Can you blame cornerback Al Harris when he gushes about the Green Bay Packers' secondary?

"By far, we are the best in the league," Harris said.

It isn't bragging if it's true, and the Packers have the numbers to support Harris' bold claim.

The Packers are No. 1 in the NFL in several key defensive categories: interceptions (16), touchdowns by defensive backs (6), completion percentage (51.5) and quarterback rating (59.5).

"Unbelievable," marveled linebacker Brandon Chillar. "That's the best secondary I've been around."

Cornerback Charles Woodson and safety Nick Collins lead the league in interceptions and likely will be jetting to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl in February. Harris has made a remarkable recovery from a spleen injury and since his return, has allowed just one catch in three games. Tramon Williams might be the best nickel cornerback in the league and made sure the Packers never missed a beat when Harris went down.

"We got a little swagger about ourselves," Collins said. "I don't see any other team doing the things we're doing back there."

The Packers have benefited from facing mediocre quarterbacks like Tarvaris Jackson, Jon Kitna, Brian Griese, Charlie Frye and Gus Frerotte.

However, the Packers limited Peyton Manning to a 46.6 quarterback rating, 40 points below his season mark. The secondary also held Tony Romo, Kyle Orton and Kerry Collins to ratings 17 or more points below their overall passer rating.

It's no coincidence a string of quality receivers has been shut down by the Packers. Terrell Owens (two catches, 17 yards), Marvin Harrison (2-11), Reggie Wayne (2-24) and Bernard Berrian (0-0) hit dead zones in the Green Bay secondary.

"It really reminds me of the days I was in Philadelphia, with Troy (Vincent) and Bobby (Taylor) and myself," said Harris, who served primarily as a nickel back early in his career because the Eagles were loaded with quality defensive backs.

Besides the obvious physical talent, there's another reason for the secondary's success, according to Collins.

"The communication. Everybody's on the same page," he said. "We have a nice group of guys on the back end that love to be around each other. If you have that, anything is possible."

That would mean the Packers believe they can slow down the most potent air attack in the NFL on Monday night when they face Drew Brees and the pass-happy Saints at the Superdome. Brees has been slinging passes at a rate of 40 per game and is averaging 325 yards each outing.

It's the irresistible force vs. the immovable object, and the Packers' defensive backs can't wait.

"Believe it or not, as a secondary guy, I love to play a team that throws a lot," starting safety Atari Bigby said. "We love to play against the Peyton Mannings, the Tom Bradys, the Brett Favres, you know what I'm saying?"

He's saying the secondary isn't afraid of Brees. Maybe the Saints are the ones who should be concerned.

"We haven't been giving up any big plays," Williams said. "(Our) guys don't want to stop there. … We don't want to give them any plays."

That's the kind of confidence needed in the high-risk world of a defensive back. But the Packers are guarding against getting cocky, especially having to play Brees in his house.

"We'll be nice and calm about it," Collins said. "We're not trying to get anybody riled up about this game. We're just going to go out there and play our game. We aren't going to try to feed into the hype or anything like that. We're just going to play Packer football."

For the secondary, that means playing at an extremely high level.

— Mike Vandermause is sports editor of the Press-Gazette.