Defensive Line Standouts - Week 2
Welcome to week 2 of our Season 4 Defensive Line Standouts. The first week always brings some surprises, and last week was no exception. Only one of our top four scoring defensive ends made our list last week (Wozy) and only two of our top 4 scoring defensive tackles made it (Sandoval and Miller). This week sees a bit of a return to normalcy, however, as we see some familiar names start to reappear. It’s worth noting that the changes to the offensive line have had a big effect in bringing some normalcy back to our league. All-time sack leader, Justin Tuck, is on pace to record only 7 sacks on the season, while last year at this time, he was on pace to record 35. Offensive coordinators everywhere are rejoicing. Enough chit chat… Let’s begin!
Defensive End Top Performers
K. Hendrix ($$) 3 TCK, 1 TFL, 2 SCK
After an absolutely perplexing season last year that saw Hendrix appear on our list only 5 times, Hendrix is back where he belongs, in the conversation for top defensive end in the NSFL. After finishing the week with 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 2 sacks, Hendrix is now tied for second among defensive linemen for sacks (2), and tied for first in tackles (11). Hendrix and his teammates are proving time and time again that the Hawks defensive line in one of, if not the best, defensive lines in the NSFL. He’ll face a surprisingly tough Yeti offensive line that is second in the league in pancakes and tied for the least sacks allowed.
J. Boom ($$) 4 TCK, 2 TFL, 1 SCK
Making his second appearance on our list this week, Boom continued to excel where he did last year, which was in run support, but also provided some pass rush. He finished the week with 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and a sack. Boom is now part of a three-way tie for first in tackles for loss with 4 on the season. The Otters host a Philadelphia Liberty team next week that has allowed the second most sacks in the league (5) and has recorded the third lowest total of pancake blocks (40).
A. Sandoval ($) 4 TCK, 3 TFL
Although Antonio Sandoval is in his second season, this is only his first season playing on the defensive line. Brother of Hawks defensive tackle stand-out, Ricardo Sandoval, he has quite the shadow to step out of, but after finishing with 4 tackles and 3 tackles for loss, he’s definitely on the right track with his performance this past week. Sandoval will face a Hawks offensive line that has allowed 4 sacks on the season while recording 41 pancakes, placing them in fifth place on the year.
Other Great Performers
J. Cox ($) 5 TCK, 2 TFL
F. Wozy ($$) 3 TCK, 2 TFL
B. Bot ($$) 2 TCK, 2 TFL
J. Tuck ($) 2 TCK, 1 SCK
Cox narrowly missed being listed in the upper half with a fantastic, 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss performance. Between Cox and Bot, Vegas looks to finally have a formidable edge rush. Wozy once again doing his best to carry the Colorado defensive line with 3 tackles and 2 tackles for loss, may have finally gotten some help in Sandoval. Bot and Tuck tied for third place on this list and get the mention here solely because I was in a good mood. They both finished one point above the minimum (5) to appear on this list.
Defensive Tackle Top Performers
G. King ($) 7 TCK, 2 SCK
Godfrey King had one of the best second halves of season 3 in the NSFL and was looking to start his second season hot. He put up a bit of a stinker week one, but came out guns blazing this week to claim the best performance of the week with 7 tackles and 2 sacks. With the quality of players on the Arizona defensive line, King shows what is possible from virtually every member of their line. Unfortunately, it also means that players will disappear from time to time as someone else steps up in a big way. My money is on King finishing with the best season on this line. King will face a Sabercats line that has recorded the second least amount of pancake blocks (36) but is decidedly average in the number of sacks allowed (4).
D. Miller ($$) 5 TCK, 1 TFL, 1 SCK
Mr. Near-Perfect followed up his solid week 1 outing with an even more impressive week 2, finishing with 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack. He is one of three defensive tackles to make our list both weeks and looks to break his streak of 13 consecutive appearances this season. Last year Miller made a massive impact on a rather average SaberCats defense by mastering the strip-sack. Although he has yet to cause of recover a fumble this year, this massive improvement by this squad on the defensive side will take some of the weight off his back. Miller will face an Arizona Outlaws squad next week that has allowed 4 sacks and recorded 51 pancake blocks, tying them for third in the league.
A. Asipi ($$) 4 TCK, 1 TFL, 1 SCK
The last time Arbin Asipi played an entire season on the defensive line (season 2), he finished the year with 42 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 9 sacks. This year, however, Asipi is on pace to 35 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks. While the tackles numbers are way down, his tackles for loss and sacks would improve significantly. While we’re only 2 games into the season, and making projections at this point is a little silly, the possible improvement has got to be quite the mental boost to Asipi. Asipi will be headed out to San Jose to face an undefeated SaberCats in a battle for first place in the ASFC.
