Fantasy Football 2009: Team Defense

1. Pittsburgh Steelers - It should really come as no surprise that the best team in football has the best defense.  The Sixburgh Steelers won their 6th Super Bowl in franchise history the same way they won the first five... defense.  They have the best defensive coordinator, the best safety, the best group of linebackers, and the best defensive player (2008 NFL defensive player of the year James Harrison ).  They were the number one ranked defense in the league last year and had the toughest schedule.  This year, they'll have one of the softer schedules.  With all the playmakers on this defense, they are great for both real life and fantasy football.

2. Baltimore Ravens - Second in the division, second in the conference, second best defense overall.  Second is pretty good except when you're second to your division rival.  The Ravens have a nasty defense, maybe even a championship caliber one.  This defense is another year older though and LB Bart Scott is now property of the NY Jets as is their former defensive coordinator.  This is still a great defense, but this may be their last great year.

3. New York Giants - This defense really surprised me last year.  With Michael Strahan gone to retirement and Osi Umenyiora out for the season, I figured this defense was ripe for the picking.  A lot of guys stepped up and did an incredible job to make up for the losses.  With Umenyiora back, this defense looks very fierce and this Giants team will make its case to return to the Super Bowl.

4. Minnesota Vikings - When it comes to the line of scrimmage nobody dominates like the Vikings.  While rushing for 145.8 yards per game on offense, they only gave up 76.9 yards on the ground on defense, good for first in the NFL.  In addition to stopping the run, they have a relentless pass rush led by sack master Jared Allen with 14.5 sacks.  I could very easily see this group finishing as the league's top defense this season.

5. Philadelphia Eagles - Not a whole lot of names on this defense, but they got the job done finishing 3rd in yards against and 4th in points.  Their strategy is pretty simple, they throw everything at you and bet that they'll get to your QB before he gets the ball away.  This pressure style defense helped them finish 3rd in the league in sacks.

UPDATE: Eagles leading tackler Stewart Bradley suffered a torn ACL in practice yesterday and will miss the entire 2009 season.  This is a big blow to the Eagles run defense which isn't good considering the caliber of RBs in the NFC East.  This injury will knock this defense down a few spots.

6. Chicago Bears - Now that they have Jay Cutler, the Bears defense doesn't have to try and shut out their opponent every week to win.  Urlacher and Briggs are two of the best in the business and if your league counts special teams are part of the defense, Devin Hester is the best in the league at returning punts and kickoffs.

7. New York Jets - They may not have been much to look at, but they sure did generate a ton of fantasy points last year.  They racked up 41 sacks, 16 fumble recoveries (2nd in the AFC) and were tied for 3rd with 5 TDs.  This was all before they added Bart Scott and Rex Ryan to the mix.  They will be one of the premiere defenses in football in the coming years.

8. San Diego Chargers - Last summer, I ranked the Chargers as the number one defense in fantasy football.  Then Shawne Merriman went down for the year, Antonio Cromartie took a huge step back and the defense simply didn't perform up to their level.  Merriman will be back and I think this will give the defense a much needed shot in the arm.  They were not as bad as they appeared to be last season and with the cake walk schedule they have, they should be able to prove it.

9. Washington Redskins - Nobody made a bigger move in the offseason than when the Redskins signed free agent Albert Haynesworth.  The Titans defense was like night and day when he was out of the lineup.  He makes a big difference on the line and instantly makes the Skins one of the better defenses in football.  While this move makes them one of the better defense, I don't think it makes them a great fantasy defense.  They really don't have a lot of play makers and was 5th from the bottom in terms of fantasy points.  Haynesworth will simply create some opportunities that were not there before.

10. Dallas Cowboys - How bout dem Cowboys?  This defense really turned itself around in the second half of last year and finished with the league lead in sacks with 59, led by NFL sack leader DeMarcus Ware.  If they could capitalize on the pressure they're getting and force turnovers, this defense could come up big.

11. Carolina Panthers - Before picking this defense, its best to rid yourself of the bad memories from January 11th when the Panthers were ripped up by the Cardinals 33-13.  Of course, Jake Delhomme's six turnovers didn't help either.  If you're picking a defense late and need a sleeper this isn't a good one.  Julius Peppers is a beast and will make things happen.

12. Tennessee Titans - The loss of Albert Haynesworth will be felt in a big way.  They still have a lot of playmakers on this defense and will be exciting to watch, but they finished 6th in fantasy defenses last year and I don't see that ranking improving.

13. Indianapolis Colts - They really struggled against the run again last year and as always, when they struggle against the run, that means Bob Sanders was injured.  With Sanders in the lineup, this is a good fantasy defense to own, but without him, it can be a nightmare.

14. Green Bay Packers - Nobody in football scored more defensive TDs in '08 than the Green Bay Packers.  Take a second to pick your jaw up off the floor.  Despite having some very unimpressive defensive stats, this defense picked off 22 passes, with 6 of them going for TDs.  If this defense can stop getting gashed by other teams offenses and keep making big plays, they'll easily be in the top 10.  Then again, if they continue to get gashed and stop making big plays.... yikes

15. New England Patriots - In '07, this was a fantastic defense to own.  After all, Brady and the offense was blowing out their opponents and the defense could sit back, expect passes to come their way and pick away.  It'll be interesting to see if the Pats can get back to that way this year with Brady back.  They lost Vrabel, Hobbs, Samuel since then and haven't really found anyone to replace them.