I'm not ready to get excited about this defense yet, primarily because it hasn't really been defined yet. But we've got some good pieces, and I'm hopeful.

We had a first year coordinator who inherited an oddly formed roster, added a few project players and other bits of talent, and carved out something that he thought made sense. A couple of veterans disappointed, a couple of new pieces didn't acclimate well, and he stuck with some dysfunctional strategy a bit too long.

After the bye week, we began seeing some adaptation and alterations in coverages and strategy. It helped, but glaring issues were apparent a bit too often.
One thing was certain: The players were bought in and playing hard to win games. There were promising elements.

We'll have a much better idea of what this defense is when the calendar turns the page into 2024. I think it's still largely unknown, and therefore neither underrated or overrated.

---