NFL

By Zane Miller With the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction taking place today, I figured it would be a good opportunity to talk about players who are in the already in the Hall, yet not necessarily household names. A player who fits into this category well and would be a perfect starting point for this new annual tradition is offensive lineman and Canton native Dan Dierdorf. After graduating from high school in 1967, Dierdorf moved north to play college football for the University of Michigan. Although Dierdorf got on the field right away, the Wolverines struggled in his freshman season as they had an underwhelming 3-4 record in the Big Ten conference. However, in 1968, the team bounced back and then some as they took a 6-1 conference record, though it was not enough to qualify for one of the few bowl games as they were one-upped by their rival in Ohio State, who went undefeated to win the Big Ten title. However, Dierdorf began garnering attention with his play, as he was named as a second-team all-conference tackle. 1969 saw the Wolverines match their previous record with another 6-1 showing, including a dominant 57-0 victory over Illinois. The big difference from 1968, however, was the fact that Michigan would be a part of the bowl season once again as they tied with Ohio State for the Big Ten championship thanks to a moderate upset victory over the Buckeyes in the season finale. Despite this, Michigan could not carry over the positive momentum into the Rose Bowl, which they lost 10-3 at the hands of USC. Dierdorf continued to impress on the O-line, winning his first first-team all-conference selection. Michigan copy-pasted their previous record to finish 6-1 in 1970, though they would be blocked from taking the Big Ten thanks to another undefeated conference showing by Ohio State. Still, the Wolverine offensive line seemed to save their best for last, as the team defeated Illinois 42-0 before pummeling Iowa 55-0 the next week. At season’s end, Dierdorf was awarded first-team all-conference honors for a second time, putting his stock at a high point going into the 1971 NFL Draft. Just three other tackles would come off the board before Dierdorf was taken by the St. Louis (now Arizona) Cardinals with the 43rd overall pick. Even though the Cardinals had one of the best offensive lines in the league, allowing just 26 sacks during the entire season while blocking for almost 2,000 rushing yards, such a high selection for a new offensive lineman was warranted as both of their starting tackles, Bob Reynolds on the left side and Ernie McMillan on the right, were over 30 years old and likely to begin aging in the near future. Dierdorf indeed took the field during his rookie season, just not in his usual position on the edge of the line. Instead, he came on in the right guard position, taking over for regular starter Clyde Williams in six games. Unfortunately, Dierdorf’s debut season would be spoiled by the Cardinals’ significant decline after a promising 1970 campaign, as the team which had been inside the top five in both offense and defense fell to 20th and 15th respectively in the 26-team league. Nonetheless, the offensive line continued to hold up their end of the bargain, as they actually improved by only giving up 19 sacks in total. However, 1972 would bring a different look as Reynolds left in the offseason to join the New England Patriots, meaning Dierdorf would be taking over his position at left tackle. St. Louis’ ‘72 season wound up being very similar to 1971, even down to the exact same record of 4-9-1. What was different, though, was that the play of the offensive line was a contributor to the team’s lackluster season. While the situation surely wasn’t helped by the revolving door of three different quarterbacks used throughout the year, the line gave up an uncharacteristic 30 sacks to drop from fourth-best in the league to middle of the pack. On top of that, the rushing game suffered immensely as they managed just 1,229 total yards, good for dead last in that category. You may have noticed a bizarre trend at this point of teams Dan Dierdorf is on finishing with the exact same record over and over, and 1973 is no exception as the Cardinals again struggled to a 4-9-1 finish. Thankfully, the season would also see a return to form for the O-line, allowing just 27 sacks to place in a five-way tie (!) for fourth in the NFL. In terms of Dierdorf’s story specifically, 1973 was crucial as an injury to McMillan meant he could return to his natural side for the first time as a pro. Dierdorf did not relinquish the right tackle spot for the next eight seasons, as his best years were still to come. After sustaining three losing seasons, the Cardinals rocketed out of nowhere to finish 10-4 to win the NFC East, making the postseason for the first time since 1964. Moving Dierdorf to the right side paid immediate dividends for the team, as their O-line finished first in the NFL for the first time since the sacks allowed statistic was officially tracked in 1963, giving up only 16 on the year. Alas, his playoff debut against the Minnesota