AC is really good, but re Suh...

Thawki

Thawki

Well-Known Member
A lot of people, here and even some elsewhere, want to compare him this year to Suh last year. I can understand the want to compare the guy that can be this year's great defensive lineman to the guy that was that last year, I really can. But I have to take exception until I see otherwise.

Suh was so dominant that there really hasn't been another DL that did what he did since maybe Hugh Green. For all that we want to say about AC, Suh led his team in tackles the last two years. And he is a DT, not a DE. He also dropped back in pass coverage as a DT and was a plus, as opposed to just not being a liability.

Let me first say I love AC as a player as much as anyone. And he is one of the best in the country going in to this year. That doesn't mean he will make the jump this year to be as good as Suh was last year. Many people seem to think that because Suh made the kind of jump he did from junior to senior that there is no reason AC can't do the same. But that type of performance hasn't been seen in 20 or 30 years.

If anyone can name a player on the DL that was as game-changing as Suh in the last thirty years, be my guest. And just because AC was really good last year doesn't mean he will make the huge leap, and it is a huge leap, to be what Suh was last year. Now, Suh as a junior might have been what AC was as a junior. But that doesn't mean AC can automatically (or even has a good chance to) make the jump to what Suh was as a senior, either. It just means Suh did it and was the first to do it in quite a few years.

I'm sure some will think I am dogging AC, which is not the case at all. It is just that Suh was so much better last year than most average sports fans think. He was probably better than anyone in the last thirty years at his position.

Maybe Hugh Green or Leroy Selmon. Maybe? Even if AC is the best DL in college football he can fall way short of what Suh was, I feel.

That is how good Suh was. Whether you know it or not.
 
I agree with you to a point. I don't think AC will be as dominating as Suh. However, I think AC may have better stats in some categories because he is on the end (sacks). He won't have the tackles because opponents are able to run to the opposite side, where Suh had an angle to cut it off no matter which way they ran because he was in the middle. AC is a game changer, and I believe has a better defense around him than Suh. I think we would all rather have the total package than the one man show.
 
I agree completely. Stats won't tell the story when looking at AC and Suh. To be honest, it's almost a slap in the face to Suh to say that AC could be just as good. Suh is the kind of player we haven't seen in decades (and being 20, he's the first of his kind to me). To say that another player will be just as good the next year is just like guys hitting 50-60 HR's year in and year out. That used to be a once in a decade event. When it happens more often than that, something ain't right. We aren't going to see another Suh for quite some time.

But AC could very well be the best DL in the country this year, and be a top 5 pick next April. Doesn't mean he's on the same level as Suh.
 
I don't know what his stats were against ISU...but he dominated the line of scrimmage. Every play had to be worked around him...and he was ALWAYS in close pursuit of the ball. That guy was unreal.
 
Exactly. Too many people only saw him against Texas and base their entire opinion of him on that game...and on what they say on ESPN. He was a great player, but not nearly what some have made him out to be. He had several games where he was only average to good, and others where he was outstanding and deserved the praise he got.
 
Yeah Suh got alot of hype...I think AC may not be as good...but he's pretty dang close. I've NEVER seen one player totally shut down an offense like AC did. GTech QUIT running to his side of the field in the second half...making it even easier to stop as Norm just shifted the LB's to the other side...it was impressive as anything Suh did.
 
The stats are actually pretty similar from last year. Suh had more tackles but then again he played on the interior so naturally he is gonna have more chances.
AC had 70 total tackles to Suh's 85, 11.5 sacks, Suh had 12, AC had 20 tackles for loss, Suh had 20.5. Yah Suh had a pick, but AC had a punt block that he took 54 yards to the house at penn st in the rain. And also remember that Suh was a 5th year senior and AC was a true junior. That extra two years makes a little bit of a difference.
 
It is a total crock to say that a DT played inside so he had more chances to make tackles and that is why he had more tackles than AC. HE WAS THE TEAM LEADER IN TACKLES HIS LAST TWO YEARS!!! And they were a pretty good defense, too. Who does that as a DT? NO ONE!!!

If that were true then any DT would have a lot more tackles than they get now because they should have so many chances. Yet, DT are always way down the list in number of tackles on a team, even the great ones are fourth of fifth on teams with so so LBs.

Anyone that says these guys were close to equals last year is smoking something.
 
You also have to compare the types of offensive lines that Suh was playing against, the Big 12 North isn't a cupcake, but it also is no Big 10. Just a thought.
 
