Playoff Top Twelve: Defenses

All week long, we’ve been running a special NFL Playoff Top Twelve “marathon.”  We did the quarterbacks, running backs, and receivers, but today we’re going to switch over to the other side of the ball and do defense.  Unfortunately, I am nowhere near knowledgeable enough (nor would I probably have the time to try) to break down by defensive positions, so today’s Top Twelve is going to be defensive units, as a whole.  And, let me be honest, this was very difficult.  It has been an interesting season in that there really aren’t any dominant defenses at all.  But, all the playoff teams, as to be expected because, well, they made the playoffs, have decent defenses.  So, I found it incredibly difficult to actually rank these units.  But, I gave it a shot.  Oh, and like I’ve said before, I do not like the way the NFL “ranks” its defense (by yards allowed), so, rightly or wrongly, I put very little stock into the official rankings when making these decisions.

This Year’s Top Twelve Playoff Defenses

12). New Orleans.  (NFL defensive rankings: 25th overall, 26th pass, 21st rush; 21.3 PPG)  Now, this is a bit strange because I actually kind of think that the New Orleans defense is pretty solid–definitely solid enough to win a Super Bowl.  And, even though it’s clear that this not exactly the “Year of the Defense,” I guess there are some pretty decent defenses in the playoffs because I have to say that I trust every one of the other 11 teams to get a stop more than I trust the Saints defense, which, as I said, I think is pretty good.  They have shown some signs of taking on water, though, recently.  I do, however, think that LB Jonathan Vilma and CB Jabari Greer are two of the more underrated players in the league at their positions.  But, a defense that was predicated on big plays by a 34-year old safety (Darren Sharper–as great as he has been all year) may not exactly be peaking after 17 weeks.  Fortunately for fans of the Saints, it’s not their defense that is going to carry them–this side of the ball only has to be adequate.

11). Arizona.  (NFL defensive rankings: 20th overall, 23rd pass, 17th rush; 20.3 PPG)  Maybe Arizona should have been #12, but I couldn’t do it.  I mentioned yesterday my fondness for Fitzgerald and Boldin.  Well, that is nothing compared to how incredible I think Karlos Dansby and Adrian Wilson are.  They are two of the best defensive players I have seen, at their respective positions, and this defense is led by their toughness and leadership.  On the down side, they have a mediocre pass rush, led by Dockett and Campbell, and their best cornerback, Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, was hurt last week and may not be 100% this week.  Like the Saints, this team is predicated upon their potent offense, so the defense only really has to be adequate, but we will see if it can be.

10). San Diego.  (NFL defensive rankings: 16th overall, 11th pass, 20th rush; 20.0 PPG)  Again, the Chargers at #10 shows you the depth in the playoff defenses because this is not a bad defense.  It is not, however, the dominant defenses that the Chargers have had before.  The whole strength of this defense is in its linebacking corps.  A 3-4 defense that has four of the best linebackers in the game today.  Everyone knows about Shawne Merriman (who had a bit of a down year, actually), and most people know about the other Shaun, Shaun Phillips.  But, very few people talk about Stephen Cooper (over 100 tackles) and my personal favorite player on this defense, Brandon Siler.  Siler is an absolute beast.  He shuts down tight ends (and even wide receivers, at times) and then he stands up even the biggest running backs at the line.  The Chargers also have a decent (but probably overrated) pair of corners in Cromartie and Jammer.  But, their problems this year have come at the line of scrimmage, where their down linemen have, at times, been dominated.  It is a good defense, but not a great one, and it may be their downfall this year in a big spot.

9). New England.  (NFL defensive rankings: 11th overall, 12th pass, 13th rush; 17.8 PPG)  The first time I drafted out this order, I actually had the Patriots dead last on this list.  But, then I thought about it and moved them ahead of New Orleans.  Then, I thought more and moved them ahead of Arizona.  Then, I thought for a long time and decided that I trusted them more than San Diego, as well.  I’m not sure why, from a talent standpoint, but I guess it probably comes down to Belichick and how much I believe that he will “find a way.”  Because, from a talent standpoint, this may be the worst New England defense of the Belichick Era.  Jerod Mayo is a phenomenal player.  Vincent Wilfork is a dominant nose tackle.  Brandon Merriweather has become a decent NFL safety.  Tully Banta-Cain is a marginally good pass rusher, and Leigh Bodden is a serviceable corner.  The rest of the defense is just a bunch of guys.  The secondary struggles mightily to cover anyone one-on-one (especially Wilhite).  The pass rush is almost non-existent, and there is no emotional leader a la Teddy Bruschi or Mike Vrabel.  But, Belichick is a mastermind, and he’ll figure something out.  I moved them as high as their lack of talent would possibly let me.

