TOP 10 DEFENSIVE BACKS

This is part two of my positional rankings. Today we're looking at defensive backs. If you haven't already, check out part one on the wide receivers.

What you have to keep in mind is that I'm not grading their performances in 2011, I'm considering their entire body of work, both on and off the field and ranking them based both on their talent and who I'd most want on my team. I think a good way of looking at this, is as if we were playing a game today (just one game, so we dont have to factor in age and long term dependability), and you could pick your team. In what order would you pick them? 

Honorable Mentions:

Eric Berry (Kansas City Chiefs)- If not for missing the 2011 season due to injury, he'd likely have cracked the list. I know I'm looking at their entire body of work, but the problem is, that just leaves one season to look at. With a healthy bounce back in 2012, you can expect him to be vying for a spot next year.

Carlos Rogers (San Fransisco 49ers)- A fresh start with the 49ers seems to have been just what he needed. He bounced back in a big way and anchored the secondary of the best defense of 2011. Another season like that and he'll challenge for the top 10 next year.

Lardarius Webb (Baltimore Ravens)- He was the best defensive back on the Ravens last year in what was a career year. Webb is a top tier athlete with amazing footwork and impressive composure both in coverage and with the ball in the air.

Leon Hall (Cincinnati Bengals)- Just a solid corner. Hall was the core of Cincinnati's surprising defense last season and his importance was exemplified after he went down for the year in week 10. In the first nine games with Hall, the Bengals gave up eight touchdowns. In the last seven without him, they gave up twelve.

Brandon Flowers (Kansas City Chiefs)- Great athlete with tremendous upside. He'll be a mainstay at corner for a long time and is only going to continue to improve.

Asante Samuel (Atlanta Falcons)- Great ball hawk and zone corner but his man coverage is mediocre and he is useless in run support. There is a reason the best the Eagles could get for him was a 7th round pick. He was overpaid in Philadelphia, and the fact that they were content with DRC as a number two hurts his ranking.  Still a very good player, but I no longer consider him elite.

Now that we've got them out of the way, let's begin:

#10 Charles Woodson (Green Bay Packers)

Though on the back end of his career, Woodson remains an excellent cover man and might be the most aware corner in the game. His seven interceptions last season tied him for the league lead, so despite the fact that he spends more time in the nickel as he ages, he has proven that he is still an elite ball hawk. He was one of the least targeted cornerbacks in the game last season, showing that opposing offenses still have respect for his playmaking ability. At this point in his career, he is no longer a burner, but is still playing at a very high level and has the kind of veteran attitude you love to have on a defense.

#9 Champ Bailey (Denver Broncos)

Admittedly past his prime but still playing at a high level. Between his impending retirement and the young corners listed above all vying for these last couple spots, Bailey probably wont be on this list much longer. However he remains an excellent corner who at this point in his career, is relying more on experience than athleticism. Quarterbacks still respect him enough that they rarely throw at the 11 time Pro Bowler, and with good reason.

#8 Joe Haden (Cleveland Browns)

The only real knock on his 2011 season was the lack of interceptions. He followed his impressive rookie campaign, in which he picked off six passes, with none last year. However, given his combination of athleticism, cover skills and playmaking potential, Haden is an easy candidate to move up this list next year. Despite the lack of picks, he led the NFL with 17 pass deflections, showed high awareness for a player in just his second year and was solid in run support. Where most young corners struggle, he excels, and that is what separates him. He's proven that he can do it all and with more experience he'll be one of the best for the next decade.

#7 Johnathan Joseph (Houston Texans)

Joseph was the centerpiece of one of the surprise stories of the 2011 season. His addition to the Houston secondary helped turn one of the league's worst defenses, into one of it's best. His stellar performance earned him his first Pro Bowl bid and was awarded All Pro honors. He has become one of the best cover corners in football, with high awareness and strong ball skills. Joseph was targeted at an average of just 4.75 times per game, but still managed to finish the season with four interceptions. In the wild card round of the playoffs the Texans were hosting the Bengals, Joseph's former team. His fourth quarter interception off of Andy Dalton helped seal Houston's first ever playoff win. As far as I'm concerned he's the best player on an excellent defense and with continued growth, could continue to climb up these rankings.

#6 Eric Weddle (San Diego Chargers)

The two time All Pro led all safeties with seven interceptions in 2011 and had the second lowest completion percentage allowed. He is a tackling machine and since becoming a starter in 2008, has averaged over 80 solo tackles per year (the most Ed Reed has ever had in a year was 71). At this point he is the most well rounded safety in the game, but his upside isn't quite as great as some of the others on this list, which hurts his ranking. When I watch Weddle, I don't think about what more he could be doing, or how much better he can be. He is a solid playmaker but his ceiling simply is not as high as I'd like.

#5 Nnamdi Asomugha (Philadelphia Eagles)

Nnamdi's first year in Philadelphia didn't go real well while adjusting to a new defense under first year coordinator, Juan Castillo. He gave up twice as many completions in 2011 as 2010, when he was a member of the Raiders, but in the last month of the season, he appeared to return to his usual dominant self showing that his initial struggles could be attributed to learning a new system without having had an offseason to study it. What really holds Nnamdi back in these rankings is that while he is phenomenal as a cover man, he is by no means a playmaker and has never been on a playoff team. 

