FanPost

Craig Dahl: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Niners Nation has a lot of quirky cyclical habits. Every preseason some player is anointed the best player ever (OUR FUTURE) only to be cut and out of the NFL in a couple years. Some player is injured and the fans are sure that the season is over. And, some player is anointed the off season whipping boy, the player that is SO HORRIBLE that they can’t see why beat writers keep projecting this player will make the roster.

This year is no different. NN is certain Lawrence Okoye will be stolen by another team if the 49ers try to get him on the practice squad and that he will end up in the HOF. Dorsey’s injury destroyed our D-Line and now we don’t have an NT. Craig Dahl is the worst player ever and should not be in camp after last season’s horrible play.

So for some off season fun I decided to take a look at Craig Dahl, the official Niners Nation 2014 Whipping Boy, and his "horrible" season while taking meaningful defensive snaps (not the ST snaps).

In 2013 there were 1067 defensive snaps for the niners of which Dahl played 88, or a little over 8%. His Snap Count for each game in the 2013 regular season (according to Fooch who posted the snap count after each game last season) is as follows:

Packers – 0

Seahawks – 42

Colts – 0

Rams – 6

Texans – 1

Cardinals – 0

Titans – 4

Jaguars – 6

Panthers – 28

Saints – 0

Washington - 0

Rams – 1

Seahawks – 0

Bucs – 0

Falcons – 0

Cardinals – 0

As you can see, Dahl only had defensive snaps in seven games last year, and was on the field for more than one snap in only five games. I decided to look at the scoring drives in each of the five games to see if Dahl was the culprit. I only looked at scoring drives in which a first down was given up, figuring that one player on the defense should be blamed for points given up when the offense or special teams puts the team in a bad spot.

So without further ado:

49ers at Seahawks September 15, 2013 - Highlights

Number of Snaps for Dahl – 42

Scoring Drives - 5

Scoring Drives where at least one first down was given up – 2

First Scoring Drive With a First Down – 10 plays, 80 yards. (see highlights)

Big Plays: Whitner gives up 51 yard pass (maybe Dahl should have been there to help him but can’t be sure without knowing their assignments). Lynch 14 yard TD run up the middle.

Assessment: Dahl didn’t help Whitner on the deep ball and he got blocked out on the TD run, but so did Willis and all the LBs. On the whole, Dahl looked pretty mediocre on this drive and like he would be a liability going forward. Since this was the first drive I assessed, I started to believe the whipping boy hype.

Second Scoring Drive With a First Down – 10 plays, 80 yards (see highlights)

Big Plays: Asomagua gave up a 40 yard pass interference penalty and Aldon Smith gave up a 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalty on 3rd and 28. Dahl and Whitner gave up a 15 yard pass. Lynch scored on a 7 yard run on which Dahl blitzed the QB. He had his hand in Wilson’s face when he threw to Lynch.

Assessment: Dahl wasn’t a star on this drive but he did what he was supposed to do. You can’t expect better play from a backup. He looked much better on this drive, though he still looked like a backup filling in for a starter.

Final AssessmentDahl did not have a good game and his weaknesses showed, but it was also only his second game with the niners. Just because a player's been in the league a while doesn't mean he's comfortable with the new team's scheme. He could have played better, but his teammates made some pretty bad mistakes too, especially on the second drive. I don't think anyone should draw a conclusion from this game alone about Dahl's ability or value to the team.

49ers at Rams September 26, 2013 - No highlight videos show the Rams’ scoring drives

Number of Snaps for Dahl – 6

Scoring drives where at least one first down was given up – 2

First Scoring Drive – 5 plays 35 yards – ended in FG

Big Plays: T Brown gave up 14 yard pass, 15 yard face mask penalty on Justin Smith, Lemonier gave up an 8 yard pass – Rams covert FG. Dahl didn’t play this series.

Second Scoring Drive – 4 plays, 24 yards – ended in TD; highlight of play

Big Plays: Rams start at 49ers 24 yard line. Brock gives up a 7 yard pass. Brown gives up a 3 yard pass. Whitner gets penalized giving up a 1st down. 6 yard pass to TE Kendricks followed by a 2 point conversion run up the middle by Cunningham. Reid and Bowman gave up the TD and 2pt conversion. No Dahl.

Final Assessment: None of Dahl’s snaps were on scoring drives. If he made mistakes, they did not result in points for the Rams. That’s fine for a backup. He just had 6 snaps, so really not a large enough sample size to have an opinion on the guy.

49ers at Titans October 20, 2013 - Highlights:

Number of Snaps for Dahl – 4

Scoring drives where at least one first down was given up - 3

First Scoring Drive – 11 plays, 67 yards, ended in FG

Reid played every snap during this drive.

Second Scoring Drive – 2 plays, 86 yards – ended in TD - Play Highlight

Big Play: CJ2K’s 66 yard screen pass run for a TD.

Assessment: I have seen a lot of posters on NN use this play as the reason that Dahl is horrible. Dahl is in position to make a play, but gets blocked and can't make the tackle. However, there Johnson ran past the entire niners defense, all of whom also were blocked out. Anyone who blames Dahl for this play is just looking for a whipping boy.

Third Scoring Drive – 10 plays, 58 yards, ended in TD - Play Highlight

Big Play: 26 yard TD pass to Delanie Walker. Reid was in for this play.

Final Assessment: Dahl was in for only one of the scoring drives and he had 2 other snaps at some point during the game. He didn't give up points then. With just 4 snaps I think you can't conclude much of another about Dahl's value based on his performance in this game.

49ers at Jaguars (in London) October 27, 2013 - Highlights

Number of Snaps for Dahl – 6

Scoring drives where at least one first down was given up – 2

First Scoring Drive – 12 plays, 60 yards, ended in FG

Reid is on the field for the entire drive

Second Scoring Drive – 3 plays, 28 yards, ended in TD - Play Highlight

Big Play – 29 yard TD pass to Mike Brown

Assessment – highlight shows Brock got burned and Rogers was out of place

Final Assessment – Same as the Rams game, this was a blowout and Dahl wasn't on the field for the late scoring drives. Small sample size, can't really draw any conclusions about his play from this game.

49ers vs. Panthers, November 10, 2013

Number of Snaps for Dahl – 28

Scoring drives where at least one first down was given up – 1

Scoring Drive – 8 plays, 80 yards, ended in TD - Play Highlight

Big Play: 27 yard TD run by DeAngelo Williams.

Assessment: Dahl was not in. As the highlight shows it was Brown that missed the key tackle. Reid was in and was blocked out. Dahl played a significant number of snaps in this game and even managed to bring Newton down.

Final Assessment: By this game it seems Dahl is fairly comfortable in the system. No lapses in judgment, no big plays given up. He was able to bring down Newton and help keep him contained. All in all, not bad for a backup.

Overall Assessment: Only the Coaches Know Dahl's Value

Going back through the highlights and Dahl’s snap count I think it’s pretty clear that Dahl is the official NN Whipping Boy for the 2014 offseason as there just isn't enough data to really evaluate Dahl's ability in the 49ers' scheme.

I am sure that somewhere in the comments someone will post that Dahl is terrible, cite his poor season with the Rams, rabble rabble, etc.. The point I am trying to make is that Dahl appears to provide solid ST value and some depth at Free Safety. He knows the 49ers scheme, he improved last season over time, and really didn't play that much. On top of that he took a pay cut and really isn't that big of a cap hit. If the coaches keep him then I think they view him as a player that can step in for a game or two and keep the ship from sinking.

At the very least, he'll be a player that fans can love to hate.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.