Those that are banging the drum for DLINE in draft..

[mick eye]

seem to be living in the past. The defensive line we will field this coming year is not gonna remotely resemble the "Glory Days" of Pep,Jenkins,Buckner and Rucker. We are moving away from the FOX idea of a Dline and reaching a :)medium of Meeks's scheme and Fox's. Back in the day we had a top 3 1st rounder at DE and the rest of the line all 2nd round picks. What i am getting at is do you honestly believe we are one DE or DT away from being that much better on the Dline? No we are not. No DE or DT available when we pick in the 2nd is gonna be that big of an upgrade from what we already have. We have a young group that will grow together and improve. There will be growing pains but i like the prospect of hungry overlooked players making a name for themselves. By mid season the lot of you will love our Dline and the seemingly "just warm bodies" will be household names. WR IN THE 2nd!!!!!

[rayzor]

please...start more threads about this.

[DaCityKats]

i do feel like young players have a chip on there shoulder, so they play a lot harder.with that being said i hope to see cj, and eb starting.

[PhillyB]

We are moving away from the FOX idea of a Dline and reaching a :)medium of Meeks's scheme and Fox's.

this doesn't make sense because you're suggesting that Fox's idea of a D-line is a dominant one and Meeks doesn't really give a poo. Meeks' entire defensive philosophy relies on getting pressure with the defensive line so the linebackers and defensive backs and remain in zone coverage (evident by the fact that we rarely blitz and because, well, that's what he's said.)

Defensive line is just as much a priority under Meeks as it was under Fox... moreso, probably.

[BlindSite]

Deepest Defensive class of the last 5 years or so, we should pick up some help at the very least in the first three rounds.

[mick eye]

First off sure thing Rayzor i will continue to lobby for WR help. Steve Smith wants it, Matt Moore needs it, and the rules and game are changing making WR's more important. Second. @Phillybob i apologize for not being more clear. I never suggested that Meeks does not give a poo as you so eloquently put it. Meeks is more accustomed to working with what he has and developing and molding players into what he wants. The Colts rarely drafted high round interior Dlineman during his tenure (2002-2008) He seems to have more of an eye for DE's, LB's and Secondary. Fox would draft a trenches player with every pick if it was up to him. I trust Ron Meeks to strike gold once again with a mid round DE (Mathis) and i trust that John Fox is happy with Louis Leonard and Tank as his resident run stuffers. Lastly what is the rush to pick defensive help in as Blindsite says the deepest defensive draft in 5 years. Deep implies that talent can be found later. And in the case of Dline i think that does ring true.

Clifton Geathers, CJ Wilson, Daniel Te'o Neshiem, Rahim Allen, Mike Neal and Earl Mitchell are all guys that Meeks could work with and be found in the later rounds.

[Wither]

this doesn't make sense because you're suggesting that Fox's idea of a D-line is a dominant one and Meeks doesn't really give a poo. Meeks' entire defensive philosophy relies on getting pressure with the defensive line so the linebackers and defensive backs and remain in zone coverage (evident by the fact that we rarely blitz and because, well, that's what he's said.)

Defensive line is just as much a priority under Meeks as it was under Fox... moreso, probably.

I think the D-line will surprise this coming season and that the secondary is going to step up and make plays to counter the loss of a dominant D-line player.

[PhillyB]

I think the D-line will surprise this coming season and that the secondary is going to step up and make plays to counter the loss of a dominant D-line player.

i agree - defensive line is more of a priority than we think. i expect brown to explode this year as full-time starter, brayton and johnson to be solid in rotation, and whatever draft picks/trades we make to improve the defensive tackle spot. i think we'll do alright

[Delhommey]

It's a pretty deep draft of comparable talent at WR after Dez Bryant.

It just will depend on what's there.

[mario]

this doesn't make sense because you're suggesting that Fox's idea of a D-line is a dominant one and Meeks doesn't really give a poo. Meeks' entire defensive philosophy relies on getting pressure with the defensive line so the linebackers and defensive backs and remain in zone coverage (evident by the fact that we rarely blitz and because, well, that's what he's said.)

Defensive line is just as much a priority under Meeks as it was under Fox... moreso, probably.

Agreed! I think that we're turning into Meeks D-line (smaller, faster and quicker). We've a few pieces (Brown, back-up Hilee Taylor, even back-up Irvin...) but i would address the D-line with the 2nd round pick.

Lamarr Houston anyone?

[mick eye]

I still say that 8-9 DT's will be taken by our pick. Compared to 4-5 WR's. I like Lamar but feel he is a luxury pick when Corvey and Tank have not had a chance to show their stuff. It is funny how we all agree in principle but still find a way to disagree.

I said: We are moving away from the FOX idea of a Dline and reaching a :)medium of Meeks's scheme and Fox's. We have a young group that will grow together and improve. There will be growing pains but i like the prospect of hungry overlooked players making a name for themselves.

PhillyB: i expect brown to explode this year as full-time starter, brayton and johnson to be solid in rotation, and whatever draft picks/trades we make to improve the defensive tackle spot.

Mario: I think that we're turning into Meeks D-line (smaller, faster and quicker).

Quick Mario who were the DT's in Indy for Meeks? Plug and play the lot of them. DE's, LB, CB, and Safeties are more valued in Meeks system.

Quick Philly how many picks, trades and FA's have we already used to solidify the DT spot this year? How much more do we need to do.

You can't have it both ways. You can't say you like the line and say that we need to use a top pick on it. Unless you are somehow from the future and KNOW that Ed Johnson is gonna act a fool again or that two of the following Irvin, Louis Leonard and or Tank are not gonna have good enough TC to earn starting jobs. Lamar Houston would be a rotational player at best. Therefore a wasted pick.

[panthers55]

I think it is too simplistic to say we will pick a DT or WR in the second or third round for example. Hurney and Fox have shown they will pick the best player available first and a player for need secondly. It will matter more who is available at our pick. We will look at the wide receivers and defensive line picks as well as other positions like linebacker and quarterback as well. Connor is a perfect example of a guy who fell in the draft and we picked him because at that pick he was a steal. If the 4th wide receiver can come in and start right away we would be nuts not to pick him. But we may go with a defensive guy like we did with Brown if he is a first round talent. It really depends on who Hurney has on his draft board and who is available. If there is anything I have learned from watching the draft since 2006 is that you can expect some surprises. I am looking to see if Hurney has anymore rabbits in his hat.

[magnus]

I don't get what's going on here. The people that say don't draft DL say it's because it's going to suck anyway. The ones who say do draft it expect it to be good.

[SorthNarolina]

I think talent should be concentrated more at DE but a DT shouldn't be out of the question.

I think people are greatly underestimating our DT's abilities but we still need a 5th guy.

I'd rather get a DE, SLB, or WR at #2 unless a really good DT falls.