It was obvious, at least to me, who the odd man out was. Dahl. The beneficiary of a great, tough O-line coach and OC who demands toughness and nastiness to play for them. Who was a journeyman, just another guy, in the league, until Boudreau got a hold of him. Simply b/c he played hard and through the whistle every play; he was labeled as tough and nasty. Aparently playing like this is the exception and not the rule nowadays. Tough and nasty get you only so far....we still need talent and athleticism to go with it. An absolute liability in pass-protection. On running plays it was a mixed bag. One play he could get movement and do the job. The next he would get stoned AND then allow penetration.
This is not hating; this is fact-ing. Why do I seem to care so much about an OG? The game is won and lost in the trenches PERIOD. Secondly, I am not a fan of hype. I prefer performance. There was waaay too much hype about this OG. Of course, Coach Smith, Mularkey, Boudreau and TD did not buy into the hype either. Once again proving we can trust their judgement. They aren't perfect but more times than not have made the correct choice.
Let the Competition begin for RG, and may the best Player win!
