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      Ranking the NFL: Best and Worst defensive line units

      August 31, 2006 /

      Throughout the preseason, we’ll take a look at the best – and worst – the NFL has to offer, unit by unit. Look for a new set of rankings every few days.

      A powerful defensive line can do wonders for your entire defense. The d-line can keep guards off linebackers or create a rush to give the secondary a helping hand in the passing game.

      A team can have sack masters, space eaters or a combination of both if the line is good enough.

      Keeping in mind that some teams play the 4-3 and some play the 3-4, what defensive lines are the best in the NFL?

      Criteria for defensive line:

      80% of a team’s grade will fall on the four starters (or three if the team plays a 3-4). Of those starters, the unit must strike a balance between being able to stop the run and generating a pass rush up front.

      Since a lot of teams use a rotation in order to keep their line fresh for the fourth quarter, the rest of the 20% will go to the depth a unit has. Teams may rise or fall depending on their depth, but most of the emphasis will go on the starters.

      The Top 10:

      1. Carolina Panthers
      Julius Peppers, Michael Rucker, Kris Jenkins, Maake Kemoeatu, Kindal Moorehead
      It’s hard to argue the production this unit can generate both against the run and pressuring the quarterback. Julius Peppers is an athletic freak who occasionally lines up as wide receiver on the goal line, but mostly just sacks quarterbacks (10.5 put downs last year). Michael Rucker is 31, but is a relentless worker who had 7.5 sacks last year. Kris Jenkins is a former Pro Bowler who could be one of the best DT’s in the game if he could ever stay healthy, and Maake Kemoeatu adds massive size to this unit. Carolina finished fourth against the run last year. Kindal Moorehead and Al Wallace provide excellent depth for this unit.

      2. Seattle Seahawks
      Grant Wistrom, Rocky Bernard, Chuck Darby, Bryce Fisher, Marcus Tubbs
      Talk about depth. The Seahawks can go five deep with their defensive line unit and still get quality production from every player. Grant Wistrom had a bit of a down year last year and needs to rebound, but both Rocky Bernard and Bryce Fisher finished with just under 10 sacks apiece. Chuck Darby ended up being one of the better free agent pickups last season and Marcus Tubbs finished with five and a half sacks as a reserve.

      3. Chicago Bears
      Adewale Ogunleye, Alex Brown, Tommie Harris, Ian Scott, Alfonso Boone
      This line is one of the more balanced front fours in the entire league. Adewale Ogunleye is a speed rusher from the outside and Alex Brown gets consistent pressure opposite the former Dolphin. Tommie Harris and Ian Scott make up two of the most underrated tackles in the league and the Bears have depth to burn with Michael Haynes, Tank Johnson, Alfonso Boone and rookie Dusty Dvoracek.

      4. Jacksonville Jaguars
      Reggie Howard, John Henderson, Marcus Stroud, Paul Spicer, Rob Meier
      This unit could easily be the top defensive line in the league if they were just a bit better against the run. Marcus Stroud and John Henderson form possibly the best defensive-tackle duo in the NFL and since the team added Reggie Howard, he and Paul Spicer give Jacksonville a nice pass rush from the outside. Howard led the Jags with 8.5 sacks last year and Spicer was right on his heels with 7.5. Rob Meier can play both the tackle and end position when rest for the starters is needed.

      5. Indianapolis Colts
      Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Montae Reagor, Raheem Brock, Corey Simon
      These guys are about average or slightly above against the run, but man, can they rush the passer. Dwight Freeney is the big name out of this group, and rightfully so with his speed and athleticism, but pass-rush specialist Robert Mathis is a handful himself. Freeney and Mathis combined to give Indianapolis 22.5 sacks last year. Montae Regor has become the d-line’s leader while Corey Simon fit in well last year as a free agent. Raheem Brock may be the most versatile player among the front four.

      6. Pittsburgh Steelers
      Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, Orien Harris
      The first three-man defensive line on the list goes to the Super Bowl Champions. This unit leaves the sacks to the linebackers, but Casey Hampton gives opposing interior offensive linemen fits trying to man up on him. Aaron Smith is great at the point of attack and gives the Steelers their best pass rush while opposite end Brett Keisel was needed to secure the void left by Kimo von Oeloffen’s defection. If rookie Orien Harris is ready to play at the start of the season, he may claim the starter’s spot from Keisel. Pittsburgh finished third against the run last season.

