2012 NFL / College Football Seasons

[Bront20]

As someone who has the Texans D in my fantasy league, I'd make a strong case for them as the best D in the league.

Texans and 49ers are probably the top 2 Ds, but the Bears could be arguably #3 (I'll wait till mid-season though to declare more definitively)

[HeyRiles]

I've seen many experts pick the Cardinals and the Dolphins as the two best defenses

[darkwinterbeast8]

If one goes by Defensive Points Per Game, the order is:

1. Houston
2. Seattle
3. Arizona
4. San Francisco
5. Chicago

If one goes by Yards Per Game, the order is:

1. Houston
2. Seattle
3. San Francisco
4. Dallas
5. Pittsburgh

Passing Yards Per Game:

1. Dallas
2. Houston
3. Pittsburgh
4. NY Jets
5. San Francisco

Rushing Yard Per Game:

1. Miami
2. Seattle
3. Chicago
4. Tampa Bay
5. San Francisco

Basing everything on those rankings, it looks like that Houston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Seattle can all make a case in being elite defenses so far this season. San Francisco appearing in the top 5 in all of these categories would suggest that they're the best.

[HeyRiles]

I still think that Arizona has the top defense, because there are two factors you're leaving out: offensive talent, and how much time the defense spends on the field as a result

Arizona's offense is, in a word, abysmal. The only team worse offensively is Jacksonville, depending on which stats you're looking at. They have the second most punts in the league. They punt more often than they score offensively. They have the second worst total yards of offense in the league. As a result, the Arizona defense is on the field a lot - almost 31 minutes of the game, which is 24th in the league. Yet, they still only allow 15.2 points per game, which like you said is 3rd in the league. It's because of their defense, and their defense alone, that they are one of three teams that are still undefeated

The other teams you mentioned have great defenses too (with the exception of Houston, who I think is covering a huge Mario Williams loss by playing bonkers on offense), and I'd say my top five right now are Arizona, San Fran, Seattle, Chicago, and Miami, but Arizona has far and away had the best defense this year

[Bront20]

If one goes by Defensive Points Per Game, the order is:

1. Houston
2. Seattle
3. Arizona
4. San Francisco
5. Chicago

If one goes by Yards Per Game, the order is:

1. Houston
2. Seattle
3. San Francisco
4. Dallas
5. Pittsburgh

Passing Yards Per Game:

1. Dallas
2. Houston
3. Pittsburgh
4. NY Jets
5. San Francisco

Rushing Yard Per Game:

1. Miami
2. Seattle
3. Chicago
4. Tampa Bay
5. San Francisco

Basing everything on those rankings, it looks like that Houston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Seattle can all make a case in being elite defenses so far this season. San Francisco appearing in the top 5 in all of these categories would suggest that they're the best.

Yardage is decieving though. Particularly for the Bears, who's cover 2 is a bend-not-break D.

But yes, some good D so far by several teams. We'll still know more around week 9 once most teams have played at least 1 good team.

[Bront20]

The other teams you mentioned have great defenses too (with the exception of Houston, who I think is covering a huge Mario Williams loss by playing bonkers on offense), and I'd say my top five right now are Arizona, San Fran, Seattle, Chicago, and Miami, but Arizona has far and away had the best defense this year

Houston lost Mario early last year and was still pretty monstrous.

[darkwinterbeast8]

Yardage is decieving though. Particularly for the Bears, who's cover 2 is a bend-not-break D.

Chicago is near the top of rushing yardage. They're in the lower half of the league in passing yardage but they did feast off of Romo who was throwing almost every play after they got behind. I just went with those because I already talked about sacks and turnover differential.

But yes, some good D so far by several teams. We'll still know more around week 9 once most teams have played at least 1 good team.

It'll definitely be interesting to see how the numbers for San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, and Pittsburgh look after they play New England who usually has their way on offense regardless of what defense they're playing.

Houston lost Mario early last year and was still pretty monstrous.

The emergence of J.J. Watt has certainly helped soften the blow of losing Mario Williams to injuries last year and to Free Agency this year. Well that and some talented defensive players that aren't household names to most people.

Speaking of Arizona, they lost to the Rams last night. St. Louis is surprisingly above .500 for the first time since 2006.

[Bront20]

Speaking of Arizona, they lost to the Rams last night. St. Louis is surprisingly above .500 for the first time since 2006.

I almost had AZ in an eliminator league that I'm in, but changed it just before I left work (to Min)

[JBlack240]

So much for Florida State. Both my National Championship predictions are out of it now.

[darkwinterbeast8]

Looks like the Oregon Ducks are playing themselves into the National Championship. They murdered the Washington Huskies in a week that saw 3 of the top 5 ranked teams lose (though to be fair, 2 of those top 5 ranked schools that lost this week are SEC schools that got a bit more love because they play in the SEC)