tackles and one pass defended. He’s what I like to call a rich mans Eddie Jackson (S). They have the same production style, they both rely on splash plays for the majority of their IDP points and neither has a combined tackle floor to speak of. Only difference is Fitzpatrick is far more likely to get you that splash play and when he does he’s also far more likely to do it again the same game or to return that interception or fumble recovery for a touchdown. With guys like Fitzpatrick or Jackson you’ll need to learn to live with weeks like this, I’m fine with it. In the league where I have Fitzpatrick I start four safeties and can live with a shitty week fairly often because when he does blow up it will likely win me a matchup, it’s harder to justify this strategy though when you’re in a league where you only start one or two safeties, in that situation you need someone with a consistent tackle floor far more than an occasional splash play explosion guy. But to each their own. Anyways, Fitzpatrick will be fine, there are some monster weeks left in him before this thing is said and done. Besides him everyone else put up numbers this week. Remain calm.

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Matt Ioannidis is a man.

Redskins @ Panthers

Washington Redskins

Performed as expected: Landon Collins (S) Jon Bostic (LB) Montae Nicholson (S) Quinton Dunbar (CB) Cole Holcomb (LB) Montez Sweat (EDGE) Matt Ioannidis (DE)

Possible waiver adds: Montae Nicholson (S) is still playing almost all the snaps, 99% this week, and may not be owned in your league if you need safety help in medium to deeper leagues.

Flash in the pan: Ryan Anderson (LB) only played 53% of snaps and hasn’t done anything else of note this season, pass. Chris Odom (DE) only played 40% of snaps and same story, pass as well. Same with Nate Orchard (DE), 57% of snaps this week.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Jonathan Allen (DT) was the only member of the Skins IDP corps to let us down this week. He’s having a career season and has been a week to week producer for well over a month now, something unheard of at defensive tackle. No reason at all to pull the plug on him now, remain calm. Besides that everyone did their job this week.

Carolina Panthers

Performed as expected: Eric Reid (S) Tre Boston (S) Shaq Thompson (LB) Mario Addison (EDGE) Luke Kuechly (LB) Bruce Irvin (EDGE) Gerald McCoy (DT)

Possible waiver adds: No new producers.

Flash in the pan: All the right names at the top of the box score this week.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Brian Burns (EDGE) was down to 20% of snaps this week, he’s been trending downward for weeks now just wanted to give everyone a heads up that nothing changed in regards to him, bench or drop in redraft and hold in dynasty. Neither Donte Jackson (CB) or James Bradberry (CB) had a stellar week but that was to be expected, the Redskins passing attack is god awful and I listed the Panthers corners as either a sit or a tier three true dart throw this week. They played 97% and 100% of snaps respectively and have the Falcons this week which is an absolutely ideal matchup to start or stream them both, remain calm. Besides that everyone did what they were supposed to do this week.

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Shaq Barrett asking Nick Foles to leave the toilet seat down for him after the game.

Buccaneers @ Jaguars

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Performed as expected: Devin White (LB) Lavonte David (LB) Jordan Whitehead (S) Jason Pierre Paul (DE) Shaq Barrett (EDGE) Carl Nassib (DE)

Possible waiver adds: No new producers this week.

Flash in the pan: All the right names at the top of the box score this week.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Andrew Adams (S) saw his playing time fall to just 53% of snaps this week, he’s probably someone you want to stay away from heading into fantasy playoffs. N’Damakong Suh (DT) came back to earth this week but still played 74% of snaps and remains a nice end of tier one defensive tackle overall, he’ll be fine. Vita Vea (DT) saw another offensive snap again this week but no touchdown, still that’s great to see overall. If you’re playing him in a defensive tackle specific slot anyways these snaps on offense are pure bonus, as long as he gets these there’s a chance he scores a touchdown and that’s bonkers. Besides these issues everyone else did what they were supposed to do this week including Shaq Barrett (EDGE) who sits down to pee.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Performed as expected: Andrew Wingard (S) Jarrod Wilson (S) Josh Allen (DE) Calais Campbell (DE) Tre Herndon (CB) AJ Bouye (CB)

