1. Chicago Bears  (7)  The Bears have the best defense in the NFL, and they added return ace Devin Hester in the draft.

 2. Pittsburgh Steelers (4)  The Steelers play keep away with their offense, but the defense is still very good and opportunistic.

 3. Tampa Bay Bucs (4)  The Bucs are super quick on defense and rush the passer well.

 4. Philadelphia Eagles (9)  The Eagles are a solid defensive team that has been good for awhile now.

 5. Baltimore Ravens (7)  Drafting Ngata will keep O-Linemen off Ray Lewis…who should have a huge season.

 6. Washington Redskins (8)  The Redskins’ offense will pressure other team into making mistakes.

 7. Indianapolis Colts (6)  Colts fast defense takes advantage of teams trying to play “catch-up”.

 8. San Diego Chargers (3)  Chargers have a quick, opportunistic defense.

 9. New England Patriots (6)  As long as Belichick is putting the X’s and O’s on the chalkboard, the Patriots will have a good defense.

10. Dallas Cowboys (3)  The Cowboys have re-loaded the defense with guys Parcells hand-picked for the job.

11. Miami Dolphins (8)  Saban is a master at defense, and he has alot of good players on that side of the ball.

12. New York Giants (4)  Big, physical defense that gets alot of sacks.

13. Jacksonville Jaguars (6)  Coach Del Rio stockpiled defensive players when he got the job, and now it’s paying off.

14. Carolina Panthers (9)  Defense is opportunistic, and Peppers is a sack machine.

15. Atlanta Falcons (5)  Adding John Abraham will make this a tough defense to deal with.

16. Kansas City (3)  Herman Edwards is a defensive coach, but he’s not a miracle worker.  They do have the best kick-returner in the NFL in Dante Hall.

17. Cleveland Browns (6)  Four new starters on defense will make this a very physical unit.

18. Seattle Seahawks (5)  Under-rated part of the team.

19. Minnesota Vikings (6)  A quick unit that doesn’t make alot of big plays.

20. Green Bay Packers (6)  Young linebackers Hawk and Hodge make this a unit on the way up.

21. Denver Broncos (4)  Imported too many Ex-Browns that weren’t that good.

22. St. Louis Rams (7)  Defense is under construction.

23. Cincinnati Bengals (5)  Losing their best player for the first four games will hurt the defense…..badly.

24. Buffalo Bills (8)  The draft was a good start, but the new blood won’t make that much of a difference this season.

25. NY Jets (9)  Not alot of playmakers on this side of the ball.

26. Arizona Cardinals (9)  Defense not in same league as the Cards offense.

27. Detroit Lions (8)  Defense could be on the field alot…..and that’s not a good thing.

28. Tennessee Titans (7)  Not a lot of playmakers on this side of the field.

29. New Orleans Saints (7)  Rebuilding, just like the city.

30. Houston Texans (5)  Mario Williams can’t do it alone.

31. San Francisco 49ers (7)  Defense will be on the field alot, and they will more than likely be defending short fields because of their inept offense.

32.  Oakland Raiders (3)  A long way to go to just be average.