This article references and more! Lions defensive back Glover Quin (concussion) was back at practice on Monday. Barring a setback, he should be cleared to return in time for Sunday's contest against the Steelers. This is a big boost for a Lions defense that has been surprisingly productive this season, but recently lost defensive tackle Haloti Ngata for the rest of the season. Quin already has two interceptions, including a pick-six, on the year and has been a big part of the Lions success defensively. The defense as a unit is a[...]Keep on reading: Glover Quin Back at Practice for Lions

As voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) turn into mandatory mini-camps and training camps right around the corner, it is time to kick fantasy draft preparation up a notch or two. With that in mind, I decided to compile a quick hitting list of Individual Defensive Players (IDP) that hold excellent value and should be targeted in all formats. For the most part I am avoiding the ‘no-brainer' elite names such as defensive end J.J. Watt or linebacker studs such as Luke Kuechly, James Laurinaitis and the like. While there are some top-level names listed here, it is because I believe they are poised to join the elite tier and can be drafted as such. Some of the players mentioned have already been covered to some extent in my previous articles and rankings but deserve mentioning again as I am that high on them. These are players that I have targeted and will continue to target in IDP drafts as lynchpin options to lead a squad to a successful season. There are not a lot of ‘so and so posted X amount of tackles last season' to be found in this particular article as I wanted to sprinkle it with my thoughts as to why I feel they are viable options. As the season approaches and position battles are won and lost, there will be plenty of time for the hard hitting stat and scheme based analysis that I love to do, but for now I wanted to just toss out these names to keep high on draft lists. What can I say? I am a visual guy, and the more times I see a name the more likely that player sticks in my mind, so I figured there must be some folks like me out there (that is a scary thought). Why 12 names at each position? Umm ... why not? Let's get to it! DEFENSIVE BACKS Dawan Landry, SS, N.Y. Jets: Takes his little brother's former spot in the Jets secondary and will post similar totals in a prime fantasy scoring position. Casey Hayward, CB, Green Bay : Ball hawking cornerback in a pass-happy division with quarterbacks that combined for 45 picks in 2012. Ascending fantasy talent. Eric Berry, SS, Kansas City: Not everyone is Adrian Peterson, and it took Berry until November to resemble the player he was as a rookie as he returned from his knee injury. He's back! Stevie Brown, FS, N.Y. Giants: No, last season was not a fluke. Look for Brown to post another season of above-average fantasy totals. Antoine Bethea, FS, Indianapolis: Don't fall asleep on this perennial tackling machine just because the Colts signed LaRon Landry. Bethea still represents excellent ...

Three weeks from today everything shifts to the evaluation of this year's draft and what grades each team should receive. While it is too early to accurately grade any draft the day after its completion, it has always been done that way and, to the benefit of no one, will be done that way again. In the meantime, we'll continue to evaluate the Individual Defensive Player (IDP) ramifications of free agency 2013 as it unfolds, and this week take a gander at the NFC North. Once a division dominated by intimidating defenses, the former "Black and Blue Division" potentially boasts three of the more proficient passing attacks heading into 2013. While Aaron Rodgers, Matt Stafford and Jay Cutler figure to air it out plenty next season, the division has had more than its share of intriguing defensive free agency action. It's interesting to note that while Detroit and Chicago have been restocking and retooling thus far in free agency, the two teams that made the playoffs in 2012, Minnesota and Green Bay, have been very quiet. DETROIT: The Lions made the most of their scheduled visits as they landed former Houston free safety Glover Quin and Seattle defensive lineman Jason Jones. Both players will have an immediate chance to contribute as they fill positions of need on the Detroit defense. Lions head coach Jim Schwartz is familiar with Jones from their time together in Tennessee, and look for Detroit to utilize the 6-foot-5, 276-pound lineman at both end and tackle. He has 19 career sacks and has shown the ability to bring pressure from both the edge as well as from the interior when healthy. It's the staying healthy part of the equation that has held Jones back from reaching the potential he flashed early in his career. Detroit must hope that the reunion with Schwartz will rejuvenate Jones and he will help to pick up some of the sacks and tackles that they lost with the departure of Kyle Vanden Bosch, Cliff Avril and Sammie Hill. For fantasy purposes, Jones is an interesting name to keep in mind as a player that can put up surprisingly good numbers providing he stays healthy. Jones is not worth drafting in IDP leagues but does warrant keeping an eye on in leagues that require the defensive tackle position as a waiver wire option. Quin will step right in as the starting strong safety in Detroit alongside the returning Louis Delmas, who is slated to play free safety as of now. Wherever Quin ends up in the Lions secondary, fantasy owners can count on him to...

