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A lot of people might think that because I'm a former NFL quarterback, I'm all about the offense. That couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, there's nothing I love more than a game that involves hard-hitting, technically sound defense.

I've been around some tremendous defenders in my time, ever since I was a kid. My dad played with one of the most physically gifted, game-wrecking defensive players of all time in Lawrence Taylor.

What's amazing is that now every single NFL team seems to have a player as special as Taylor somewhere on its defense. As was the case during Taylor's time, though, the most successful teams are capable of winning with defense.

Just take a look at some of the top teams in the NFL this season. While the Philadelphia Eagles are scoring points because of quarterback Carson Wentz, they're closing out games with a dominant defensive front. The Pittsburgh Steelers just won a critical Sunday night game thanks to some superb red-zone defense. The New England Patriots look like a far superior team than the one we saw at the beginning of the season. Why? Their defense is improving.

As we head into the second half of the season, defensive play is going to make or break the teams at the top, and it's going to separate the real contenders from the rest of the pack. With this in mind, here's how I view the NFL heading into Week 9.

You can check out last week's rankings here.