Who Are You Top 5 Defenses For '08

Question

Pick your top five defenses for this year. Put some thought in it, and don't just put your favorite team in it because they're your favorite team. Give a reason for each team is ranked where they are.

Answer 1

1. Dallas-added Jones to the secondary along with Jenkins in the draft; signed Hamlin to a multiple year deal; Ware is still in his prime; Thomas will be a good smart player at LB

2. NY Giants-they still have a good pass rush with the line, even without Strahan, the LB's are just as good as last year with Pierce anchoring them, the secondary is shaky, but Coughlin will manage to straighten them out like he did last year

3. San Diego-Cottrell got this unit to come together in the second half; they found a potential shut down corner to take away half of the field for most teams; Castillo and the line are going to be better at the run this year; the pass rush is still not as dominany as it was under Phillips, but they will get better now that the secondary has improved

4. San Francisco-Justin Smith was added to help with the pass rush; Manny Lawson will be back along with Patrick Willis; Nate Clements will live up to at least ahlf of his big pay day to give them a decent secondary

5. Jacksonville-the talent from last year's squad is still intact, along with rookie pass rushers; Gregg Williams is now in charge of this defense with Jack del Rio pulling the strings; this team will increase blitz counts and will rely on the secondary to hold them up

Answer 2

1.CHARGERS

2.STEELERS

3.JAGUARS

4.RAVENS

5.COLTS

Answer 3

In no perticular order (becuase its too early to tell but ill base my picks off the offseason)

1.) Chargers- Shawn Merriemen... the Chargers d is very good... they have a solid front 7 and a secondary that a smart qb wouldn't thow to unless it was nessecary

2.) Jacksonville- they spent their draft picks on players to help put pressure on division rivals Vince Young and Peyton Manning

3.) Philadelphia- not because im a fan but because there offseason was used to freshen up there D that was average... With the addition of Asante Samuel the Eagles have 3 of the NFL's best CB's and the d line will b used in rotation with young guys to prevent over work leading to injuries

4.) Ravens- The only thing the Ravens D really lacks is youth... and aside from last year their D has been solid... their D also has 3 possible HOF's in Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Chris Mcalister

5.) Cowboys- I haven't watched the Cowboys play much but to have a 13-3 record you D must be stopping the opposition from scoring and with the addition of Adam Jones their D can only  improve... also Bob Sanders is force not to be reconded with by wrs, and qbs

Answer 4

1 New England

2 Green Bay

3 Chicago

4 San Diego

5 Dallas

Answer 5

1.  San Diego (gotta go with them, and I hate it)

2.  Colts (it ain't just peyton doin all the work)

3.  Chicago (Urlacher...GRR..!!)

4.  NE (gotta love the heart of their defensive line)

5.  Surprisingly, Jax...(I've never counted them out.  they need some big time confidence because they can certainly get the job done!)

Answer 6

1- Vikings -The two Williamses and Allen is going to be hard to run against.

2 - Steelers - allowed the few rushing yards and missed passing yards by less than 5yds/game last season shouldn't change much this year.

3 - Colts - Tied for second with least passing yards allowed per game, but rushing yards drops this team to 3rd. Number of Int's was top 5.

4 - Bills - plagued by injury like the Bears which hurt their defense last season, but with a healthy starting linebackers and line they look great.

5 - Chargers - Good against ground game poor on passing mainly because the had to rely on a rookie albeit Cromartie is one of the best rookies, but he's still a rookie and has a learning curve. things will improve for this season.

others who where close but were'nt in my top 5

Jaguars - lost their anchor for the defensive line and it's untested weather the new line will hold as well.

Green Bay - Their Defense stays mostly intact from last season, the problem is an unproven QB taking over. If the new QB cannot get it done on third down this defense will be on the field too long and will tire.

Patriots - Major reworking in the secondary, and no starting answers for the ageing linebackers. The only thing to hold this team is an offense that can stay on the field for a majority of the game.

Tampa Bay - ageing secondary in Ronde.

Seahawks - Showed shutdown capability against Washington in the playoffs, but where were they against the Pack. Hot and cold.

Cowboys - Didn't have the numbers last year to compete

Kansas City - Secondary, and ineffective offense. They will be a contender for this catagory in the next 2 years.

Answer 7

1. Philadelphia Eagles - With Brian Dawkins, Sheldon Brown, Asante Samuel and Lito Sheppard in the secondary no way offenses will have an easy time with the pass. Also a young but tough line backing corp. Not to mention a destructive d-line headed by Trent Cole.This team will make a statement this year and make it deep into the playoffs.

2. San Diego Chargers - Have a physical d-line and line backing corp. On the d-line they have Luis Castillo who is a very young but smart pass rusher. At the linebackers they have Shawne Merriman who is a monster on defense along with sub-par linebackers. As for the defensive backs the one bright spot is Antonio Cromartie along with average safeties. But they will pick it up in the secondary and be very hard to score on.

3. Baltimore Ravens - So what if they had a bad year last year. They are still very good. Starting with the d-line who can rush the passer and stuff the run. Trevor Pryce did not have one of his best years but I believe he can turn it around. Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, and Terrell Suggs make this line backing corp feared by teams around the league. As for the secondary we start with Ed Reed. He is one of the top 3 safeties in this league. As for the cornerbacks, with Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle you can't get any more talented than these two guys. If you still need reasoning watch them vs the Patriots last year.

4. Indianapolis Colts - Their d-line has one of the best pass rushers in the league if healthy, Dwight Freeney. Their line backing corp is above average. As for their secondary, two words, Bob Sanders. This guy is a beast. He will tear up anybody that comes near him. They also led the league last year with the fewest points allowed.

5. Minnesota Vikings - Oh my gosh, they got Jared Allen. That means they will have one of the best d-line's in the league. Along with Allen comes the two Williams brothers. They will be almost impossible to run against. Their linebacker group will be very much improved from last year making it tough on offenses. The reason the weren't ranked higher is because of their secondary. Sure they got Darren Sharper who is a excellent safety and Antoine Winfield who is an excellent coverage cornerback; but they need to sure up the passing defense.

Answer 8

1. Vikings, made the acquisitions they needed to.

2. Probably, the Bears, Urlacher and Hester

3. Chargers, Cromartie, Jammer

4. Ravens

5. Steelers

Answer 9

!. steelers- number one defence last year allowin the fewest passing yards and just a few behind in rushing from the vikings. great group of pro bowl calibur defence man. polamalu hampton aaron smith harrison. steel curtain will be firing on all cylinders this season.

2. vikings-could be the best defence but there pass coverage being at 30 ranked last season is gonna hold them back. however number one against the run and adding a sack happy freak with a drinking problem. good night for the quarterback if they dont have the time to throw the secondary wont get beat so often.

3. colts-freeny is healthy now who has been one of the premier ends for so long and o ya that guy the call bob sanders is playing in white andd blue to. they allowed the fewest points per game last year and havent done anything to break up the group in the off season. i appologize but even if i looked it up i couldnt name there corners if they could put a touch more work in the secondary they will be set to go

4. chargers- wanna put them at three but as for doing there jobs which is stopping offences they didnt take care of buisness. but there number of playmakers is breathtaking. young talented players lik merriman williams and chromartie will give these guys the supreme edge over the offence this time around.

5. cowboys- the boys are back in town and made a great addition to help them in the secondary with the thrid best corner in an amazing secondary draft class. added to there play makers in ware williams they should take care of buisness this season

Answer 10

1.Ravens

2.Bears

3.Patriots

4.Colts

5.Chargers