IDP CHEATSHEET: Week Five Four weeks into the 2011 season and injuries are mounting (With Trent Cole, Jerod Mayo, James Harrison, Antoine Winfield, and Chris Hope going down just last week alone), and that combined with the arrival of the bye weeks that makes setting IDP lineups as daunting a challenge as ever. To assist you in doing so here's a look at my Top 30 defensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs for Week Five of the 2011 season in IDP leagues. These rankings are based on Default IDP Manor Scoring, which awards 1 point for solos, .5 points for assists, 2 points each for fumbles forced and recovered, 4 points for interceptions, sacks, and safeties, 6 points for defensive touchdowns, and 1 point for passes defensed. It's a balanced scoring system, so if your IDP league is especially tackle-heavy or big play-heavy some players may move up (or down) a few spots. DEFENSIVE LINEMEN 1.) Jason Pierre-Paul - NYG vs SEA 2.) Jared Allen - MIN vs ARI 3.) Kyle Vanden Bosch - DET vs CHI 4.) Jason Babin - PHI at BUF 5.) Will Smith - NO at CAR 6.) Robert Mathis - IND vs KC 7.) Osi Umenyiora - NYG vs SEA 8.) Julius Peppers - CHI at DET 9.) Charles Johnson - CAR vs NO 10.) Ndamukong Suh - DET vs CHI 11.) Chris Clemons - SEA at NYG 12.) Justin Smith - SF vs TB 13.) Michael Johnson - CIN at JAX 14.) Calais Campbell - ARI at MIN 15.) Greg Hardy - CAR vs NO 16.) Dwight Freeney - IND vs KC 17.) John Abraham - ATL vs GB 18.) Cliff Avril - DET vs CHI 19.) Darnell Dockett - ARI at MIN 20.) Derrick Morgan - TEN at PIT 21.) Justin Tuck - NYG vs SEA 22.) J.J. Watt - HOU vs OAK 23.) Cullen Jenkins - PHI at BUF 24.) Lamarr Houston - OAK at HOU 25.) Israel Idonije - CHI at DET 26.) Ray Edwards - ATL vs GB 27.) Darryl Tapp - PHI at BUF 28.) Richard Seymour - OAK at HOU 29.) Michael Bennett - TB at SF 30.) Antonio Smith - HOU vs OAK LINEBACKERS 1.) Desmond Bishop - GB at ATL 2.) Patrick Willis - SF vs TB 3.) Rolando McClain - OAK at HOU 4.) Pat Angerer - IND vs KC 5.) Sean Weatherspoon - ATL vs GB 6.) David Hawthorne - SEA at NYG 7.) Nick Barnett - BUF vs PHI 8.) Stephen Tulloch - DET vs CHI 9.) Rey Maualuga - CIN at JAX 10.) Curtis Lofton - ATL vs GB 11.) Navorro Bowman - SF vs TB 12.) Daryl Washington - ARI at MIN 13.) Paul Posluszny - JAX vs CIN 14.) Brian Urlacher - CHI at DET 15.) D.J. Williams - DEN vs SD 16.) Lawrence Timmons - PIT vs TEN 17.) David Harris - NYJ at NE 18.) Kavell Conner - IND vs KC 19.) Barrett Ruud - TEN at PIT 20.) James Anderson - CAR vs NO...