*Week 2 & 3: Defensive Movers and Shakers

IsaStarcrossed · (This post was last modified: 09-14-2019, 06:21 PM by goodvsevil1275.)

As a continuation of my weekly movers and shakers article, its time to give the defensive guys their fair shake. We're going to take a dive in and look at the players who have performed this season and glance at those who haven't quiet gotten there. Lets get started!

Defensive Line

Grayson Kuusela: Heading up and looking to have a career year? Last season Kuusela had 42 tackles, one tackle for a loss, and three sacks. Through only three games this season, Kuusela already has matched his sack total for a year ago. This is a man who is currently on pace for a 14 sack season, which should put him towards the top of the standings by year end. Austin is a new team who needs a lot of help and if they can get one of their veterans performing at his peak, it would go a long way in getting the team in the right direction.

Ryan Leaf Jr: Shaking things up and getting better. As a younger player, Leaf Jr had a decent impact in season 16. 48 tackles and seven sacks is nothing to turn your nose up at. That said, defensive tackles just normally don't rack up many tackles at all. In fact, the league leader in defensive tackles only had 49 total. That said, Leaf Jr has imposed himself early and often this season. He has already produced 14 tackles and two sacks on the season. He is currently on pace to shatter what he did in the tackle department and at minimum match what he did in sacks. Doing something different that you aren't really supposed to do in your position is the definition of a shaker. Yellowknife is currently the second rated defense in the league and the developing Ryan Leaf Jr is a huge part of that.

Lo Rax: Hitting rock bottom. Rax filled this spot last week, but I had hope that he would recover with two extra weeks to work with. After being one of the top defensive linemen last season, Rax may not even be top 20 in this one. Rax managed to rack up 37 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss, and 5 sacks last season. He was an absolute monster in the backfield and led the league in tackles for a loss, constantly being a disruption in the run game every chance he got. Through three games this season, he only has one. He has managed to stop a runner in the back field a single time. After such a monstrous season in season 16, there were a lot o expectations on this guy coming in. He's fallen short of all of them. New Orleans is going to need more from their veterans if they're going to compete this season.

Linebackers

Chad Pennington: A surprising riser in the ranks. Entering his ninth season in the league, you would think you'd seen everything you needed to see from Pennington. He was second in the league in tackles in season 16, showing that he still had sideline to sideline range. He was one dimensional though as he didn't have much else going on. This season has shown that you can still teach an old dog new tricks. After posting only one sack all last season, Pennington has already posted four in this one. He leads the league in sacks and is proving that he can still change his game even as he enters the twilight of his career.

Blake Faux: A sophomore player shaking it up. As a season 16 rookie, Faux did what he could while adjusting to the league. He had respectable middle of the pack numbers, racking up 74 tackles, seven sacks, and two pass defenses. Now in his second year with three games behind him, the young gun has already produced 24 tackles, two sacks, and two pass defenses. This season he looks to have more range as he is looking to to top last season in all three phases of the game. Run defense, pass rush, and pass defense are all going up for this kid. He can really shake up this Chicago defense if he continues to improve.

Sandip "Sandy" Bakshi: Sliding and needs to recover. Bakshi is a young player who is entering what should be his prime. This is a fact that was shown off last season when he led the league in tackles with 124. Through three games this season, Bakshi has barely eased his way into top 20 tacklers in the league and has no other numbers to speak of. He seems to have a reduced range this season and is a little slow to react on the field. Hopefully for Austin he can still round his game back out and be a top player this season.

Cornerbacks

Xerxes Ridley: Moving up and improving. Ridley is still a young developing player and yet he still finds ways to contribute. Last season was a pretty average season for Ridley as he posted 50 tackles, only two interceptions, and 10 pass defenses. He was steady in his first season as a starter, but not exceptional. That said, he's posted three games this season and already has 14 tackles, two interceptions, and 4 pass defenses. Quarterbacks are trying to target the young player and he is learning how to make them pay. His development is a big reason what Chicago currently has the first ranked defense in the NSFL.

Jordan Andrews: Rookie shaking it up. New Orleans did a lot in this off season to get some young talent on their defense. Thus far, Andrews is the one who has managed the most impact. The young guy is currently top 10 in cornerbacks in both tackles and pass defenses. He hasn't managed to pick one off yet, but if quarterbacks keep targeting him its only a matter of time. New Orleans needed impact players to shake the team up and I think Andrews was a solid answer.

Johnny Snuggles: Scraping the floor. Where is Johnny Snuggles? That is what Wraiths fans are probably asking themselves right now. Snuggles was second in passes defended last season with 22. He was a master at swatting the ball out of the air and did it all over the field. Through three games this season he has one pass defense. Snuggles has fallen off and I don't know how much time there is to recover.

Safeties

Trey Staley: Heading up early. Staley didn't have a lot of impact in the passing game in season 16. Two interceptions, two passes defended didn't say much for an elite coverage guy. To make matters worse, his 53 tackles were among the worst for safeties. That said, he's had much more of an impact in the early goings this season. 18 tackles, one interception, and five passes defended. San Jose was in the bottom half defensively last year, this year they're starting off top three. An improved Staley is one reason why.

Walt Green: Shaker. Green has been steadily improving since he entered the NSFL and this year looks to be no different. Often times safeties try to find a variety of ways to get involved either at the line or in coverage. Green seems to be positioned more around the line this season. After posting only five sacks in season 16, he's already racked up four in three games here. He's tied for league lead in sacks and for a young guy trying to make an impact, getting after the quarterback off of secondary blitzes is one way to shake it up.

Bucky Barnes: Veteran losing his touch. Barnes was an elite play maker who consistently made an impact in all phases of the game last season. He was easily a top 10 safety in season 16 and he was top 5 in both sacks and passes defended. He was all over the place and was a steady veteran presence for the Outlaws. This season he's all but disappeared. No sacks, no interceptions, no passes defended. He is racking up tackles though which may be an indication of how many balls are getting caught in his area of the field.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, guys! I wasn't sure if I was doing the defense this week because I didn't think it went over well last week. Clearly I was wrong because I got multiple requests for the defensive segment after posting the offensive guys yesterday. Hope you guys enjoyed and I didn't disappoint!