If that’s not poop coming from Paolantonio’s drawers, then I don’t know what is.

Welker was obviously poking fun at the Rex Ryan foot-fetish story with his barrage of foot references in the above press conference. I thought it was rather humorous, although you knew the Jets weren’t going to stand idle and not respond.

Ryan’s response (from the New York Daily News):

“With Wes Welker, well, I think this is a huge rivalry type game and anything goes. I can take it,” Ryan said Friday. “I’m not going to discuss it, but I can take it.”

Bart Scott’s response (from FOX Boston):

“Be very careful what you say about our coach. His days in a uniform will be numbered. Put it like that.” Scott’s ties to Rex Ryan go beyond New York. The two were part of the Baltimore Ravens organization previously.

Nick Mangold’s response (also from FOX Boston):

Offensive lineman Nick Mangold took a different approach to responding to Welker’s press conference, trying to fight humor with humor. Mangold Tweeted , “Wes Welker is a great player. He’s really taken advantage of watching film. If we don’t keep a Spy on him, he could really open the Gate.”

This is exactly why Belichick didn’t want any of his players to respond to the Jets’ antics.

Last month we started looking at last season’s statistics for position players in fantasy football land, and today we’ll look at a position many often overlook. That’s fantasy defenses, which can sometimes put up just enough points to earn your team a victory once in a while. It’s always smart to try and grab one of the top units, although as we’ve seen before, things change, sometimes drastically, from year to year with fantasy D’s. Me? I like to grab my defense before my kicker. This list is based on point totals from one of my leagues, so keep in mind that stats vary from year to year.

1. Baltimore Ravens—The Ravens’ defense is perennially awesome, and we’ll find out for sure how much of that was due to former coordinator Rex Ryan, who is now the head honcho for the Jets. Ryan took plenty of players with him too, like LB Bart Scott and S Jim Leonhard, but the Ravens still have Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs. Reed just keeps getting better every year, and his sick nose for the ball is one reason the Ravens had a league high 26 picks. They will keep scoring low as always, but their 34 sacks last season isn’t much to get excited about. Bottom line: The Ravens won’t be a number one this year, but are still top 10.

2. Philadelphia Eagles—Sadly, coordinator Jim Johnson passed away this week, though he was on leave from the team anyway. Look for the Eagles to continue Johnson’s schemes however, which means blitz, blitz and more blitz. What that means to you is sack points, and while Brian Dawkins is now in Denver, the secondary is still strong with corners Sheldon Brown and Asante Samuel and safeties Quintin Mikell and Quintin Demps. Bottom line: 48 sacks is a lot, and the Eagles may not match that in ’09, but they aren’t going to suck by any means.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers—You don’t win the Super Bowl without a stout unit, and this won finished second in the league with 51 sacks, led by two awesome linebackers, NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison, and LaMarr Woodley. The Steelers also ranked #1 in points allowed and yard allowed, with 20 picks and three defensive scores. Bottom line: With the front seven intact, this unit may be the top defense taken in many FF drafts.

4. Tennessee Titans—If you live in Nashville like I do, you saw this team play a lot, and let me tell you….their games are pretty boring to watch. Well, unless you like 13-10 scores every week. Punishing DT Albert Haynesworth is now in Washington, but Tony Brown and Kyle Vanden Bosch are no slouches, and CB Cortland Finnegan is a ball hawk like Ed Reed. Bottom line: More boring games for me, more fantasy points for you.

5. Chicago Bears—Their 22 interceptions probably had a lot to do with the Bears finishing as high as they did in 2008, but the Monsters of the Midway with just 28 sacks? To put that in perspective, the Saints also tallied 28 sacks. And besides Brian Urlacher, go ahead try to name five players on this defense. The Bears gave up 350 points in ’08, which is over 100 more than the Titans, Steelers and Ravens. Still, it’s the Bears. Bottom line: You can pick them, but I’m only picking them as a bye week backup.

6. Tampa Bay Bucs—This is not the same unit that ranked in the top 10 in points allowed and yards allowed in 2008, with Jon Gruden gone and Raheem Morris at the helm. Derrick Brooks is gone as are Cato June and Jovan Haye, but the likes of DE Gaines Adams and the ageless CB Ronde Barber remain. How much of Gruden’s mark will be missed? Bottom line: With so much turnover in the front office and on the field, I’m not taking my chances with these guys.

7. Green Bay Packers—Everyone expected big things from the Pack in 2008, but it was their offense, led by QB Aaron Brooks and WR Greg Jennings that were the bright spots on a mediocre team. So now with new D-coordinator Dom Capers and his 3-4 in place, things will look different at Lambeau. Aaron Kampman is now an outside linebacker, and BJ Raji and AJ Hawk are left to clog up the middle. Kampman will likely have more sacks, but how will the 3-4 affect overall fantasy points? Bottom line: I’m going out on a limb—the Pack will be much better defensively, and could be a fantasy sleeper.

