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Sean Weatherspoon’s improvement from 2010 to 2011 was easily among the most drastic in the league. In his second season he solidified himself as a consistent force against the run, as well as viable pass rusher. Consequently, Weatherspoon’s breakout 2011 season has him as poised for elite status, and should be drafted highly in all IDP formats. Currently his IDP ADP is the 12th linebacker taken, so he’s already being selected as if he will be a LB1.

After more than doubling his playing time from 2010, Weatherspoon responded with an explosion of productivity in the 2011 season. By recording 88 solo tackles, four sacks and six passes defended, Weatherspoon exceeded expectations in his first season as a full-time starter. Additionally, Weatherspoon graded out as PFF’s fifth best 4-3 outside linebacker with an overall grade of +18.3. Due to his improvement in essentially every statistical category, there’s no reason to believe he will not continue to improve, or at the very least, maintain his level of production from 2011. The following table illustrates Weatherspoon’s vast improvement in efficiency:

Weatherspoon’s Efficiency
Tackle Freq. MT Freq. QBI Freq. PDI Freq.
2010 9.0% 17.8% 17.4% 2.9%
2011 10.9% 12.7% 19.3% 6.9%
MT = missed tackle
QBI = QB interruptions (sacks + hits + pressures)
PDI = passes defended + intercepted

In particular, his tackle and QBI frequency give Weatherspoon a strong chance at recording considerable numbers of tackles and sacks – resulting in great IDP value. However, his improvement was equally, if not more impressive, regarding how he graded out here at PFF:

Weatherspoon’s Grades
Overall Run Pass Rush Coverage
2010 -8.6 -0.9 2.0 -9.2
2011 18.3 16.2 4.7 -1.1

Fantasy Spin:

In addition to his incredible improvement from 2010 to 2011, there’s another major factor that contributes to Weatherspoon’s high fantasy value – the departure of Curtis Lofton. Lofton recorded the fourth most solo tackles in the entire league last year, and while Weatherspoon still managed very respectable numbers, there’s no doubt that Lofton limited Weatherspoon’s access to ball carriers. With Lofton out of the picture, Weatherspoon will be the main man among Atlanta’s linebackers and could very well see yet another increase in production as a result. He currently projects as the LB12 in the PFF IDP Projections.

Honestly, I expect somewhat of a drop-off for Spoon this year. Not a huge one, just that I don't think he'll be as impactful on a week-to-week basis as he was for most of last year. I think the team playing a lot more nickel could potentially hurt him because he'll have to be more of a run-filler, which is not the strength of his game. Taking on blocks is not what you want him doing since he's one of the better "run and hit" LBs in the league.

Much of the talk about Nolan's "new" scheme will be incorporating 3-4 principles, which I presume also includes a lot of gap control, particularly for LBs. Previously, I think the Falcons did a lot of attacking and flowing to the ball than a lot of maintain gap discipline, read & react style of football that is more typical in 3-4 defenses. I think Spoon is more than capable of enough to be able to perform at a high level doing those things, but there could be a year's worth of adjusting.

He should still be far and away our best LB this year, but wouldn't surprise me if his production in certain areas will take a big dip. May not have as many TFLs, may get blocked more often/easily.

The key area where there is ample room to grow for Spoon is creating turnovers. He has zero interceptions and zero forced fumbles to his name so far in his career. That needs to change if he really wants to take that next step to being a truly elite outside linebacker.

Very good pts I think. I would think Nolan's bright enough to realize this is one of his best chess pieces in the proposed hybrid scheme.

Great players make great plays. If 'Spoon is destined for stardom, he will make the plays regardless.

Spoon's primary assets are his field vision, and his speed. He makes some great hits, but he doesn't wrap up, so he's not the best tackler, and I really don't see him becoming a turnover machine. That said, his primary assets will make him a heck of an impact player, even if his impact plays aren't turnovers. Nolan needs to put Spoon in situations where he can get into the backfield.