Guru's IDP Notes: Arizona Cardinals
Forget everything you know about the Rams as a matchup. With both stud receivers on IR, it's hard to say what their offense will look like in week ten, other than the expectation that they will be fielding multiple tight ends. That might be a good thing for the linebackers and safeties, but nothing is certain.
Guru's IDP Notes: Atlanta Falcons
Jessie Bates III stole the show against his old team. He was everywhere, playing arguably his best game of the season while going 11-3 against Cincinnati. On Monday, he was traded to the Jaguars. Sydney Brown has been working as the third safety all season and is the favorite to take over the starting job. DeMarcco Hellams is the long-shot option. He should at least move into the third-man role. If he ever gets healthy, Billy Bowman Jr. could get some consideration as well, though he is more likely to stick in the slot. Brown is no Jessie Bates III, but he is moving into a productive situation and is certainly worth a shot if you have a need.
Divine Deablo played with his hand wrapped in a club, but had no stats on a 53% play share. Kendal Daniels went 4-3 on 89% and appears to have taken the lead role. Harold Perkins Jr. logged 60% of the snaps, mostly while sharing time with Deablo.
LaCale London is getting plenty of attention after going 4-1-1 against Cincinnati. At this stage of the season, many of us are grasping at straws by picking up anyone who has a good game. London has a tough matchup with the Chiefs this week, followed by a Week 11 bye. After that, he has five consecutive games against teams that are top-10 matchups for tackles. That's the good news. The bad news is that he's played more than half the snaps in a game just once this season.
What happened to C.J. Henderson? He finished 1-0 with a pass breakup on 82% of the snaps, despite the plus matchup. It's just the way the funny-shaped ball bounces.
After serving his eight-game suspension, James Pearce Jr. is being eased in. He was blanked on 15 snaps versus Cincinnati. Look for his snap count to pick up quickly over the next game or two. Meanwhile, Samson Ebukam has been phased completely out. His snaps went to Zach Harrison, who finished 2-0-1 in limited action.
Guru's IDP Notes: Baltimore Ravens
Kyle Hamilton missed much of the second half with a hip injury, likely a hip pointer. Keondre Jackson filled in for Hamilton while K'Von Wallace shared time with Keyon Martin in the slot.
Trey Hendrickson did nothing again. He is playing with his injured thumb in a club, which is a huge limitation for an edge rusher.
Guru's IDP Notes: Buffalo Bills
Ed Oliver logged 58% of the playing time on Monday night. That is a great sign that he is close to regaining a full workload. He was in on 82% of the snaps in week one, but had seen no more than a 41% share in any other game while nursing the sore knee.
The Bills were active at the trade deadline, adding Amani Hooker to bolster the safety position. Buffalo had a hole after dumping C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Hooker is a versatile player who can work as the deep man or in the box, but he is likely to see more time as the up man in Buffalo. The question is, will the production he had in Tennessee travel with him? I expect Hooker to be fairly productive, but the move to a better team is probably not a plus.
Guru's IDP Notes: Carolina Panthers
Bobby Okereke did not practice last week and was inactive with a foot injury. Tyrel Dodson stepped into the lineup, going 7-1 in a three-down role. Okereke is not expected to be sidelined for long, but his status for this week's game against the Saints is uncertain. Whoever lines up on Sunday has a plus matchup. Keep an eye on the participation reports late in the week.
The Panthers' secondary is running thin. With Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, and Akayleb Evans on IR, and Will Lee III sidelined, Marco Wilson and Corey Thornton were the starters on the outside. Including this game, they now have three combined NFL starts between them. Lee is trending up, however, and has a good shot at playing in the plus matchup with the Saints.
Guru's IDP Notes: Chicago Bears
Chicago had an injury scare when Tyrique Stevenson Sr. and Kyler Gordon both left last week's game with injuries. The post-game assessment brings a sigh of relief. Stevenson has a hand issue that is not expected to cost him much, if any, time. Gordon has an arm issue but was able to get back on the field later in the game.
