Everyone keeps referencing how great the defense was last year. I will admit, I drank the Kool-Aid on that one as well. But in retrospect, how much of our defensive numbers from last year were because other teams knew that if they could put 10-14 on the board, there was absolutely no way that they were going to lose because our offense could move the ball out of their own shadow? They scored enough early to go Marty Ball for the last 3 quarters of the game. Run the ball, make safe throws, and milk the clock. If you score, great. If not, just try to get at least one first down each drive to milk 3-5 minutes off the clock and get out of the game with a W.
Now that our offense has improved enough to be a threat to score, the defense is being exposed in ways that it didn't have to be exposed last year. Teams know that we have enough playmakers on O to burn them at anytime. While we all know (and they do as well) that the odds are we will shoot ourselves in the foot with untimely penalties and turnovers, what happens if we don't? We have an offense that can move the ball and score. Teams come into the game knowing that they need to put points on the board every time they touch the ball. If they don't, there is a chance they will get beat. That threat, no matter how big, wasn't there last year.
Now that our offense has improved enough to be a threat to score, the defense is being exposed in ways that it didn't have to be exposed last year. Teams know that we have enough playmakers on O to burn them at anytime. While we all know (and they do as well) that the odds are we will shoot ourselves in the foot with untimely penalties and turnovers, what happens if we don't? We have an offense that can move the ball and score. Teams come into the game knowing that they need to put points on the board every time they touch the ball. If they don't, there is a chance they will get beat. That threat, no matter how big, wasn't there last year.
