1. Rodgers. No question about it, everything the author said was right on the money
2. Matthews- Dudes a beast and needs to keep that up for the defense to improve.
3. Newhouse- The biggest ? on the OL for me. He was "good enough" last year and that is promising, but he is playing a very important role and he needs to continue to improve
4.Tramon Williams- Him getting back to his 2010 form is almost the most crucial piece of the 2012 defense IMO
5. Number 2 saftey- Moved this up a tiny bit because the communication and lack of athleticism from last year was terrible and if whoever fills the spot can improve I feel it will help a lot.
6.Nick Perry- He was drafted in the first round to be an immediate starter and contributor to this defense. He needs to live up to those expectations to compliment Clay Matthews
7.Charles Woodson- Im just so used to him being 100% animal that I almost forgot him on this list. It's expected for him to lose a step in coverage with age, but he's a wily ol veteran and he still needs to be one of our top 3 play makers on D
8.Randal Cobb- Not so much for his offensive production as his special teams production. Anytime you give Aaron Rodgers and Co. the ball with favorable field position the chances are pretty good you will come away with some kind of points. If he can blossom into a serious return threat in his sophomore year he could really turn some heads
9. Jermichael Finley- Although the packers have a plethora of receiving threats he is the only guy that can really get up higher than anyone on the defense. He can really tear open the middle of the field and is a crucial target in the redzone. If he can keep his head on straight and his hands out of the buttered popcorn he should be a valuable and important asset to the team.
10. Jeff Saturday- Im not worried about him in this system or his diagnosis of a defense, but there is a reason the colts were willing to part ways with their long time anchor of the Peyton wall, maybe his age was showing a bit more on a daily basis there. I hope not, but at his age those knees and his back could be in for a very long season.
11. AJ hawk- Yeah Yeah I know who makes a top 11. I really felt like he needed to be mentioned. He plays a very important position on this defense and he needs to become the tackling machine he was supposed to be all along, Bishop has stepped in nicely but its time for Hawk and the whole defense for that matter to really hit the crap out of someone.