Good morning everyone, are we doing alright on this manic Monday?  If you’ve faced a Justin Houston owner I feel for you because I got the best of both worlds; started him and in another league played against him. We’ll take a slightly different approach this time around as we’re hitting week four and approaching the bye week, at the same time the waiver wire is nearing slim.  I’ll dig into a handful of IDP’s though that you can look after and possibly pick-up as a bye week starter or as an add/drop because you have an IDP that just isn’t producing.  I know Derrick Johnson owners were out celebrating; right?  The picture is getting clearer and you can see the consistency amongst a few IDP’s and I don’t see them slowing down neither.  Let’s take a look at the top five performers at each IDP position thru Sunday.

TOP 5 DB

1. MAJOR WRIGHT, BEARS:  7 tackles / 1 int / 1 FF / 1 TD / 1 PD
2. ERIC BERRY, CHIEFS:  5 tackles / 1 int / 1 TD / 2 PD
3. MARK BARRON, BUCS:  11 tackles (8 solo) / 0.5 Sack / 1 int
4. TERRANCE NEWMAN, BENGALS:  6 tackles / 1 TFL / 1 int / 1 TD
5. TYRANN MATHIEU, CARDINALS:  10 tackles (9 solo) / 1 int / 1 PD

Honorable Mention:  KENNY VACCARO, SAINTS:  7 tackles / 1 int (with Harper out, opportunity shines for the rook)

TOP 5 LB

1. JUSTIN HOUSTON, CHIEFS:  7 tackles / 4 TFL / 2 FR / 1 FF / 4.5 sacks
   
2. DARYL SMITH, RAVENS:  10 tackles / 1 int / 1 PD / 1 TD
3. ERIN HENDERSON, VIKINGS:  8 tackles / 1 TFL / 1 int / 2 sacks / 1 PD
4. KARLOS DANSBY, CARDINALS:  12 tackles / 2 TFL / 1 PD
5. BRAD JONES, PACKERS: 11 tackles (9 solo) / 1 TFL / 1 FR / 1 FF

Honorable Mention:  MANNY LAWSON, BILLS:  14 tackles (11 solo) 1 TFL (was all over the field, solid vs the run too)

TOP 5 DL 

1. GREG HARDY, PANTHERS:  8 tackles / 3 TFL / 3 QB Sacks
   
2. MICHAEL JOHNSON, BENGALS:  7 tackles / 1 TFL / 1 FF / 1.5 sacks
3. OSI UMENYIORA, FALCONS:  5 tackles / 2 FF / 2 sacks
4. MUHAMMAD WILKERSON, JETS:  6 tackles / 2 TFL / 1 FF / 2 sacks
5. EZEKIEL ANSAH, LIONS:  7 tackles / 1 TFL / 1 FF / 2 sacks

Honorable Mention:  CARLOS DUNLAP, BENGALS:  7 tackles / 2 TFL / 1 sack / 1 PD

WAIVER WIRE WATCH: 

• MANNY LAWSON (LB) BILLS:  is getting the playing time, solid against the run and looking like the 2nd best LB in Buffalo behind Kiko.  Lawson can be a solid bye week filler or spot starter going forward as a LB3 ceiling IDP.  
• KENNY VACCARO (DB) SAINTS:  with Harper out, Vaccaro steps in and had a solid game vs ARI today.  Sadly, Harper is the one in Vaccaro’s way but this is what’s to be expected from Vaccaro on a consistent basis.  If he’s available he’s solid for ROS with a DB2 ceiling but currently a DB3 value.  
• EZEKIEL ANSAH (DL) LIONS:  the rookie had his breakout game in week 3 and is getting the snaps so if he’s available in your league (somehow) don’t walk; run and get him asap.  Has solid DL2 upside while flirting with DL1 status.  
• ROBERT MCCLAIN (DB) FALCONS:  thru 3 games McClain has been thee most consistent ATL DB out and constantly gets 6+ tackles and a couple PD’s here and there.  Could  be a solid bye week filler, he has the consistency majority of the other DB’s don’t.  
• BARKEVIOUS MINGO (LB) BROWNS:  has been solid so far thru limited snaps; all the while picking up 2 sacks thru last 2 weeks.  As season progresses and/or Kruger 0r Sheard get hurt we’re going to see more of Mingo.
• REGGIE WALKER (LB) CHARGERS:  with Te’o still battling his foot injury, Walker stepped in for Bront and had a couple solid weeks so far.  Walker is definitely a solid bye week filler until Te’o gets healthy? 
• AHMAD BROOKS (LB) 49ERS:  with Willis battling a groin injury & Aldon currently about to attend rehab, that leaves Bowman/Brooks as the healthy LB’s in San Fran.  

stay tuned for my week 4 IDP rankings posted via twitter @IDPwithBEE_DSE & i’m working on my ROS (Rest Of Season) rankings which will be posted by end of week or earlier.  I’m going to chime in on some questions I received via Twitter over the last few days to better explain myself since I have more than 140 characters to mess with here.

