how can the offense NOT take a step back?

The Watson/Hill combo at TE is eerily similar to Shockey/Thomas - Hill being the taller, faster Shockey-type receiver who can also block a little bit, Watson being the Thomas all-around versatile great blocker type. They're even the same size roughly - Hill is 6-5, 250, Shockey was 6-5, 251 - Thomas 6-3, 248, Watson 6-3, 255.

Ingram-Spiller-Robinson is also a fair approximation of Thomas-Bush-Bell, I would even argue that the current group is a little more well-rounded than the 2009 group.

The main difference right now is we don't have depth receivers like Meachem/Moore/Henderson - but then again, Meachem was a draft bust before 09, Henderson was a middling inconsistent deep threat before 09, and Moore barely even played that season. It's not inconceivable at all that some combination of Coleman/Jones/Toon/Morgan/Snead/whoever can fill those shoes.