Sports Illustrated's season preview hits newsstands this week, and we stumbled across an interesting nugget that is to appear in the mag.

NFL writer Peter King did an exercise in which he ranked the best units in football -- the best groups of quarterbacks, running backs, etc.

King selected the Bucs' defensive backfield as the top secondary. He makes a compelling argument and I'm inclined to agree. Here's his rationale:

"Without a falloff, the Bucs have rebuilt on the fly and continue to do so with '08 first-round pick Aqib Talib, who is slated to eventually replace Ronde Barber. In the last two years coordinator Monte Kiffin and tough-as-nails secondary coach Raheem Morris have slotted three new players, corner Phillip Buchanon and safeties Tanard Jackson and Sabby Piscitelli, into impact roles. The safeties attack. The corners cover. On nickel downs Barber moves inside and becomes the game's best blitzing corner. In '07 the unit allowed a measly 76.2 passer rating. Expect more of the same for years to come."

Some other interesting choices were the Jaguars at running back (Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew), the Ravens at linebacker (Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Bart Scott) and the Vikings at defensive line (Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, Jared Allen). All good choices, I think.