Chris Borland?

The other thing that a T-Rex could do was kill anything in its path.

The more you read about him this offseason, the more you realize that being short with short arms may not be as big of a deal if you have good football instincts. All shapes and sizes, Zoners.

I know you white people love to hate on your own people, but Borland is actually a damn good athlete. Really agile and explosive.

Nobody is questioning Borlands mind or heart. The issue is his speed, height and length limit the fringe plays he can make. He can kill them when he can get there but his ability to get there isn't optimal and on this team, like on VERY few teams in NFL history the standard for ILB play is extraordinarily high.

Eh, he don't run a 4.4 forty but that combine s**t hardly ever translates to the field. His height is irrelevant, IMO...

Originally posted by m_brockalexander:
The more you read about him this offseason, the more you realize that being short with short arms may not be as big of a deal if you have good football instincts. All shapes and sizes, Zoners.

......

Lol.

He was the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year for a reason sounding like he has had a good off season so far.

Can we not throw out players height/weight etc. when determining whether he will be good / bad. Do we forget the Super Bowl winning QB Wilson is under 6 feet tall!

Wrs like Crooks and Tavon Austin are 6 ft or under too.

I cant wait for this season to start. I also want to know how long A. Smith will be suspended.

as an inside linebacker, if you are extraordinarily quick to react, you can be a 5.0 40 guy and be an outstanding player. it's all about the time it takes to figure out what to do and doing it. 40 time is irrelevant. if you can diagnose in 1/10 second, you will make the play. if it takes you 1-2 seconds to get the correct diagnosis, you will be chasing the dude down the field.

Originally posted by xcfan:

as an inside linebacker, if you are extraordinarily quick to react, you can be a 5.0 40 guy and be an outstanding player. it's all about the time it takes to figure out what to do and doing it. 40 time is irrelevant. if you can diagnose in 1/10 second, you will make the play. if it takes you 1-2 seconds to get the correct diagnosis, you will be chasing the dude down the field.

I'm eager to see him play. On paper, he looks like the 2nd coming of Jack Reynolds from the '81 squad.

Originally posted by xcfan:
as an inside linebacker, if you are extraordinarily quick to react, you can be a 5.0 40 guy and be an outstanding player. it's all about the time it takes to figure out what to do and doing it. 40 time is irrelevant. if you can diagnose in 1/10 second, you will make the play. if it takes you 1-2 seconds to get the correct diagnosis, you will be chasing the dude down the field.

Originally posted by Canadian9erfan:

Can we not throw out players height/weight etc. when determining whether he will be good / bad. Do we forget the Super Bowl winning QB Wilson is under 6 feet tall!

Wrs like Crooks and Tavon Austin are 6 ft or under too.

I cant wait for this season to start. I also want to know how long A. Smith will be suspended.

I am thinking two games as likely to a max of four

Bill Polian said a max of 3 games for Aldon.

If you can run a 4.3 AND diagnose the play in 1/1000 of a second you will get a tackle for a loss, if you run a 4.8 and diagnose the play in 1/1000 of a second you get a tackle for a short gain. It's not that speed is irrelevant, it's just that it's not the most relevant element of playing the position. I was a slow ILB who loved contact, but I also know that even when I did everything right there were some plays I couldn't make by just a tiny bit ... had I been 2 inches taller or with 4 inch longer arms or just a tiny bit faster I would have made that play. The 49ers have 2 ILBs who diagnose the play VERY quickly and who have good size and speed ... the standard is VERY VERY VERY high for ILB play here and Borland is smaller, shorter armed, and slower than is optimal. Anybody denying it matters at all have not played the game.

Originally posted by Scoots:
Bill Polian said a max of 3 games for Aldon.

If you can run a 4.3 AND diagnose the play in 1/1000 of a second you will get a tackle for a loss, if you run a 4.8 and diagnose the play in 1/1000 of a second you get a tackle for a short gain. It's not that speed is irrelevant, it's just that it's not the most relevant element of playing the position. I was a slow ILB who loved contact, but I also know that even when I did everything right there were some plays I couldn't make by just a tiny bit ... had I been 2 inches taller or with 4 inch longer arms or just a tiny bit faster I would have made that play. The 49ers have 2 ILBs who diagnose the play VERY quickly and who have good size and speed ... the standard is VERY VERY VERY high for ILB play here and Borland is smaller, shorter armed, and slower than is optimal. Anybody denying it matters at all have not played the game.

Which is why he was available for us... if he was optimal he would of been a first round pick.

In terms of your example, Any LB who diagnoses the play in 1/1000 of a second (which is technically impossible but I know what you meant;)) basically knows the play at the snap from film study, which results in tackles for loss or at the most a 1-2 yard gain, thats still a win for the defense. He only has to run 3-5 yards to make the tackle, now take a 4.3 40 and a 4.8 40 and and convert it down to 3-5 yards... minimal difference. Speed matters sideline to sideline, not so much if you are run-stuffing tank which is what his role will be. I was a big slow LB too, but my responsibilities were to blow up guards and FBs and clear the way for the faster guy next to me to clean up with a tackle. Was I gonna be able to chase down any phenomenal athlete... no, but that wasnt my role. And it wont be his, they arent gonna ask Borland to be the coverage LB in nickel or dime, that'll be Willis or Bowman when he is back. But if an offense comes out in a heavy set then Borland will wreck house cause then all he needs is brains and leverage, being taller or longer doesnt really do much for an inside run stuffer.