IDP Analysis: Michael Griffin Showing His Versatility

RISERS

William Moore, S, ATL - The former Missouri star finally got his chance to start recently, and he has since run away with the starting strong safety spot in Atlanta. Here are the numbers from his first four starts: 17 tackles (14 solo), two interceptions, and a forced fumble. It's not an exceptional start, but it's still a very promising one. Moore is a great physical talent and could prove to be a very good player for Atlanta.

Charles Godfrey, S, CAR - Outside of a one-tackle performance against Tampa Bay in Week 2, Godfrey has been a goldmine for fantasyt owners. The numbers from his other four games are superb: 29 tackles (24 solo) and four interceptions. It's looking like Godfrey is the real deal both on the actual field and for IDP owners, so look for him to be among the top IDPs all year.

Michael Griffin, S, TEN - Few IDPs have been as consistent as Griffin has this year. Besides a modest five-tackle performance against Pittsburgh in Week 2, Griffin has been huge in every game. The most impressive thing is that he has put up big numbers in a variety of ways. In two of his other four games, he totaled 24 tackles (21 solo) and a forced fumble. In the other two, he totaled 10 tackles (seven solo) and two interceptions. That indicates that if Griffin is struggling to make plays in pass defense, he tends to cover the deficiency with big tackle numbers, and vice versa.

Paul Posluszny, LB, BUF - Every week that Poz stays healthy is a week his value rises. After missing just two games with a knee injury that was originally believed to be season ending, Posluszny has been excellent for his IDP owners. In his last two games he has totaled 25 tackles (16 solo), giving him 33 tackles (22 solo) in the three games he has appeared in this year. If he can manage to stay healthy for the rest of 2010, he'll likely post tackle numbers that rival that of any player who suited up for 16 games.

Ndamukong Suh, DT, DET –Suh almost has to be considered the defensive Rookie of the Year up to this point. He has the best player on Detroit's surprisingly good defensive line, and he is putting up solid IDP numbers despite drawing most of the attention from opposing offensive lines. Suh is on pace to finish the season with 58 tackles and 10 sacks, and he even caught an interception against the Rams last week and showed brilliant athleticism when he returned it 20 yards. Don't be shocked if Suh pulls down another interception this year, considering his unparalleled ability to knock down and catch passes on the defensive line. In his last two seasons at Nebraska, Suh intercepted three passes (returning two for touchdowns) and knocked down 13 passes.

FALLERS

Erik Coleman, S, ATL - As the William Moore era begins in Atlanta, the Coleman experiment ends. Coleman has been one of the most reliable IDP options in the secondary for most of the past six years, but his lack of coverage ability and general susceptibility to the big play made him little more than a speed bump on the actual field. Coleman highlights the risks of investing in a defender who's productive in IDP terms but is ineffective on the real field – those players tend to get benched or cut without much notice.

Jared Allen, DE, MIN - There's no other way to say it: Allen has been a complete bust in IDP leagues five weeks into this year. In his four games to this point, Allen has totaled just 16 tackles (12 solo) and one sack. That pace certainly falls well short of the 14.5-sack mark that he has reached each of the past two years. It's looking unlikely that he will be able to catch up to that number, but his owners should expect at least one sack this week against a Dallas offense that passes excessively and has trouble with edge rushes.

Patrick Willis, LB, SF - Willis was the consensus No. 1 IDP option – a complete can't-miss who was almost guaranteed to be in a tier of his own by the end of the season. Through five weeks, it's looking like that might not be the case. His total of 41 tackles (35 solo) and one sack are hardly bad, but they obviously are not exceptional, either. Willis is on pace to finish the season with 131 tackles, which would be his career low by 10. That would be a tolerable figure if Willis were making plays in coverage and as a pass rusher, so hopefully he gets going in those departments soon enough.

Dan Connor, LB, CAR - After posting 10 solo tackles in the season opener against the Giants, Connor totaled just 10 solos over the next three weeks. He got on track a bit against Chicago last week, making 11 total tackles (six solo), but it's looking like his Week 1 performance was a fluke. Connor has since taken a backseat to James Anderson and Jon Beason in the Carolina defense.

Lance Briggs, LB, CHI - It's certainly too early for Briggs' owners to reconsider their options, but Briggs hasn't done much the past two weeks. He started the season with very nice numbers, making 25 tackles (24 solo) and one interception in the first three weeks. Since then, however, he has just eight tackles (all solo), and one sack. Part of that can be attributed to an injury that knocked Briggs out of last Sunday's game in the third quarter, but the results are still the same. We're guessing that Briggs will get back on track soon (as long as he plays), but he has been a bit disappointing recently.