I like the idea that Phil has started to blitz a bit more but it also scares the heck out of me. Could mean opening ourselves up to some big plays. But I think you have to take some chances once in a while or teams with any sort of passing attack will pick us apart.
I thought we actually did a fairly decent job against Rocco and the Clones, but as previously mentioned, we have some teams that can move the ball down the field. Personally, much like baseball, sometimes stats can be misleading. I can't stand sabermetrics.
Iowa had some long drives against Iowa State, and did so in the other games too. That's KF Football #101. Ball control and time of possession. That can skew stats also since the opposing teams offense can't get on the field.
I can recall Norm Parker having that "bend don't break" defensive mentality. Of recent, we have had a bit more of a stingy defense. But I don't see this unit have the star power of recent defenses. At the end of the day, as long as we can keep teams out of the end zone that is what is going to matter.