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The Death of D.O.L.A.

BWahlberg

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Ladies and gentlemen, lets us pay respects today to something that has seemingly been lost. We have heard it referred to in the past as DOLA, known as Dominant Offensive Line Attitude.

DOLA had been a mantra with the O-line under the past few coaches, starting with coach Chad Germer when he returned to coach the Griz, however it's a practice that's much older than just 4 years back.

http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/article_1a09b33a-ba18-11de-a243-001cc4c002e0.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The second half they went all "DOLA" - the acronym (for Dominant Offensive Line Attitude) that resurfaced on Saturday on a T-shirt worn by tackle Levi Horn.

"DOLA is actually really old - 1995, probably earlier," said Dyk. "It's a style of play. You can't believe that the guy across from you is better than you, and you just try to kick his butt every play."

http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/horn-s-section-hits-high-note/article_4ffd72ea-b62d-11de-950d-001cc4c03286.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"That's Dominant Offensive Line Attitude," he said. "When you physically beat somebody else who is trying to beat you, there's not a better feeling for me."

Pushing around a defense with a punishing ground game is the best way to get it. Horn and his buddies are getting better that way. Montana running back Chase Reynolds enjoyed his best rushing game of the season Saturday, tallying 109 yards.

"Once we get going I don't think there's any stopping us," said the junior, who should know after helping lead the Griz to the FCS title game last December. "Like I said on Tuesday, we're all patient. We know (the run game) is there. We know we can do it. Today we came out and did it.

When I think of DOLA, here's what comes to mind, JD Quinn, Levi Horn, and Jon Opperud. Mean SOB's that flat out destroyed and dominated the line of scrimmage. They punished the defensive line, and then the linebackers, and then the secondary. They left guys flat on their backs, gasping for air. They got personal fouls. They protected their teammates. Nobody wanted to mess with these guys, defenders were afraid of them and they made damn sure to keep it that way.

I can think of JD Quinn driving a defender into his own bench, Jon Opperud pointing to the MONTANA on his chest in the direction of the opposing team, and Levi Horn de-cleating defenders even a half-second after the whistle has blown. Colin Dow once darn near broke the hand of a fellow egrizzer when he squeezed it so hard after finding out that egrizzer is a moderator here (Mr. Titleist). The Montana Grizzlies had an offensive line that was mean and feared around the league. It did them well in the running game.

This attitude might not have been called DOLA under coach Kalagis but it was there, Germer officially brought it back, and Beers had that mind-set as well. The coaches expressed the attitude they wanted from their players in their daily interactions on the field. They would get angry, they would yell, they'd cuss, they'd get their players worked into a frenzy. I remember a spring practice where Germer told his O-line they can't be friends with the D-line on the team because they need to hate all defensive linemen.

So what happened? A change in direction.

Today's O-line is loaded with just as much size and strength as the O-lines of the past decade, but something is missing, and that's DOLA. This group may be skilled in their technique, they've got quick feet, good pad level, quickly recognize blitzes, etc - that's all great. But they don't display DOLA when playing.

We can look at it from other angles too.

Statistically, what's the YPC average against our three toughest opponents this year (NAU, CP, EWU)? 2.1, 2.4, and 3.7 yards per carry.

Philosophically, here's a quote from a Missoulian article about the scheme change;

One thing you notice watching co-offensive coordinator Scott Gragg and his offensive line in practice is they’re very businesslike. There’s not a lot of loud scolding going on, which may be something Gragg took with him from his 11 years as an NFL lineman.

“I’ve always been a believer that a positive attitude is infectious,” he said. “When it’s 92 degrees and you’re 320 pounds and they’re asking you to run the ball all the time, that can wear on you and you can start feeling sorry for yourself a little bit.

“I talk to those guys and encourage them to keep moving. It’s not a cattle prod, just raising the level of enthusiasm and energy you try to get in practice.

Gragg is just not the DOLA-style of coach, he believes in constantly being positive, uplifting, and supportive. That's fine if it's working for him and his players, but that's not DOLA.

Please pay your respects to that way of thought known as Dominant Offensive Line Attitude. It's dead here with this team but it will continue on with the memories of years past where defenders feared the Montana Grizzlies offensive line.
 
wbtfg said:
Is Gragg still in line to be the next HC after Delaney decides to retire?

