We're now nearing the midway point of the season and have a deep enough sample size to trust that most teams aren't changing up their depth charts or philosophical approach to their base defense and subpackages. So, I'm going to scale back the general overview and not hit every team each week. I'll focus more intently on changing situations due to injury, unexpected snap counts from the previous week and do more detailed scouting reports on some young and developing talents.
If there's a situation you'd like me to cover more deeply, send me an email or tweet (details at the end of the column). The Sunday column will continue to hit the broad highlights for every team, project the depth chart changes due to injury, discuss any game-time decisions and note any key matchups of importance.
BUFFALO
Stephon Gilmore and Jairus Byrd missed just a handful of snaps combined last week. Aaron Williams moved back to safety and was productive against a favorable New Orleans matchup. Da'Norris Searcy has moved into the hybrid nickel linebacker role as expected. His numbers included a half sack last week, but expect lots of variance in his tackle numbers. Consider him only in matchups where the opposing offense runs a spread set frequently and runs effectively from it.
CHICAGO
The Bears will indeed give Khaseem Greene an immediate chance to start in the base defense while Lance Briggs recovers. He isn't likely to see much time immediately, however, as Chicago plays Green Bay out of the break. The Packers have been running the ball more often and more effectively with Eddie Lacy healthy and a shallow depth chart at wide receiver, but still spread the field often enough that a base outside linebacker isn't a strong play. There's a small chance that the Bears used the bye week to coach Greene up to play every down ahead of Jon Bostic, but I think it's doubtful. Dynasty owners should watch Greene's run defense play closely. There were some subtle hints that the Bears could be considering a change at safety over the bye week, but that's unlikely given the options behind Major Wright and Chris Conte. With Briggs out, Wright could become an every-week DB2+ option.
cincinnati
Michael Johnson has been a major disappointment in the box score this year, but he's been a very good player on the field. He's playing nearly every down and has disrupted the pocket regularly. He's always been a boom-bust DL1 in fantasy leagues -- similar to Osi Umenyiora and John Abraham and Chris Long in recent seasons. There are better matchups on the way, so don't give up on him yet in big play leagues. By comparison, Carlos Dunlap has been much less consistent on the field, but much more productive in the box score. It won't be shocking to see the numbers flip the other way in the second half. Rey Maualuga will miss multiple weeks with a knee sprain. Michael Boley and Vincent Rey will see more snaps in his absence, but neither will play every down and neither hold much fantasy value. And it's now been three consecutive weeks of change in the Cincinnati stat crew. The assist-happy crew is gone and that cements Vontaze Burfict as a fantasy LB1.
CLEVELAND
D'Qwell Jackson didn't play much better last week against the run, but his numbers rebounded despite less than expected tackle opportunity in Kansas City. If he can keep that momentum going against Baltimore, he has a nice run of matchups (except the Week 13 JAX game) to come.
DALLAS
The Cowboys rotated Bruce Carter and Ernie Sims at weak side linebacker again last week. It wasn't immediately evident how the rotation was set up. Both Carter and Sims saw time in base and subpackages, with Carter getting a slight majority of snaps overall. It's clearly a situation to avoid. Hold Carter in dynasty leagues unless you can find an owner willing to give LB3 value for him. Jeff Heath filled in for J.J. Wilcox but isn't a short or long term fantasy option.
DENVER
Other than Champ Bailey, who remains out with a foot injury, and the continued below average play of Derek Wolfe, we are now seeing what we expected from the Denver defense. Von Miller dominated at times against Washington, Wesley Woodyard was back in his every-down role and Danny Trevathan sat in some dime packages but remained statistically productive. That should continue. Duke Ihenacho left -- again -- with an ankle injury. He'll have an extra week to recover through the Broncos' Week 9 bye.
HOUSTON
The Texans come out of their bye week with major holes in their linebacker unit. Gary Kubiak told reporters late last week that Darryl Sharpton and Joe Mays will be the starting linebackers. He also noted that Justin Tuggle has been moved outside and Mike Mohamed would see snaps inside behind Sharpton and Mays. While there's been some blogger speculation that Brooks Reed could be moved back inside in a pinch, that doesn't yet look likely to happen. Sharpton will likely be the lone every-down player and your primary IDP option, but he's an extreme durability risk. Mohamed could be worth a look, but he's limited and will be a fantasy option of less resort. If you left D.J. Swearinger Sr on the free agent list last week due to the Texans' bye, go get him now. The mess in the front seven could mean monster numbers for Swearinger if he continues to see starting strong safety snaps as he did in Week 7.
indianapolis
I didn't cover the Colts last week. That was mostly because they were headed into their bye week, but also because I wanted my mind to marinate on the inside linebacker rotation. In Week 7, Pat Angerer was back in an every-down role and showed flashes of productivity. There are still durability worries and home stat crew concerns, but he'll face the Texans in Houston this week. If he produces, he might be a matchup option down the stretch.
