Meeks may have been a catalyst for Pep's release

[top dawg]

No, it's not what you think. I am sure that Ron Meeks would have loved to have kept Julius Peppers, just like any coach. And, when I say "release", I don't mean Pep's official release, I mean his release to test the waters without being chained to the team (because there is still the outside chance---albeit minute---that Pep could return). Unlike some, I believe that Meeks' defense showed some good promise towards the last half and/or quarter of the season. Of Course Pep was a part of that, but the other guys started playing harder as well. My thing is that it showed even more progress than anyone, including the rest of the FO, expected (especially with the shaky season beginning).

I feel that the FO and fans could see Meeks' vision---although still a little murky---finally coming together, and that has given everyone the confidence that Meeks' philosophy will lead to an exciting, quick defense that gets after the ball, with or without Pep. To be honest, I wasn't sure about this "quicker, smaller defense" thing, but our D-line showed promise of gelling. And, say what you want, I think that this is Meeks showing through. Moreover, we have some young talent just waiting to make an impact. Everyone is talking about Brown, Johnson, and Brayton. You're also thinking about the great pick-up in Tank and wondering if Kemo and Lewis will be here to hold things together, but the two that I think will fit perfectly into Meeks philosophy are Corvey Irvin and Hilee Taylor. These are just the type of "smaller-quicker" guys that could do well in Meeks' system, and help to fill in the Peppers void in our defense.

Yes, Brown and Johnson are going to be expected to pull up most of the slack, but don't sleep on Taylor and Irvin to make their impact known. With what I saw from last season, I just have a feeling that Meeks is going to whip these guys into shape and maximize their potential, as well as the rest of the defense. Ron Meeks' limited success in such a short amount of time is really phenomenal if you think about it, and I really believe that this helped give his bosses the freedom and confidence to cut the Pep-Panthers' tether.

[Urrymonster]

If Taylor had any future here, then he would have played more this season. He clocked in 15 snaps for the season at DE, which is a little crazy considering Pep was out for a few weeks and Johnson was injured as well. Taylor will not have lost his speed, so all I can assume is that he can't adapt to this level.

Irvin though I am intrigued to see.

[mountainpantherfan]

I agree with Urrymonster. Hilee Taylor probably isn't going to be an impact player. But the same reasoning you are using could still apply to Irvin and other players as well as to the draft.

[SorthNarolina]

Blech i sure hope the UNC homers don't come in with all the Hilee Taylor hype that got really annoying when we drafted him.

[KillerKat]

I wouldnt be surprised at all if we add another DE to the roster via FA or Draft. If that happens, Taylor is gone because we're going to be holding at least 5 DTs.

[MrBubba]

In other words, Meeks can make spam taste like Steak, so why pay for the steak.

[SorthNarolina]

I wouldnt be surprised at all if we add another DE to the roster via FA or Draft. If that happens, Taylor is gone because we're going to be holding at least 5 DTs.

Yeah this is most likely a year that we do 5DT/4DE.