This article references and more! The Indianapolis Colts will need everything to go there way in order to take down the reigning Super Bowl champions. Entering Sunday?s game through, the Colts are guaranteed to be missing Henry Anderson, Vontae Davis, T.J. Green and Patrick Robinson. Adding onto this list is a doubtful Trent Cole, as well as questionable status for Darius Butler, Antonio Cromartie, Clayton Geathers, Kendall Langford, and Robert Mathis. Far from healthy, it will take imaginative defensive strategies to hold down [...]Keep on reading: Colts D/ST Again Limited By Injuries to Top Players

So we are through one week of the regular season and a disturbing trend continues to rock the IDP landscape. Linebackers are going down to injury like storm troopers from a single Han Solo laser blast (you know what I'm talking about Star Wars' fans). Jadeveon Clowney, Zach Brown, Justin Durant, John Abraham, Nick Roach, Koa Misi and Philip Wheeler are all out and many of them for an extended period. That was the good news. Derrick Johnson, Dannell Ellerbe and Robert Mathis are all out for the remainder of the season. It has been a brutal season to be a linebacker and we are not even two weeks in. That is what the '53 Deep' column is for as we will continue to work 24/7 (Alright...we do take an hour a week off to watch Ray Donovan) to unearth those deep sleepers that can help stem the damage from all these injuries. An added feature that debuts this week will be a number in parenthesis example...(52). Those will represents where each player is ranked as of Thursday afternoon according to the consensus IDP rankings at Fantasy Pros. DEFENSIVE LINEMEN Kyle Williams, DT, BUFFALO vs. Miami (42): Williams was credited with a single assist last week against the Bears but all was not lost. He surprisingly managed to intercept the first pass of his nine-year career. OK, we can't expect the big man to suddenly become Jairus Byrd but we can expect a bounceback game in Week 2. The Dolphins ran the ball between the tackles just under 30 times last week and Williams will see ample tackle opportunities. He was credited with 2 quarterback hits and hurries last week and will get to Tannehill at least once this week. Wallace Gilberry, DE, CINCINNATI vs. Atlanta (47): If you slept on picking up Gilberry after he was featured here then get with the program folks. He put up 4 total tackles while racking up 1 ½ sacks and being credited with a pass defended. All the man has needed is consistent snaps and he's getting those now for the Bengals playing 67 against Baltimore. Atlanta allowed only a single sack last week but there were 14 quarterback hurries against them as well. Look for Gilberry to post another sack and 3-4 tackles again this week. Jeremy Mincey, DE, DALLAS at Tennessee (59): Mincey's stat line for Week 1 doesn't jump off the page but he actually played a solid game. Mincey played 43 snaps last week and while he did not get to the quarterback he was buzzing the tower. He was credited with 3 quarterback hurries and one hit while playing 43 snaps. This...

The 2012 edition of free agency in the National Football League is two weeks old, and while the biggest splash so far this year came on the offensive side of the ball when the Denver Broncos agreed to terms with quarterback Peyton Manning, there's been plenty of movement on the defensive side of the ball as well. Let's take a look back at some of the prominent free agent signings on defense so far this year and what they could mean for the fantasy prospects of these players, beginning up front with the defensive linemen. The crown jewel of free agency on the defensive side of the ball in 2012 was probably outside linebacker Mario Williams of the Houston Texans, who is headed back to playing defensive end in a 4-3 front after signing a six-year, $100 million megadeal with the Buffalo Bills. That is the richest contract ever given to a defensive player in the NFL. The move back to defensive end for Williams, who had five sacks in five games last year before a torn pectoral muscle ended his season, is the best possible news for the seventh-year pro's Individual Defense Player (IDP) value, as Williams will return to DL1 status after one season playing outside linebacker in Houston's 3-4 setup. The Bills didn't stop retooling their defensive line with the addition of Williams, as the team also agreed to terms with defensive end Mark Anderson, who tallied 29 tackles, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles for the New England Patriots in 2011, to a four-year, $27 million contract. The 28-year-old Anderson is a pass-rush specialist who has never amassed 35 tackles in his six-year career, and that limited role caps his fantasy upside. However, Anderson showed last season that he can be something of a fantasy asset, finishing as a DL3 in Default IDP Manor Scoring, so at the very least Anderson should be worth a late look in IDP drafts this summer, especially in fantasy leagues that award highly for sacks. Veteran defensive end Robert Mathis, who racked up 43 tackles, 9½ sacks and three forced fumbles during the Indianapolis Colts' nightmarish 2011 season, will be sticking around for the rebound in Indianapolis after inking a multi-year contract extension, but the nine-year veteran's IDP value could be in for a big swing even though Mathis is staying put. The Colts transition to a "hybrid" 3-4 defensive front under new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano could mean a positional designation as a linebacker by some fantasy providers, which would put a huge dent in ...

