how can the offense NOT take a step back?

If the defense can hold teams to less than 30 points, and Payton is successful in his quest to be a run-first team, then the offensive stats will naturally come back to earth.

Payton's not stupid.. For every upgrade we make on the O-Line (Unger), we have a former Pro-Bowler that is steadily declining (Evans).

On the other hand, Jimmy Graham being gone is a blessing in my opinion. He was a terrible blocker.. his routes were sloppy.. he would get alligator arms if you hit him a couple of times.. he stayed injured.. and worst of all, his presence alone gave Drew this idea that he could "just throw it up" and Jimmy would go get it. Jimmy's size alone allowed Drew to do this some of the time, but I think that "get it near him" approach started to affect other receivers that need the ball to hit them in the facemask.