8). Indianapolis.  (NFL defensive rankings: 18th overall, 14th pass, 24th rush; 19.2 PPG)  Again, this is a team that isn’t going to win the Super Bowl because of its defense either way…but then again, that’s what we thought in 2005 also, which is exactly what did happen.  But, still, this team wins because of Peyton Manning throwing the ball to Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, not a tackle by Melvin Bullet or a sack by former Temple Owl, Raheem Brock.  However, there is some real strength in this defense.  Their defensive ends, Freeney and Mathis, are probably the best 1-2 pass rushers in the league.  Clint Session has become a pretty sturdy Sam-backer alongside the solid veteran Mike-backer Gary Brackett.  And, Antoine Bethea has turned himself into a borderline Pro Bowler at free safety.  So, there are good things all across this defense, and though they are going to win or lose with their offense, this defense is capable of winning a big playoff game 17-13 or something like that.

7). Philadelphia.  (NFL defensive rankings: 12th overall, 17th pass, 9th rush; 21.1 PPG)  And, then come the Birds.  Don’t get me wrong, I really like Sean McDermott, and I think he’s done a decent job in his first go-round as DC.  But, this team sorely misses the late, great Jim Johnson.  McDermott has inherited the preparation and gameplanning ability from his mentor, but he is not doing quite the same job (and who could) at making in-game or halftime adjustments as JJ did.  Then again, that might be a bit early to say because this team has had an absolute revolving door at linebacker.  Hell, Jeremiah Trotter is still playing.  And, the recent Dallas performance notwithstanding, let us really think about just how good this defense is.  You’d be hard-pressed to find a better set of cornerbacks or D-tackles anywhere in the league.  Trent Cole is probably the most underrated d-lineman of our generation.  Then, they have the ability to rotate a host of other pass rushers like Juqua Parker/Thomas/Parker, Darren Howard, Jason Babin, and Victor Abiamiri, so there are always fresh pass rushers.  The safety spot has been a roller coaster, but you probably know how high I am on Quintell Mikell.  So, all in all, I am pretty confidence about this defense heading into the playoffs–maybe overconfident, but we’ll find out.

6). Baltimore.  (NFL defensive rankings: 3rd overall, 8th pass, 5th rush; 16.3 PPG)  No matter what the “rankings” may say, this is not the Baltimore defense that dominated most of this decade.  It is still a top-notch defense (with studs like Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs), capable of shutting down anyone in the league, but there are also some problems.  The secondary has been dreadful, at times, this year.  The days of pass deflections and interceptions by Chris McAllister and Samari Rolle have given way to pass interference penalties and missed tackles by Chris Carr and Dominique Foxworth.  Ed Reed is still a good safety, but he’s not even close to one of the most dangerous defensive players in the league, like he was just a year ago.  There is one thing, however, that hasn’t changed for a decade…Ray Lewis.  There are few athletes about whom my feelings have changed so dramatically as those for Ray Lewis.  You can consider me one of the biggest fans of Ray Lewis–on and off the field.  Not only is he a phenomenal football player, but he is one of the most emotional, charasmatic leaders of any athlete I have watched.  And, furthermore, he is one of the most cerebral, intellectual, thoughtful, compassionate players between the lines and outside of them.  He is the reason that this defense is still, at times, dominant.  He had 134 tackles, but beyond that, he makes everyone on this defense MUCH better because he is a tireless studier of film and a quick-thinking general on the field.  This defense is Ray’s defense, and because of that, I would ride with them any day.  But, with the problems in the secondary and with the outside rushers, this is as high as I can possibly rank them.

5). Minnesota.  (NFL defensive rankings: 6th overall, 19th pass, 2nd rush; 19.5 PPG)  This defense is very good, but there are issues here, as well.  (See the trend?  I speak highly of the defenses ranked at the bottom and talk about the weaknesses of the defenses towards the top.  That just goes to show you that, unlike most other seasons, the difference between these “good” defenses and the “bad” defenses” is really not all that great this year.)  Let us start with where they shine–on the line of scrimmage.  The game of football is won in the trenches.  I have always believed that, and I probably always will.  And, this D-line dominates week in and week out.  The Williams Wall is awesome.  Jared Allen is awesome (and hysterical).  And, Ray Edwards is usually the forgotten guy, but he is very good on the other end.  Everything starts with the pressure on the QB and, more importantly, with a complete stuff of the opposing rushing attack.  Then they have a decent shut-down corner in Antoine Winfield, and a very good strong-side backer in Chad Greenway.  Their safeties are just average.  The problems come in with the other two linebacker positions.  Four weeks ago, this may have been the best defense in the league, but their middle-linebacker (and maybe their best defensive player), E.J. Henderson broke his femur in Week 13.  They have been really struggling to find a replacement, and it has had a trickle-down effect on the whole defense, who had embarrassing performances against the Panthers and Bears, before apparently getting back on track against the debacle that they call a football team from New York in Week 17.  It’s hard to say whether they have found a way to perform without their star middle-linebacker, but it’s not hard to say that they sure have the talent to overcome a loss, even as big as Henderson.