Possible waiver adds: Donald Payne (LB) came in for the injured and out Myles Jack (LB) this week and played 99% of snaps and had a massive box score. However we have seen more than a couple times so far this year that the Jags will not follow conventional thinking and are likely to go with someone other than Payne next week if Jack is even out again which isn’t likely, he was a last minute inactive so he was probably close to playing. This is technically a waiver wire linebacker situation but in reality it’s a trap, I wouldn’t do it. The odds are much higher that Jack plays or Payne is not the guy last week like we saw over and over with the Najee Goode (LB) and Quincy Williams (LB) situation throughout this season. I’m passing on it personally and I would recommend you do the same, week one of fantasy playoffs is not the time to screw around. Andrew Wingard (S) did a fine job filling in for the injured and out Ronnie Harrison (S) this week but only played 75% of snaps, he is also someone I would steer clear of this week.

Flash in the pan: Leon Jacobs (LB) only played 45% of snaps and most of his IDP points came on the one sack he had this week, he hasn’t done anything else this season and doesn’t play enough for any kind of consistency, pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Yannick Ngakoue (DE) and Quincy Williams (LB) were the only noteworthy IDP relevant pieces of this defense to under perform this week. Ngakoue only had two solo tackles and a tackle for loss playing 72% of snaps but is having a really nice season overall, Campbell and Allen did work this week and it’s rare that all three of them eat at the same time, he’ll be fine going forward it’s just the nature of the position. Defensive end isn’t an every week producer for IDP points. Quincy Williams (LB) played 96% of snaps this week but only put up three combined tackles on the day, he’s a risk to play this week in my eyes since the Jags have pulled the rug out from under us in regards to who they start at linebacker at least three times this season, the first week of fantasy playoffs is the absolute last time and place we need to watch the Jaguars start Myles Jack (LB) and Donald Payne (LB) while sitting Quincy Williams (LB) and no one knows about it until kickoff. That is entirely possible so I wouldn’t even play this game unless you are truly desperate for linebacker help in a very deep league. Everyone else did their jobs this week.

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Fred Warner continues to shine in the post-Alexander world.

49ers @ Ravens

San Francisco 49ers

Performed as expected: Fred Warner (LB) Dre Greenlaw (LB) Richard Sherman (CB) Deforest Buckner (DT) Jimmy Ward (S) Arik Armstead (DE)

Possible waiver adds: No new producers this week.

Flash in the pan: Marcell Harris (S) only played 43% of snaps and isn’t someone I even knew existed until this very minute, not enough playing time for any kind of consistency and no historical production, pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: The 49ers pass rush was largely ineffective this week which doesn’t come as a shock to anyone who has watched the Ravens this season. Lamar Jackson (QB) is nearly impossible to catch and bring down and their passing game is used sparingly since their running attack is ridiculously effective. They almost never drop back to pass and when they do they are usually quick passes or if Jackson runs into trouble he scrambles away from it usually for a gain on the ground. No one has been able to sack their quarterback this season so seeing the 49ers with only one sack on the day isn’t shocking. They’ll be back to clapping cheeks soon enough, remain calm with your Bosa shares and the rest of the IDP relevant 49ers pass rush. Besides that issue everyone else did as expected this week.

Baltimore Ravens

Performed as expected: Marlon Humphrey (CB) Chuck Clark (S) Earl Thomas (S)

Possible waiver adds: No one I would feel comfortable recommending at the moment.

Flash in the pan: Josh Bynes (LB) and Chris Wormley (DE), who played 49% and 63% of snaps respectively and have been both largely ineffective all season. Pass on both.

Abandon ship or remain calm: There are almost no reliable members of this defense for IDP purposes but the couple we look at did decently this week. Matt Judon (EDGE) had a down week but still played 89% of snaps and remains an end of tier two EDGE guy going forward. Chuck Clark (S) and the corners, Humphrey and Peters, are the only guys I would really consider playing from this defense, maybe Judon in deeper leagues but that’s it. This defense is very similar to the Patriots defense in IDP terms, the roles and snap percentages change constantly depending on their opponent and there are really no true “studs” on this team.

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Budda Baker put up a massive week.

