Ron Meeks a good fit.

[bleys]

Came across this today, not sure how old it is.

David Scott of the Charlotte Observer speaks on Ron Meeks being a good fit for our Panthers. Also, his opinion on why Trgo turned down his offer from the Panthers. FWIW.

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/panthers/audio/4409539/

Coming from this page...

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/panthers/

[Snake]

Good find.

[scpanther22]

but can meeks get it done with 5 draft picks..

[PowerlessDan]

Worth a listen. Thanks Bleys.

[thejimmy]

Meeks may be a good fit, but I'm beginning to sour on our ability to play the cover 2 D. We don't have the D-line necessary to make it work. Not suggesting a switch to the 3-4 (we don't have that personnel either) but I am not optimistic that this will be a good D next year.

[CRA]

Meeks may be a good fit, but I'm beginning to sour on our ability to play the cover 2 D. We don't have the D-line necessary to make it work. Not suggesting a switch to the 3-4 (we don't have that personnel either) but I am not optimistic that this will be a good D next year.

yeah. I mean Meeks had Freeney and Mathis....Freeney has easily been the best rushing DE the past 6 years or so in the league. If lose Pep and then try to go heavy cover 2 w/ our front 4 and we will get abused worse than the 2nd half of last season. Sorry but no matter how much heart a Brayton caliber guy plays w/ it ain't enough for Meeks to do what he did in Indy.....and Indy wasnt' really that great under Meeks.

[rayzor]

the thing is...meeks has better DTs to work with than he had in indy. i don't just mean bigger but better. especially the past few years his DTs have been horrible. with improved DTs he should be able to get more with less from our DEs. he knew how to get the DTs to tie up OLinemen enough so that freeney and mathis could do their thing.

those who are expecting a drop in the defense next year are just trying to avoid getting their hopes up and trying to find reasons for them not to be excited about next year.

it's weak sauce and getting boring. "i'll just say that they aren't going to be good next year so i don't get my hopes dashed again if they don't make it" ......weak.

[CRA]

the thing is...meeks has better DTs to work with than he had in indy. i don't just mean bigger but better. especially the past few years his DTs have been horrible. with improved DTs he should be able to get more with less from our DEs. he knew how to get the DTs to tie up OLinemen enough so that freeney and mathis could do their thing.

those who are expecting a drop in the defense next year are just trying to avoid getting their hopes up and trying to find reasons for them not to be excited about next year.

it's weak sauce and getting boring. "i'll just say that they aren't going to be good next year so i don't get my hopes dashed again if they don't make it" ......weak.

but the biggest flaw w/ our DTs is they simply aren't that great against the pass and are suited for the run. The reason Carolina got worked last season is the DTs could push the inside of the pocket and our opponents could just let the DEs run by.....DEs get guided right past the QB b/c of no inside push. I'm not saying we don't have talent to be a good defense. Things just seem to be setting up for Fox to be Fox.....use players in a manner/scheme that doesn't play to their strengths.....and Fox has proven to have that flaw.

They have enough talent to be good. A heavy cover 2 doesn't fit w/ our projected team if Pep leaves next season imo. Our LBs need to be used more in whatever scheme is used....the front 4 only rush is what stubborn Fox has always preferred......and when your front 4 isn't Pep, Jenkins, Rucker, etc.....sometimes you need to adapt. Fox doesn't do that....not consistantly.

Jenkins may have been fat, had alcohol problems, motivation issues, team chemistry issues, a bad habit of jumping the gun, etc.......but dude could great problems up the middle. When he left we lost that and it is going to limit what your DEs can do in a 4 man rush.....especailly when they aren't named Peppers.

[rippadonn]

Charles Johnson is a smaller DE, right up Meeks alley. If we keep Pep we'll be in good shape. Kemo, I think, deserves more credit. When he was out we got gashed thoroughly. Lewis is OK although he needs step it up a bit so teams can't just double Kemo and Pep and think they've stopped us.

We'll need some good backups for both the O and D lines. Free agency will take care of that. Meeks has some very good players to work with talent-wise.

