quote:

“We’re improving on defense,” Meyer said. “I’m not very pleased, (but) I’m pleased with what the defense has done in the last couple days.”

The last two practices have ended with the offense having to run because of losing to the defense in 11-on-11 drills.

Meyer said the two most encouraging things he’s gathered from practice so far have been the defense’s improvement and the play of the secondary.

quote:

Patchan plays both ways
Meyer said after Monday’s practice that he didn’t think the defensive line had progressed. On Wednesday, it looked as though he might have a solution.

Enter freshman and early enrollee Matt Patchan. The 6-foot-6, 238-pound offensive lineman from Seffner worked at defensive tackle and Meyer said Patchan’s immediate future could be on defense.

“We moved him full-time defense right now and he’s getting his extra work on offense,” he said. “We need help on defense and I think he’ll get on the field faster that way.”

quote:

Originally posted by CDGator:

quote:

“We’re improving on defense,” Meyer said. “I’m not very pleased, (but) I’m pleased with what the defense has done in the last couple days.”

The last two practices have ended with the offense having to run because of losing to the defense in 11-on-11 drills.

Meyer said the two most encouraging things he’s gathered from practice so far have been the defense’s improvement and the play of the secondary.

Link

Also interesting...

quote:

Patchan plays both ways
Meyer said after Monday’s practice that he didn’t think the defensive line had progressed. On Wednesday, it looked as though he might have a solution.

Enter freshman and early enrollee Matt Patchan. The 6-foot-6, 238-pound offensive lineman from Seffner worked at defensive tackle and Meyer said Patchan’s immediate future could be on defense.

“We moved him full-time defense right now and he’s getting his extra work on offense,” he said. “We need help on defense and I think he’ll get on the field faster that way.”

quote:

While Meyer said he’s concerned with the lack of the production out of the offense, he admits that he’s tinkering with running the no huddle, which could be a reason for the poor play.

"On offense, we’re not going to be a full-time, no-huddle team. We’re just forcing ourselves to mess with it a little bit," Meyer said. "We’re tempted to go back to what we were because we were a decent offense a year ago."

quote:

Originally posted by soflagator:
I don't like the fact that our D-line is apparently not what it should be.

Our corners, who look to be improved, will only look as good as the D-Line their playing with.

Something about Patchan seems like it could be really a good idea...I'm excited to see how that develops.

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Originally posted by NatureBoy:

quote:

Originally posted by soflagator:
I don't like the fact that our D-line is apparently not what it should be.

Our corners, who look to be improved, will only look as good as the D-Line their playing with.

Something about Patchan seems like it could be really a good idea...I'm excited to see how that develops.

Agreed. I'm also excited (yet tempered with concern) about Patchan's switch. It sounds like he's got great speed.

“I’m more of a speed guy myself, so I’m well suited for a speed defensive end as opposed to the 350-pound defensive tackles,” said Patchan, who is recovering from shoulder surgery. “Playing in Tampa, we had a lot of fast guys at Armwood, too. I got to go up against fast guys since I was a freshman in high school too.”

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Originally posted by wstelling:
I'm really not sure what article you read....... Meyer stated that he was NOT pleased with the defense but they are improving.

That does not mean the defense is ok!!! Add that to playing an offense that has been tinkered with and is not operating really well........and you get the defense really is not that much better than last year. They did well the last few days, but we also tinkered with the offense the last two days.

To put it simply, the defense needs work!

When you move a first year offensive player to defense....THAT IS NOT A GOOD SIGN! REMEMBER WHY WE MOVED POUNCEY LAST YEAR! I hope to hear something positive soon, it is only the first week of practice.

quote:

Originally posted by wstelling:
I'm really not sure what article you read....... Meyer stated that he was NOT pleased with the defense but they are improving.

That does not mean the defense is ok!!! Add that to playing an offense that has been tinkered with and is not operating really well........and you get the defense really is not that much better than last year. They did well the last few days, but we also tinkered with the offense the last two days.

To put it simply, the defense needs work!

When you move a first year offensive player to defense....THAT IS NOT A GOOD SIGN! REMEMBER WHY WE MOVED POUNCEY LAST YEAR! I hope to hear something positive soon, it is only the first week of practice.

quote:

Originally posted by CDGator:
Gatorphan - my son is very unhappy that Spiderman is gone from your avatar

quote:

Originally posted by wstelling:
I'm really not sure what article you read....... Meyer stated that he was NOT pleased with the defense but they are improving.

That does not mean the defense is ok!!! Add that to playing an offense that has been tinkered with and is not operating really well........and you get the defense really is not that much better than last year. They did well the last few days, but we also tinkered with the offense the last two days.

To put it simply, the defense needs work!

When you move a first year offensive player to defense....THAT IS NOT A GOOD SIGN! REMEMBER WHY WE MOVED POUNCEY LAST YEAR! I hope to hear something positive soon, it is only the first week of practice.

quote:

Originally posted by wstelling:
I think we're splitting hairs...we've said the same thing two different ways.

The defense has improved some, but is not dominating an offense that has been tinkered with and is not running the way Meyer would like.

I'll take a positve outlook on the Patchan move, i just worry that this is similar to Pouncey moving there. Pouncey did well in the move, but as we all found out...it's a band-aid not a solution. It's like putting lipstick on a pig.

It's still early and Rome was not built in a day or even a week.

quote:

Originally posted by InstiGATOR:

quote:

Originally posted by wstelling:
I'm really not sure what article you read....... Meyer stated that he was NOT pleased with the defense but they are improving.

That does not mean the defense is ok!!! Add that to playing an offense that has been tinkered with and is not operating really well........and you get the defense really is not that much better than last year. They did well the last few days, but we also tinkered with the offense the last two days.

To put it simply, the defense needs work!

When you move a first year offensive player to defense....THAT IS NOT A GOOD SIGN! REMEMBER WHY WE MOVED POUNCEY LAST YEAR! I hope to hear something positive soon, it is only the first week of practice.

It is not only not a good sign it is a bizarre move. We have an interior OL, Pouncey, who played D-tackle and seemingly credibly. If we are still lacking at D-tackle one might think the OL with actual game experience at D-tackle would be moved back over there. Instead a true frosh is moved?

Now I guess it could be this is all talk and OL are moved over to DL from time to time to toughen them up and give them an aggressive attitude. But if this is a serious move, why we moved an OL back from the important D-tackle slot to play a less important interior OL position and now take a guy from the more important OL position, OT, and move him to D-tackle?

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It is not only not a good sign it is a bizarre move. We have an interior OL, Pouncey, who played D-tackle and seemingly credibly. If we are still lacking at D-tackle one might think the OL with actual game experience at D-tackle would be moved back over there. Instead a true frosh is moved?

Now I guess it could be this is all talk and OL are moved over to DL from time to time to toughen them up and give them an aggressive attitude. But if this is a serious move, why we moved an OL back from the important D-tackle slot to play a less important interior OL position and now take a guy from the more important OL position, OT, and move him to D-tackle?