How could anyone dare suggest a Hawkeye could be as good as a cornholer???? I'm not sure who is on their roster this year, nor do I care, nor will I ever waste my time looking, but prepare, Hawkeye fans, after the first game a unl player shows any potential, he will be better than ANY Hawkeye........count on that type of discussion......always from here on. It's all about unl.......Their fans/media are so effing laughable......don't ever say I didn't warn you. And I know the argument...."I don't have to read the thread if I don't like it". Yeah, it used to be a Hawkeye board.....now we all have to be prepared to search for a thread that doesn't have "unl" somewhere in it. Good luck!!! Good thing I love Hawkeye basketball, too.
 
Thawki said:
A lot of people, here and even some elsewhere, want to compare him this year to Suh last year. I can understand the want to compare the guy that can be this year's great defensive lineman to the guy that was that last year, I really can. But I have to take exception until I see otherwise.

Suh was so dominant that there really hasn't been another DL that did what he did since maybe Hugh Green. For all that we want to say about AC, Suh led his team in tackles the last two years. And he is a DT, not a DE. He also dropped back in pass coverage as a DT and was a plus, as opposed to just not being a liability.

Let me first say I love AC as a player as much as anyone. And he is one of the best in the country going in to this year. That doesn't mean he will make the jump this year to be as good as Suh was last year. Many people seem to think that because Suh made the kind of jump he did from junior to senior that there is no reason AC can't do the same. But that type of performance hasn't been seen in 20 or 30 years.

If anyone can name a player on the DL that was as game-changing as Suh in the last thirty years, be my guest. And just because AC was really good last year doesn't mean he will make the huge leap, and it is a huge leap, to be what Suh was last year. Now, Suh as a junior might have been what AC was as a junior. But that doesn't mean AC can automatically (or even has a good chance to) make the jump to what Suh was as a senior, either. It just means Suh did it and was the first to do it in quite a few years.

I'm sure some will think I am dogging AC, which is not the case at all. It is just that Suh was so much better last year than most average sports fans think. He was probably better than anyone in the last thirty years at his position.

Maybe Hugh Green or Leroy Selmon. Maybe? Even if AC is the best DL in college football he can fall way short of what Suh was, I feel.

That is how good Suh was. Whether you know it or not.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a closet husker fan...Suh was dominant against a somewhat suspect schedule. He was dominant against a different kind of team week in and week out then Adrian saw. Suh still looped and rushed to the outside a lot, Adrian twist inside a lot too. If you look at Adrians stats they are not far behind Suh's. Suh was a good player...was he the most dominant player in 30 years....not sure about that.
 
Steve Emtman (Washington) was a dominant DT. HE won the Outland and Lombardi trophies in 1991 and finished 4th in the Heisman voting. He is in the College Football HOF. His NFL career was not what was expected due to injuries.

It is pretty impressive with Suh leading his team in tackles for 2 years. I am not sure if Emtman did that.
 
I've seen both play many times. AC may be the best DL in the nation this year and has the ability to dominate an offense. Nonetheless, he is not at the same level as Suh...its just that simple. Throw out the statistics...they mean nothing in cross positional comparisons. Suh was a force of nature. And for the record, I hate NU...so no homerism going on here. Suh is simply the best DT I have ever seen in college football. NU doesn't know it yet, but their defense is going to take a big step backwards without him. He made everybody else vastly better by completely controlling the middle of the field in every game.
 
Hey, kuhntz.

I guess he had eight tackles, one being a sack and two blocked passes and a QB hurry. If him not being great rests on those numbers being his bad game for the year, I guess that isn't much of an argument.

And for anyone thinking that Nebraska had a nice defense but wasn't as good as outs, you should look at the NCAA stats for the season. They were ahead of us in most categories and led the nation in scoring D.
 
I'm sorry, hawkforce. I almost hate to respond.

If you've never seen one player have as dominant as a game as AC had against GaTech, then you need to watch more football. It was dominant, no doubt. But it wasn't once in a decade, or anything like that.

You need to either take off the black and gold glasses or get out more.

And some on here almost brush aside that Suh led ONE OF THE TOP DEFENSES IF NOT THE TOP D IN THE COUNTRY IN TACKLES LAST YEAR AS A DEFENSIVE TACKLE. I'm sorry, but if you don't understand the significance that goes along with that you should not be in this debate. And he led that team in tackles two years in a row.

If you see yourself in that description, WAKE UP!!! You are clueless.
 
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