Plus P. Allen was much better than Ankrah/Williams/MartinWell it was all because of Suh if you haven't noticed.
You don't need a Suh or a Glover; you just need a few solid guys. Our D-Line is terrible. Look at the types of players we had on our D-Line back in the 90s and early 00s and ask yourself if these guys are even close to the same caliber of player. Wiltz, Wistrom, Rucker, Tomich, Warren, Peter, Peter, Vanden Bosch, Harris, Jones, Conneally, Kelsey. These guys were ballers. Crick looked like complete sh#t last night. It wasn't until the 4th quarter that I finally saw him make a play. He is one of the most overrated players in the country. I kept a close eye on him throughout the game and it almost seemed like he wasn't trying. I can't remember the last time we had a decent defensive end. It's been awhile...The 2009 D Line was Ndamukong Suh. Statistically he eclipsed the entire D Lines of three or four of the top five teams in the final BCS standings by himself. It is pretty safe to say that Suh made that D Line a statistical outlier. If we are comparing ANY defensive line from ANY era, that 2009 line is going to meet or exceed.
The last time we had an Ndamukong Suh on our D Line was in 1972 with Rich Glover. You don't get guys like that very often - that's why they're called "generational players."
Expecting this line to eclipse what Suh did in 2009 is silly. Expecting this line to be stout against the run and technically sound - that's an appropriate expectation.
I am on board with you. As ridiculous as this may sound, I still think that Suh was underrated if you really look it. I believe Crick is better than most, but an athlete like Suh may not be seen for some time. The D-Line is still carry a reputation that he was a 'huge' part of building and he hasn't suited up for over a year.The comparisons between Crick and Suh is not fair to Crick. Crick is more like JJ Watt out of Wisconsin last year then another version of Suh.
I was one who thought we'd be better on D-line this year than in 2009. But at this point I'd say 'no'. I guess it was the off-season Kool-Aid talking. Still, it's early in the season. And this D-line is real deep. Deeper than '09, but not nearly as dominating. We lack a Suh--a freak of nature who can blow up double teams and run down RBs from behind.I'm sticking with my opinion that our DL is more hype than substance.
Year PTS YDS
2008 36 353
2009 12 632
2010 27 578
2011 36 674