KANSAS CITY
Don't be discouraged at the lack of pass rush numbers from Dontari Poe recently. He's still been disruptive and he's still going to benefit from the edge rushing talents around him. If someone drops him in your DT-required league, pick him up. I warned last week that Joe Thomas and the Cleveland offensive line were a tough matchup but worth the risk with Jason Campbell starting. As it turned out, the Chiefs' defensive line was held mostly in check. I fully expect them to be back wreaking havoc in Buffalo this week.
MIAMI
Cameron Wake played two of three series last week. His explosion off the line and speed off the edge are not yet fully there, but his leverage and strength looked better than they have since his injury. He'll have a tough matchup in a short turnaround Thursday night against Cincinnati, but could be back in form and trustworthy in all scoring systems by Week 10.
NEW ENGLAND
You knew Bill Belichick couldn't leave the personnel rotation alone. Brandon Spikes and Dont'a Hightower are still the anchors at linebacker, but Dane Fletcher saw an extended role as the dime linebacker against Miami. For now, consider Spikes a high risk LB3 and avoid Hightower. The defensive line needs a bye week, which comes in Week 10 for the Patriots. Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich are holding up well, but they've each played around 600 snaps through eight games. 1200 snaps is a brutal pace for a defensive lineman and it's fair to wonder if Jones and Ninkovich will begin wearing down in the second half. Don't bench either against Pittsburgh, but keep an eye on their production and on-field play as the season progresses.
new orleans
Cameron Jordan (struggling with an ankle injury) and Malcolm Jenkins (who left last week's game early) have been disappointing recently. And it's still not clear how soon Roman Harper will return from a knee injury. I'm still waiting for Kenny Vaccaro to blossom statistically, but be ready to make him an every-week starter when he does. On the bright side, Junior Galette continues to show consistency as a pass rusher. Those in sack heavy scoring system should consider him a strong matchup option if you aren't already.
new york giants
Don't be discouraged about Jon Beason's 2-2 week against Philadelphia. The tackle opportunity was terrible and, though Beason has looked spry between the tackles, the primary competition for tackles comes from the slot corners and force safeties -- Terrell Thomas, Antrel Rolle and Will Hill. When the Giants face a team that doesn't or can't run the ball inside and looks to get the ball to the edges, Beason will likely struggle to fill up the box score. Ryan Mundy didn't play last week despite being on the active roster. He's apparently dealing with a hip injury, though the Giants didn't list him on the injury report. The secondary will continue to produce good numbers; unfortunately, it's difficult to identify who will get the most slot snaps between Rolle and Thomas in most weeks. That's where the bulk of the value is trending.
philadelphia
Mychal Kendricks could be turning a corner, but I'd like to see more consistency before declaring him a matchup-independent, every-week LB2. And I ardently hope that we don't have to wait until 2015 to see Brandon Graham in another uniform. He deserves better.
PITTSBURGH
The broken hand didn't slow down Lawrence Timmons in any way. He converted every tackle he attempted. Despite continued rumblings that Ryan Clark could begin losing snaps to Shamarko Thomas, the safety snaps remained status quo last week. I jumped the gun on slot corner and strong tackler Cortez Allen last week in a couple of leagues, but those in CB-required leagues should consider a matchup flyer on him against New England this week.
st. louis
Don't get overly excited about the strong game Chris Long turned in on Monday night. The Seattle offensive tackle situation is a mess right now and Long took advantage. Unfortunately, Long has struggled to hit despite huge matchups before, so it's hard to trust him in any situation. He's still among the highest of variance DL2. Though they both had three sacks against Seattle, it should be clearly evident after watching them play why Robert Quinn has blossomed into a more consistent pass rusher than Long. James Laurinaitis was a victim of circumstance again. The Seahawks surprisingly ran the ball just 15 times and provided only 32 tackle opportunities (seven of which were sacks). That's brutal. Laurinaitis was the highest tackler (adjusting for sacks) in the front seven. Don't panic here.
Subscribe to The Audible on iTunes or download our weekly IDP podcast here every Thursday for injury updates, player analysis and matchup discussion. Check my article page on Sunday morning for notes on every team's key injuries, depth chart changes and IDP expectations. Follow and ask questions on Twitter @JeneBramel.