Vikings in the first round did not go according to plan. Dierdorf and company struggled against the vicious Purple People Eaters defense, which held running back Eric Metcalf to just 55 yards and a touchdown while getting two sacks on quarterback Jim Hart. When the final whistle sounded, the Vikings emerged victorious on their home field 30-14. Still, Dierdorf was recognized for his efforts as he was named as a second-team All-Pro at the right tackle position. St. Louis proved the previous season was not a fluke in 1975, going 11-3 to wrap up back-to-back NFC East titles. As you may have guessed, the offensive line had something to do with this, though that would be a massive understatement. The ’75 Cardinals offensive line gave up a microscopic eight sacks during the entire season, nearly three times less than the closest competitor in the Buffalo Bills, who allowed 22 sacks. In addition, the line paved the way for fullback Jim Otis to run for a career-high 1,076 yards, becoming the first Cardinal back to have a 1,000-yard season since their inaugural season in the Gateway City in 1960. However, their postseason endeavors had the same result as the year before, losing to the Los Angeles Rams 35-23 in the opening round. Otis managed just 38 yards and a touchdown despite being the team’s leading rusher on the day, while Hart was again sacked twice. Despite putting up an unreal performance in the regular season, not a single Cardinal lineman was awarded a first-team All-Pro, which is nothing short of a travesty. As if one of the greatest O-lines in league history getting completely snubbed by the awards wasn’t enough, Dierdorf was the only member to even get a second-team All-Pro nod that year. The Cardinals continued their winning ways in 1976, going 10-4 to string together three winning seasons for the first time since 1949, when the team was still located in Chicago. Regardless, St. Louis had the misfortune of playing in the toughest division in the NFC in ’76, with the Dallas Cowboys finishing at 11-3 while the Washington Redskins (now Washington Commanders) also went 10-4 while winning the tiebreaker to take the final playoff spot. The unit now nicknamed “The Great Wall of St. Louis” lived up to their reputation, leading the NFL in fewest sacks allowed for a third straight season while the four-headed monster of Otis, Metcalf, newly acquired Steve Jones and rookie Wayne Morris rumbled for over 2,000 yards on the ground. As a result, Dierdorf finally captured the elusive first-team All-Pro designation. The Cardinals came back down to Earth in 1977, finishing with a modest 7-7 record. While the Great Wall’s reign as the league’s best pass blocking unit was ended by the Patriots, who allowed 14 sacks to St. Louis’ 15, their runner-up finish in the category was still nothing to sneeze at to say the least. Although the on-field success from a standings perspective was diminished, Dierdorf still claimed his second first-team All-Pro award at season’s end. 1978 was the first year under the 16-game era of the NFL’s existence, and it did not go well for the Cardinals as they went 6-10 to end their streak of non-losing seasons. The offense fell to near the bottom five, with the running game especially taking a hit as they were one of just four teams that failed to reach 2,000 yards rushing. Regardless, their pass blocking game was still on point, finishing third-best in the league with 22 sacks allowed, even despite having more than 100 more passing attempts than any other team in the top five. Because of this, Dierdorf earned his third consecutive first-team All-Pro, and fifth consecutive All-Pro nomination overall. However, his time at the top was about to come to an abrupt end. Just two games into the 1979 campaign, Dierdorf suffered a season-ending knee injury, meaning an already struggling offense would be without its veteran leader. Dierdorf’s absence was felt immediately, as the offensive line dropped to 15th in sacks allowed as the curtain closed on the decade. They redeemed themselves somewhat by enabling a fantastic showing from running back Ottis Anderson, who went off for 1,605 rushing yards to score Rookie of the Year honors, though the team itself disappointed with a 5-11 record. Dierdorf returned for the 1980 season, however, the Cardinals O-line was a far cry from what it had been in the ‘70s. Just a few short years after being the gold standard in pass protection, the team allowed a whopping 50 sacks, third-worst in the NFL. Although the backfield was still pulling its own weight with over 2,000 total yards, it would not save St. Louis from another 5-11 season. Despite the 1980 campaign being a rough one, Dierdorf somewhat surprisingly claimed his third second-team All-Pro, though this would be the last All-Pro selection of his career. St. Louis technically improved slightly in 1981, though it was still nowhere near postseason contention at 7-9. It’s actually kind of amazing they even managed to come that close, given how they had the second-worst defense in the league and a below average offense. The offensive line was certainly not