wrong about it not being able to work. Our secondary was pretty weak (except Sorenson) when we had Ziggy and KVN and those guys helped mask that weakness. So, yes we've taken a step back now that we can't get as much pressure on the QB with just a few guys.
Having said that, when I see the problems with the defense on the field, to me it looks like execution, not scheme, that is the problem. When you blitz and do not find a hole, but instead just run into one of your teammates then you've opened yourself up for a big gain. When our LBs are totally out of position or our secondary is double teaming the short route, while leaving a receiver wide open on the deep route, I don't think that is coaching. It is execution.
I think one of the problems is that there is a huge emphasis on the defense to play aggressive and dominate your man. We lay big hits on people and are playing aggressive (except for the first half of Utah State). But that has come at the expense of playing smart. We frequently miss tackles because we've been too aggressive, the screens have worked well against us because of overpursuit of the QB. Penalties are a big part of this because they want to show they are being aggressive, but its really dumb decisions. There isn't enough "thinking" being done by the defense. I will agree that some of that should be done by coaches and defense play calling, but the players have to be aware of the game also, and to me it doesn't seem like they are playing very smart.