Excellent post. You're exactly correct. I've said before, unbalanced football is unbalanced football. We just went from hating 17-10 losses to hating 52-45 losses. I will say, the latter is more pleasurable to watch. But it's still equally frustrating to think what could've been.
That said, I think this is the year that Mullen has to change that perception that he's allowed the defense to slip beyond repair. Most defenses were bad last season, so as bad as we looked, we weren't alone. If it happens again this year, he's toast because it completely validates the argument that he was simply being bailed out by the defensive talent that carried over. There's no do-overs after your fourth season, especially with a DC that was unpopular from the start. Last year was Mullen's team, but Covid affected everyone. This season, this is entirely him. If we fall on our face, he's gone very soon, regardless of what raise we just gave him.