• JUSTIN HOUSTON (LB) CHIEFS:  people have asked about his rest of season value & whether or not he can keep it up.  let’s take a look at his next 4 games (NYG/TEN/OAK/HOU).  He already has 7.5 sacks thru the first 3 games of the NFL Season; on record pace right now and yes he’ll keep this up as long as Hali/Poe keep eating on the other side.  Houston has improved each season though so this domination is no surprise.  If you need another position to be filled/depth and you’re solid at LB then go ahead and sell high on Houston.  He’s a strong LB2 rest of season as he’ll have more big games than mediocre games.
• SEAN LEE (LB) COWBOYS:  as a Sean Lee owner myself its frustrating because we’re used to seeing this dude rack up 10+ tackles on the daily and now we’re getting 3-4 sometimes 5 but DO NOT PANIC.  Next 4 opponents are (SDC/DEN/WAS/DET) and he’s very capable of breaking out & I think the game vs SDC he’ll have a solid game.  You won’t find much better than Lee on waivers so it’s best to stand pat, if you got the LB depth go ahead and bench him (hard to though) and see if he wakes up.
• DERRICK JOHNSON (LB) CHIEFS:  Johnson was giving his owners the quick panic mode thru 2 games but in week 3 he “woke” up and had a solid game where his owners can rejoice.  Just like Lee, you won’t find better on waivers so best bet is too trade him or hang tight with him.  Johnson (like Lee) is a legit LB1 and his good games will over rule his bad games; he’s too good of a LB to not put up anything.
• CAMERON WAKE (DL) DOLPHINS:  now’s the time to buy low on Cameron, yes he hurt his knee in week 3 so we’d have to wait how he’s feeling the rest of the week and know that there’s no discomfort otherwise you’ll be trading for a player that’ll land on the IR soon.
• GENO ATKINS (DL) BENGALS:  he finally showed up in week 2 with his QB Sack but don’t read too much into that, he sees continuous double teams which leads Dunlap/Johnson to get to the QB and put up numbers.  It’s definitely frustrating and you have the tough decision to either dump or hold.  His next 4 opponents are (CLE/NEP/BUF/DET) and if you’re holding onto him BUT have other options to start as well then I’d start Atkins against CLE and BUF and if you’ve lasted that long then plug him in against DET because it is mind-blowing that he only has 2 tackles and 1 Sack thru 3 games.
• Consistent DB’s:  my thing with this is unless you have a top DB in the top 10 then expect inconsistency, it’s tough to predict how a CB or S will do during their week which is why it’s best to stream if you could.  Ride the hot hand (Amukamara) or wait patiently on a rookie (Vaccaro) and his opportunity will come thru.  There are a ton of DB’s out there that can give you solid outings weekly.

Now I’ll take a quick look at the Monday Night Football match-up between the Raiders and Broncos.  Von Miller is out of this game so i’ll be looking for Wesley Woodyard and Danny Trevathan to have good enough games for their IDP owners.  Trevathan has been balling since he took over for Von; so one has to wonder what’ll happen to Trevathan when Von comes back in week 7.  I vote for Trevathan to move to MLB but we’ll see.  Broncos safety duo of Rahim Moore and Duke Ihenacho is putting up some numbers this season & are both looking like solid starts too; maybe lean Ihenacho more though because he’s an in the box safety and he’ll be all around DMC.  Can Derek Wolfe and Shaun Phillips or Robert Ayers catch up too Pryor when he takes off or brushes off the sack?  I say Wolfe gets to Pryor once and that one time could help you win.  Now lets take a look at the Oakland side, you have LB’s Kevin Burnett and Nick Roach that should have decent games.  Rookie Sio Moore is slowly coming along, but he’s more so of a dynasty stash and you can shy away from re-draft leagues.  Tyvon Branch is out indefinitely; so that leaves Young as the primary replacement and isn’t too bad himself.  He’ll rack up the tackles and a couple other stat categories.  Woodson is back at the top now being the main defensive player.  How much juice does Woodson have left?  Also, rookie corner Hayden is one too keep an eye on (what Prince Amukamara is doing now).  Lastly, we got the front in Houston and Hunter, both i’ve ranked quite low because well I don’t believe Peyton gets hit tonight.