In last week's column, I talked about the impact of Jeffery Simmons on the guys around him, specifically Montez Sweat and Devin Bush. Both players continued to show the impact in week nine. Sweat didn't get a sack, but he was all over Baker Mayfield, finishing at 4-2 with a forced fumble. Bush recorded a season-best 9 tackles and broke up two passes.
Guru's IDP Notes: Cincinnati Bengals
Where has Jonathan Allen gone? If it were not his third whiff in a row following the bye week, his 0-1 against Atlanta would be easy to write off as a matchup issue. The Falcons attacked the edges of Cincinnati's defense with little action between the tackles. That also explains the 1-1 from Dexter Lawrence II. Allen, however, has a total of zero tackles and 5 assists over the last three games. It's frustrating, but giving up on him now could lead to sellers' remorse in a couple of weeks. The Ravens were the 12th-worst matchup for interior linemen, followed by the Titans, who rank 32nd, and the Falcons, who are 30th. Pittsburgh is a mediocre matchup this week. After that, four of the next six games feature top-eight matchups.
Guru's IDP Notes: Dallas Cowboys
The injury issues continue for DeMarvion Overshown, who can't stay on the field. Following a solid week eight, he was inactive again for week nine with a sore hamstring that has him in question for this week's game with San Francisco as well.
Earlier in the year, the 49ers were a middle-of-the-road matchup for linebackers. They have steadily become stronger as the season moves along. Raiders linebackers combined for 13 tackles and 22 assists against them last week.
We still don't know what the Cowboys will look like when all of their linebackers are healthy. That might not happen in week 10 either. Dallas linebackers were relatively quiet against the Colts, but there were two full-time linebackers for the first time this season. Dee Winters totaled 3 tackles on a 91% share of the snaps, while Shemar James went 4-1 and salvaged his day with a fumble recovery on 95%. I'm in on James after three solid outings in a row, especially if Overshown remains sidelined.
James Houston IV has seen his role expand in three consecutive weeks. He recorded 3-1 on just under half of the snaps in Week 9. Put him on the radar.
Guru's IDP Notes: Denver Broncos
The big news in Denver is the addition of Daiyan Henley, who comes over in a rare intra-division trade. Other than one solid season a couple of years ago, he's been rather disappointing in his time with the Chargers. Now we get to find out if it was the player or the scheme. With Denver on bye, Henley will have a chance to get up to speed before his Week 11 debut. It will be very interesting to see what his role will be, but it's safe to expect that the addition will send Justin Strnad to the bench. As for Henley's stock, there is nowhere to go but up.
Guru's IDP Notes: Detroit Lions
We didn't get much from Detroit's linebackers in the ugly matchup with Miami, but we did get an important read on how the Lions will proceed without Jack Campbell. Derrick Barnes was on the field for every snap, with Malcolm Rodriguez right behind at 96%. If either of these guys are available, pick them up. Detroit's next four opponents are all top-12 matchups for linebackers.
Derrick Moore stepped into the starting lineup, replacing D.J. Wonnum, who was out with a concussion. Moore definitely made a good impression, going 2-1-2 on 58% of the snaps. Wonnum should be back in the next week or two, but Moore's play is a good sign for the future.
Guru's IDP Notes: Green Bay Packers
Ty'Ron Hopper felt something in his chest during warmups and was pulled after two snaps. The injury is not believed to be serious, and there is a good chance he will be available to face the Vikings this week. With Hopper sidelined, it was Isaiah McDuffie's turn to put up great numbers. He responded with 5-5-1, a forced fumble and a recovery. The Vikings are a mediocre matchup for linebackers.
Karl Brooks got to the quarterback twice last week. Don't chase the points. It was his first 2 sacks of the season and may well be his only 2 sacks of the season.
Xavier McKinney doesn't make enough tackles to be an every-week star for us, but he makes enough big plays to be a great matchup-based play or bye week option. After picking off Drake Maye twice, McKinney has 5 interceptions and a sack over the last seven games. This is not the week we want to play him, though. The Vikings provide neither tackles nor splash plays to safeties and are the third-worst matchup for the position.
Guru's IDP Notes: Houston Texans
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