If we loose Pep our pass rush will need a major rebuilding and Meeks will have a much tougher job. That situation has a great bearing on how good we'll be next year. No pass rush, no dice.

[bleys]

Meeks may be a good fit, but I'm beginning to sour on our ability to play the cover 2 D. We don't have the D-line necessary to make it work. Not suggesting a switch to the 3-4 (we don't have that personnel either) but I am not optimistic that this will be a good D next year.

I'm curious, and this is to anyone and in all situations (not just meeks, but the draft, peppers, salary cap), how can anyone sour on something they've never seen or have no info on?

Nothing has changed, except people's opinions. We brought in a better D coordinator, yet we'll be worse. Same offense, yet we have no 3-5 receivers. Same expectations during the offseason, yet reporters aren't doing their job and the FO isn't leaking info. We had 10 mil in cap room at the start of the offseason, yet we have no room even after Gross resigned and we cleared space.

Insanity? It's not.... or perhaps it is?

[scpanther22]

i am cool with meeks i just dont wont to see the small Dline..look at tampa and how we ran on there cover 2..if i rem right meeks wanted brayton in indy as a DT,who knows he might do that here.i hope not but you never know.

what are some other NFL teams that run the cover 2 now..

[guyinchesapeake]

Much as I love a GREAT defense, I think we'll be just fine with a decent one, if the offense can match last year's effort (please don't include the playoff fiasco in that!). If Meeks can instill SOME modicum of attitude in the D, that will definitely be an improvement over the second half of last season. It got to the point last year that when the Panthers D took the field, it was an "oh crap", hold one's breath mindset that appeared to take over player and fan alike. Just look at the Giants game for proof of that. The Pep situation needs to be resolved, but overall, we might not be as weak as some might suggest, if Meeks can get that done.

I guess I'm just a glass half full kinda guy! So sue me!!

[Snake]

the thing is...meeks has better DTs to work with than he had in indy. i don't just mean bigger but better. especially the past few years his DTs have been horrible. with improved DTs he should be able to get more with less from our DEs. he knew how to get the DTs to tie up OLinemen enough so that freeney and mathis could do their thing.

those who are expecting a drop in the defense next year are just trying to avoid getting their hopes up and trying to find reasons for them not to be excited about next year.

it's weak sauce and getting boring. "i'll just say that they aren't going to be good next year so i don't get my hopes dashed again if they don't make it" ......weak.

Also Lewis should benefit with Meeks because he is a Quick DT like Warren Sapp was and he should be used right this year unlike he was last year. Also if he can use our LBs in Davis and Beason right the sky is the limit to what they could do.

Charles Johnson is a smaller DE, right up Meeks alley. If we keep Pep we'll be in good shape. Kemo, I think, deserves more credit. When he was out we got gashed thoroughly. Lewis is OK although he needs step it up a bit so teams can't just double Kemo and Pep and think they've stopped us.

We'll need some good backups for both the O and D lines. Free agency will take care of that. Meeks has some very good players to work with talent-wise.

If we loose Pep our pass rush will need a major rebuilding and Meeks will have a much tougher job. That situation has a great bearing on how good we'll be next year. No pass rush, no dice.

Johnson really is not all that small at 275. He is only 5 pounds lighter then Peppers and is 7 pounds more then Freeney and 17 pounds more then Mathis. Meeks will be working with more of a 4-3 end then a cover 2 end. Also if Lewis is used right this year he will be better. He was not used very well by Trgo IMO. If Peppers leaves we lose some great talent but It will not cripple us because we have great LBs and some good rushers in Johnson and Taylor. IMO Brayton really was not all that bad ether after he got all that Raider crap out of his system. He was a very poor tackler to start with then just got better at Pass rush and Run D.

[Nu Guns]

I dont know how our Defense will work out until after the draft. Peppers deal holds the key to this. We need help up front and at DB. Hopefully we can get some picks from Peppers because I think our 1st three picks should be for defensive players. If we get stock with only 5 picks this year and no 1st rd choice then we may just have to draft best available player despite the position after the 2nd rd.