Q: Aren’t you putting a lot on those two cornerbacks to be good?

A: It’s always a vital, crucial area. Oh man, it became kind of spotlighted a year ago. We just gave up a lot of big plays on the edge, on the corners. But as the last month of the season progressed and those guys got to play more, we got better.

Q: So the defensive backs — how significant of a jump has that position group made in the last four months?

A: All of the sudden, that’s become an area that we have to rely on. When you lose those experienced front guys, it puts that much more emphasis on being sound in the back end. At the same time, they’re going to need more help from the front — from the guys who are still going to be playing there. I know we lost good players there. You don’t lose four guys who should be back, who are playing the best football of their lives — Maliek, Vince, Kevin and Greg should be playing their best football, and you lose them. OK, so how do you have a glass-half-full view there?

Q: How do you?