Harvey Dahl

[Admin]

I've been reading on my Dolphins forums that Dahl may be a target of the Dolphins this offseason. I don't know a lot about the guy but I can't imagine he'd be worth giving up the draft picks and money to that it would cost to sign him since he's a RFA. I'm sure he's probably pretty talented but having Pro Bowl talents at QB and WR can make offensive lineman appear to be better than they really are.

So what do you think, will he sign a new deal with the Falcons? Or would you rather see him sign someplace else and get draft picks in return? If you were another team would you sign him assuming that you had a hole at G?

[frosgrim]

I've been reading on my Dolphins forums that Dahl may be a target of the Dolphins this offseason. I don't know a lot about the guy but I can't imagine he'd be worth giving up the draft picks and money to that it would cost to sign him since he's a RFA. I'm sure he's probably pretty talented but having Pro Bowl talents at QB and WR can make offensive lineman appear to be better than they really are.

So what do you think, will he sign a new deal with the Falcons? Or would you rather see him sign someplace else and get draft picks in return? If you were another team would you sign him assuming that you had a hole at G?

Dahl was the Falcons'worst o-lineman last year, IMO. That isn't saying he's bad, he was just the worst. The Falcons averaged a yard fewer on plays that went to the Dahl/Clabo side than to the Blaylock/Wiener//Baker side. Plus, something like 65% of Falcon run plays went to the left side. That shows the coaches didn't have a lot of trust in the right side. If you look at the Falcon boards you'll see that most of us would like Clabo moved from RT to RG and get an upgrade at RT.

In all Dahl is strong, but very slow off the snap. He has a knack for getting drive killing penelties as well. On the positive side, the dude is a bulldog. He doesn't stop blocking until the whistle blows and then he tries to give the defender a little more. As I said, he's strong and can get a good in-line push but, don't expect him to pull very well.

In all, Dahl is an OK RG.

[Admin]

Dahl was the Falcons'worst o-lineman last year, IMO. That isn't saying he's bad, he was just the worst. The Falcons averaged a yard fewer on plays that went to the Dahl/Clabo side than to the Blaylock/Wiener//Baker side. Plus, something like 65% of Falcon run plays went to the left side. That shows the coaches didn't have a lot of trust in the right side. If you look at the Falcon boards you'll see that most of us would like Clabo moved from RT to RG and get an upgrade at RT.

In all Dahl is strong, but very slow off the snap. He has a knack for getting drive killing penelties as well. On the positive side, the dude is a bulldog. He doesn't stop blocking until the whistle blows and then he tries to give the defender a little more. As I said, he's strong and can get a good in-line push but, don't expect him to pull very well.

In all, Dahl is an OK RG.

Thanks for the input on him Frosgrim. That's interesting hearing a fan say those things and in that case I definitely wouldn't want to give up draft picks to get him. We have a kid at RG who looked great in camps and pre-season and then got hurt in our 1st game last year named Donald Thomas that we got in the 6th round of last years draft. He's nasty and extremely athletic but a definite injury concern so that's why I've heard talk about us looking at Dahl.

[Traceman]

I've been reading on my Dolphins forums that Dahl may be a target of the Dolphins this offseason. I don't know a lot about the guy but I can't imagine he'd be worth giving up the draft picks and money to that it would cost to sign him since he's a RFA. I'm sure he's probably pretty talented but having Pro Bowl talents at QB and WR can make offensive lineman appear to be better than they really are.

So what do you think, will he sign a new deal with the Falcons? Or would you rather see him sign someplace else and get draft picks in return? If you were another team would you sign him assuming that you had a hole at G?

Harvey is a mean SOB but he is not all that talented. I like that he plays with attitude and that defensive lineman hate to play against him because he plays from whistle to whistle (and a little beyond). Some of the D-linemen say that he plays dirty and he is usually in the middle of any scuffle that is going on.

That said, he is DEFINITELY not worth multiple draft picks or a high draft pick. He is a 3rd round talent AT BEST and probably a 4th or 5th round talent. Good intanigbles and I hope he sticks around here but I won't be surprised to see him coming off the bench next year if we get a more talented guard in the draft.

[coachx]

He was a career practice squad guy until last year but Dalh is the kind of guy you rather have on your team them play against. What he lacks in skill he more then makes up for with his mean streak and often times takes his man to the ground after the whistle. He got a lot of penalties last year but really helped the Falcons' O-Line have a physical idientity to match their power run philosophy.

His strength is that he can blow his man off the line of scrimmage in short yardage situations but truely struggles in space and is useless on guard pull outs (slow feet). However, he is a solid straight in-line blocker when the guy is right in front of him he is assigned to block. He will get burned by a 3-4 defenses where he has to think and block in space or vs. atheltic DT who run alot of stunts and twist.

He is not the best pass block but a pretty good run blocker.

He is suspectible to mental mistakes ( jumps off sides way too much.) More then anyone on the team but Matt Ryan really works the hard count.

I'm sure the "Big Tuna" loves his mean streak. I know I loved seeing him mix it up with DT and ILB after the play where he normally wound up on top. If your in a bar fight, this is the guy you want on your side. I had season tickets so I could see him finish off guys away from the ball repeatedly where the camera would not pick it up if your watching on TV.

I really would not worry about his pass blocking since Pennington, like Ryan, gets rid of the ball so quickly they're rarely sacked no matter who is doing the blocking............Now if you make your living on the deep ball his pass blocking may come back to bite you. If your in a division with alot of 3-4 defenses you may want to stay away but I LOVE the guy as a premier backup and for short yardage situations.

Edited January 29, 2009 by coachx

[DrReality]

I think we can do better and I think Dimitroff will do better. That seemed to be one of the specialties of the Pats. Pick up those O linemen.

[mattlanta]

Dahl is still quite underrated by many of our fans. I personally think Dahl is a very solid lineman. He is simply the type of player that goes out and does his job. Personally, I don't believe the Falcons will let him go. I don't think Dahl will have an expensive price tag, and he will be essential next year as a backup (he provides solid depth for a team that really needs it on the O-Line) if he doesn't end up starting. The only knock I have against Dahl is his inconsistency... towards the end of the season, I noticed Dahl was often the reason why there were so many holding penalties against us. But then again, last year was his first year actually starting...

To the member who said Dahl was the worst: I don't believe he was. McClure was often slow to pick up the blitz package, and he was one of the main reasons why we couldn't really QB Sneak it many times because if you want to run a QB Sneak, you have to have push in the middle of the line, and McClure, who's well under 300 lbs., just couldn't provide that.