Hope not, but that's just my two cents. Incredible knowledge and great teacher on blocking, assignments, etc. So far I'm not too impressed with him as a Co-OC, especially with halftime adjustments and then just rocketing him up to HC? Seems like too quick of an ascension, going from a high school coach to being the HC of a top-tier FCS program in 4-5 years.
 
Having someone step up with a Quinn-like attitude (or the other OLinemen you mentioned) would be awesome. You just knew when the other team did something that he deemed was inappropriate, he was going to find that person in the next couple plays and make them wish they'd taken up knitting instead of football.

I know I've mentioned this before, but I have to again... He was also a big presence for the Basketball team as a fan. In the game against Portland State one year (who was the defending big sky champions) he sat court side and heckled the shit out of PSU all game. You could tell he got into their leading scorer's head, who ended up with only 5 points on 2-9 shooting.
 
kemajic said:
BWahlberg said:
they've got quick feet,
Really think so? DOLA seems to have left with Beers....

The current O-line? Yeah they were all brought in to run a quicker/up-tempo spread offense. I guess "in theory" they may have quicker feet.

And yeah, DOLA departed when Beers did as well. Just took a while to accept it, for me.
 
Potomac Griz said:
Having someone step up with a Quinn-like attitude (or the other OLinemen you mentioned) would be awesome. You just knew when the other team did something that he deemed was inappropriate, he was going to find that person in the next couple plays and make them wish they'd taken up knitting instead of football.

I know I've mentioned this before, but I have to again... He was also a big presence for the Basketball team as a fan. In the game against Portland State one year (who was the defending big sky champions) he sat court side and heckled the shit out of PSU all game. You could tell he got into their leading scorer's head, who ended up with only 5 points on 2-9 shooting.

That mean and intimidating attitude on the O-line can go a long ways, like you point out. I had someone comment to me (on the current O-line) that even if you're big and strong, you're not intimidating anyone if you're a nice and kind guy on the field.
 
Another question to consider. Does anyone think that having a bad-ass D-line also helps cause the opposing O-Line to commit more false starts? I know we pride ourselves on crowd noise having a factor in causing false starts, but It seems like in the years out D-Line played meaner, there were more False Starts that were committed.
 
Thread topic of the season. Nail on the head BW.

I can also tell you that some of the former players referenced in BW’s comments are in complete agreement. This is (was) a source of pride with the program, and has fallen off a cliff.
 
Totally agree. The weird part is, Lurch definitely played with DOLA. Someone needs to get him whiskey drunk for the next OLine meeting..
 
There is nothing more terrifying or frustrating than a nasty OL for a defensive player on the front 7. I used to hate going to practice as a scout team player when I was a freshman. We had guys on the OL that just had that attitude all the time, including practice. Much of our success has been attributed to the type of dominant OL play you are referring to. Nobody likes getting punched in the mouth and man handled all day. Makes it tough to stay mentally disciplined and do your job, especially in the 4tb when tbe dude still hasn't let up.
 
Maybe its time the defensive lineman nickname them...........maybe CALA.
Candy Ass Line Attitude. Its time to piss them off and ta hell with delaney. Sing Kumbaya some where else. Now you have me pissed off BW. :twisted: :twisted: Damn it anyhow!!
Crap, rotten no good for nothing pos, lousy, garbage hol;y crap wheres my drink!!
Phew! i'm tired now........ Good topic :thumb:
Go Griz!!
 
nzone said:
Maybe its time the defensive lineman nickname them...........maybe CALA.
Candy Ass Line Attitude. Its time to piss them off and ta hell with delaney. Sing Kumbaya some where else. Now you have me pissed off BW. :twisted: :twisted: Damn it anyhow!!
Crap, rotten no good for nothing pos, lousy, garbage hol;y crap wheres my drink!!
Phew! i'm tired now........ Good topic :thumb:
Go Griz!!

Ha, CALA, nice.
 
This whole team lacks that Montana swagger and dominant intensity. Hauck's teams always brought the attitude of we're Montana, you're sh*t, and we're gonna kick your ass all day. Those teams were awesome. Hopefully we can get back to that someday.
 
Raider said:
Thread topic of the season. Nail on the head BW.

I can also tell you that some of the former players referenced in BW’s comments are in complete agreement. This is (was) a source of pride with the program, and has fallen off a cliff.

How much of that DOLA attitude do you suppose came from the head coach?

BH vs Marshmallow Pfhlu vs Grampa Mick.
 
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