True, but those kids on the edge were such a HUGE part of any success we had on defense last year (yes I know, "success on defense"). Nesta had his moments, but really nothing from the other DT spot/LBs/DBs other than a cameo here or there early in the season by Bubba. Sooooo many of our stops were literally due to Phillips wreaking havoc, and I don't think we have anyone who can truly replace him.
Then obviously the other variables are King's health and, to a lesser extent, Covid. If King is healthy we'll all feel great about the O, but that's not a given. And then regarding covid...I still feel we benefitted more than most teams from it this year. I think Manny did a good job of managing that and team morale/attitude through it for most of the season. I don't expect we'll be worse without it, but will other teams be better (i.e. do some of those close wins go the other way)?