The Indianapolis Colts announced that they have signed defensive end Robert Mathis to a long-term deal Monday.

It's Week 17 of the 2011 season, and while that means that most IDP leagues had their championship games a week ago in some leagues one game remains, and that game will determine the league champion. Before I go any further I'd like to both offer my apologies for missing last week's article (some kids in my neighborhood thought it would be fun to trash our Christmas display 3 days before Christmas, so I had to scramble to put humpty-dumpty back together for the kiddies) and to offer my thanks to all who have taken the time to read my articles here at Fantasy Sharks in 2011. It's been both an honor and a privilege, and I hope that I was of at least minimal assistance to you folks this season. So, as we head down this road for the final time this year here's a look at some players you should give serious consideration to getting into your lineups or who could outperform expectations (Studs) and some that, for whatever reason, you may want to consider leaving alone, or at least take into account that they may be a relative disappointment this week. (Duds) STUDS Calais Campbell -- DE, Arizona Cardinals (vs. SEA): Campbell has been lights-out in his contract year, tallying a career high eight sacks, and the fourth-year pro closes the season against a Seahawks team allowing the fifth most sacks in the NFL this season. Robert Mathis -- DE, Indianapolis Colts (at JAC): The ninth-year veteran has picked up his play of late, with three sacks in his past two games, and IDP matchups don't get much better than Jacksonville, who allow the second most fantasy points per game to opposing DL. Justin Tuck -- DE, New York Giants (vs. DAL): After suffering through a miserable 2011 campaign Tuck has played better recently, with 11 tackles and a sack the past two weeks, and it's gonna be all hands on deck Sunday night against the Cowboys. Karlos Dansby -- ILB, Miami Dolphins (vs. NYJ): Dansby has averaged nine total stops per game over the past three weeks and gets a favorable tilt with the Jets Sunday, who are the second friendliest IDP matchup for opposing linebackers. DeMarcus Ware -- OLB, Dallas Cowboys (at NYG): It's been another big year of getting after the QB for Ware, who ranks second in the NFL with 18 sacks, and he's a solid bet for at least one more in the winner take all rumble with the Giants at the Meadowlands. Patrick Willis -- ILB, San Francisco 49ers (at STL): This is a very risky move, but early reports seem to indicate that Willis, if healthy, will be a ...

