The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Report: Week 13

“You see, in this world there’s two types of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.”

Oddly enough, this immortal quote from Clint Eastwood, a.k.a “Blondie”, in “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” also applies to fantasy football. You see, in our fake little world there’s two types of people: those that play IDP and those who don’t. If you find yourself getting all warm and tingly inside when a linebacker brings down a ball carrier or when a lineman comes off the edge and takes off the opposing quarterback’s head, then you know full well of the joys that accompany playing the superior version of fake football. If that doesn’t happen to you…well, you can keep digging…

Each week, the “GBU Report” will rundown what transpired in the previous week of IDP; highlighting some of the good, bad, and you guessed it, maybe even some ugly performances from the “other” side of the ball. And then, in addition to reminiscing on what was, I will also give you a brief preview of what to possibly expect in the upcoming week.

The Good

Karlos Dansby LB/AZ: 9 total tackles (7 solo), 2 sacks, 1 pass defended

I touched on him briefly last week when discussing his teammate, Dayrl Washington’s struggles, but this week’s it’s his turn in the sun. Dansby, under most scoring settings is likely your #1 overall linebacker. For someone who was just supposed to be a fill in while Washington was away and then move over when he came back, is completely dominating and has emerged as a leader of that defense. If you scored him late in a draft, congrats!

Justin Tuck DL/NYG: 5 total tackles (4 solo), 4 sacks

Welcome to the 2013 season, Mr. Tuck., how nice of you to join us. Tuck is a mere shell of the dominant pass rusher he used to be, but he looked like his former self Sunday night against Washington. Given his streaky nature it’ll be hard to trust him going forward, but the Giants’ week 14 opponent, San Diego, has surrendered 18 sacks so far this year.

Deandre Levy LB/Det: 5 total tackles (1 solo), 1 Int, 2 passes defended

Alright so it’s not the biggest of days, but with his interception on Sunday, Levy not only took the lead in that department for the entire league, but also made Lions history as only the third linebacker in team history to record 6 or more interceptions. Levy has been a revelation this year and has joined the LB1 ranks. You won’t always be able to rely on his secondary stats, but his stellar 10.0 PFF grade against the pass should be very encouraging to fantasy owners; ensuring his 3-Down status. Also, he has an easy plus-plus beard on my beard scouting scale.

NIck Roach LB/Oak: 11 total tackles (10 solo), 1 Forced Fumble, 2 sacks

Roach has quietly been a very solid IDP option this year, and that likely has to do with him being a member of the porous Oakland Raiders defense. His calling card has been his ability to get to the quarterback; his 5.5 sacks are tops among inside linebackers.

Morgan Burnett DB/GB: 10 total tackles (6 solo), 2 Fumble Recoveries, 1 TD

Burnett was the consensus top defensive back in the offseason after his dominant 2012, but an injury at the beginning of the season derailed his campaign and cost him 4 games. However, since then he’s been quite good and has done it largely via the tackle; since returning to the lineup in week 5 he’s averaged 8 total tackles/game. His fumble recovery returned for a TD against the Lions on Thursday was the lone bright spot for the Pack.

The Bad

Danny Trevathan LB/Den: 4 solo tackles

This was Trevathan’s lowest tackle output since week 1. He’s been one of the most pleasant surprises of the year thus far, and has significantly outpaced teammate, Wesley Woodyard. The matchup against Tennessee in week 14 is an ideal one. Expect him to get back to his usual tackle production.

Robert Quinn DL/Stl: 3 solo tackles

San Francisco was clearly not going to let Quinn beat them last week, and when a team takes away a dominant pass rusher like Quinn, he’s likely going to have a slow day due the lack of tackle production. And that’s as far as I’m reading into his performance. Everyone has slow days, and this was just one of them for Quinn. He’s miles ahead of the 2nd ranked 4-3 lineman per PFF, and is either the #1 fantasy lineman in your league or is right behind JJ Watt. Oh yeah, he gets the Cardinals in week 14, who he absolutely owns (8 sacks in 5 games).

The Ugly

Tyrann Mathieu DB/AZ: 2 solo tackles

This has been quite the year for the rookie phenom, and thus far he’s made one of my preseason bold predictions come true; he’s currently a top 10 fantasy defensive back. But week 13 against the Eagles was not one of his better efforts. He was lost in pass coverage and only managed a measly 2 solo tackles. Brush this week off and chalk it up to a bad day. Make sure this rook is back in your lineup for the first week of the fantasy playoffs against St. Louis.