And finally, we begin to emerge from the forest of cognitive dissonance we had led willingly led ourselves into. Initial assumptions about everything from how good the defense would be to how quickly a new-look offense would come alive now like look illusions meant to be broken. The process of their demise led directly, and understandably, to a fair bit of hand wringing as our dreams and our reality drifted ever further apart.
But just because things didn’t play out the way we imagined doesn’t mean, thankfully, that there weren’t viable alternatives available. Look no further than Milwaukee’s 22-7 record, seven-game win streak, top-five offense, and (GASP) 16th-placed defense, all indicating that the ship of state is moving in the right direction.