4). Cincinnati.  (NFL defensive rankings: 4th overall, 6th pass, 7th rush; 18.2 PPG)  Maybe I’m too high on this defense because I LOVE them -2.5 at home against the Jets on Saturday.  Or…maybe I’m too low on them because it’s hard to imagine a team that starts Dahani Jones having a good defense.  Either way, I have a lot of faith in this Cincy defense.  I keep saying that the game is won in the trenches, but there is a way to give your trenches an advantage over their trenches–take away the quarterback’s options.  That is how Cincinnati has won this year.  They have two complete shut-down corners in Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph, so very rarely to do ever see an opposing quarterback feel comfortable throwing the ball in the pocket.  That allows their pass rushers (who are just average now that Antwan Odom is lost for the season) to get some real pressure on the quarterback and win the battle of the trenches.  The linebacking corps is solid with a rotation of Keith Rivers, Brandon Johnson, and, well, Jones.  The big question here is whether or not rookie Rey Maualuga will be 100% on Saturday.  Maybe they are hanging by a thread here, depending so much on their corners, but I do believe in the Bengals, for some weird reason (money), so let’s see what they can do.

3). Green Bay.  (NFL defensive rankings: 2nd overall, 5th pass, 1st rush; 18.6 PPG).  It is weird how these things get figured out, but it happened in Green Bay when they lost their best defensive player for the season.  The Packers struggled to adapt to Dom Capers’ 3-4 defense for the first part of the season, but then their star DE/OLB Aaron Kampman went down with an injury, and everything seemed to click.  It’s not incredibly surprising, considering those who know these things always said that Kampman just was not suited for a 3-4 scheme, but it’s still strange to see a team lose their most talented defensive player and get much better on defense.  Either way, this team is rolling right now on that side of the ball.  Charles Woodson will probably be the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Nick Barnett is fast becoming one of the best ILBs in the game, their safeties (Bigby and Collins) have been playing at a very high level, and youngsters Clay Matthews and A.J. Hawk fit perfectly into the 3-4 scheme.  Even formerly troubled rookie, B.J. Raji is starting to really contribute at nose tackle.  Oh, and did I mention Al Harris is on IR–that can only help, unless of course you enjoy pass interference penalties and personal fouls in the worst possible situations.

2). Dallas.  (NFL defensive rankings: 9th overall, 20th pass, 4th rush; 15.6 PPG)  Another guy who I cannot ever seem to think about objectively is DaMarcus Ware.  Since the moment he stepped into the league, I have thought he was one of the best players I have ever seen, and no one can convince me otherwise.  But, now, I think that this Dallas defense is, for the first time in Ware’s career, perfectly built around him.  They have a budding star in nose tackle Jay Ratliff and two absolutely terrific corners in Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins.  And, they have built an unbelievable set of 3-4 linebackers, with Ware and Anthony Spencer on the outside and, on the inside, wily veteran Pro Bowler Keith Brooking and young up-and-comer Bradie James.  And, for all the flack that Wade Phillips gets as a head coach, he sure can coordinate a defense.  This defense is fantastic and is probably the reason that I think, if they can get past the Eagles on Saturday (a BIG if), might win the whole thing.

1). N.Y. Jets.  (NFL defensive rankings: 1st overall, 1st pass, 8th rush; 14.8 PPG)  I would probably rank this team #1 on defense for the mere fact that their head coach is related to Buddy Ryan.  But, I don’t need to rely on stupid, childish loyalties because this team’s defense is that good.  First of all, we have to mention Darrelle Revis.  Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by Darrelle Revis.  He may be the best shut-down corner that I have seen since Deion Sanders.  He simply takes your best receiver out of the game.  And, as we all know here in Philly, that other guy (Lito Sheppard) is pretty good himself.  Throw in some solid safeties, Kerry Rhodes and Jim Leonhard, and you’ve got yourself the game’s best secondary.  Add in a solid pass rush, led by the DEs Shaun Ellis and Marques Douglas and a pass rushing linebacker in Calvin Pace, and you simply cannot throw the ball effectively on the Jets.  Period.  So, you have to run it effectively, which is where the solid inside linebackering tandem of Bart Scott (“Hot Sauce”) and David Harris (127 tackles) come into play.  This defense is stacked and is scary for any playoff opponent–and it has to be because their offense is questionable, with a rookie QB.