1. New York Jets
Warning all NFL quarterbacks; Rex Ryan and the Jets defense are ready to pounce. You should probably hire your O-line to tuck you into bed at night because Ryan’s defense will stop at nothing to attack an opposing QB. The defensive schemes of Ryan and his staff will keep pressure on opposing offenses, and he has a secondary led by Darrelle Revis to complement that. Throw in Jason Taylor and Antonio Cromartie and the Jets defense should improve from a solid ’09 season.

2. Philadelphia Eagles
I have three words to describe why I like the Eagles as the second best defense in the 2010 season: blitz, blitz and some more blitz. No team blitzed more than the Eagles in 2009 and you can expect a lot of the same from them this year. That means sacks and turnovers are sure to follow. Middle linebacker Stewart Bradley missed all of last year but is back to team up with Asante Samuel and Trent Cole to form a formidable defense.

3. Baltimore Ravens
Pointing out the obvious would say that the Ravens have stars on their defense such as Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs. But an even more important aspect of the Ravens’ D is that they have great depth. Linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Jarrett Johnson, Pro-Bowl nose tackle Haloti Ngata and defensive tackle Kelly Gregg aren’t household names like Lewis, Reed and Suggs, but they certainly deserve a lot of credit for the Ravens’ success in past years. You shouldn’t expect a ton of sacks out of this defense, but you can expect consistency from the entire group to put up good fantasy numbers.

4. Green Bay Packers
The change from 4-3 to 3-4 proved effective for the Packers last year. Benefiting most may have been Clay Matthews and Brad Jones who each emerged in the system. The Pack did allow 30-plus points five times in 2009 suggesting they can get beat deep. Despite that stat, this team should be a lock to start in fantasy leagues because of their strong run defense and playmaking ability. Watch for Charles Woodson and Matthews to make big plays and the D-line to shut down the run game.

5. Minnesota Vikings
To win championships, a team must be able to run the football effectively. What happens when they run into the Minnesota Vikings then? With Jared Allen, Ray Edwards, Pat Williams and Kevin Williams on the D-Line, you can expect little running room for opposing offenses to work with. Though, injuries have hampered the rest of the Viking’s Defense. E.J. Henderson broke his femur last year, Cedric Griffin won’t be ready to start the season as he is still recovering from a torn ACL and Antoine Winfield has missed 12 games over the past two seasons due to injury. This defense will stop the run, but passing against it is fairly easy. Still should be a solid starting defense though.

6. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys ranked second in the NFL in scoring defense last year. DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer will rush the passer with the best of them and they have an All-Pro nose tackle in Jay Ratliff. Undrafted cornerback Mike Jenkins came up with five picks last year and should be expected to do much of the same. What is iffy here is the ‘Boys’ safety status. Ken Hamlin didn’t do the job last year and isn’t with the team anymore, but Alan Ball and Gerald Sensabaugh aren’t locks to fix the problem this year.

7. San Francisco 49ers
Prediction for San Francisco’s 2010 season: their defense will keep them in every ballgame but the offense will only put up enough points to win 8-9 games. Sound familiar? That’s basically been the formula for Mike Singletary’s first two seasons as 49ers head coach. Although this won’t get them into the playoffs, the 49ers defense is still a solid start in fantasy leagues. Patrick Willis headlines the defense at inside linebacker and teaming him with Aubrayo Franklin and Justin Smith make this San Fran team tough to run on. Also look for Ahmad Brooks to pile up double digit sacks and Parys Haralson and Manny Lawson to come up with the big play.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers
Polamal-who? You won’t hear this very often as most football fans know about Troy Polamalu’s playmaking ability in the “Steel City.” The safety missing 12 games last year hurt this defense tremendously, so keeping Polamalu healthy is vital for Pittsburgh. You can count on James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley for sacks and the run defense will get the job done, but the secondary is a concern. They will need a better effort than last season there if the Steelers want to be the elite defense they once were.

9. New Orleans Saints
The defending Super Bowl champs boast great secondary depth with Jabari Greer, Tracy Porter, Malcolm Jenkins and veteran Darren Sharper. Also, Sedrick Ellis will clog the middle to make running against this team tough along with Will Smith, Remi Ayodele and Alex Brown on the D-line. The Saints had a knack for forcing turnovers with 39 of them on their magical run in 2009. If they can continue to make the big plays in 2010, they will be a solid fantasy start, but it is tough to keep that kind of production on defense year to year.

10. Cincinnati Bengals
The T. O-chocinco show will be more interesting to watch than Circus Olay on drugs, but the Bengals’ defense should be able to grab at least a little attention in 2010 as well. With Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph, the Bengals have as solid of corners as you can get. Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga are solid linebackers along with Dhani Jones. They will also get defensive end Antwan Odom back after he ruptured his Achilles tendon last year. But still, the pass rush isn’t quite what you would like for a fantasy starter. If Cincinnati is going to be a lock to start in fantasy leagues, they need to put more pressure on the opposing QB.

11. Denver Broncos-If their older pieces stay healthy, they could surprise a few people.
12. New England Patriots-Secondary is solid, but need more pass rush to be a starter.
13. New York Giants-Allowed 40-plus points five times last year.
14. San Diego Chargers-Couldn’t stop the run to close out the ’09 season and probably won’t be able to stop it much this year.
15. Chicago Bears-Julius Peppers is good (when he wants to be) and Urlacher was good (three years ago). Too many questions on this D to start them right away.
16. Houston Texans-Lots of big time players such as Mario Williams, Brian Cushing and DeMeco Ryans, but not deep enough.
17. Arizona Cardinals- Dansby, Rolle, Berry and Okeafor are all gone.
18. Cleveland Browns-Sean Rogers, Ahtyba Rubin, D’Qwell Jackson and Scott Fujita make this defense intriguing.
19. Miami Dolphins-No Jason Taylor or Joey Porter, but Sean Smith is a great corner.
20. Atlanta Falcons-Tied for 26th in sacks last year.
21. Indianapolis Colts-The Colts’ great offense will negatively affect their defense once again.
22. Buffalo Bills-Switching from 4-3 to 3-4 will be difficult.
23. Tennessee Titans- 14 or more fantasy points five times in ’09, but scored below zero five times as well.
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Too many rookies up front.
25. Detroit Lions-They can’t be any worse than the ’09 Lions were.
26. Washington Redskins- If Haynesworth can ever pass his conditioning test, they might have a chance…actually, they still won’t.
27. Carolina Panthers-Rebuilding time.
28. Kansas City Chiefs-I would like to wish good luck to new Chiefs defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel.
29. Seattle Seahawks-Pete Carroll may want to go back to college ball after this season.
30. Rams, Raiders, Jaguars-Take your pick… or not.