Is Hoke Dierdorfing the DL?

Submitted by Ziff72 on

I know this is a little overreactive since we haven't seen a game yet, but the news on the DL is  getting frustrating.   All we heard about for 8 months is how we have 97 DL coaches on staff and every coach has coached DL for at least 25 years a piece.  These coaches were going to turn the potential of the DL into the 75 Steelers.   

So far this camp we've heard an undersized walk on has earned a starting job, our 1 defensive star has no technique and needs to show more effort and nothing of note from our other 5-7 scholarship guys that have shown great potential or we've heard great things from previous years practice reports.   

Since I thought this dline was going to terrorize qb's all year I'm getting worried.  I've had little hope for BWC since the day I saw him at the AA game, but RVB, Roh, Martin , Black were supposed to be killling fools this year.  

I was getting mad when something dawned on me.  Maybe Hoke is pulling a Bo and intentionally riding the DL like Bo rode Dierdorf in 69.  This is the anchor of our d and they must play well for us to win the Big Ten.   If you're starting to get worried let's all tell ourselves Hoke is pulling a Bo and this DL is going to look like the Lions when they get unveiled in 10 days.

Seems a little weird for our dline leaders to be taking a dump, I think Hoke is pulling a fast one.....I hope.

 

BiSB

August 23rd, 2011 at 9:56 PM ^

... and I'm just throwing this out there... but just MAYBE we should wait until we see some live action before we declare the D-Line to be an unmitigated disaster.

Coachspeak exists for a reason.  To hear Lou Holtz well it, his teams always SUCKED.

jmblue

August 23rd, 2011 at 10:00 PM ^

Since I thought this dline was going to terrorize qb's all year I'm getting worried.

I'm not sure that was a realistic expectation in the first place.

budclay55

August 23rd, 2011 at 10:03 PM ^

i'd say this is more than a little overreactive. hoke and the staff are defensive minded coaches who seek perfection on the d. perfection will not be reached so don't ever expect the praise to be overly effusive for the d-line. if this d somehow morphed into the 97 d the praise wouldn't be high. it's just his coaching style and i'm sure the players aren't too upset that they're not being talked up in pressers. 

bacon1431

August 23rd, 2011 at 10:05 PM ^

You could be the greatest teacher/ coach in the world - but if the students/players don't respond or put forth effort, it doesn't matter. Not saying that the guys aren't playing hard, but just b/c Hoke and Mattison are former DL coaches and we have Montgomery as well - doesn't mean we're going to be a brick wall at the LOS this year. They may be pulling a Bo w/ Dierdorf, or maybe not. Who knows.

Let's just wait and see how they perform in games. Then we can make some real evaluations.

ShruteBeetFarms

August 23rd, 2011 at 10:20 PM ^

I think Hoke knows this, but why settle by showering them with praise? I think he knows they can be better. There is always room for improvement.

If my expertise was d-line, I would do the same.

 

Charlie Chunk

August 23rd, 2011 at 10:43 PM ^

It absolutely doesn't matter. If he's good enough to play...he should play. Walk-on or not, we need the best guys on the field.

On a different note, didn't they commit to bringing the pro style player substitution? That being the case, all of these guys are going to be in there. The guys with the mast stamina will play the most. Am I missing something?

maizenbluenc

August 24th, 2011 at 7:39 AM ^

I think the OPs example is perfect. I understood what it meant when I clicked on the link. Yes Dan Dierdorf was an offensive lineman, but the story goes Bo rode him mercelessly in '69, and never gave him any praise, so Dan asked Bo why, and Bo told him because he was the best player on the team and he expected more out of him (or something to that effect).

Most of our best players on the defense are on that line (Martin, RVB, Roh). The parallel is clear to me. Roh either must have an extended illness, or they must really be pushing him, because I haven't heard his name from the staff unless prompted in weeks.

swamyblue

August 23rd, 2011 at 11:00 PM ^

Without that rotating front seven kicking butt that base defense will have more than its share of issues.

I think he's being honest. If BWC is not kicking butt in practice then someone else besides Martin must step up. Maybe it's Brink! Thank you for introducing me to "The Dierdorf". The history references on this blog are tremendous.

Mattinboots

August 23rd, 2011 at 11:05 PM ^

It's because the Dierdorf story is well known. Dierdorf stiffed Bo when he was out recruiting for Miami (nntm). In the fall of '69 Bo saw Dierdorf in the hall and grabbed him by the fat and said, "your slow, your fat, and I never forget.". Rest of Dierdorf's career is history.

EDIT meant to reply to the "why Dierdorf" post. Still getting used to iPad.