8. New York Jets—DT Kris Jenkins is a monster, and Rex Ryan brought along a few toys, like Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard, as we mentioned earlier. Eric Mangini also took some players with him to Cleveland, but the Jets will still keep scores low, rack up sacks, and score on defense (5 defensive TDs in 2008). CB Darrelle Revis had 5 picks and keeps getting better. Bottom line: Proceed with caution, but still a Top 10 D.

9. Indianapolis Colts—Even with Tony Dungy gone and Jim Caldwell running the team, the Colts still give up way too much ground on the ground. Thing is, they are opportunistic, and they have Dwight Freeney attacking the QB and a bunch of under the radar players (like LB Gary Brackett) wreaking havoc (30 forced fumbles and 5 defensive scores in 2008). Bottom line: The Colts’ D will keep them in games, meaning these guys will continue to play hard and put up decent fantasy points.

10. Minnesota Vikings—These guys are damn near as good as the Ravens, led on the line by Jared Allen and DT’s Pat and Kevin Williams (45 team sacks in 2008). 12 picks from this unit is baffling, as is allowing 333 points, but they can be better. Bottom line: The Vikes may not be a true top 10 this season, so I’d take my chances with the revamped Giants or the sack-happy Cowboys before them.

Teams that aren’t on this list you’ll want to draft: New York Giants, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins.

It appears that the Baltimore Ravens were finally able to sign their most productive defensive player to a new contract, as reports state that linebacker/defensive end Terrell Suggs has agreed to a six-year, $63 million deal. He’ll also make $38 million in guaranteed money and will be paid $40 million in the first two years.

That’s a lot of dinero for one player (he’s now the NFL’s richest linebacker), but Suggs is worth it. He’s proven to be a force in the Ravens’ front seven and his versatility is unquestioned. His ability to get after the quarterback makes him incredibly valuable to the Baltimore defense and at only 26, he still has a ton of good years left.

What’ll be interesting to see unfold this year is how the Ravens do without the underrated Bart Scott, who signed a free agent deal with the Jets earlier this offseason. Scott didn’t get the attention Suggs and Ray Lewis did, but he was incredibly productive and a sound player on Baltimore’s defense. Of course, one could make the argument that a lot of plays were flushed his way because of the attention that offenses paid to Suggs and Lewis, but that doesn’t take away from Scott’s production.

With Suggs and Lewis back in the fold, the Ravens’ defense will once again be solid. But there will be a ton of pressure on youngster Tavares Gooden to step up and fill the void left by Scott.

Ravens inside linebacker Bart Scott is in New York, but continues to still negotiate with both the Ravens and Jets.

There is speculation that the Ravens have offered Scott a five-year contract worth $42 million, and Scott also wants assurances that he will become the center piece of the defense in Baltimore, much like Ray Lewis was during the last decade.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan, the Ravens’ former defensive coordinator, keeps increasing the ante as the Ravens go up.

Several sources reported that the Jets’ deal for Scott was already completed, but apparently it was just an offer. It’s easy to see why Scott would sign with the Jets considering Rex Ryan is now New York’s new head coach, but apparently the Ravens are still very much in play.

Ray Lewis might walk, so losing Scott would be a huge blow to the Ravens’ linebacker corps. It’ll be interesting to see how this thing plays out.

One of the small notions when it comes to the NFL offseason is never to sign a free agent defender from the Baltimore Ravens. Because usually once they get out of the Ravens’ 3-4 defensive scheme, they never live up to their high free agent billing. (See Ed Hartwell for just one example.)

But considering the man that ran the Ravens’ defense for the better part of a decade is now the head coach for the New York Jets, it was probably safe to take the chance on Baltimore free agent linebacker Bart Scott.

According to the National Football Post, the Jets signed Scott to a multi-year deal on Friday, which Adam Schefter of the NFL Network reports will probably be worth roughly $8 mil a year. Scott will reunite with his former defensive coordinator, Rex Ryan, who is now the Jets new head coach.

Scott was overshadowed by teammates Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs over the past couple years, but he’s one of the more underrated linebackers in the AFC. Over the past three seasons, he’s posted at least 60 solo tackles and in 2005, he added 9.5 sacks and two interceptions. Scott has good size and strength and he’s an excellent tackler. He also can be an effective blitzer and at 28, he still has plenty of football left in him.

Scott will hopefully shore up a linebacker position that was a weak spot for the Jets’ defense last year. Scott will join David Harris in the middle of NY’s 3-4 defense, while ’08 free agent signing Calvin Pace will occupy one outside linebacker spot and Bryan Thomas will battle first round disappointment Vernon Gholston on the other.

The key will be what Ryan can do with Gholston, who is a physical marvel and a pass-rushing talent, but was also completely befuddled in his rookie season and didn’t get onto the field much. If Ryan could somehow turn Gholston into a junior Terrell Suggs, the Jets will have one of the better linebacker corps in the league next year.