What happened to the Defense?

There have been two articles this last week in the G-T and the Oregonian about the offense and where the unstoppable offense has gone. However, I'm wondering where the defense has gone over the last couple of years. Youth? Less speed? Less talent? Poor playcalling?

I honestly thought the defense would make a considerable jump over last season with the young LB talent and another year of experience in the secondary. Plus, I was hoping Dorian Smith, Joe Rudolph, and Pernell Booth would make a big difference in the pass rush.

The key I think is the pass rush. It feels like we hardly ever blitz and when we don't we rarely get pressure on the QB. Everything starts there in the pass defense. If you give a Pac-10 QB 4-5+ seconds to throw every pass, then the secondary is going to have a tough time covering that long.

The secondary hasn't been as bad as last season, but they seem soft. Last year we were beat long all day. This year we are letting more simple underneath passes that we seem to be playing off 5-10 feet away on. Also, they really need to contain the run when it gets past the linebackers. Solid tackling to keep the big running plays into hue running plays.

The linebackers I'm not really sure about. I simply haven't seen much that's spectacular out of the LBs. I think sometimes that the 2nd team looks better than the 1st team. I don't know. The jury is still out for me on these guys, but they need to start stuffing the run hard soon.

I don't know how to fix the D, but it needs to be fixed. What I don't understand is why more people aren't talking about the defense. Where's the outrage over Mark Banker? Can Canfield play defensive end?

Cheer on the defense early and often today and hope that they step up early and make a big step forward. Because without a defense, the predictions from SI and other "fans" or a 2-10 season may come true.