North Carolina's defense needs to take another step in 2016

Depending on your point of view, your lingering perception of North Carolina’s 2015 defense was either (A) a massive improvement from the previous season or (B) a patchwork unit that showed its true self during a disastrous bowl loss to Baylor. More importantly, perhaps, your particular perception of that D likely defines how you’ll feel about North Carolina’s chances of repeating as Coastal Division champs in 2016, since the offense should, once again, be very good.

So, which is it?

The answer, it turns out, may be a little of both.

First off, let’s be clear: North Carolina’s defense -- despite the numbers put up by Clemson and Baylor at year’s end -- was much improved. It allowed…