      7. New England Patriots
      Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, Dan Kleco
      You could make a serious argument that the Patriots should flip-flop with the Steelers because of end Richard Seymour, but we’ll leave New England here for now. All three of these guys are former number-one picks and Seymour is the best of the bunch by fitting so well into head coach Bill Belichick’s scheme. Ty Warren has started 32 straight regular season games, which speaks volumes about his dependability, and Vince Wilfork finished second on the team last year with 91 tackles. The depth is a bit better on the Steelers at this point, but New England reserve Dan Kleco has a high motor.

      8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
      Simeon Rice, Greg Spires, Chris Hovan, Anthony McFarland, Jon Bradley
      This group gets passed over a lot when analysts talk about defensive lines because Tampa has such a good front seven as a whole, but the Bucs are talented up front. Simeon Rice is a sack demon virtually every year and, although Greg Spires finished with only four sacks, he is probably the best overall player on Tampa’s line. Anthony “Booger” McFarland finally stayed healthy last season and the addition of Chris Hovan propelled the Bucs to a top-10 finish against the run in 2005. Jon Bradley found his way into the regular rotation last season.

      9. Miami Dolphins
      Jason Taylor, Kevin Carter, Vonnie Holliday, Keith Traylor, Dan Wilkinson
      Miami has a solid balance of rush and pass with Jason Taylor leading the way with 12 sacks last year. Kevin Carter and Vonnie Holliday provided a nice pass rush as well last season, and adding big Dan Wilkinson in the offseason will help shore up the run defense in ’06 along with Keith Traylor.

      10a. Atlanta Falcons
      John Abraham, Patrick Kerney, Rod Coleman, Grady Jackson, Chauncey Davis
      The Falcons were on the verge of missing the top 10 due to their atrocious run defense last year, but they didn’t have two of these two guys in ‘05. The Atlanta foursome of John Abraham, Patrick Kerney, Rod Coleman and Grady Jackson has a combined for 190 career regular season starts between them. No other foursome in the league can touch that number and the recent addition of Jackson gives this unit some beef in the middle to help stop opposing runners this year. How excited are Chris Simms, Jake Delhomme and Drew Brees to face this bunch twice a year?

      10b. San Diego Chargers
      Luis Castillo, Igor Olshansky, Jamal Williams, Chase Page, Jacques Cesaire
      The Giants just missed the list in favor of the Chargers’ young trio. Odds are not a lot of people have heard of this group, but they, along with the Chargers’ linebacker unit, finished number one in the NFL against the run last season. The best thing about this unit is its youth too, with Luis Castillo heading into only his second year and Igor Olshansky a mere pup too. Jamal Williams is the veteran of the group and made his first Pro Bowl appearance last season.

      The Bottom Five:

      28. Oakland Raiders
      Derrick Burgess, Tyler Brayton, Tommy Kelly, Warren Sapp, Lance Johnstone
      Derrick Burgess led the league in sacks, but he and the rest of this unit get abused in the running game and Warren Sapp should be regulated to a backup at this stage in his declining career.

      29. Kansas City Chiefs
      Jared Allen, Lional Dalton, Eric Hicks, Tamba Hali, Ryan Sims
      Jared Allen is the only true stud of the group with 11 sacks last year, but Eric Hicks is going to get a lot of pressure from rookie Tamba Hali and Ryan Sims continues to be a disappointment due to injuries.

      30. San Francisco 49ers
      Bryant Young, Anthony Adams, Marques Douglas, Ronnie Fields
      Marques Douglas led all 49er linemen with 62 tackles last year, but Anthony Adams is playing out of place in a 3-4 system. How much longer will Bryant Young play?

      31. Buffalo Bills
      Aaron Schobel, Larry Tripplett, Chris Kelsay, Kyle Williams, John McCargo
      Aaron Schobel had a nice year, posting double-digit sacks, but Chris Kelsay isn’t much help on the other side and rookie John McCargo will push Kyle Williams and newly acquired Larry Tripplett for their jobs.