helping said below average offense, as their 48 sacks allowed was fifth-worst in the NFL. The rushing attack continued to be the team’s saving grace, as Anderson put together his third 1,000-yard season. Hart, who had been the primary quarterback since the 1967 season, was officially done as the starter with the team going with second-round draft pick Neil Lomax under center for 1982. Although the 1982 season was marred by a player’s strike which reduced the number of games on each team’s schedule from 16 down to nine, the Cardinals were actually beneficiaries of this turn of events. With the significant reduction in games, the league decided once the strike ended that the number of playoff spots available would be temporarily increased from 10 to 16. With St. Louis finishing with a respectable but not fantastic 5-4 record, they slid into the playoffs for the first time since 1975. Although Dierdorf was no doubt thrilled to be back in the postseason, it would be uncharted territory as he had moved over from right tackle to center following various injuries around the line. This shuffling did not help the unit’s recent poor play, as they gave up the fifth-most sacks in the league at 32. Nonetheless, with the running game still going strong under Anderson, they were headed to Wisconsin to play their first round matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Just like his previous two trips to the playoffs, though, the Cardinals left empty-handed, being curb-stomped by the Packers 41-16. The Green Bay defensive line was able to wreak havoc with five sacks on Lomax, as defensive end Mike Butler led the way with two. The Cardinals were also unable to get anything going through the run, with Anderson leading the team with just 58 yards. Despite the offensive line shakeup clearly not working, head coach Jim Hanifan decided to keep Dierdorf at center for 1983, while newcomers Tootie Robbins and Art Plunkett split the right tackle duties. The Cardinals managed an 8-7-1 record, though this was in spite of the turmoil on the offensive line. The bottom completely fell out on what had been a legendary group, as St. Louis allowed a league-worst 59 sacks, with the hapless Philadelphia Eagles being the closest team ahead at 57. However, Dierdorf was only on the field for about half of the season, as injuries were beginning to catch up with him. His final start came on October 16th in a 34-27 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game which had to be an emotional one as Dierdorf had announced his impending retirement just a few days before. He was soon knocked out of the lineup once again, though he did return as a backup in the final two games, both of which were victories as the Cardinals salvaged their winning record. Though he certainly deserved a better send-off, Dierdorf left behind an excellent 13-year long NFL career, but there was debate on whether it would be a Hall of Fame career. He had plenty of personal accolades with six total All-Pro selections split evenly between first-team and second-team, but was also not without shortcomings as he never won a playoff game, with the second half of his career largely spent playing on mediocre Cardinals teams. His first year of eligibility in 1989 came and went without him being voted in, and was passed up again in 1990 despite being named as a finalist. He would be on the final ballot in three of the next five years, though this did not result in any breakthroughs. In the meantime, Dierdorf was scooped up by ABC to take over as color analyst for Monday Night Football games, a position he would hold from 1987 to 1998 while dabbling in covering college football games for the network as well. In 1996, however, the Great Wall of St. Louis would finally get representation in Canton. Dierdorf was elected in with fellow offensive tackle Lou Creekmur, who, like Dierdorf, also played his entire career with just one team, that being the Detroit Lions. The 1996 class also included Cowboys defensive back Mel Renfro, San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers wide receiver Charlie Joiner and Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs. Needless to say, Dierdorf was ecstatic to join his hometown Hall of Fame, even joking (probably) during his speech that he had broken the timer intended to limit each speaker to seven minutes. After departing from ABC, Dierdorf teamed up with NFL on CBS for the 1999 season, where he would commentate for the network until retiring from television broadcasting at the conclusion of the 2013 season. From there, Dierdorf returned to his alma mater, commentating radio broadcasts for Michigan Wolverines football from 2014 to 2021. In addition to entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dierdorf was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame just four years later. His #72 jersey was included as part of the St. Louis Football Ring of Fame in 1999, even though the Cardinals were no longer playing in the city at that point, but the Cardinals themselves would add Dierdorf as an inaugural member of their official Ring of Honor in 2006.