For my money its still the NYG. Tuck-Osi-JPP is better then any other trifecta in the league. Between those three you already have 30-40 sacks per season most years along with constant pressure. Tuck and JPP play the run above average for their positions, a trait not frequently associated with good pass rushers. Umenyiora when healthy, is a constant threat for his trademark stripsack and fumble recovery...no one does that better. Hes had nights where hes flat out embarrassed opposing tackles (looking at you Winston Justice). Furthermore this unit is deep with former second round picks Linval Joseph and Marvin Austin in the mix along with Chris Canty. Id actually go so far to say its one of the top 5 units at any position in the entire league.

 

Was going to say NYG as well... you seem to have outlined all the reasons well.

That D-line scares the crap out of me.

 

IMO, it's Philadelphia.

 

No doubt, it's the 49ers. To start they have the best defensive player in the league on the line. And they have a young stud in Aldon Smith. The other guys are good contributors as well. Nobody runs or moves Justin Smith and they collapse the pocket ridiculously well.

 

Smith is a linebacker, not a lineman, I think.

 

You are correct though in a 3-4 you could argue that as an OLB Aldon Smith basically plays like a stand-up DE. I have nothing bad to say about him...I wanted teh Phins to take him or a QB in the 2011 draft. I wasnt happy when he got picked ahead of Miami. Still, what bothered me about choosing the 49ers is that outside of Aldon Smith the rest of those guys are mediocre pass rushers and thats what matters nowadays with the way the game is evolving towards more and more passes. If you have only 1 real pass rusher who commands a double, you cant have the best defensive line.

Philly has talented DL, i just hate the wide 9 scheme they run. It opens up too many running lanes and thats one of the reasons their D posted such bad numbers last year. In a wide 9 you better be playing from in front a lot and they werent.

Baltimore has the best NT in the league in Ngata but not the best overall unit.

Detroit has 1/2 of a great DL in Avril and Suh (when hes controlling his emotions) but theyre not there yet.

Houston is probably 2nd on my list..theyre young deep and talented. I wasnt a JJ Watt fan coming out but I am now. I love their front 7 as a defense.

 

If you want to count Aldon Smith then you have to include the 49ers with Justin Smith being an absolute monster last year.

 

Hmm, there defense ranked 10th in Points per game. It wasn't bad. Plus, they added Cox and could have Brandon Graham for an entire year.

I love the Giants line, though. Wouldn't mind having that, lol.

 

Nah, he plays on the line. People say the 49ers play a 3-4 but they really play more like a 4-2 or a 3-3. They use extra DBs in place of that extra LB/lineman. Reason is that line, specifically Justin Smith is literally an unstoppable force. They don't even need to blitz to stop the run or pass because that line is so dominant.

Justin Smith IMO is having a run even more impressive than Favre or Cal Ripkin in terms of durability. Not to mention he is the best lineman in football. In a 4 man front he plays DE and DT. In a 3 man front he dominates as DE. And he dominates in the run and pass.

Then Aldon comes off the bench as a pass rush specialist. He lines up wide of Justin and just wreaks havok. Aldon almost exclusively lines up on the line with his hand down. Sometimes he stands up and on rare occasion he drops in coverage. But make no mistake about it, his job is to get to the passer...and he does it well as offense is forced to double Justin because he is slamming the double team into the QB.

No line is as consistent vs run and pass.

 

Giants easily IMO.

 

Giants
The D is why a QB like Eli gets considered to be a top 5. I think he is very overated because of that D. But they have TWO Super Bowl wins with him now which gives anyone enough to argue that point.