Anyone else think there's something wrong with him, whether it be mental or physical? He has missed several tackles that were automatic last year and even in 2013, and he can't seem to buy a sack.
Furthermore, if Dadi is still ailing from the hand injury, why is he out on the field when he clearly isn't capable of regularly making a tackle? If pro scouts are paying next to any attention to him this season, his draft stock is plummeting.
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willing to bet its the hand injury, and the reason we're not spelling him is because they do not trust the backups AT ALL
Did we not hear some good things about Mihota in August and spring practice? Even if we did, I'm sure the coaches probably haven't even considered putting him in.
Problem is, like many coaches, our coaches are good at hyperbole. They build up the team each year for the fans before the season starts and tell you had good everything looks even if they are really concerned behind the scenes about certain positions, the team, etc. And, there's nothing wrong with it because you're supposed to build up excitement before the season however as a fan at some point you just stop listening when what they say either doesn't happen or doesn't come true.
Recent Examples:
Beamer has said numerous times over the last 3 years that this is his best recruiting staff ever. That is simply not true. We've done better in years past with a much higher success rate getting the guys we really wanted. We've struck out on a lot of big time players especially from the state of VA.
Scot Loeffler and Zohn Burden talking about playing more wide receivers and finding a third wide receiver before the season. Isaiah Ford and Cam Phillips barely get a play off during the games.
Bud Foster over the years always talks about substituting his linebackers during the games to build up experience. Only happens if we're winning by 30 and as you know we rarely win by 30.
Shane Beamer talking about pairing down the running back rotation before the season. It took 3 losses and a talk from his dad to actually pick a go to back.
And as you said Charley Wiles and Bud Foster talking up their backup defensive ends and the word "legendary" being thrown around regarding our defensive line. And, now we've see that our backup DE's rarely see the field even when it's obvious our starters need a break and/or are playing hurt. And, our defensive line isn't the dominating force it was supposed to be.
I'm gonna play a little devil's advocate with one statement:
I'm going to be a little argumentative here and say that we could have our best recruiting staff ever and still be falling behind the quality and the resources that our ever-increasing competition is throwing into the state of Virginia.
Much of the rest of what you've said goes to player development, and I agree with a lot of it.
I agree that arms race is a possible explanation. Not sure that it's true, but it's a good point.
I can understand not trusting the backups but can the backups really be that much of a downgrade? I mean Dadi has rarely even gotten to the quarterback, he seemingly can't make tackles without help, he just gets pushed around on run plays. I really want to see him do well, but I just don't see what we'd be missing without him for a few more plays
Didn't I hear somewhere that *both* of his hands are injured?
You are correct. One hand is broken and the other has a bunch of jammed fingers. If you look at his hands one is almost completely wrapped and the other has a couple fingers wrapped together.
It's been talked about throughout the season that both his hands are injured and he is playing through it.
There was a point in the game that the cameras were on Dadi while he was getting up from the ground. He was grasping his right had like it was really bothering him.
I saw that too. I think that the Goddess of Fate just really does not like Hokies.
My previous comment on this matter:
http://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/338447#comment-338447
His stock was never that high.
Yeah, I'm not sure where all the first round hype came from.
Also says something abut our depth that we're playing him this much with two injured hands.
He's always played a bit out of control but he's missed so many tackles this season... I'm not sure what's going on but I've ever seen a Hokie starter miss this many.
As an outside linebacker, I remember seeing it somewhere around the 3rd or 4th round. I'm not really sure where he is now, but if pro scouts have watched him this season, it's sure to have dropped.
3rd round grade isn't far away from UFA either.
Dadis a tweener. NFL doesn't have a lot of tweeners.
His problem (imho) is technique. He has the player dead to rights and commits 2 major mistakes: 1) he tries to tackle their head (you have to attack their hips), 2) he stops moving his feet (usually by jumping on their head....but when he doesn't his feet die as soon as he makes contact).
I agree completely. And it's not just Dadi, it's Ekanem as well. When they get to the QB/ball carrier, they don't "drive through" the tackle, more often they seem to be just grabbing and holding giving the opponent the opportunity to break free. They didn't have this problem last season. I'm wondering if something has gotten into their head? Fear of penalty maybe?
Good. Do this ^^^, wrap arms even with hands balled up and put the runner into ground.
He has two bad hands and is playing his ass off for a shitty team. I have not been to any of the games but I have seen a few shots of him getting up after plays and he is wincing in pain. Dude is a warrior and deserves your respect, he is at least pressuring the qb even if he is not taking him down.
except against Purdue. We got zero QB hurries that game /s
What if I told you you can respect someone's effort while criticizing their technique?
the I would give you a leg and wholeheartedly agree with you.
And what if I told you one can respect someone's efforts at criticizing while criticizing the actual knowledge (or lack thereof) that went into the criticism?
This is pretty much my response when those who don't have a clue about technique still feel the need to opine on it.
haha I liked it but it was a brain teaser when I skimmed it first
I never said I didn't respect him. I just asked if anyone else had noticed his major drop off in production and what that might be attributed to.
You try tackling a D1 athlete with a broken hand
Step 1: Break a hoof
Step 2: Find a D1 athlete, preferrably a female gymnast or someone similarly sized
Step 3: Try to tackle her
Step 4: ....
Step 5: Profit
Why is he on the field with a broken hand if he can't regularly make a tackle? Seems kind of ridiculous to me.
lack of confidence behind him?
Because even with busted hands he's getting pressure and contact, he just can't grab with strong hands enough to ensure a tackle.
anybody have the numbers for QB pressures so we can compare?
Thank you. Is this really such a difficult concept to grasp? It's not fantasy football; there's stuff that's pretty important to playing defense other than sacks.
I guess another reason is our secondary didn't do coverage very well, which allowed the opponent qb find a open reciver and throw the ball quickly.
So what you're saying is that our defense has Dadi issues this year?
I guess that's why we're getting scored on with such relative ease lately.
Here, take all the turkey legs.
I'm a little angry that I didn't think of this first. Well in, Alum
Yeah, I'm a little surprised someone else didn't get to it, first. Had to scroll the thread twice to make sure before I posted it.
The coaching staff for his entire career here has urged him to put on weight and he has refused to do it. I think he had a really great season last year after two years of spot duty and he just isn't having a big year this year. He was on a lot of preseason first round draft pick lists but I never thought he had NFL potential he is just too small. He will get pushed around like a rag doll in the NFL
Average weight for an NFL DE in a 3-4 is around 255 and in a 4-3 it is around 280. Dadi has weighed around 225 here....
are you talking about the OLBs in a 3-4 being 255? or do you have your alignments mixed up? DE's in the 3-4 are definitely bigger than DE's in the 4-3.
Yes OLB I mean sorry thanks, which if he has a shot in the NFL is where he will have to play
I'm going to reserve judgement on his technique until someone that has a better grasp analyzes his.