Did Meachem do enough yesterday? (1 Viewer)

[CHI-TOWNSAINT]

LOL... all these people amped up over Arrington and ready to dump Meachem.

Saints fans and media personalities love the underdogs moreso than other fanbases.

 

[DMaestro]

It seemed Devery didn't have it upstairs after his 1st two years also. All the same "he doesn't know the playbook" rumors were being thrown about.

Meachem is following the Devery 3 step program to the letter.

1) Be inactive your rookie year
2) Total a couple 100 yards receiving your second year.
3) Catch 700 yards and a chunk of TDs your 3rd year.

Difference is, Devery's second season took place in the wreckage of the Katrina aftermath. He had Jim Haslett coaching him and Aaron Brooks throwing to him.

Meachem is playing in a rock-stable, Payton-masterminded, receiver-adoring offense triggered by Drew Brees, yet he's caught a third of the balls that Devery did in '05. That's troubling.

 

[BoNcHiE]

Difference is, Devery's second season took place in the wreckage of the Katrina aftermath. He had Jim Haslett coaching him and Aaron Brooks throwing to him.

Meachem is playing in a rock-stable, Payton-masterminded, receiver-adoring offense triggered by Drew Brees, yet he's caught a third of the balls that Devery did in '05. That's troubling.

He was also on a team that didn't have near the WR depth we do now. You had Horn, who was hurt that year giving Devery 3 starts, and Stallworth on the other side. Pathon was gone by then, leaving it wide open for him to get more playing time. He still only had 22 receptions by years end.

Devery had an easier chance to get involved in a much simplier offense that year then Meachem does with Henderson, Colston, and Moore all ahead of him now, with a QB who is a perfectionist.

If Meachem weren't getting on the field so much I might worry more.

 

[truck man]

Steve Smith.

it's only cause he's gotten the playing time. i'd still say those other 3 are way better than Meachem or Smith. i like Meachem and think he'll fit into this Offense well, and next year he'll get his chance and do so.

 

[DownWithDisease]

If Drew hadn't underthrown that deep ball on Sunday, we'd all be talking about how Meach is about to bust out! He was WIDE-OPEN on that play, but the ball was underthrown... that would have been 2 TDs for him on the game.

 

[CHI-TOWNSAINT]

What I will say about Meachem is the guy makes plays when he's in the game. Every time I've focused on him when running a route, he seems to have no trouble getting off the ball or getting seperation. He has gotten 5 yards behind the safety at least 5 times this year and Brees has either mised him or has underthrown him terribly.....it looks like Brees underestimates Meachems speed to me. Meachem has proved to be our most reliable run blocker.

After reading that, there's no way we can get rid of him already. If he gets the mental aspect down, he'll probably be our best WR, including Colston. One things for sure, he is the most physically talented of the bunch.

 

[keepoursaints]

What I will say about Meachem is the guy makes plays when he's in the game. Every time I've focused on him when running a route, he seems to have no trouble getting off the ball or getting seperation. He has gotten 5 yards behind the safety at least 5 times this year and Brees has either mised him or has underthrown him terribly.....it looks like Brees underestimates Meachems speed to me. Meachem has proved to be our most reliable run blocker.

After reading that, there's no way we can get rid of him already. If he gets the mental aspect down, he'll probably be our best WR, including Colston. One things for sure, he is the most physically talented of the bunch.

I agree with this, I really think Drew hasn't been throwing to him enough to really get a good feel for his speed. If he leads him he'd have quite a few more TDs

 

[DMaestro]

He was also on a team that didn't have near the WR depth we do now. You had Horn, who was hurt that year giving Devery 3 starts, and Stallworth on the other side. Pathon was gone by then, leaving it wide open for him to get more playing time. He still only had 22 receptions by years end.

Devery had an easier chance to get involved in a much simplier offense that year then Meachem does with Henderson, Colston, and Moore all ahead of him now, with a QB who is a perfectionist.

If Meachem weren't getting on the field so much I might worry more.

Our offense was god-awful in '05. Ranked near the bottom of the league in turnovers, PPG, and scoring differential. We were no-hopers, for obvious reasons. Given those circumstances, I'd give Devery a mulligan for that entire season.

Also, you dock points from Devery for not producing more in his second year despite getting more time on the field, yet say you're not too worried about Meachem's even lower production because at least he's getting more time on the field.

