Defenses
ON THE RISE
BRONCOS
Dre' Bly joins Champ Bailey (above) to give Denver the NFL's best cornercombo--but defensive guru Jim Bates is the biggest addition.
COWBOYS
Wade Phillips's aggressive 3-4 scheme will mean more sacks for OLB DeMarcusWare.
DOLPHINS
Rookie Ted Ginn Jr. boosts the return game, and LB Channing Crowder has ProBowl potential.
ON THEDECLINE
BILLS
Second-round pick Paul Posluzny alone can't make up for the free-agentdepartures of LBs London Fletcher-Baker and Takeo Spikes.
FALCONS
Injured LB Demorrio Williams and DT Rod Coleman won't be ready for the start ofthe season.
TITANS
They'll face a schedule laden with top-rated passers--and do it withoutsuspended CB Pacman Jones.
SLEEPERS
CARDINALS
Additions at safety and corner give Pro Bowl SS Adrian Wilson (above) moreopportunity to roam.
BENGALS
First-round pick CB Leon Hall improves the return game and a dismal secondary.Safety Marvin White is a fourth-round steal.
PACKERS
All 11 starters return from a surprisingly stout unit that allowed only 23points over the last three games.
SI TEAM RANKINGSFOR 2007 with 2006 stats
  |   | POINTS/GAME | YARDS/GAME | RANK (rush/pass) | RANK (total) | INTERCEPTIONS | SACKS | POINTS* | BYE WEEK |
1. | Chicago Bears | 15.9 | 294.1 | 6/11 | 5 | 24 | 40 | 50 | 9 |
2. | Baltimore Ravens | 12.6 | 264.1 | 2/6 | 1 | 28 | 60 | 40 | 8 |
3. | New England Patriots | 14.8 | 294.4 | 5/12 | 6 | 22 | 44 | 8 | 10 |
4. | Miami Dolphins | 17.7 | 289.1 | 8/5 | 4 | 8 | 47 | 18 | 9 |
5. | San Diego Chargers | 18.9 | 301.6 | 7/13 | 10 | 16 | 61 | 18 | 7 |
6. | Denver Broncos | 19.1 | 326.4 | 12/21 | 14 | 17 | 35 | 12 | 6 |
7. | Philadelphia Eagles | 20.5 | 328.1 | 26/9 | 15 | 19 | 40 | 30 | 5 |
8. | Dallas Cowboys | 21.9 | 322.8 | 10/24 | 13 | 18 | 34 | 30 | 8 |
9. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 17.1 | 283.6 | 4/10 | 2 | 20 | 35 | 12 | 4 |
10. | Minnesota Vikings | 20.4 | 300.2 | 1/32 | 8 | 21 | 30 | 36 | 5 |
11. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 19.7 | 300.3 | 3/20 | 9 | 20 | 39 | 18 | 6 |
12. | Green Bay Packers | 22.9 | 320.9 | 13/17 | 12 | 23 | 46 | 30 | 7 |
13. | Carolina Panthers | 19.1 | 296.1 | 11/4 | 7 | 14 | 41 | 14 | 7 |
14. | Cincinnati Bengals | 20.7 | 355.1 | 15/31 | 30 | 19 | 35 | 6 | 5 |
15. | New York Jets | 18.4 | 331.6 | 24/14 | 20 | 16 | 35 | 18 | 10 |
16. | Arizona Cardinals | 24.3 | 349.4 | 16/30 | 29 | 16 | 38 | 24 | 8 |
17. | Oakland Raiders | 20.8 | 284.8 | 25/1 | 3 | 18 | 34 | 26 | 5 |
18. | Seattle Seahawks | 21.3 | 330.3 | 22/16 | 19 | 12 | 41 | 18 | 8 |
19. | Indianapolis Colts | 22.5 | 332.2 | 32/2 | 21 | 15 | 25 | 12 | 6 |
20. | San Francisco 49ers | 25.8 | 344.2 | 19/26 | 26 | 14 | 34 | 14 | 6 |
21. | New York Giants | 22.6 | 342.4 | 14/28 | 25 | 17 | 32 | 14 | 9 |
22. | Kansas City Chiefs | 19.7 | 328.9 | 18/18 | 16 | 15 | 32 | 6 | 8 |
23. | New Orleans Saints | 20.1 | 307.3 | 23/3 | 11 | 11 | 38 | 6 | 4 |
24. | St. Louis Rams | 23.8 | 335.1 | 31/8 | 23 | 17 | 34 | 12 | 9 |
25. | Atlanta Falcons | 20.5 | 332.8 | 9/29 | 22 | 12 | 37 | 12 | 8 |
26. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 22.1 | 329.4 | 17/19 | 17 | 11 | 25 | 18 | 10 |
27. | Buffalo Bills | 19.4 | 329.6 | 28/7 | 18 | 13 | 40 | 30 | 6 |
28. | Washington Redskins | 23.5 | 355.5 | 27/23 | 31 | 6 | 19 | 14 | 4 |
29. | Cleveland Browns | 22.2 | 344.8 | 29/15 | 27 | 18 | 28 | 18 | 7 |
30. | Houston Texans | 22.9 | 337.5 | 20/22 | 24 | 11 | 28 | 18 | 10 |
31. | Detroit Lions | 24.9 | 345.6 | 21/25 | 28 | 12 | 30 | 8 | 6 |
32. | Tennessee Titans | 25.0 | 369.7 | 30/27 | 32 | 17 | 26 | 52 | 4 |
*Points scored by defense and special teams
PHOTO
ICON SPORTS MEDIA (BAILEY)
PHOTO
KEVIN TANAKA/SPORTPICS (WILSON)
