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IDP Notes
Week 11
11/18/09

Week 11 Injury Report (available Friday PM)

IDP Depth Chart

Bye Week: None

Thursday Game Alert: MIA @ CAR 8:20pm EST

Notable Injuries

  • DT Albert Haynesworth, WAS - suffered a left ankle sprain on Sunday, but expects to play this week. Watch the injury updates this week.

  • DT Tommy Kelly, OAK - left Sunday with a rib injury and missed the rest of the game.

  • DE/OLB Terrell Suggs, BAL - left Monday night's game with a sprained right knee after QB Brady Quinn dove at his knees during a pick. Suggs had a MRI on Tuesday, but the results aren't known as of Tuesday night. Rookie Paul Kruger, active for just the second time this season, replaced Suggs.

  • OLB Aaron Kampman, GB - was inactive with a concussion on Sunday and is expected to return this week. Seventh-round pick Brad Jones got the start in his place.

  • OLB Akeem Jordan, PHI - was inactive Sunday with a hyperextended knee and his status for this week is uncertain. The Eagles shuffled their LB set to compensate, moving Chris Gocong to the middle and Will Witherspoon to the weak side. Rookie Moise Fokou then stepped in and got the start at SLB.

  • OLB Mike Vrabel, KC - entering the game with the injury report indicating he had a hip injury, Vrabel left on Sunday with a knee problem and reportedly left the locker room in a brace. Former UDFA Andy Studebaker replaced him. Not much mentioned about this one, watch for updates before Sunday.

  • OLB Keith Ellison, BUF - more injuries at LB for the hapless Bills, as Ellison missed Sunday due to a quad injury from the previous game. Bryan Scott moved up from SS to replace him at WLB.

  • S Troy Polamalu, PIT - strained his left PCL on Sunday, the same knee he suffered an MCL sprain that cost him several games earlier this year. HC Mike Tomlin calls him "questionable at best" for this week. Dreaded GTD, but plan for him to sit.

  • S Roy Williams, CIN - was placed on the IR last week with a fractured forearm. Nedu Ndukwe takes over full-time at SS and makes a nice addition to finish out the year.

  • S Jim Leonhard, NYJ - out indefinitely after surgery on a broken right thumb suffered in Sunday's game. He should be replaced at SS by Eric Smith.

  • S Ken Hamlin, DAL - out a few weeks with a high ankle sprain. Pat Watkins should start at FS in his place.

  • CB Rashean Mathis, JAX - out indefinitely with a groin injury. When he missed a game earlier this month with a broken finger, the thin secondary needed to move FS Reggie Nelson to CB to replace him.

  • CB Tracy Porter, NO - out 4-6 weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee.

  • CB Sheldon Brown, PHI - left the game early with a hamstring injury. He was replaced by Dimitri Patterson.

Defensive Line

  • While there was no official comment on the heavily-wrapped right hand of Carolina DE Julius Peppers, MLB Jon Beason revealed in an interview that Peppers has a broken hand. The injury occurred in the previous game and he is playing through it. He had some pressure on Sunday, but failed to register even a tackle. He had just one solo tackle in the previous game. He has been mostly limited to passing downs, with DE Charles Johnson picking up the additional reps. However, Johnson (pec) joined Peppers on the injury report this week. Peppers will be challenged to put up decent numbers until the hand heals.

  • After nine consecutive regular season games with a sack, Indianapolis DE Dwight Freeney was kept in check by New England on Sunday night. On the other side, DE Robert Mathis got through for 2 sacks and now has 8.5 on the season, on behind Freeney.

  • With a sack on Sunday, Denver OLB tweener Elvis Dumervil took over the league lead in sacks with 10.5, passing Minnesota DE Jared Allen who didn't get one. Allen has 7.5 sacks against the Packers this year in two games and 3 sacks in his other seven games. On the other side of Allen, DE Ray Edwards is one of the hotter DLine players out there and may be finally living up to his potential benefitting from playing opposite Allen. In addition to back-to-back two-sack games, Edwards has 8 solo tackles, including a forced fumble, and 2 passes defensed. Of course, these games came against Green Bay and Detroit, who rank first and fourth, respectively, in sacks allowed this season. On that note, with every team having completed their bye, here is a list of top teams in sacks allowed this season to help your DLine decisions:

      1. Green Bay Packers 41
      2. Kansas City Chiefs 32
      3. Washington Redskins 31
      4. Detroit Lions 29
      5. San Francisco 49ers 28
      6. Oakland Raiders 27
      7. Pittsburgh Steelers 27
      8. Buffalo Bills 25
      9. (Tie) Cleveland Browns 23
      9. (Tie) Miami Dolphins 23
      9. (Tie) Seattle Seahawks 23

Linebacker

  • With his sixth double-digit tackle effort of the season on Sunday, San Francisco ILB Patrick Willis move within 2 of Atlanta MLB Curtis Lofton, who leads the league with 90 tackles this season.

  • Miami OLB Joey Porter was inactive on Sunday after HC Tony Sparano reportedly benched him for "off-field conduct".

  • After posting 2 sacks in back-to-back games, San Diego OLB Shawne Merriman disappeared against Philly, despite the Eagles giving him plenty of opportunities by throwing 55 passes.

  • Rookie OLB/DE Brian Orakpo continues to adapt well to his tweener role in Washington. He has 3.5 sacks in the last two games and leads all rookies with 7 on the season.

Defensive Back

  • Minnesota CB Antoine Winfield has said he is likely to return this week from a cracked bone in his right foot that cost him 3 games, but with the division well under control, the team and Winfield are likely to be cautious.

  • Buffalo S Donte Whitner did not start on Sunday as he returns from an ankle injury. Impressive rookie Jairus Byrd should remain at FS, but Whitner should push George Wilson back to the bench at SS. Byrd took over the league lead in interceptions with his 8th pick on Sunday. It broke a tie with New Orleans FS Darren Sharper, who was inactive with a sprained knee. Sharper should play this week.

  • BAL SS Dawan Landry has had rough season, but it appeared DC Greg Mattison didn't have confidence in last year's draft picks of Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski at safety until he said last week he planned to work them in more. That didn't work out on Monday night, especially after Nakamura broke his right ankle on the opening kickoff. Mattison appears to have more confidence in rookie CB Lardarius Webb in the struggling pass defense, who has also flashed some ability on the blitz.

Milk Carton Player of the Week
One year after posting a career-high 17.5 sacks, Miami OLB Joey Porter has contributed 2.5 sacks through Week 10, missing one game due to a hamstring injury and missing his second on Sunday when HC Tony Sparano benched him for what he eventually labeled "off-field conduct". Allegedly the Dolphin's co-captain was upset about losing playing time due to his sub-par performance and had it out with Sparano last week. While ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Monday that Porter won't play Thursday and likely beyond, Sparano told the media on Tuesday Porter will play and could start. Discipline for Porter has previously been a challenge for Sparano, notably in an infamous incident almost a year ago during a loss to the Patriots. After Porter drew 30 yards on penalties on back-to-back personal fouls, Sparano sent Charlie Anderson in to replace Porter, until Porter chased him back to the bench to continue the series. However, it's a different story when the player was in the midst of a career season. With Charlie Anderson and Cameron Wake performing well when given a chance, it makes the decision easier. Porter is likely to channel his anger in to an exciting performance or two in the near future, but he has already done enough damage to fantasy owners who have kept with him through his struggles this year and isn't worth the gamble.