Ron Meeks Is New D-Coordinator

[xPUREBYBLOODx]

Stoked that we will be running the Tampa TWO

[magnus]

Question is how much of what Meeks ran was his own or Dungy's scheme. How much he will be able to adapt to play Fox's scheme. Sure DC's have their preferences and tendencies but I have also seen them change what they do. Look at Cunningham under Edwards. He ran a passive zone concept which is 180 degrees from his preferred style because it was what Edwards wanted.

Meeks will run Fox's scheme because that is his job. How much he brings to the table to improve what we have we will see.

Before coming to Indy, Meeks wasn't a Tampa-2 disciple. He hadn't coached in it before. It's a more passive defense than what we run.

I really think people are putting way too much into the playcall and far too little into execution, preparedness, awareness. That's where we struggled, not because we didn't blitz a guy.

[rippadonn]

I didnt mean to sell Moose or Smitty Short they did have great years despite who was throwing them the ball. I love having those two lining up at wideout. I am interested to see what kind of progress Jake makes with a new coach. I'm not writing off Meeks, I just think we could have done a lot better with a young energetic up and coming coach. That being said I hope he can improve on what the Turd left him (plenty of talent terrible coaching) I don't see Jake changing much which means he will cough up at least 1 or 2 costly TO's a game, and the pressure will be on Meeks to bail him out hopefully hes up to the task

I agree but I'm one of those that feels the glass is half full with Jake.

Jake just needs someone to stress the importance of ball security and that means throwing the ball away when a play breaks down to avoid sacks and fumbles. Jake is a high risk high reward QB. He wants to get every second out of a play but he needs to realize when time has run out. Tuck it or throw it away.

If he does that he's a top five QB and HOF material. :ee: Yeah I said it, look at his numbers now. Maybe the new coach could help stress such a philosophy.

Meeks may not be what a lot of people wanted but he just may be what this team needed and perhaps just the change JP was talking about. Too bad he won't benefit from change he obviously influenced.

They franchised Jordan Gross too. He's likely to sign. " It's a process"-John Fox

I

[PantherDFense]

Fellas...for what this man had to work with , he did a DAMN good job for the Colts...

Good move, i'm xcited and pleased...

Now...Jules?...What's the deal homey?

[rayzor]

Stop assuming that the sky is going to cave. Meeks was under Dungy...He is here now. Let the man settle into his office before you guys start complaining. And you know just as well as I do, Dungy ran that defense. The same way Lovie Smith in Chicago ran his defense, no matter who was the DC. Again. Let the man settle in to his office. You don't know what this man is about.

meeks was a puppet for dungy

fox had a puppet in trgo

meeks puppet master leaves him hanging

fox has a puppet that cuts his strings

meeks is without a puppet master

fox is without a puppet

puppetmaster needs a puppet

fox hires meeks.

puppetmaster gets his puppet.

whats so hard to figure out?

this puppet will have a different flare but he will still be a puppet.

doesn't matter how good of a puppet it is. the only thing that matters is the one pulling the strings.

[saladdodger]

Cheers everyone, happy to be aboard.

Too soon to say if it's a good or bad pick, but I do have a couple of concerns off the top of my head:

1.) The best we can look forward to is a change in execution of the status quo, not a change in defensive strategy/approach. Performance of the defense in '08 was worrying after the bye week. Do we have the personnel to execute a coverage style defense for a full season? Not sure. I think opposing OC's studied first half '08 film of our coverage, and were able to figure it out and beat it (culminating in the AZ playoff game). Also, I feel odds are Peppers is gone, and while I will not miss his recent years' inconsistency, his sack total will be very hard to replace, especially in a system that relies heavily on pressure from the front 4.

2.) I worry about our personnel in key positions, especially on coverage... Ken Lucas I'm looking at you.

3.) Coach Meeks was 20th or worse in run defense in 5 seasons... Think Reggie Bush, Michael Turner, and Jerious Norwood are smiling right now?

4.) It's nagging me how much is being made of his Superbowl ring. Coach Meeks deserves due credit, and generally I agree with the adage that defense wins playoff games... but when I think about that championship team, I think of Manning and the offense.

5.) I think my biggest concern is that both our offense and defense are both built for being better at protecting a lead, with a ball-possession offense and a defense scheme that is better at defending the pass, than it is at coming from behind (again, see: the AZ playoff game; At least for the offense struggling to play catchup). I don't question our team's heart, but if we find ourselves falling behind in games, we're going to struggle mightily to score points and defense an opponents clock-killing run game.

So I reserve judgment. I think Meeks is an improvement in a coach, but can't help but worry that the Panthers think the solution to our defensive problems is more of the same.

[GRWatcher]

:idea:

Could some of you fellas please pass your all-seeing all-knowing crystal ball around for the rest of us to borrow?

We haven't even heard a thing from our new DC except the "signing day" standard verbiage. I would say from his experience that he's coached a few different defenses, not just Dungy's. So I'm willing to wait and see what he has to say, how he sees things.

[Liminy]

I also think it is too soon to say. Do guys think that when we sucked it up, maybe the coaches noticed? I dunno, but I would hope someone would address the issues.

Good luck to Meeks, I'm excited to see what goes down next season

[goodlay]

Good hire, he's a good guy.

[carpanfan96]

Meeks will do at least one thing here, he'll turn Godfrey into a star and one of the top S in the league.

[chollar8]

I like this hire.

[Chan Fan]

I really think people are putting way too much into the playcall and far too little into execution, preparedness, awareness. That's where we struggled, not because we didn't blitz a guy.

Great point. The amount of mental errors on defense last season was alarming.

[HighHorse]

are you high?

I am!:sifone:

[mantal]

You guys are too much. First it was "how great it would be to get Meeks" and then he's hired and he's a "status quo nothings gonna change" guy.

WTF?

It certainly explains a lot...