As always, make sure you’ve checked out Jeff Ratcliffe’s latest pieces if you want to stay on top of your IDP game. The work on tackles per opportunity (tPOP) helps identify the most favorable stat crews when it comes to awarding tackles, while the IDP Matchup Chart lets us key in on some of the best matchups on a positional basis. There is a reason PFF Fantasy is the home to the most accurate IDP rankers for the last four seasons according to FantasyPros, and data such as Jeff puts out is a large reason why.
Stop by the IDP section of the site and get the latest articles from both myself and Jeff.
With that being said, lets get stuck into some start/sit advice for this week.
Pass Rushers
The Browns failed dismally to protect QB Johnny Manziel (four sacks, three hits, 20 hurries) against the Bengals, and while the Cincy pass rush is a more disruptive unit than Pittsburgh’s, the Steelers duo of Stephon Tuitt (3.5 sacks and five tackles for loss) and Cameron Heyward (three sacks and 9 TFL) have been surprisingly effective this season. Tuitt missed a couple of games with injury, and Heyward was not the same player with him missing, but I like both players to record a sack this week and rank as top-end DL2.
Kwann Short has been superb over the last four weeks, and it’s hard to ignore his rise up the rankings. Six sacks in four weeks make him a top-five fantasy DT, and bring him into DL2 consideration, and his four hits and 28 hurries suggest it wasn’t a particularly flukey few weeks. According to Jeff’s IDP Matchup Chart for Week 9 the Titans have also been the fifth-best matchup for defensive tackles, making Short a must start this week.
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Ross Miles is a Lead Writer for Pro Football Focus Fantasy. Follow him on Twitter – @RossMilesNFL
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