It's Week 17 of the 2011 National Football League season, and while the majority of IDP leagues were wrapped up a week ago there's still one more game to go in some leagues, and it's for all the proverbial marbles. To help you prepare for this very important week's action here's a look at my Top 30 defensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs for Week Seventeen 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 DAL 2.) Jared Allen - MIN vs CHI 3.) Terrell Suggs - BAL at CIN 4.) Jason Babin - PHI vs WAS 5.) Julius Peppers - CHI at MIN 6.) Elvis Dumervil - DEN vs KC 7.) Trent Cole - PHI vs WAS 8.) Justin Tuck - NYG vs DAL 9.) Chris Clemons - SEA at ARI 10.) Justin Smith - SF at STL 11.) Robert Mathis - IND at JAX 12.) Calais Campbell - ARI vs SEA 13.) Chris Long - STL vs SF 14.) Will Smith - NO vs CAR 15.) Jeremy Mincey - JAX vs IND 16.) Cliff Avril - DET at GB 17.) Greg Hardy - CAR at NO 18.) Haloti Ngata - BAL at CIN 19.) Jabaal Sheard - CLE vs PIT 20.) J.J. Watt - HOU vs TEN 21.) Darnell Dockett - ARI vs SEA 22.) Kyle Vanden Bosch - DET at GB 23.) Ndamukong Suh - DET at GB 24.) Brandon Deaderick - NE vs BUF 25.) Michael Johnson - CIN vs BAL 26.) Charles Johnson - CAR at NO 27.) Israel Idonije - CHI at MIN 28.) James Hall - STL vs SF 29.) John Abraham - ATL vs TB 30.) Geno Atkins - CIN vs BAL LINEBACKERS 1.) London Fletcher - WAS at PHI 2.) Derrick Johnson - KC at DEN 3.) Ray Lewis - BAL at CIN 4.) D'Qwell Jackson - CLE vs PIT 5.) Navorro Bowman - SF at STL 6.) James Laurinaitis - STL vs SF 7.) Curtis Lofton - ATL vs TB 8.) Nick Barnett - BUF at NE 9.) Pat Angerer - IND at JAX 10.) Colin McCarthy - TEN at HOU 11.) Daryl Washington - ARI vs SEA 12.) Jerod Mayo - NE vs BUF 13.) Karlos Dansby - MIA vs NYJ 14.) Desmond Bishop - GB vs DET 15.) David Hawthorne - SEA at ARI 16.) Sean Lee - DAL at NYG 17.) Paul Posluszny - JAX vs IND 18.) Chad Greenway - MIN vs CHI 19.) DeMarcus Ware - DAL at NYG 20.) Brian Urlacher - CHI at MIN 21.) Sean Weatherspoon - ATL vs TB 22.) David Harris - NYJ at MIA 23.) James...

undefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefined IDP CHEATSHEET: Week Sixteen Week 16 of the 2011 fantasy football season has arrived, which means that in the majority of IDP leagues one more game remains to determine who is crowned king of the league...it's Championship Week. To help you prepare for this most important week's action here's a look at my Top 30 defensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs for Week 16 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.) Terrell Suggs - BAL vs CLE 2.) Jason Pierre-Paul - NYG at NYJ 3.) Jared Allen - MIN at WAS 4.) Jason Babin - PHI at DAL 5.) Chris Clemons - SEA vs SF 6.) Trent Cole - PHI at DAL 7.) Julius Peppers - CHI at GB 8.) Justin Smith - SF at SEA 9.) Chris Long - STL at PIT 10.) Kyle Vanden Bosch - DET vs SD 11.) Justin Tuck - NYG at NYJ 12.) Elvis Dumervil - DEN at BUF 13.) Haloti Ngata - BAL vs CLE 14.) Jeremy Mincey - JAX at TEN 15.) Cliff Avril - DET vs SD 16.) Will Smith - NO vs ATL 17.) Greg Hardy - CAR vs TB 18.) Dave Ball - TEN vs JAX 19.) J.J. Watt - HOU at IND 20.) Charles Johnson - CAR vs TB 21.) Jabaal Sheard - CLE at BAL 22.) Calais Campbell - ARI at CIN 23.) Mark Anderson - NE vs MIA 24.) Robert Mathis - IND vs HOU 25.) Israel Idonije - CHI at GB 26.) Ndamukong Suh - DET vs SD 27.) John Abraham - ATL at NO 28.) Marcell Dareus - BUF vs DEN 29.) Lamarr Houston - OAK at KC 30.) Ahtyba Rubin - CLE at BAL LINEBACKERS 1.) D'Qwell Jackson - CLE at BAL 2.) Nick Barnett - BUF vs DEN 3.) Navorro Bowman - SF at SEA 4.) London Fletcher - WAS vs MIN 5.) Derrick Johnson - KC vs OAK 6.) David Hawthorne - SEA vs SF 7.) James Laurinaitis - STL at PIT 8.) Pat Angerer - IND vs HOU 9.) Sean Lee - DAL vs PHI 10.) Curtis Lofton - ATL at NO 11.) Paul Posluszny - JAX at TEN 12.) Ray Lewis - BAL vs CLE 13.) Daryl Washington - ARI at CIN 14.) Brian Urlacher - CHI at GB 15.) Colin McCarthy - TEN vs JAX 16.) Chad Greenway - MIN at WAS 17.) Karlos Dansby - MIA at NE 18.) Jerod Mayo - NE vs...