      32. Cincinnati Bengals
      Justin Smith, Sam Adams, Robert Geathers, Bryan Robinson, Shaun Smith
      How can a team with such a good offensive line have such a below average defensive front? This unit is terrible; they just don’t do one thing particularly well. Justin Smith can rush the passer, but hasn’t lived up to the number-four selection the Bengals used on him in 2001, and Sam Adams is getting up there in age. Robert Gethers isn’t much against the run and who knows what Cincinnati has in Bryan Robinson?

      General Sports, NFL

      Fantasy Update (8/31)

      August 31, 2006 /

      Titans’ HC Jeff Fisher denied the CBS Sportsline item which indicated that Travis Henry was going to start Week 1. Chris Brown is apparently still the #1 guy in Tennessee, but the situation is quite muddled… Billy Volek is apparently upset about the signing of Kerry Collins and wants out of Tennessee. Collins is expected to start Week 1…Warrick Dunn is set to be the Falcons’ main offensive weapon and will be used around the goal line. This makes Dunn a great pick in the third round, especially in PPR leagues…Carson Palmer suffered no ill-effects in his knee after Monday night’s game and is expected to start the final preseason game. With injuries like his, it’s always good to hear that the player suffered no aftereffects. His healthy return continues to boost the value of Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Rudi Johnson…NFL.com is reporting that Adam Vinatieri has a severely injured ankle, going so far as to say that it may be broken. When asked about it, Vinatieri didn’t deny the report. He’s a kicker, so stay away from him for now.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Steroids in the NFL: Are we turning a deaf ear?

      August 30, 2006 /

      How can a problem be so publicized, so scrutinized and so downright shoved down our throats by the media get so much attention in one sport but not another?

      It was the late Ken Caminiti who opened up a lot of people’s eyes in a 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story that steroid use in sports was perhaps a bigger issue than what most people thought.

      It would be a vast understatement to say that since then, the media has run with the story.

      Current major league players such as Barry Bonds and Jeremy Giambi along with former stars like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have come under rapid fire over the years about their involvement with performance enhancing drugs.

      The players are criticized for using, commissioner Bud Selig is chastised for possibly being aware of the steroid use in his league and overall the sport is under a constant microscope by fans and analyst.

      Back to the original question, though: how can one sport’s problems with performance enhancing drugs be brought to light by the media and fans, but not another?

      In a recent blog written by C.W. Nevius on sfgate.com, Nevius wonders aloud if anybody really cares that the NFL might have just as big of a problem with steroids as the MLB does.

      In the blog, he writes that since the NFL is a league that is basically adored by the public and crushes other programs in television ratings, that people are simply don’t care.

      Nevius uses the newly uncovered facts released by The Charlotte Observer that several players of the ‘04 Carolina Panthers team used performance-enhancing drugs on several occasions that season, as a backdrop for his argument.

      The Observer quotes Dr. Gary Wadler, a well-known expert on performance enhancing drugs, who prepared a report for the U.S. Attorney General’s office.

      “Several of them were using disturbing, particularly alarmingly high amounts with high dosages for long durations — some in combinations,” Wadler said. “This wasn’t just a passing flirtation with these prohibited substances. When I see (prescriptions) `renewed five times,’ I say, `What are you trying to accomplish?’ ”

      It certainly seems like it. Wadler’s report, based on the players’ medical records, showed that Steussie and another player picked up prescriptions for drugs just days before leaving for the 2004 Super Bowl. (The Panthers lost that game, 32-29 to New England.)

      Dr. Wadler identified former Panthers’ Todd Steusie, Jeff Mitchell, Kevin Donnalley and Wesley Walls as players who were known to have taken steroids.

      Those weren’t exactly practice squad members – every single one of those players contributed to Carolina going to the Super Bowl that season.

      Let it be known that it wasn’t all of the Panthers players involved in the drug use, but the point is that the NFL is seemingly ducking a lot of scrutiny by use of smoke and mirrors.

      By suspending a few players each season, the NFL is making the public believe that its drug testing is on the up and up. But are we to believe that the majority of the NFL is clean?

      Nevius details in his blog that the average linebacker 20 years ago was 225 pounds. Now the average LB is upwards of 265 pounds and can still run the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds.

      Now I love the NFL. To me, there is no more organized and classy league out there. Come Sunday’s in the fall, there is no better feeling than waking up to a full schedule of football games and nothing to do but sit back in watch.