Other Great Performers
A. Tomlinson ($) 5 TCK, 1 SCK
B. Bjornsson ($) 3 TCK, 1 TFL, 1 SCK
R. Sandoval ($$) 4 TCK, 1 SCK
Tomlinson, usually the king of tackles for loss currently sits at zero, but did finish the past week with 5 tackles and 1 sack, just narrowly missing the top half. Bjornsson makes his first appearance of the season after making 10 last year, and continues to be the only bright spot on the Yellowknife defensive line. Sandoval is the other Hawk making his second appearance this week, finishing with 4 tackles and 1 sack. He currently leads all defensive linemen with 3 sacks.
Team Appearances After Week 2*
Baltimore: 5 (+2)
Arizona: 4 (+3)
San Jose: 3 (+1)
Orange County: 3 (+2)
Colorado: 3 (+2)
Las Vegas: 3 (+2)
Philadelphia: 2
Yellowknife: 1 (+1)
Baltimore maintains the top spot with 5 appearances, but Arizona closed the gap and claimed second by posting 3 appearances this week, the most of any team. San Jose drops from a tie for second to third, while Philadelphia drops all the way to seventh place. Orange County, Colorado, Las Vegas, and Yellowknife all stand pat. Kudos to Yellowknife for making the first appearance (of course it was Bjornsson). After an impressive week 1, Philadelphia was the only team to not make an appearance here this week.
Interesting note, of the 4 players who finished Season 3 with 20+ sacks, there is currently only one player on pace to finish as such:
Sandoval: 21
Miller: 14
Bjornsson: 7
Tuck: 7
Clearly, it’s a bit foolish to make predictions this far out, but at this point last season, these players were on pace to finish like this:
Sandoval:14
Miller: 21
Bjornsson: 21
Tuck: 35
A far cry from last season and a very welcomed change, indeed. As always, if you have any comments, corrections, or question, I’d love to hear them below.
*Just a reminder, this ranking is not necessarily indicative of how well a team’s defense is operating as a whole, just how many times a player from that team has appeared on our list.
**Please give $300k to @ItsJustBarry for helping me with data collection.**
GRADED
Welcome to week 2 of our Season 4 Defensive Line Standouts. The first week always brings some surprises, and last week was no exception. Only one of our top four scoring defensive ends made our list last week (Wozy) and only two of our top 4 scoring defensive tackles made it (Sandoval and Miller). This week sees a bit of a return to normalcy, however, as we see some familiar names start to reappear. It’s worth noting that the changes to the offensive line have had a big effect in bringing some normalcy back to our league. All-time sack leader, Justin Tuck, is on pace to record only 7 sacks on the season, while last year at this time, he was on pace to record 35. Offensive coordinators everywhere are rejoicing. Enough chit chat… Let’s begin!
Defensive End Top Performers
K. Hendrix ($$) 3 TCK, 1 TFL, 2 SCK
After an absolutely perplexing season last year that saw Hendrix appear on our list only 5 times, Hendrix is back where he belongs, in the conversation for top defensive end in the NSFL. After finishing the week with 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 2 sacks, Hendrix is now tied for second among defensive linemen for sacks (2), and tied for first in tackles (11). Hendrix and his teammates are proving time and time again that the Hawks defensive line in one of, if not the best, defensive lines in the NSFL. He’ll face a surprisingly tough Yeti offensive line that is second in the league in pancakes and tied for the least sacks allowed.
J. Boom ($$) 4 TCK, 2 TFL, 1 SCK
Making his second appearance on our list this week, Boom continued to excel where he did last year, which was in run support, but also provided some pass rush. He finished the week with 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and a sack. Boom is now part of a three-way tie for first in tackles for loss with 4 on the season. The Otters host a Philadelphia Liberty team next week that has allowed the second most sacks in the league (5) and has recorded the third lowest total of pancake blocks (40).
A. Sandoval ($) 4 TCK, 3 TFL
Although Antonio Sandoval is in his second season, this is only his first season playing on the defensive line. Brother of Hawks defensive tackle stand-out, Ricardo Sandoval, he has quite the shadow to step out of, but after finishing with 4 tackles and 3 tackles for loss, he’s definitely on the right track with his performance this past week. Sandoval will face a Hawks offensive line that has allowed 4 sacks on the season while recording 41 pancakes, placing them in fifth place on the year.