Week 15 of the 2011 fantasy football season is here, which means while some have called it a year after a disappointing season while others have either begun or are continuing a playoff run that they hope will conclude with an Individual Defensive Players (IDP) Championship. To help you prepare for another week's action here's a look at my Top 30 defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs for Week 15 of the 2011 season in IDP leagues. These rankings are based on Default IDP Manor Scoring, which awards one point for solo tackles, ½ point for assisted tackles; two points each for fumbles forced and recovered; four points for interceptions, sacks and safeties; six points for defensive touchdowns; and one 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, New York Giants vs. Washington 2.) Terrell Suggs, Baltimore at San Diego 3.) Jared Allen, Minnesota vs. New Orleans 4.) Trent Cole, Philadelphia vs. New York Jets 5.) Julius Peppers, Chicago vs. Seattle 6.) Andre Carter, New England at Denver 7.) Chris Clemons, Seattle at Chicago 8.) Justin Smith, San Francisco vs. Pittsburgh 9.) Kyle Vanden Bosch, Detroit at Oakland 10.) Elvis Dumervil, Denver vs. New England 11.) Jason Babin, Philadelphia vs. New York Jets 12.) Will Smith, New Orleans at Minnesota 13.) Charles Johnson, Carolina at Houston 14.) Cliff Avril, Detroit at Oakland 15.) Robert Mathis, Indianapolis vs. Tennessee 16.) Darnell Dockett, Arizona vs. Cleveland 17.) Jeremy Mincey, Jacksonville at Atlanta 18.) Haloti Ngata, Baltimore at San Diego 19.) Chris Long, St. Louis vs. Cincinnati 20.) Israel Idonije, Chicago vs. Seattle 21.) Jabaal Sheard, Cleveland at Arizona 22.) Ndamukong Suh, Detroit at Oakland 23.) Calais Campbell, Arizona vs. Cleveland 24.) J.J. Watt, Houston vs. Carolina 25.) Greg Hardy, Carolina at Houston 26.) Justin Tuck, New York Giants vs. Washington 27.) Ray Edwards, Atlanta vs. Jacksonville 28.) Lamarr Houston, Oakland vs. Detroit 29.) Michael Johnson, Cincinnati at St. Louis 30.) Desmond Bryant, Oakland vs. Detroit LINEBACKERS 1.) D'Qwell Jackson, Cleveland at Arizona 2.) Paul Posluszny, Jacksonville at Atlanta 3.) London Fletcher, Washington at New York Giants 4.) Ray Lewis, Baltimore at San Diego 5.) Curtis Lofton, Atlanta vs. Jacksonville 6.) James Laurinaitis, St. ...

undefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefinedundefined IDP CHEATSHEET: Week Fourteen Week 14 of the 2011 fantasy football season has arrived, bringing with it the fantasy playoffs in many leagues, so it's time to get down to the business of making a run at Championship glory. To help you prepare for another week's action here's a look at my Top 30 defensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs for Week Fourteen 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.) Jared Allen - MIN at DET 2.) Terrell Suggs - BAL vs IND 3.) Andre Carter - NE at WAS 4.) Trent Cole - PHI at MIA 5.) Julius Peppers - CHI at DEN 6.) Chris Clemons - SEA vs STL 7.) Jason Pierre-Paul - NYG at DAL 8.) Jason Babin - PHI at MIA 9.) Justin Smith - SF at ARI 10.) Justin Tuck - NYG at DAL 11.) Chris Long - STL at SEA 12.) Elvis Dumervil - DEN vs CHI 13.) Charles Johnson - CAR vs ATL 14.) Kyle Vanden Bosch - DET vs MIN 15.) Jabaal Sheard - CLE at PIT 16.) Israel Idonije - CHI at DEN 17.) Jeremy Mincey - JAX vs TB 18.) Cliff Avril - DET vs MIN 19.) Haloti Ngata - BAL vs IND 20.) Calais Campbell - ARI vs SF 21.) Will Smith - NO at TEN 22.) Greg Hardy - CAR vs ATL 23.) James Hall - STL at SEA 24.) Robert Mathis - IND at BAL 25.) Phil Taylor - CLE at PIT 26.) J.J. Watt - HOU at CIN 27.) Darnell Dockett - ARI vs SF 28.) Lamarr Houston - OAK at GB 29.) DaQuan Bowers - TB at JAX 30.) Ray Edwards - ATL at CAR LINEBACKERS 1.) Derrick Johnson - KC at NYJ 2.) James Laurinaitis - STL at SEA 3.) London Fletcher - WAS vs NE 4.) Curtis Lofton - ATL at CAR 5.) D'Qwell Jackson - CLE at PIT 6.) Navorro Bowman - SF at ARI 7.) Paul Posluszny - JAX vs TB 8.) Nick Barnett - BUF at SD 9.) Daryl Washington - ARI vs SF 10.) Sean Weatherspoon - ATL at CAR 11.) Colin McCarthy - TEN vs NO 12.) Karlos Dansby - MIA vs PHI 13.) David Hawthorne - SEA vs STL 14.) Desmond Bishop - GB vs OAK 15.) James Anderson - CAR vs ATL 16.) Brian Urlacher - CHI at DEN 17.) Sean Lee - DAL vs NYG 18.) Rey Maualuga - CIN vs HOU 19.) D.J. Williams - DEN vs CHI 20.) Chad Greenway - MIN at ...

Before I get into this week's recommendations I'd like to take a moment to give my heartfelt thanks to Fantasy Sharks IDP guru James Elvins for filling in for me in this column a week ago. I appreciated the assistance greatly, and I'm sure you folks enjoyed a taste of competence. Tasty time's over now...I'm back. Deal with it. As you wipe away your tears, here's a look at some players you should give serious consideration to getting into your lineups or who could outperform expectations (Studs) and some that, for whatever reason, you may want to consider leaving alone, or at least take into account that they may be a relative disappointment this week. (Duds) STUDS Mark Anderson -- DE, New England Patriots (vs. IND): The sixth-year veteran has experienced a career resurgence in New England, notching his most sacks since his rookie year, and that should continue in a very favorable matchup with the woeful Colts. Chris Long -- DE, St. Louis Rams (at SF): Howie's kid tallied his 10th sack of the season last week, has at least one sack in five consecutive games, and goes up against a San Francisco 49ers squad that has allowed the fourth most fantasy points per game to opposing defensive linemen. J.J. Watt -- DE, Houston Texans (vs. ATL): Watt continued his solid rookie campaign a week ago with seven total tackles and two sacks and gets a matchup this week with an Atlanta Falcons team that has struggled at times in pass protection. Kevin Burnett -- ILB, Miami Dolphins (vs. OAK): The seventh-year veteran made a dozen stops in Miami's Turkey Day loss to the Dallas Cowboys and has a very favorable matchup with an Oakland Raiders team that likes to pound the rock. Perry Riley -- ILB, Washington Redskins (vs. NYJ): Riley has racked up a ridiculous 34 total tackles in three starts after taking over for Rocky McIntosh and gets a top five fantasy matchup for linebackers with the New York Jets this week. DeMarcus Ware -- OLB, Dallas Cowboys (at ARI): Let's see...Ware leads the NFL in sacks with 14, while the Cardinals have allowed the second most in the league with 36. Does that sound like a good matchup to you? Antoine Bethea -- FS, Indianapolis Colts (at NE): Safeties have been posting huge numbers trying to cover the Pats' tight ends lately, so while this season has been a nightmare for the Colts this week's matchup is a dream for Bethea's IDP owners. Dawan Landry -- SS, Jacksonville Jaguars: Landry has struggled in the box scores a bit of late, but the sixth-year...