Linebackers are people too, and they deserve to have a spot in fantasy football. Adding individual defensive players (IDPs) to the mix may increase the length of the draft, and may require some extra studying by league owners, but there are advantages to doing so. The positives outweigh the negatives, which only consist of a few extra hours from owners’ lives.

By increasing the number of players starting for each team, you decrease scoring fluctuations, and increase the chances of the better team to win. For example, if you are playing someone whose team is quite horrible, but their QB goes crazy for 6 TDs that week, there is much less of a chance that the QB’s insanity will mean defeat for your team, because your team is better from top to bottom, and you can make up the points with your superior defensive players.

Drafting strategy becomes significantly different when IDPs are involved. Depending on how you plan to score the IDPs (more below), when is the right time to start taking linebackers? If Ray Lewis, the consensus #1 LB, is still out there, do you take him, or do you take your chances on Anthony Thomas? Instead of 16 rounds, your draft becomes, say, 26 rounds, but look at what fun can be had.

Perhaps the most enjoyable result of adding IDPs to your Spare League is actually watching your IDPs perform on Sunday. We all love the feeling we get when our RB breaks a few tackles and rumbles to the endzone, or when our WR blows past the defense and catches a perfectly delivered bomb. But I will tell you that neither of these events compare to the feeling you get when your linebacker violently introduces himself to a running back trying to make a cut, or when your defensive lineman works his way to an unsuspecting quarterback’s blind side and crushes him, popping the ball loose, or when your defensive back leaps for an interception and then makes his break for the endzone.

Not only does watching IDPs increase your knowledge of players, but it increases your football knowledge in general. Before the snap, you start noticing defensive movement and formations, and where certain players line up, and for what purpose. After the snap, when you used to be looking solely at the ball, you start to notice blocking schemes, blitzes, and coverages. Like coaches watching film, if you only look at the ball, you are only seeing part of the story. You have gone from dumb football fan to smart football fan, all thanks to fantasy football.

In order to institute IDPs properly in your Spare League, you have to consider the way your league is currently set up, and have the new rules/positions mesh with the old ones. You have to ask yourself a couple questions:

1. How many IDP’s should teams start, and what positions should we use?

It’s all up to you. But the most popular way to classify defensive players is into three positions: defensive linemen (DLs), which consist of defensive ends and defensive tackles; linebackers (LBs); and defensive backs (DBs) which consist of cornerbacks and safeties.

Concerning how many starters you should have, one suggestion would be to match the number of defensive players you start with the number of offensive players you start, perhaps less if you want less emphasis on the defensive players. For example, most generic leagues have six or seven offensive starters (1 QB, 2 RB, 2-3 WR, 1 TE), not including kickers. My suggestion would be to have six or seven defensive starters, too: 2 DL, 2 LB, 2 DB, perhaps one flex.

It should also be noted that since real NFL teams have different defensive formations, such as the 4-3, the 3-4, and nickel and dime packages, it might be good to let owners decide what formations they want to start from week to week. In other words, force them to start at least one DL, LB, and DB, but no more than three of each, and let them assemble their desired formation depending on their strengths.

2. How should IDPs be scored?

Once again, this is entirely up to you. The main goal when coming up with an IDP scoring system should be to ensure that your IDPs contribute significantly to the outcome, but do not dominate the scoring. For instance, a good linebacker should be able to score similar points to what a decent running back or wider receiver would score. If you use the generic offensive fantasy scoring system (25 yds = 1 pt for QBs, 10 yds = 1 pt for RB/WRs, TDs are 6 pts) the following is a suggested scoring system.

Tackle = 2 pts

Assist = 1 pt

Sack = 4 pts

Interception = 4 pts

Forced Fumble = 2 pts

Fumble Recovery = 2 pts

Pass Defended = 1 pt

Defensive TD = 10 pts

Return Yardage (on INT or FR) = 1 pt per 10 yards

Say if Ray Lewis has the game of the year (10 tackles, 2 assists, 1 pass defended, 1 INT returned 30 yards for a TD), he would get 40 points. While this seems like a lot of points for a defensive player, it would easily be the performance of the year for any defensive player. In such a scoring system, star RBs would approach this total maybe a few times a year. Use your best judgment when coming up with such a system.

You should use official NFL statistical categories that are readily available to everyone, such as tackles, sacks, interceptions, etc. The categories listed above are available in official NFL gamebooks, and should be available in most popular fantasy football software packages. Items such as blocked kicks, QB hurries, QB knockdowns, or other unofficial items should probably not be used in order to maintain fairness.

In the end, adding IDPs to your Spare League is an easy way to liven it up. Assuming that your fellow owners are willing to give it a try, as change is sometimes tough to bring about in fantasy football circles, it can enrich your league and give you something else to yell about with your buddies on Sunday afternoon. Isn’t that, after all, what it’s all about?

For other league improvement suggestions, see my columns on auction style drafting (Improve Your Spare League, Part II) and keeper/dynasty leagues (Improve Your Spare League, Part III).