Other Great Performers
J. Cox ($) 5 TCK, 2 TFL
F. Wozy ($$) 3 TCK, 2 TFL
B. Bot ($$) 2 TCK, 2 TFL
J. Tuck ($) 2 TCK, 1 SCK
Cox narrowly missed being listed in the upper half with a fantastic, 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss performance. Between Cox and Bot, Vegas looks to finally have a formidable edge rush. Wozy once again doing his best to carry the Colorado defensive line with 3 tackles and 2 tackles for loss, may have finally gotten some help in Sandoval. Bot and Tuck tied for third place on this list and get the mention here solely because I was in a good mood. They both finished one point above the minimum (5) to appear on this list.
Defensive Tackle Top Performers
G. King ($) 7 TCK, 2 SCK
Godfrey King had one of the best second halves of season 3 in the NSFL and was looking to start his second season hot. He put up a bit of a stinker week one, but came out guns blazing this week to claim the best performance of the week with 7 tackles and 2 sacks. With the quality of players on the Arizona defensive line, King shows what is possible from virtually every member of their line. Unfortunately, it also means that players will disappear from time to time as someone else steps up in a big way. My money is on King finishing with the best season on this line. King will face a Sabercats line that has recorded the second least amount of pancake blocks (36) but is decidedly average in the number of sacks allowed (4).
D. Miller ($$) 5 TCK, 1 TFL, 1 SCK
Mr. Near-Perfect followed up his solid week 1 outing with an even more impressive week 2, finishing with 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack. He is one of three defensive tackles to make our list both weeks and looks to break his streak of 13 consecutive appearances this season. Last year Miller made a massive impact on a rather average SaberCats defense by mastering the strip-sack. Although he has yet to cause of recover a fumble this year, this massive improvement by this squad on the defensive side will take some of the weight off his back. Miller will face an Arizona Outlaws squad next week that has allowed 4 sacks and recorded 51 pancake blocks, tying them for third in the league.
A. Asipi ($$) 4 TCK, 1 TFL, 1 SCK
The last time Arbin Asipi played an entire season on the defensive line (season 2), he finished the year with 42 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 9 sacks. This year, however, Asipi is on pace to 35 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks. While the tackles numbers are way down, his tackles for loss and sacks would improve significantly. While we’re only 2 games into the season, and making projections at this point is a little silly, the possible improvement has got to be quite the mental boost to Asipi. Asipi will be headed out to San Jose to face an undefeated SaberCats in a battle for first place in the ASFC.
Other Great Performers
A. Tomlinson ($) 5 TCK, 1 SCK
B. Bjornsson ($) 3 TCK, 1 TFL, 1 SCK
R. Sandoval ($$) 4 TCK, 1 SCK
Tomlinson, usually the king of tackles for loss currently sits at zero, but did finish the past week with 5 tackles and 1 sack, just narrowly missing the top half. Bjornsson makes his first appearance of the season after making 10 last year, and continues to be the only bright spot on the Yellowknife defensive line. Sandoval is the other Hawk making his second appearance this week, finishing with 4 tackles and 1 sack. He currently leads all defensive linemen with 3 sacks.
Team Appearances After Week 2*
Baltimore: 5 (+2)
Arizona: 4 (+3)
San Jose: 3 (+1)
Orange County: 3 (+2)
Colorado: 3 (+2)
Las Vegas: 3 (+2)
Philadelphia: 2
Yellowknife: 1 (+1)
Baltimore maintains the top spot with 5 appearances, but Arizona closed the gap and claimed second by posting 3 appearances this week, the most of any team. San Jose drops from a tie for second to third, while Philadelphia drops all the way to seventh place. Orange County, Colorado, Las Vegas, and Yellowknife all stand pat. Kudos to Yellowknife for making the first appearance (of course it was Bjornsson). After an impressive week 1, Philadelphia was the only team to not make an appearance here this week.
Interesting note, of the 4 players who finished Season 3 with 20+ sacks, there is currently only one player on pace to finish as such:
Sandoval: 21
Miller: 14
Bjornsson: 7
Tuck: 7
Clearly, it’s a bit foolish to make predictions this far out, but at this point last season, these players were on pace to finish like this:
Sandoval:14
Miller: 21
Bjornsson: 21
Tuck: 35
A far cry from last season and a very welcomed change, indeed. As always, if you have any comments, corrections, or question, I’d love to hear them below.
*Just a reminder, this ranking is not necessarily indicative of how well a team’s defense is operating as a whole, just how many times a player from that team has appeared on our list.
**Please give $300k to @ItsJustBarry for helping me with data collection.**
GRADED
[OPTION]Johnny Snuggles || CB || Yellowknife Wraiths || Hall of Fame [OPTION]Height/Weight: 6'1", 205 [OPTION]Number: 21 [OPTION] Draft History: S13 #1 Overall [OPTION]=========================================== [OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:[OPTION] Ultimini Champs: S12 [OPTION] Defensive Rookie of the Year: S13 [OPTION] Pro Bowl: S14, S15, S16