Preseason Team Defense Rankings

By Jeff Chudnofsky – Staff Writer

First Tier
1) Chicago Bears- This defense is worth the reach.
2) Carolina Panthers- With a healthy Kris Jenkins and the newly acquired DT Maake Kemoeatu, look for an improved run defense.
3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Monte Kiffin won’t disappoint.
4) Pittsburgh Steelers- The champs will benefit with two games versus Charlie Frye.
5) Baltimore Ravens- Haloti Ngata will allow Ray Lewis to roam free.

Second Tier

6) Atlanta Falcons- John Abraham joins an already stellar defensive line.
7) Miami Dolphins- Nick Saban can coach ‘em up with the best of them.
8) New York Giants-Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora will continue to rack up sacks and force turnovers.
9) Indianapolis Colts- Was 2005 an aberration, or will the Colts’ defensive backfield continue to improve?
10) Jacksonville Jaguars- The Jags are tough versus the run, but they need to force more turnovers.

Third Tier
11) Buffalo Bills- Fletcher and Spikes, Clements and McGee form great duos at their respective positions. Look for a rebound versus the run.
12)Seattle Seahawks- The ‘Hawks D will likely be playing with the lead and rack up sacks and ints.
13) Washington Redskins- Gregg Williams is one of the best coordinators around and inherits DE Andre Carter.
14) Denver Broncos- The only turnoff about Denver is the potent AFC West.

Fourth Tier
16) Arizona Cardinals- The Cards are quietly improving on defense.
17) Dallas Cowboys- Need to play better versus the pass.
18) Philadelphia Eagles- The Eagles still have plenty of talent and could prove to be a steal.
19) Cincinnati Bengals- Sam Adams should improve a poor run defense.
20) Minnesota Vikings- Expect ints, not shutouts
21) New England Patriots- Still plenty of leadership in New England, but can they stay healthy?
22) Detroit Lions- Rod Marinelli will change the attitude in Detroit.

Fifth Tier
23) New York Jets- Vilma should make everyone better around him.
24) Green Bay Packers- The A.J. Hawk era begins.
25) Tennessee Titans- Unless Pacman gets tossed in the ‘bing, the pass defense should improve.
26) St. Louis Rams- Very weak up front.
27) Cleveland Browns- Romeo Crennel is still missing a couple ingredients.
28) Kansas City Chiefs- KC will likely participate in plenty of shootouts.
29) Oakland Raiders- Huff will make an impact, but Oakland lacks depth in the trenches.
30) New Orleans Saints- Losing Darren Howard will hurt.
31) San Francisco 49ers- The corners are still awful.
32) Houston Texans- Mario Williams could pile up sacks, but the linebacking corps needs re-tooling.


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4 responses to “Preseason Team Defense Rankings”

  1. Tommy Avatar
    Tommy

    I think the Pats bounce back on D this year. I def. see them worthy of starting on my fantasy team. I agree with you though that I also think the Bears are worth reaching for.

  2. Jeff Avatar
    Jeff

    The Pats could definetly rebound, but they will need someone to step up in McGinest’s absence. If you believe they are your defense, draft them by all means. Keep in mind that rankings are not necessarily where they should be drafted, but more of a stock market tool. With Vrabel, Seymour and Bruschi, this defense will be stout, especially with NYJ on the schedule twice. The Pats offense should keep them fresh, but be careful not to start them in a shootout, as New England’s corners will be tested if the pass rush suffers without old Willie. However, I agree with your sentiments that they could be start-worthy, but be careful not to over-spend. Thanks for your comment Tommy.

  3. maddendude Avatar

    I think the eagles are really underestimated. They have 2 years ago’s defense back and healthy minus hugh douglas, who wasnt much anyways. They are LOADED with talent on defense. They’re starting all pro-bowl DBs, each can get 7 ints, and are dangerous when returning ints. They have talent up front with kearse (whos overrated, but still good). I think they should be ranked higher, but looking at those 3rd tier teams, 4th seems about right.

    I’m having doubts on the ravens though. This year they were supposed to be a superbowl defense with their newly aquired DB from the titans, whose name i forgot. Lewis was supposed to be free with the 46 defense. (what ever happened to that anyways) They built up alot of hype with that and dissapointed. They’ve been dissapointing for the last 3 years, now its kinda hard to jump on their bandwaggon.

  4. Jeff Avatar
    Jeff

    Philly still has one of the best defensive backfields in the NFL and Darren Howard and Kearse will make a great pass rush tandem. Where they struggled last year was versus the run, which should improve with the addition of 1st rd pick Brodrick Bunkley. The linebacking unit is aging and this is where most of the trouble versus the run exists. But like I said, I think the Eagles could be a draft day steal and end up being an elite defense.

    A few things regarding Baltimore.

    1) For the first time in recent memory (if not ever), the Ravens will have an offense that can sustain long drives and keep the defense fresh.

    2) The Ravens scrapped the 46 idea. In the modern NFL, the 46 is too much of a liabilty vs the pass to use it as a base defense. The will move back to the 4-3, likely “under” with Suggs lining up in a 2 point stance off tackle.

    3)Haloti Ngata could be a pro bowler in year one.

    4) Ed Reed was hurt the majority of 2005. Remember him in ’04? I am not saying he will repeat either performance, but we have seen his potential.

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