      But how can we as fans berate one league (going as far to say that Barry Bonds’ stats should have an asterisk by them in the record books), but simply turn away from another league when there is full documentation stating that players were using steroids during a Super Bowl run?

      The 2004 Panthers are simply not discussed, while news reports and debates on national radio and TV stations bring up ‘riods in the MLB virtually every day.

      Now, I don’t equate players using steroids to enhance their performance as say, someone who is handed all the answer to a test, but it is still wrong. It is still someone using an unfair advantage over the next guy.

      It is still cheating – and we as fans should start paying attention to the rug that is being pulled over our eyes by the NFL.

      NFL

      Fantasy Update (8/30)

      August 30, 2006 /

      Curtis Martin will start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, which means he’s on the shelf for at least the first five weeks of the season. Kevan Barlow and Derrick Blaylock are fighting for the starting job for the Jets, a situation which should be avoided by all but the most desperate fantasy owners…Mike Shanahan (aka “Skeletor” and the “Mastermind”) is at it again. After awarding Mike Bell the top spot on the depth chart, setting up a combination similar to the Mike Anderson/Tatum Bell one-two punch that was so productive for Anderson last season, Shanny is now saying that it’s not that clear. Once again, the Denver RB situation is muddled, but the team has probably the best run-blocking line in all of football, so it’s tempting to dive in and take one of the Bells in the 4th or 5th round. Let the buyer beware…Terrell Owens graced the rest of the Dallas Cowboys with his presence on the practice field this week. Honestly, I don’t know what the big deal is about a sore hammy. WRs have them all over the league. This is more about the battle of wills between Owens and Bill Parcells. Given the contentious preseason, I’m not sure T.O. won’t pull a repeat of last season…A source close to the Tennessee Titans reported that it will be Travis Henry, not Chris Brown, that will start for the team Week 1. We’re still waiting for a confirmation of this to prove that it wasn’t just the report of an optimistic fantasy owner…Torry Holt still has a bruised sternum, but he returned to practice and looks good to go…Bill Belichick inferred that there may be a RBBC forming in New England. Laurence Maroney has looked so good in the preseason that it will be hard to deny him playing time, and Bellichick feels that it’s important to have at least two good running backs, given all the hits they take during the course of the season. This is bad news for Dillon owners and obviously good news for Maroney, but really, everyone loses in a RBBC.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Final Four set at the FIBA World Championship

      August 30, 2006 /

      This is becoming a trend at the 2006 FIBA World Championship: Team USA looks a little sloppy and sluggish in the first half, turning the ball over and taking several bad shots, leading to a close margin at halftime. After half, the team plays with a lot of energy, cranks up the defense and gets several easy baskets as a result. The team’s depth and versatility eventually wear their opponent down, leading to a double-digit victory.

      And so it went in Team USA’s 85-65 victory over a wily German squad. The U.S. made 14 of 44 (32%) shots in the first half, including 5 of 20 (25%) from behind the arc, which led to a 40-39 lead at halftime. The U.S. was lucky that Germany’s best player, Dirk Nowitzki, came out cold and finished 3-12 (25%) from the field, scoring only 15 points in the game.

      Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 19, but struggled at times with his shot, finishing just 7-19 (37%) from the field. LeBron James added 13 points, but was sloppy, committing seven turnovers. The third captain, Dwayne Wade, had his worst game of the tournament, scoring only three points on 1-11 (9%) shooting.

      The difference maker was Chris Bosh, who once again came off the bench with boundless energy, scoring 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds in just 14 minutes of play. That’s the beauty of Team USA’s depth – if Elton Brand and/or Dwight Howard are having an off night, head coach Mike Krzyzewski can call on the uber-talented Bosh to make up the difference.

      The U.S. was the last of the four favorites to make it to the semis. Spain, Argentina and Greece were already in, defeating Lithuania, Turkey and France, respectively. Team USA faces Greece in the Final Four – the game will be broadcast at 6:30 AM (ET) on Friday on ESPN2, while the Spain/Argentina game starts at 3:30 AM (also on ESPN2).

      A word of warning: if Team USA continues to get off to a slow start, they might find themselves down 10 or more at the break, which is a pretty big hole to be in with only twenty minutes to play. Greece, Spain and Argentina are simply more talented than any team the U.S. has faced thus far, and they’ll have to play well for more than 20 minutes if they hope to prevail.

      NBA

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