March NFL Free Agency & IDP Update

By Robert the IDP Guru

Thus far I have written about how to prepare your fantasy football team for the following season, and in my February article I delved into intricate world of IDP and what to look for in a player.

This month, I will talk about how NFL Free Agency effects your particular IDP stud.

In my February article, I mentioned briefly the difficulties that players like Jonathan Vilma, and Troy Polamalu have had with changes in philosophies, and why there production has dropped significantly due to coaches doing what is comfortable for them, and not necessarily the player.

With NFL Free Agency, it is the player that has to adjust to the scheme of the new team, and in many cases, this can be a good fit. The team itself more than likely has not changed, therefore it is easier for that one person to slip into the lineup, while others around him, in particular, the veterans can instruct a new veteran arrival as to the complexities of the new defense he is running into.

I purposely waited for some of the NFL Free Agent signings to take place so I could have a few examples to show you. The best one is probably Jonathan Vilma, as there are many things to consider if you plan to select him in your IDP draft next year, fortunately for you, he has been darn near invisible the past 2 seasons and should be available with a later pick.

If you remember what I had stated previously about Vilma, he had a great first couple seasons with the Jets and thrived in Herm Edwards 4-3 defense where he played MLB which suited his talents to a “T”. Then 2 years ago, Herm went to K.C. and in walks a new coach who believed that the 3-4 defense was the best for this team, unfortunately, Vilma did not fit in well to this style, and was on the outside looking in for much of the past 2 seasons. Last year, Vilma suffered a season ending knee injury mid season, but all accounts say he should be ready to go for 2008.

Vilma has signed with the New Orleans Saints, a team that will run the 4-3 which suits Vilma, the only issue will be his health, and will the Saints sign a linebacker in the first round, or possibly move Vilma to the weak side which does not suit him. You really have to keep an eye on this situation.

Also moving to a new venue is former Dolphins MLB Zach Thomas, who can be a good fit with the Cowboys provided injuries can be averted. Thomas will be an instant help to the LB corps of the Cowboys who have greatly under achieved thanks to no help on the D-Line, but with the steady Thomas, will free up stud OLB Demarcus Ware to have a monster season in sacks.

There have been other changes around the league as well for other players like Kawika Mitchell going from the Giants to the Bills, where the Bills also aquired Marcus Stroud from the Jaguars. Gibril Wilson from the Giants is now in Oakland, while stud D-lineman Justin Smith is in San Francisco, and former Bengal Madieu Williams is in Minnesota.

Many of these players were Fantasy Studs last year, or have been in past years, the biggest thing I would be aware of were I to take a chance on one of these players next season is do they fit in well with the scheme that is currently being run, or are they doing it for the paycheck and it really didn’t matter what kind of defense they ran.

A lot may think that Asante Samuel went to Philly just for the money, that he benefited from a superior front 7 in New England and may struggle in Philadelphia with a team that appears to be rebuilding on defense.

While I’m not an advocate of corners in general in an IDP league, if you are one of those who likes to take risks, and go with a corner who will get you 7-8 INT’s each year, Samuel is the real deal. There were plenty of times where Samuel could have taken a play off, or actually held out for the season, but he played every down, and even though the entire IDP world knew he’d be elsewhere next season, I never saw the man take a play off, trust me, he’ll be a star in Philadelphia.

Originally for this article I had considered writing a little on the NFL combines, however due to the early heavy movement in this years NFL Free Agency, and the amount of trades we are seeing, I really would like to reserve any judgement for next month when I get a better understanding of where the teams lie, and what there needs are after they addressed immediate needs in free agency.

So April is only a month away, we will talk about the draft, and what teams I predict will go with defensive players, who they may be, and how they might benefit the team.