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Free agent addition Craig Dahl met with the media on Wednesday, and he made some comments that are making news now, but really should not be a shock. Dahl mentioned that part of the reason the Rams played the 49ers so well last year was that the 49ers were tipping some of their offensive plays.
Q: You were on the Rams' defense last season. Why did you guys play the 49ers' offense so well?
DAHL: We had a few tips off of film. We were able to differentiate between run and pass early. That kind of gave us an added benefit on defense. In St. Louis, the mentality was we always looked up to the 49ers as the staple of the NFC West. They had the target on their back, and we were out there gunning for it.
Q: The tips on film, did you relay those to the coaching staff here?
DAHL: Yeah, definitely. It's been corrected. It's just them discussing what kind of things we prepared for when I was in St. Louis last year, as far as scouting and the different things we saw game planning against the 49ers. Working with the offensive coaches on that aspect, and then giving them tips and tendencies about their offense.
Q: What were the tips?
DAHL: It was a few different things. Different personnel and different alignment stuff really were the big keys as far as give-aways.
This is making the rounds of the Internet today, but I'd like to point out that our man liberty_JAC was on this to a certain extent last December. He put together a look at the All-22 of 49ers-Rams from Dec. 2. He was not sure what specifically was happening to tip off the Rams, but the Rams showed an instinctive nature that comes more from knowing what's about to happen. The good news is Dahl told the 49ers coaches and they told him they had become aware of it and were correcting it.
This is part of the power of All-22 film for the media. We may not know everything that is going on during a given play, but this kind of view helps us have a better understanding of what is happening. We don't know exactly why something is happening sometimes, but the All-22 allows us to at least know that it is in fact happening.
Fooch's Note: Some comments from Rams defensive back Cortland Finnegan:
@profootballtalk Craig Dahl is lame and weak for that glad he with another squad we know how he play thanks for the tips we know who 2 go at
— Cortland Finnegan (@CortFinnegan) June 12, 2013
Craig Dahl we know how you play thanks for the tips we know who to attack early and often
— Cortland Finnegan (@CortFinnegan) June 12, 2013