More than just a DT?

[firstdayfan]

I may be going out on a big limb here but this is something I was thinking about today when I considered the impact that the trade may have.

Is it possible that the Panthers traded for more than just a DT? Is it possible that they made a trade that will change the entire scheme of the defense. Here's what I mean, a lot of people on this board down played the injury to Kemoatu because of the fact that he didn't fit into the Meeks brand of defense. Smaller faster players able to get penetration and disrupt plays were the kind of DT's he needed, and Kemo didn't fit this description. Many people even went as far to say that losing Kemo wouldn't be a big deal because now Meeks could truly implement his style of defense. Meeks himself even stated that they would have to change things up because of Kemo getting hurt, he said that the would have to adjust their strategies on defense, this could only mean that they were working on a defense that was much different that what Meeks has ran in the past, there were no space eating DT's on Indy's roster last season, in fact, I looked it up and the biggest DT they had was 312 and he didn't play. They featured a rotation that included guys who weighed in at 296 lbs, 274 lbs, and 288 lbs, guys more like Hayden and Lewis.

Is it possible that what we have seen so far in preseason has been a 08 Colts style scheme that Meeks wasn't even going to use? He said when he got here that he would alter his defense to suit the talent here. A soft cover two that rushes only four isn't exactly taking advantage of a DE who can cover must TE's and running backs. It doesn't take advantage of a cover corner who sometimes gives to much cushion in the zone defense. It doesn't take advantage of a safety who is at home playing the run and forcing fumbles. And it definitely doesn't take advantage of a core of linebackers who are absolute playmakers. No, I think this preseason was a reaction to the Kemo injury and then was compounded by three factors...1) The players had to learn something new on the fly after Kemo went down. This soft cover two was probably not what they were working on prior to the injury. 2) Nick Hayden has improved but he does not have the talent to play that spot and get the penetration necessary for this style of defense to function. 3) The injuries to playmaking linebackers and the starting free safety only made these adjustments more difficult because of the inexperienced players behind the starters.

Whats my point you ask? We signed a relative unknown player who may be a mediocre talent that helps fill a void. But he also is a 320+ DT that is the closest thing we have to Kemo on the roster, not the kind of guy that Meeks generally seeks (no pun intended). Does this mean that we will dump the soft zones and the sit back, rush four, and hope to make a tackle mentality? Can Meeks go back to what they were doing before the injury? Is this trade more about scheme's and strategy than just getting a DT who can play? I have a feeling that we may see some more man coverages, blitzing, and improved tackling (because the linebackers will be able to run to the ball without getting swallowed up by the oline) than we have during the preseason. I see more pressure, more turnovers, and a much better performance from our defense coming soon not becuase of one guy but an overall change in strategy.

So was this more than just a DT or did we just make a trade for a rotational guy that was probably going to be released anyway? I guess we'll find out in about 12 days.

[R0CKnR0LLA]

did we just make a trade for a rotational guy that was probably going to be released anyway?

:yesnod:

[pstall]

one possible thought is either the fear of the waiver wire or grab a guy before somebody else snaps up any chance at depth you might have.

[1789Cardiac Cats9020]

The thing about Kemo is as good as he his, he won't be on the team next year. I can guarantee that. He couldn't be more of a misfit in Meeks' scheme

[SmootsDaddy89]

[PhillyB]

awesome post! you bring up some pretty interesting points... we definitely haven't seen the style of defense we'd heard about before the preseason games. the if the front four can't get pressure, jamming at the line is a good way to get beat if you're a CB and the quarterback's got all day.

you're probably right, and it'll be interesting to see, if we get a legit NT, how that translates defensive a few games down the road.

[Blitz]

When is everyone going to learn this is Fox's defense everyone else is just smoke and mirrors?

Kemo will be here next year. Looking at his cap numbers next year the team is going to save aprox 1.5m from this year keeping him around.

Recent trade is nothing more that plugging a golf tee into a toliet hoping to stop the flow. Just pray he sticks.

[scpanther22]

if you look at leonard the guy does not look 325...at all

[Rhys]

Rep OP, THIS is the type of thread I like to read: insightful, rational, fresh.

In all the Vick, Fire Fox, Jake sucks, Panthers suck, Hire Cower waste it's nice find a new perspective. I like to think that there's more than meets the eye with our team and we should trust the coaches and Panthers FO because they know a little more about football than we all do.

Hopefully posts like this can choke the rampant sky is falling plague on the currenlty on the boards.

[Vagrant]

Leonard was an insurance policy to prevent us from having to start a DT that has zero game experience and zero starting experience if we strike out with the veteran DTs that are going to be cut in the final trim down. Nothing more, nothing less. He was on thin ice with Cleveland and we gained exclusive rights to him.

This is not "our answer" for our DT problem. This is our backup plan.

[Chaos]

I just went outside to take out the garbage and got hit by a fugging piece of sky.

[DaCityKats]

he had pretty decent numbers for not starting last year....maybe in a starting role he could be a gem.

[scpanther22]

Leonard was an insurance policy to prevent us from having to start a DT that has zero game experience and zero starting experience if we strike out with the veteran DTs that are going to be cut in the final trim down. Nothing more, nothing less. He was on thin ice with Cleveland and we gained exclusive rights to him.

This is not "our answer" for our DT problem. This is our backup plan.

yeah...but this is the Front office...MO..geting scrub guys we have never heard of..i would not be suprised it we took another scrub but thats about it.its worked for us before.

[firstdayfan]

Rep OP, THIS is the type of thread I like to read: insightful, rational, fresh.

In all the Vick, Fire Fox, Jake sucks, Panthers suck, Hire Cower waste it's nice find a new perspective. I like to think that there's more than meets the eye with our team and we should trust the coaches and Panthers FO because they know a little more about football than we all do.

Hopefully posts like this can choke the rampant sky is falling plague on the currenlty on the boards.

I appreciate it. Oh and for some of the guys that mentioned Leonard being just a guy to come in a cover a big hole in the defense and that he may not be anything to get excited about I definitely don't dispute that. It's hard to imagine getting someone off another team that didn't start for said team and be the guy that Kemo was for this defense. What I am saying is that this was an attempt by Fox, Hurney, and maybe even Meeks to get back to a defense that better suits the talents of our team. Whether it pans out or not remains to be seen. Heck, we might even sign someone else in the next week, but it is obvious that they need a big man in there to accomplish what Fox or Meeks has planned for this defense. To me, it won't be anything like what we saw this preseason.