Is Meachem losing opportunities behind superior wide receiver depth, or is he getting a lot of playing time? If the latter, isn't it distressing that he hasn't done better than 9 catches?

 

[BoNcHiE]

Our offense was god-awful in '05. Ranked near the bottom of the league in turnovers, PPG, and scoring differential. We were no-hopers, for obvious reasons. Given those circumstances, I'd give Devery a mulligan for that entire season.

Also, you dock points from Devery for not producing more in his second year despite getting more time on the field, yet say you're not too worried about Meachem's even lower production because at least he's getting more time on the field.

Is Meachem losing opportunities behind superior wide receiver depth, or is he getting a lot of playing time? If the latter, isn't it distressing that he hasn't done better than 9 catches?

I didn't "dock" anyone of anything. I had no problem with Devery in 2005. WR's usually take 2-3 years to get the NFL game down.

If you wanta turn this into a Henderson vs. Meachem thread then I'll pass. The point was that Devery got more playing time in 2005, ended up with like 20 catches, and around 300 yards. Meachem, with less playing time will end up around 10 catches and 270 yards.

Nothing is exact, but they are simliar in their developments, sharing the same problems, and both didn't do much in their first 2 years.

I didn't worry about Devery in 2005 b/c he at least saw the field some. Same for Meachem. If they both were still riding the pine as 5th WR's in their second years, I'd of worried more about them. Meachem seems to be progressing. His lack of catches speaks more to Brees' lack of trust in him. We've all seen him wide open many times only to be passed over or the ball be thrown badly. Hopefully with another year of training he and Brees can get that trust built.

 

[duckjr78]

What I will say about Meachem is the guy makes plays when he's in the game. Every time I've focused on him when running a route, he seems to have no trouble getting off the ball or getting seperation. He has gotten 5 yards behind the safety at least 5 times this year and Brees has either mised him or has underthrown him terribly.....it looks like Brees underestimates Meachems speed to me. Meachem has proved to be our most reliable run blocker.

After reading that, there's no way we can get rid of him already. If he gets the mental aspect down, he'll probably be our best WR, including Colston. One things for sure, he is the most physically talented of the bunch.

I couldn't agree more. Meach has some serious physical talent. You don't just toss that away. This team will have the best young WR corps in the league for the next five years, and Meach will be a huge part of that.

Imagine having a team where no matter who lines up at WR or RB the entire playbook is available. The Saints are one of very few teams who will have that advantage.

 

[DeuceMcAllisterFan]

I have a problem with the way Payton is using Meachem. His strength is YAC. Why not use WR screens and give him easy catches and let him make plays. This was is strength coming out of college and Payton has yet to package these type of plays to suit Meachem's strength and create confidence for the kid. It bugs the hell out of me that Payton only likes to use him on the deep stuff.

 

[CHI-TOWNSAINT]

I have a problem with the way Payton is using Meachem. His strength is YAC. Why not use WR screens and give him easy catches and let him make plays. This was is strength coming out of college and Payton has yet to package these type of plays to suit Meachem's strength and create confidence for the kid. It bugs the hell out of me that Payton only likes to use him on the deep stuff.

I have been wondering the same thing.

 

[RadsRock]

Originally Posted by RadsRock
LOL... all these people amped up over Arrington and ready to dump Meachem.

Saints fans and media personalities love the underdogs moreso than other fanbases.

Could be, although I think that mindset probably exists everywhere. And summed up so beautifully in one of my favorite quotes:

"Ships at a distance have every man's dream on board."

 

[RadsRock]

I have a problem with the way Payton is using Meachem. His strength is YAC. Why not use WR screens and give him easy catches and let him make plays.

This makes sense (quick slants also). But the overriding issue is that he hasn't been getting much action in ANY way.

If it is indeed a learning-the-playbook issue, maybe the confidence hasn't there to put in specific plays for him.

I dunno, doesn't make much sense to me though. Sooner or later you have to make a determination on what you got, and what he can do for the team. But I guess that's next August.

 

[someone]

A) He does play ST's
B) He's our best blocking WR and thats why he's on the field so much in 2 wide formations
C) Doing enough right now is irrelevant. His fate will be dealt with in TC and preseason next year

Precisely.