Well, you were certainly in the vocal minority then. I did an experiment and searched through the archives to see if my memory was playing tricks on me, and let's just say that the board was still very pro-Mario at the end of October (a few started to question his production). An entertaining read to say the least.
I won't argue the lack of effort -- it clearly wasn't there at times, and he is on the wrong side of 30, but in the end it was the misuse of a dominant pass-rusher.
I also don't think you can quantify a DE's play using tackle numbers (I've never seen it), even in a scheme that preaches gap responsibility.