Rams @ Cardinals

Los Angeles Rams

Performed as expected: Cory Littleton (LB) Dante Fowler (EDGE) Clay Matthews (EDGE) Aaron Donald (DT)

Possible waiver adds: No new producers this week.

Flash in the pan: Troy Reeder (LB) only played 47% of snaps this week so his over inflated box score is a true flash in the pan and not a sign that he’s once again relevant, pass, again. Tavon Howard (LB) and Sebastian Joseph Day (DT) also qualify for flash in the pan this week playing 52% and 48% of snaps respectively and having been largely ineffective all season with only occasional spurts of random production, neither is worth a look especially with everything on the line this week.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Taylor Rapp (S) and Eric Weddle (S) both had down weeks but it makes sense when you look at time of possession and see the Rams dominated that statistic 35 minutes to 25 minutes and when the Cardinals did have the ball they were going three and out and couldn’t establish any drives all game long. Rapp will be fine he’s been a stud since John Johnson (S) went out earlier this season. Weddle though is generally terrible, unreliable and massively inconsistent with his production and I would rather cram a traffic cone up my own ass wide end first than play him going into fantasy playoffs. To each their own though. Anyways, besides the safeties it was business as usual for the Rams IDP corps this week even with the Cardinals doing nothing on offense which was good to see.

Arizona Cardinals

Performed as expected: Budda Baker (S) Patrick Peterson (CB) Byron Murphy (CB) Jordan Hicks (LB) Chandler Jones (EDGE)

Possible waiver adds: Joe Walker (LB) played 100% of snaps this week alongside Jordan Hicks (LB) as the other full time linebacker, the Cardinals have been playing this game with Walker and Redick for weeks now and frankly neither is reliable at this point in time. It technically counts as a waiver wire linebacker though due to the fact that Walker played every snap and had a decent box score, four combined tackles and a tackle for loss, but I wouldn’t pull the trigger on him it’s too big a risk with fantasy playoffs looming.

Flash in the pan: Trumaine Brock (CB) only played 72% of snaps and isn’t named Murphy or Peterson, pass. Jalen Thompson (S) was down to 63% of snaps this week so despite the nice box score, which was largely a result of the Rams owning time of possession and the Cardinals defense being on the field all game, he probably isn’t someone you want to rely on going forward. Not enough playing time. Pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Jordan Hicks (LB) could’ve had a better game this week especially considering how much time he spent on the field. The Rams did most of their damage through the air though so it makes some sense in retrospect. He should be fine going forward he’s having a career season and plays every snap every week. He also had a serviceable box score so it wasn’t total disaster. Chandler Jones (EDGE) had a similar game, serviceable but not great with four combined tackles, half a sack and half a tackle for loss on 95% of snaps played this week. He’s also been having a monster season and likely has some huge games left in him before it’s all said and done. Besides these guys everyone who was supposed to produce did and and we even got a bunch of flashes in the pan due to the ridiculous amount of time the Cardinals defense spent on the field this week.

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Todd Davis filled the box score up once again.

Chargers @ Broncos

Los Angeles Chargers

Performed as expected: Thomas Davis (LB) Desmond King (CB) Derwin James (S)

Possible waiver adds: Brandon Facyson (CB) played 100% of snaps and had a monster box score, it might be too late in the game to trust a corner we haven’t already been using all season for streaming purposes but if his playing time remains constant he could be a nice option to start or stream in upcoming ideal matchups against good passing offenses. Derwin James (S) returned from IR this week and played 99% of snaps, he wasn’t his normal explosive self in regards to the box score but seeing him play that much is a great sign overall so I would definitely pick him up and play him if he’s there.

Flash in the pan: Drue Tranquil (LB) and Desmond King (CB) have both been looked at as serious IDP relevant pieces at different times this season but currently aren’t playing enough, 74% and 51% of snaps respectively, for any kind of consistency. I would pass on both especially with everything being on the line this week.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Joey Bosa (DE) and Melvin Ingram (DE) both had bad games this week but still played 91% and 100% of snaps respectively and remain a tier one defensive end and start of tier two defensive end respectively, remain calm. Defensive end isn’t a position that produces for you every week, both of these guys will be back to clapping cheeks soon enough. Besides that it was nice to see Derwin James (S) play every single snap except one, that bodes well for his health and impact going into fantasy playoffs. He couldn’t be coming back at a better time with the earth shattering injury to Jamal Adams (S) this week, a lucky few will be able to plug Derwin into his slot and take it from there.

