Back then the writers and scouts had to watch the players play - they couldn't just crush the numbers from test results and call it a report or a column.
Youngblood got to play bestde Merlin Olsen and other Rams greats.
Dierdorf? Got stuck with Conrad Dobler. For those too young to remember his best moves were holding and ilegal hands to the whatever, and if those failed, the leg whip. Odly enough he didn't play to injure anybody, or didn't appear to. But he was so flat-out dirty that he'd get into opposing player's heads. It was ultimately a mind game with Dobler. People were so preoccupied trying to guess what cheap move he'd do next that they'd lose focus on their assignments.
Despite Dobler, Dierdorf exceeded expectations and was a good football player. He was one of these guys who could reach deep inside himself and get the block when the team needed it - regardless what Dobler was doing.I think Dobler's loathsome presence detracted from Dierdorf's reputation.
