No, he is not the best CB in the league. In another year or two he may very well but, but right now he's not. I'm not taking anything away from the guy but he needs just a little more seasoning to get the savvy of a guy like Ty Law or other CBs who have stayed at the top of their game for the bulk of their career.
Jammer's great, no doubt. I'd take Jammer over any CB on the field, but I'd take Asante second even with his abyssmal game last week. He's got a more proven track record than Cromartie.
Harrison and Sanders, who I feel is underrated, I take over them over your safeties.
What gets lost in this, and I think bears serious consideration, is that as the season wore on there was absolutely no doubt that teams were preparing for the Patriots like it was their super bowl. Teams that had no business playing out of their minds did so. Certainly some of that is on the Patriots' D but you've also got to give credit where credit is due. In spite of that, and the huge leads this team often put on other teams, they very nearly lead the league in points allowed.
In the end I do give the nod to SD's defense overall for talent and speed without any doubt. Not to get all silly but I do feel that the Patriots' D holds a serious edge when it comes to experience and savvy and these things do seem to pay dividends in the post season even if they cannot be captured on a stat sheet.
So I guess we're basically agreeing with each other, for the most part.