Crucial Non Star Players

[Dome]

Ted Ginn has been a great deep threat for us. There's a good chance he breaks his personal best yardage mark at 32 years old this year. If we didn't have him Thomas, Ingram and Kamara would get keyed in on easier. 

[ET80]

3 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

Never understood why the Texans let Brandon Brooks walk out so easily.

Me neither.

As far as Texans - ILB Bernardrick McKinney gets overshadowed by the likes of Watt, Mercilius and Clowney, but he's probably the most complete player in the front seven. He has a great sense of where a play is going and closes on the ball in tremendous fashion.

Much is made about how good DeAndre Hopkins is, but Will Fuller is the guy to take note of - he had developed an immediate rapport with Deshaun Watson, and managed to grab seven TDs over four games, good for 2nd in the NFL currently (while catching zero TD passes over the past three games).

[Hunter2_1]

16 hours ago, Danger said:

I really like how PHI are using their front 7. It's like the Roman legions when they rotated the man at the front after every minute. Everyone is kept fresh, motivated and baying for blood throughout the game and the season. These guys will still be going full tilt deep into the playoffs - and this is a lesson why depth is key.

[JDBrocks]

Andrew Sendejo has been great when not suspended and healthy. He understands the defense so well and has become better at taking good angles. This allows Harrison Smith to move all over the field and do his thing.

For all of the talk about Smith, Rhodes, Griffen, and Barr, I think Linval Joseph is actually the Vikings best defensive player. If he doesn't control the LOS the way that he does, none of those other players can be the kind of stars that they have become. Watching Joseph in pursuit on runs to the outside and actually catch the RB is awesome.

[bzane]

For the New York Giants I'm going to nominate right guard D.J. Fluker. Ever since they finally admitted him to the starting line-up (for mysterious reasons he was kept on the bench the first few games), the Giants have had what's known as a "running game"- younger fans are advised to search for "Snee, Chris" and "McKenzie, Kareem" to understand what that used to be like. The Big Fluke has supplied a bulldozing push in the middle of the line, and an infectious enthusiasm that has picked up the rest of their O-line.

Even when the other team has the ball, D.J. Fluker has an impact. Sitting on the bench, peering over speculatively at opposing defenders, he has an unsettling effect on the players. Not sure if I would be too eager to get back on the field up against that sight:

[sammymvpknight]

Brees, Jordan, Vaccaro, Lattimore, Ingram, and Kamara are doing well in pro bowl voting. And everyone knows that Mike Thomas is great but doesn’t have the stats because of the offense. 

If I had to name one player from the Saints that’s not listed above, it’s Andrus Peat. He has morphed into one of the very best guards in the NFL this year and is huge reason for the Saints dominance in the running game. He really should be a pro bowler, but I don’t think anyone other than Saints fans have noticed his play. 

[Pugger]

Even tho our defense stinks I can think of 2 defensive players who have been playing well this year that are not exactly household names:  Blake Martinez and Kenny Clark.

[CriminalMind]

Vikings Defensive Stars = Joseph (NT), Griffen (DE), Hunter (DE), Rhodes (CB), Smith (S), Barr (LB)

I'm going to say that Eric Kendricks is the crucial non-star player, at the other LB position. Zimmer runs the double A gap blitz packages, so its basically the same pre-snap look from these 2 LBs on both side of the Center, but Barr and Kendricks have the ability to blitz (very good), side line to side line tackle (excellent), back peddle and cover (good). It's really their versatility to do all of these techniques well that makes the Vikings unpredictable, and makes QBs have to think, which obviously means less time for the QB to diagnose what to do, which leads to QBs holding the ball more, and the rest of the DL has that extra time to collapse the pocket around the QB or force rushed QB throws

So Eric Kendricks... who leads the Vikings in tackles is my choice for crucial non-star

[Scoundrel]

Domata Peko

[RamRod]

For the Rams I'd say the offensive line. Andrew Whitworth has certainly got plenty of praise and recognition but none of the other guys really have. Rodger Saffold, John Sullivan, Jamon Brown, and Rob Havenstein are all playing really good football. They are a big reason the offense has been so successful. OL coach Aaron Kromer deserves some credit for what he's done with these guys.

[riceman80]

I can only think of one for the Raiders, Michael Crabtree. He's vital to our passing game, maybe even more important than Coop imo.

Oh and Reggie Nelson. No player in the league is more crucial to a defense sucking so bad...

[Jeezla]

Eagles - Over the last 3 games it's gotta be Halapoulivaati Vaitai.

You certainly notice that Tyron Smith is no longer at LT for the Cowboys. You can barely tell the Eagles are playing without Jason Peters.

Kelce deserves a lot of credit too. I thought he was basically terrible since Chip Kelly's 2nd season, but this year he is playing at a pro bowl or even all pro level.

Whole OL deserves credit, but those 2 are the most pleasant surprises. Lane Johnson somehow makes all 4 guys to his left better.