… Joe Dahl?
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#1 on the Lions or in the league?
Pretty sure it was league wide.
That’s my boy!
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He’s a gamer…I guess.
He was athletic but undersized coming out of college. He was always going to take several years to get big enough to play in the NFL.
Now that’s pure Lions, right there!
My point was that he wasn’t very good in the preseason.
Where did you get that Dahl was undersized from?
Most players don’t take 4 years to become a player. Not sure what held Dahl back, he had the NFL body and athleticism.
Hopefully he will be able to become a consistently good player for us…but I’m not going to jump the gun on Dahl yet, he still has a lot to prove. Especially since he wasn’t very good in preseason.
OVERVIEW
After spending one year at the University of Montana and another sitting out as a transfer student, Dahl stepped into the starting lineup for the Cougars and hasn’t left. He was the team?s left guard for the 2013 regular season before moving out to left tackle for the bowl game ?- his home for the past two seasons. It?s no surprise head coach/offensive mad genius Mike Leach can pass 50 times a game with minimal pressure given Dahl’s ability to lock down the quarterback?s blind side with good lateral movement and a solid anchor. Despite earning first-team All-Pac-12 and USA Today second-team All-American accolades at left tackle in 2015, NFL scouts will want Dahl moved inside at the next level due to his average size and length. Either way, he?ll be a worthy pick as a potential starter.
ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Has started at guard and tackle and could be considered emergency tackle in a pinch. Decent flexibility in his lower half. Uses wide base as run blocker. Despite playing in pass-happy offense, shows ability to fire out with pop into defender and get some initial push as drive blocker. Good grip to maintain his initial block. Has hand quickness to move inside. Does a nice job of shifting weight to challenge inside moves. Coaches rave about his work habits and ability to retain information. Added weight and then muscle to his frame over last two years. Works his tail off to recover when beaten in pass protection. Constantly looking for work and will cave in pass rusher engaged with his teammate.
WEAKNESSES
Feet are a little bit heavy and he can be a little plodding when asked to block in space. Doesn’t possess second level quickness to consistently get to cutoff blocks. Sluggish change of direction may turn his near misses into sacks and tackles for losses against NFL athletes. Arm length is below average so he will need more core strength to drop anchor and take a stand. Uses crab-hand punch with hands outside the frame allowing forward leaning bull rushers to push the pocket. As game progresses, shows some waist-bending tendencies.
SOURCES TELL US
“Stud! Really tough. Played through injuries which put some shaky tape out there but if you watch him when he’s healthy there ain’t no doubt what he’s going to do in the pros.” – Pac-12 scout
NFL COMPARISON
T.J. Lang
BOTTOM LINE
Average athlete, but a good football player. Dahl fights through his limitations using determination and toughness. He will have to make a move inside and needs to continue to hit the training table and weight room to add even more mass to his frame. Dahl has potential as a drive blocking guard but needs to play with better hand placement to maximize results. Dahl projects as an eventual starting guard.
-Lance Zierlein
Dahl did not come into the league with an NFL body and strength, that’s part of my point. I’ve been following him closely since before we drafted him, which includes interviews with him and his coaches to piece things together. Joe Dahl was a very athletic (by offensive lineman standards) guy that was undersized. He went to a small school, but his play got him promoted to a higher level school. That school’s offense didn’t require him to pack on a bunch of weight quickly. I can’t remember where he was listed, maybe around 290? But going by interviews with Joe, his coaches and those “in the know,” he was actually closer to the 270s to 280s. Next, the NFL combine comes around. Some players artificially gain or cut weight for it, and Joe was no exception. He showed up around 304 but he’s not a natural 304. He was basically carrying 15-20 extra pounds just so the scale would be higher. He still looked athletic, but his actually testing wasn’t as good as if he had gone there at his natural weight.
Fast forward to the NFL. To put a “real” 20 or so lbs on the guy, its not going to be a one year deal. So if you take Joe Dahl, you have to know that its going to take a few years. And with Joe, not only did he have to get bigger/stronger, he ended up having to do it while being injured.
Yes, I have been a fan of Joe Dahl for a while and I’m rooting for the kid.
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Dahl did beef up some and got stronger over the off-season. Good pass pro, not so good run-blocker but maybe that’ll change. If he doesn’t get better as a run-blocker I believe the Lions will draft one or sign one, unless maybe Beau-Ben something shows promise.
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The fact that they kept Beau on the active says they think he’s a keeper. Most undrafted rookies are lucky to make the PS.
Plus, when he came from college it was a spread offense with lots of passing and I think I remember reading the he had never been in a 3 point stance in college.
He had a big transition but pass protecting was his standard in college. It was his abiltity to be a run blocker that had people worried
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Good article by Twentyman before the first game
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Could Dahl be Decker’s eventual replacement? It sure isn’t looking like Crosby right now. What’s funny is Crosby would likely make a better guard and Dahl has the athleticism for tackle.
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Is that women in your profile a virgin?
Pdono, I still like your avatar of the trouble-maker guy from Star Trek the best. It was uniquely you.
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I think I will bring that out of retirement. 
Quite possibly
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Uhhhh, guys. This is because he played next to Decker all game and looked like a cross between Larry Allen and Jesus by comparison.
This is why we all thought Steven Peterman was good, but in reality he just played next to Gosder Cherilus and George Foster…
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