FanHouse Reggie Nelson

Think IDP leagues are the way to go? Then Ballhawkin' is for you. Here, we pick out a few Individual Defensive Players that could have huge weeks and are possibly sitting in your free-agent pool.

After Antwan Odom's monster day against the Packers, it's become pretty clear that you must start your defensive ends against Green Bay. Not that anyone was benching Jared Allen in the first place. The Minnesota monster was unstoppable, sacking quarterback Aaron Rodgers 4.5 times while forcing a fumble and scoring a safety. Now that's the kind of performance that can win you the week on its own. Unfortunately, that offensive Packer offensive line has a bye this week, but there are other matchups to exploit.

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
New wide receiver corps! Jacksonville rightly saw a huge amount of turnover at wide receiver this year, jettisoning off-the-field scoundrel Matt Jones, draft bust Reggie Williams, free-agent bust Jerry Porter, and slot receiver Dennis Northcutt. To replace that group, the team drafted three wideouts and brought in veteran Torry Holt to lead this new-look attack. Of the rookies, Jarett Dillard looks like a good bet to eventually start, while Mike Thomas should see plenty of time in the slot. Holt makes for a nice fantasy value pick, and Mike Walker could be a great end-of-the-draft flier that pans out in a big way.

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Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

Philip Rivers, Chargers
All together now: PHILIP RIVERS ... OVER-RATED! Since Marty Schottenheimer has been elevated to sainthood status (thanks, Norvell!), looking back at his time in San Diego, there's not much he did wrong. Sure, maybe he ran the ball too much, but, hey, the guy won, a concept foreign to Norv Turner.

Anyway, Schottenheimer seemed content to let Drew Brees run things in San Diego, but general manager A.J. Smith had other ideas. He traded 2004 first-overall pick Eli Manning to the Giants for Rivers, and after two years sittin' and learnin' behind Brees, Rivers was named the starter.

Rivers was pretty good last season; Brees was an MVP candidate. This year, Rivers is doing a fine Ryan Leaf* impression, and the 2007 Chargers look a lot like the 2000 team.
Sorry, No Photos

Disputing reports that Jaguars rookie safety Reggie Nelson was a witness to a shooting in Gainesville over the weekend, agent Hadley Englehardt says his client wasn't in the area when the shooting took place.

"Reggie wasn't even there," Englehardt said. "He was at that club earlier in the night, but he left hours before anything happened. Somebody said they saw Reggie there. He wasn't there. This is much ado about nothing."

No one is accusing Nelson of having done anything illegal in relation to the shooting, but the Gainesville Police Department did say that it interviewed him in connection with the shooting.

A shooting at 2:30 a.m. left two people injured, one critically. Nelson was in Gainesville to see his alma mater, Florida, play Auburn. The Jaguars were off this weekend.

The TV station WCJB is reporting that Jaguars rookie safety Reggie Nelson was at the scene of a shooting in Gainesville early Sunday morning and may have witnessed it.

The shooting left a 28-year old man named Corey Smith, who was shot in the head, in critical condition. A 19-year old man, Justin Glass, was shot in the arm.

Gainesville Police say the shooting happened at 2:30 a.m., while the victims were sitting in traffic in a busy area, so there are likely many witnesses. So far, however, few witnesses have come forward.

Nelson is named as a witness only. There is no indication that Nelson was involved in the shooting.

I can't say I'm surprised to read this headline: "Jags Owner Has Second Thought on First Pick". That would be Wayne Weaver, who owns the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the first pick in question is quarterback Brady Quinn.

The Jags took Florida safety Reggie Nelson with the 21st overall pick, and while Nelson will be a swell player, no doubt, defensive backs don't pack the bleachers quite like a dreamy quarterbacks.

...Weaver is concerned about the future of his small-market club, and if you read the tea leaves and consider how the team is struggling to sell tickets, he appears to be regretting the decision to bypass ... Quinn.... Asked about bypassing Quinn, Weaver told the Florida Times Union: "If I could look back on all the decisions I've made over the years and change those on 20-20 hindsight, I'd be a much wealthier man."

Obviously, putting bodies in the seats is pretty important, but the bigger issue (for me, anyway) is who will be the Jags' quarterback of the future? Is it David Garrard? I like the guy and love his story, but is anyone convinced he'll do more for Jacksonville than Byron Leftwich?

I'm not sure if opinion was more divided on any player in this year's draft than Reggie Nelson. Some people thought he was the second-best safety in the draft, and a close second behind LaRon Landry. Others thought he has a long, long way to go before he's good enough to play in the NFL.

I think he's going to be a very good NFL player, and I love the fact that the Jaguars traded down and still got him -- I think they would have taken him at their original position if they hadn't traded down.

Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, Brady Quinn is still available. The Cowboys are on the clock.

Previously at FanHouse:
Safeties No Longer Draft-Day Afterthoughts

It used to be that safeties were considered the weak links of a defense -- converted linebackers or cornerbacks who were either to small or too slow (or both) to make it in the NFL. Well, things are changing:

In the last six years, seven [safety] prospects have gone in the first round, four of them in the top 10, exceeding the total of the previous 19 drafts. Even more staggering is the rate of success of the picks. In the '82-'00 time frame, eight of the 17 first-rounders developed into Pro Bowlers, and four made multiple trips to Honolulu. Of the seven first-round safeties picked in the past five years, four have already made Pro Bowls and three (Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed and Roy Williams) have been named Pro Bowlers at least three times. Two more, 2006 rookies Donte' Whitner and Michael Huff, seem headed that way.

Now, teams target safeties and build defenses around them. Reed was kind of the trailblazer in this regard, and the Steelers traded up in the 2003 draft to take Polamalu.

Whitner and Huff had excellent rookie seasons and the Bills, who also drafted safety Ko Simpson last year -- could have one of the best safety tandems in the league in the next few years (Cleveland also has two good young safeties in Brodney Pool and Sean Jones, but neither was a first-rounder).

This year, LSU's LaRon Landry is a bona fide top-10 pick, and Florida's Reggie Nelson, and Miami's Brandon Meriweather have a chance to go in the first round. The Patriots are in the market for a safety with Rodney Harrison recovering from shoulder surgery. The team has the Nos. 24 and 28 selections and could use one of these picks to restock the position.