Denver Broncos

Performed as expected: Todd Davis (LB) Alexander Johnson (LB) Chris Harris (CB) Kareem Jackson (CB) Derek Wolfe (DE) Justin Simmons (S)

Possible waiver adds: Isaac Yiadom (CB) filled in for Davontae Harris (CB) this week and seemingly took his job, he played 100% of snaps and recorded seven combined tackles on the day. It might be a little late in the game to trust any new corners as streamers but this looks legit if you want to try it, I won’t be, but it’s up to you ultimately.

Flash in the pan: Will Parks (S) only played 79% of snaps this week and hasn’t caught my attention any other time this season so the consistency as well at the ideal playing time isn’t there, pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Malik Reed (EDGE) had a terrible game but is also a terrible replacement for Bradley Chubb (EDGE) so we weren’t expecting much out of him anyways. Von Miller (EDGE) was inactive with a late injury so he couldn’t let us down this week. Everyone else who was supposed to put up numbers did so this week. Remain calm across most of the board.

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Chris Jones gave Derek Carr fits all game long this week.

Raiders @ Chiefs

Oakland Raiders

Performed as expected: Erik Harris (S) Nicholas Morrow (LB) Jonathan Hankins (DT) Maxx Crosby (DE) Trayvon Mullen (CB) Maurice Hurst (DT) Clelin Ferrell (DE)

Possible waiver adds: No new producers this week.

Flash in the pan: All the right names at the top of the box score this week.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Tahir Whitehead (LB) played 100% of snaps but only had one solo tackle on the day, not exactly unexpected considering that the Chiefs don’t run the ball all that often so the easy run stopping tackles are few and far between. Still though, Morrow was able to put together a nice day in spite of this fact so there’s no excuse for Whitehead’s bad day here. He’s always been pretty terrible and reliant on production by default, if you have a better option feel free but he does get the Titans and Derrick Henry (RB) this week so I’m thinking he’s in store for a much better day with that matchup.

Kansas City Chiefs

Performed as expected: Anthony Hitchens (LB) Chris Jones (DT) Juan Thornhill (S) Daniel Sorensen (S)

Possible waiver adds: Tanoh Kpassagnon (DE) is a good option if Frank Clark (DE) is injured and out this week, irrelevant if Clark plays though so keep that in mind.

Flash in the pan: Reggie Ragland (LB) only played 46% of snaps and hasn’t played anything north of that all season, pass.

Abandon ship or remain calm: The Raiders weren’t able to muster a ton of offense this week so despite the time of possession actually being pretty even despite the blowout the Chiefs defense didn’t have much to work with in terms of making plays for IDP points. The Raiders went three and out a lot and couldn’t sustain drives so the overall IDP production just wasn’t available for the Chiefs this week, they do get the Patriots this week though and that’s always a terrific matchup for opposing defenses in terms of IDP points. All the Chiefs key IDP pieces should produce well this week, hopefully Frank Clark (DE) isn’t hurt too badly and is able to play.

 

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Bradley Roby returned this week and made an immediate impact.

Patriots @ Texans

New England Patriots

Performed as expected: Donta Hightower (LB) Patrick Chung (S) Kyle Van Noy (LB) Chase Winovich (DE)

Possible waiver adds: No one you can trust for fantasy playoffs.

Flash in the pan: Every Patriots IDP every week.

Abandon ship or remain calm: We got bad Jamie Collins (LB) this week, he played only 56% of snaps for some weird and unknown reason and only had three combined tackles on the day, two of them solo. Collins overall this season has been an excellent IDP linebacker but this is the problem with him, he’s not an every week guy and even his playing time fluctuates wildly week to week. He is a micro chasm of the entire Patriots IDP situation. There is no consistency whatsoever to any of these guys due to random playing time, changes of roles week to week and massive unreliability as a unit. Trusting any of them in fantasy playoffs is a terrible idea.

