For the Record: I liked Patrick Willis

[VJCPatriot]

49ers rookie LB Patrick Willis had a career-high 18 tackles -- including a career-high 16 solo tackles -- during a Week 12 win against the Cardinals. He also had 1/2 sack in the game. Willis now has 110 tackles and one sack in 11 games.
(Updated 11/25/2007).
http://sportsline.com/nfl/players/playerpage/430383

The problem was that he didn't last until the Patriots pick.
They subsequently passed on Beason and obtained a 4th round pick (Randy Moss) and future 2008 1st (currently #4).

I don't dislike linebackers at all. I was fully in favor of drafting Willis because I felt he was a special talent. You can go ahead and hunt up my posts. But the fact remains that BB, traditionally has not drafted linebackers early. It would have to take a very special talent for him to change his drafting pattern.

 

[carolinatony]

Being in Carolina we get all the southern football games and I seen him a lot. He was the best LB I seen the last few years and really wanted us to draft him.
We need some YOUNG LB's next year. I know experience and all that is great but you lose speed the older you get and we lack speed at LB!
I will not be suprised if BB does NOT draft LB again this year.

 

[zarakotas5]

I think the people that liked Willis far out-weighed those who didn't, no?

I read a funny post by someone that said something like "why do I have the feeling that whenever I think of Willis I'll hear the song 'I Will Always Love You'?"

 

[reflexblue]

49ers rookie LB Patrick Willis had a career-high 18 tackles -- including a career-high 16 solo tackles -- during a Week 12 win against the Cardinals. He also had 1/2 sack in the game. Willis now has 110 tackles and one sack in 11 games.
(Updated 11/25/2007).
http://sportsline.com/nfl/players/playerpage/430383

The problem was that he didn't last until the Patriots pick.
They subsequently passed on Beason and obtained a 4th round pick (Randy Moss) and future 2008 1st (currently #4).

I don't dislike linebackers at all. I was fully in favor of drafting Willis because I felt he was a special talent. You can go ahead and hunt up my posts. But the fact remains that BB, traditionally has not drafted linebackers early. It would have to take a very special talent for him to change his drafting pattern.

Yeah Me Too.Getting him was the problem if I remember correctly.

 

[VJCPatriot]

I think the people that liked Willis far out-weighed those who didn't, no?

I read a funny post by someone that said something like "why do I have the feeling that whenever I think of Willis I'll hear the song 'I Will Always Love You'?"

There were a number of people who argued that Willis was undersized to be a Patriots linebacker. I felt that his size, at 6-1 240, would be fine and could easily gain a few pounds if need be.

 

[sebman2112]

There were a number of people who argued that Willis was undersized to be a Patriots linebacker. I felt that his size, at 6-1 240, would be fine and could easily gain a few pounds if need be.

Willis, Meriweather, Woodley & Spencer were the players I liked for the Patriots in the 2007 draft (in that order), and I argued with BOR and others over Willis' ability to fit into NE's defense in a number of threads.

After a while I started to realize his being on the board when NE selected wasn't likely, so Meriweather then became my main guy, and I got into some heated discussions concerning Brandon.

Patrick Willis might have been my favorite player in that entire draft, and he's better than AJ Hawk (this discussion came up too), lol!

Oh, and the Patriots aren't going to draft McFadden

 

[Patriot Missile]

For the record I'd be willing to wager that 85% of the Patriots fanbase liked Willis too.

 

[dryheat44]

Right. I don't remember anybody not actively liking Willis, but there was a large camp, myself included, who were adamantly against trading up to get him, which would have been the two first rounders and then some. I wasn't sold on his fit into the NE system, but I gladly would have drafted him if he fell and rolled the dice.

For the record, my guys last year, in order, were Carriker, Revis, Meachem, and Spencer.

I was, and still am, firmly on the AJ Hawk side of that argument. I had forgotten who it was with. I'd rather have AJ Hawk than any ILB coming out this year as well.

 

[patchick]

Right. I don't remember anybody not actively liking Willis, but there was a large camp, myself included, who were adamantly against trading up to get him, which would have been the two first rounders and then some. I wasn't sold on his fit into the NE system, but I gladly would have drafted him if he fell and rolled the dice.

That's how I remember it too -- almost everyone would have been delighted to scoop up Willis if he slid, he was the top ILB prospect by a mile. The only debate was whether it was worth trading away essentially the entire draft to try to get him. (I said no, FWIW.)

Oh, for either a Willis or Hawk in this draft...

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Has anybody noticed that since Vilma went down with an injury for the Jets, ILB David Harris has been playing and is a tackling machine. I think he had a 20 tackle game this year.
Considering all he's had to learn in that defense, he has been very impressive thus far, despite a few hiccups.

 

[PonyExpress]

That's how I remember it too -- almost everyone would have been delighted to scoop up Willis if he slid, he was the top ILB prospect by a mile. The only debate was whether it was worth trading away essentially the entire draft to try to get him. (I said no, FWIW.)

Oh, for either a Willis or Hawk in this draft...

Hawk has been healthy and starting, but IMO has yet to be an impact player. It'll take another year to decide whether he was worth a top 5 pick. As of now I'm leaning toward no. From what I've seen D Harris looks like the best Lber taken in the last 2 years. He has the power to rag doll M. Barber in the open field. Only question with him is durability. The Pats should have taken him; maybe they would have if the Jets hadn't snuck ahead in rd 2. In retrospect they could have traded all their second day picks but one to move up in rd 2 and select Harris. After all, they threw most of those 2nd day picks away, except for Richardson.

I wanted Revis and Harris, and d%#*!@t if the Jets didn't take them both. The good news, however, is that the Jets appear to be sold on K. Clemens for next season, who IMO will be lucky to ever be a quality QB. That one decision negates all the other good ones the Jets brass have made and will make.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Willis is at it again. 20 tackles (12 solo and 8 assists) along with 2 sacks. That is not a typo. Man that is scary good. So my question is this, who is the next Patrick Willis?

 

[JackPMiller]

49ers rookie LB Patrick Willis had a career-high 18 tackles -- including a career-high 16 solo tackles -- during a Week 12 win against the Cardinals. He also had 1/2 sack in the game. Willis now has 110 tackles and one sack in 11 games.
(Updated 11/25/2007).
http://sportsline.com/nfl/players/playerpage/430383

The problem was that he didn't last until the Patriots pick.
They subsequently passed on Beason and obtained a 4th round pick (Randy Moss) and future 2008 1st (currently #4).

I don't dislike linebackers at all. I was fully in favor of drafting Willis because I felt he was a special talent. You can go ahead and hunt up my posts. But the fact remains that BB, traditionally has not drafted linebackers early. It would have to take a very special talent for him to change his drafting pattern.

So did I. He did not last to my Rams either. We did not have enough to trade up. Randy Karriker who works for a talk radio station, and good friends with John Shaw, stated the Rams really wanted to draft him, but Denver had a trade with the Bills if the 9ers passed on him. But the 9ers drafted P-Will, and we ended up taking Adam Carricker. In other words, the Broncos had more to offer than what we could of afford. I am not sure what they were going to offer to the Bills. My feeling may be two first round picks, one this year, and one nextyear er something to that effect.