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.
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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."
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"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.