Houston Texans

Performed as expected: Bernardrick McKinney (LB) DJ Reader (DT) Zach Cunningham (LB) Tashaun Gipson (S) Justin Reid (S) Vernon Hargreaves (CB) Jonathan Joseph (CB) Bradley Roby (CB)

Possible waiver adds: Bradley Roby (CB) returned from injury this week and played 98% of snaps while recording four combined tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, one pass defended and one interception. He makes a great corner to start or stream in ideal matchups going forward.

Flash in the pan: Jacob Martin (LB) only played 52% of snaps and hasn’t done anything else this season, pass, too late in the game to screw around like this.

Abandon ship or remain calm: This is what I’m talking about in regards to the Patriots being a terrific matchup for opposing IDP units, even Justin Reid (S) had a nice week against this Patriots offense that ran a million plays and sustained drives all game long, they almost never score on quick or big plays and always grind out long drives on their way to points. These kinds of drives lead to massive IDP production for opposing defenses, hence why the Chiefs should rebound nicely this week as I mentioned in the previous matchup. Everyone who was supposed to put up numbers this week did so, remain calm across the board.

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KJ Wright took advantage of an ideal matchup this week.

Vikings @ Seahawks

Minnesota Vikings

Performed as expected: Anthony Barr (EDGE) Harrison Smith (S) Eric Kendricks (LB) Xavier Rhodes (CB) Anthony Harris (S) Danielle Hunter (DE) Linval Joseph (DT)

Possible waiver adds: No new producers this week, Linval Joseph (DT) is back from injury though if someone dropped him he’s an excellent IDP defensive tackle.

Flash in the pan: Eric Wilson (LB) only played 45% of snaps and has been irrelevant all season, pass. Same thing with Ifeadi Odenigbo (DE) who only played 21% of snaps, pass as well.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Everyone who was supposed to produce this week did so except for Everson Griffen (DE) who still played 57% of snaps this week. That’s actually a reduction from his normal playing time but that’s likely a gamescript thing, the Seahawks ran the ball nearly the entire second half and pass rushing situations where few and far between, it makes sense Griffen would see the field less under those conditions. Overall this season he has been very good and consistent and the Lions this week will likely be behind early and needing to throw the ball often thereby setting up an excellent scenario for both Griffen and Hunter to rush the passer and get some sacks this week. Remain calm.

Seattle Seahawks

Performed as expected: Bobby Wagner (LB) KJ Wright (LB) Bradley McDougald (S) Quandre Diggs (S) Jadaveon Clowney (DE) Tre Flowers (CB) Shaq Griffin (CB)

Possible waiver adds: No new producers this week.

Flash in the pan: All the right names at the top of the box score.

Abandon ship or remain calm: Jarran Reed (DT) played 81% of snaps this week and recorded zero stats of any kind in an absolutely ideal matchup against a Vikings team that ran the ball a ton and didn’t complete a pass of more than ten yards until the second half I believe. This was a great opportunity for Reed and he came up empty, not great, but also not much we can do this late in the game. He gets the playing time and opportunity and finding a better option off the waiver wire going into week fourteen is probably not happening, let’s just hope he can figure it out for fantasy playoffs. Besides that everyone who was supposed to put up numbers did so or at least had a serviceable game so remain calm for everything else.


Thank you for reading this week’s edition of my (semi) instant reaction and defensive waivers. I’ll be here all season breaking down the crazy shenanigans that is the week in IDP production, playing time and consistency. Some may want to just know who to pick up off waivers but for the truly committed we want to know WHY. We’ll keep plugging together as we scrape and claw our way to those week sixteen title games just like we do every year. 

Be sure to keep an eye out for my weekly start or sit article dropping Saturday mornings every week, for the Thursday night game that start or sit will be in tweet form, follow me @Orangeman3142 for that information. Also, our podcast drops every Wednesday morning or Tuesday night all season long as well. Be sure to follow @IDP_Dude and @Joeythetooth to be sure you get defensive waivers and reactions to the week’s production covered from all sides. All this can be found, for free, at your one-stop shop for all things IDP here at idpguys.org or @idpguys on Twitter. Good luck in your matchups this week.


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A shocked Damon Harrison realizes he shit his pants, Detroit USA Circa 2019

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