Total defense is a dumb stat.
As others have said, look at DFEI and take a look at stop rate and points per drive.
While last years defense wasn’t great. It was miles better than the last few years of Tuiaki - with basically the same players.
The run defense and third down defense last year were downright bad. That needs huge improvement. No arguments there.
But still, overall the defense hugely improved under Hill. Excited to see what he can do with his better recruiting and coaching.