Obviously that is more a reflection of the demands of his position than it is of him, but it makes it difficult to praise him when he is stacked against players who have helped propel their teams to playoff victories and championships. Certainly the lack of postseason success is more because of the lack of talent the Raiders had during his eight year tenure, but even then, he was never known for making signature plays. He is obviously a great player and perennial Pro Bowler, but the reality is that his contributions aren't felt significantly in the win column. Hopefully that changes in 2012, now that Philadelphia's defense has some talent at linebacker and they've had time to learn Castillo's system.

#4 Earl Thomas (Seattle Seahawks)

He represents the next generation of safeties in the NFL as Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed near the end of their Hall of Fame careers. Thomas is a rising star and was rewarded for his play with his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2011. Thomas is a scary athlete and has instincts reminiscent of the greats mentioned above. He has room to improve in man coverage and will miss some tackles but those are great problems to have for such a young player, especially when you consider he has essentially been a two year rookie. He played his first 32 games without a true offseason, so now that he has had some opportunity to improve, Thomas should be expected to show significant growth in his third year. He has the playmaking ability you want to see and is close to dethroning Reed for the title of best free safety in football. Because we're talking about one game, his upside is too high to ignore and its why he comes in ahead of more accomplished players. 

#3 Darrelle Revis (New York Jets)

What Revis does in unparralleled...among corners. But when stacked against play making safeties, whose marks on a game often leave scars on the scoreboard, its difficult to put him higher. Its rare that you see Revis make one singular play that turns the tide of a game, so while he is certainly the best cover man in football, his position simply doesn't demand enough playmaking to be considered more important than the men in front of him. If this were a ranking of cornerbacks, he would of course be at the top and I acknowledge that he is just as good at his position, if not better, than the guys in front of him are at theirs. But that's not how I'm ranking. 


This one hurts, because I'm a huge fan of his (former Pitt player) while I hate the guy at number two with a passion.

#2 Ed Reed (Baltimore Ravens)

Reed is the classic center fielder. Hes been making young quarterbacks pay for their inexperience for damn near a decade, and hes been doing it better than anyone.  He is the active leader in interceptions, return yardage and is a lock for the Hall of Fame. If I were factoring in long term dependability, he wouldn't be as high, but for one game, even at this point in his career, his upside as a playmaker is simply unquestioned. For those reasons, many would put him at the top of this list. I wouldn't.


Some (Warren Sapp, our bankrupt friend over at the NFL Network who thinks he knows everything because he was a great defensive tackle ten years ago) might have you believe that having more interceptions makes Reed the best safety in football. I apologize, but anyone who simplifies talent to one stat is a moron. Corners have the same job (as far as what statistic defines them), but no one questions Nnamdi Asomugha's greatness despite a lack of picks. More importanly, Reed essentially just plays deep and uses his great instincts to make plays in the secondary. The cost is that he does little in run support, is a below average tackler, and outside of picks and touchdowns, isn't that productive statistically. Over the last five years, the most tackles he's had is 52. That came last season, a year in which he only had 3 interceptions (two of which came in one game off of Roethlisberger). He appears past his prime, and now is threatening a holdout if the Ravens don't restructure his contract. The Ravens have enough to worry about, trying to lock up Ray Rice (which they did yesterday but the point still stands) and Joe Flacco (as in, the future of the franchise) without having to concern themselves with a man who is already scheduled to make over seven million in base salary in 2012. I realize we're talking about one game, but it is a reflection of his personality and his arrogance and is also why I would rather have the man in front of him on this list. 

#1 Troy Polamalu (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Simply put, there will never be another Troy Polamalu. Shutdown corners and free lancing safeties are nothing new. Darrelle Revis is the best cover man in football but hes no better than Champ Bailey was in his prime. Ed Reed is the best free safety of the last decade but there will always be ball hawks. He might have been better at it than everyone else, but the point is, no one, and I mean no one can, nor likely ever will, replicate what Troy has done and will continue to do. There has never been a defensive back who can change a game the way he does. Its not because he gets a ton of interceptions like most great safeties, its because he could. He could stay back and roam but instead spends more time at the line in run support or blitzing and more importantly, always in the heads of opposing quarterbacks.


He defines the idea of playing "sideline to sideline." But with Troy, its more like "sideline to sideline to back of the endzone to the backfield." And then some. How many defensive players can say that they are what keeps their team competitive? That they are more valuable than their quarterback? None (Maybe Ray Lewis in his prime, but that's beside the point). He characterizes game changer, defines instinctual and embodies ridiculous. Unlike some pundits in the national media who believe Polamalu is past his prime, Steeler fans can attest to the fact that the reason he was less than sensational last year was because he spent more time in coverage than in the box like usual. He had a solid year but due to injuries was forced to stay back and play more conservatively.


The point is, if I were putting a team together, there is no defensive back, (nor likely any defender for that matter) who I would rather have than Troy Polamalu. No one has the ability to change the entire game like him, because defensive players aren't supposed to be clutch. That's what makes him irreplaceable, and unduplicatable. He is a once in a lifetime player who would have been the same regardless of where he played. I'm just glad the Steelers traded up.


Snubs: Samuel, Berry, Flowers, Webb, Hall, Rogers, Kam Chancellor, Dashon Goldson, Aqib Talib, Ryan Clark, Ike Taylor, Adrian Wilson, DeAngelo Hall.


Next Up: Tight Ends