Patrick Willis: Over hyped or Under appreciated

Originally posted by Furlow:
I appreciate the honest question and unlike everyone else, I will try to give an honest FOOTBALL answer. Willis is highly regarded because of his ability to do a variety of things very well. You're right, when we ran the 4-3 he was a beast on the stat sheet. That is how a 4-3 is designed. With Fangio's 3-4 scheme, the ILB's have to share the "glory." Willis probably will not ever lead the league in tackles, at least not while we run the 3-4. Couple that with the outstanding play of Bowman, and his stat sheet production has gone down even more. He's also not an amazing pass rusher, so his sack totals suffer, and he's only a marginal "ball hawk," so he doesn't get many INT's.

I know it may sound like I'm down on Willis, but I'm not. He is the most complete ILB ever. EVER. By far the most sure tackler in the league today, and maybe of all time. When do you ever see anyone break free from him? I can't think of one time. He takes on lead blocks and stuffs them immediately, creating space for Bowman to make a play. That aspect of his play cannot be understated... How many players can you think of that would have their role changed from being the featured player on defense (the MLB in a 4-3) to just a "piece" of a team defense?

The most underrated aspect of Willis' play though, is his pass coverage ability. In Fangio's scheme, he's asked to do this A LOT. And he's not asked to cover FB's or even RB's. No, he's covering TE's. And we all know that most TE's today are just WR's with a "TE" next to their name. His pass coverage is excellent. And when he's 30 yards down field, he's not going to get as many opportunities to make tackles and be on the stat sheet. TEAM PLAYER.

Obviously he is physically gifted, and his ability to go sideline to sideline is well documented. But his willingness to sacrifice his own personal glory for the good of the team, and his ability to excel at every aspect of what he's asked to do - is why he is so highly regarded.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
What a bunch of fluff responses......less than a handful of you were even able to articulate why he is good.....LOL. I know he's good, or I should say great, but its like looking at fine art, if you dont understand what your looking at its hard to appreciate. I was just hoping to get a better understanding of "what actually makes him so great?" My guess is that he has elite physical ability, mixed with text book fundementals. Relative to other LBs he doesn't have a weakness. Can he cover like a elite CB, no. However what LB can? The only thing I'd like to see more of are big moment plays. Yet I'm afraid we'll see less and less of them as he's always in some coverage assignment.. The truly great game changers are allowed to roam. One stat I was suprised to see was how many fumbles he's caused. Again, with the exception of a few, thanks for the weak responses.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
What a bunch of fluff responses......less than a handful of you were even able to articulate why he is good.....LOL. I know he's good, or I should say great, but its like looking at fine art, if you dont understand what your looking at its hard to appreciate. I was just hoping to get a better understanding of "what actually makes him so great?" My guess is that he has elite physical ability, mixed with text book fundementals. Relative to other LBs he doesn't have a weakness. Can he cover like a elite CB, no. However what LB can? The only thing I'd like to see more of are big moment plays. Yet I'm afraid we'll see less and less of them as he's always in some coverage assignment.. The truly great game changers are allowed to roam. One stat I was suprised to see was how many fumbles he's caused. Again, with the exception of a few, thanks for the weak responses.

Originally posted by 49erfeeeever808:

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
What a bunch of fluff responses......less than a handful of you were even able to articulate why he is good.....LOL. I know he's good, or I should say great, but its like looking at fine art, if you dont understand what your looking at its hard to appreciate. I was just hoping to get a better understanding of "what actually makes him so great?" My guess is that he has elite physical ability, mixed with text book fundementals. Relative to other LBs he doesn't have a weakness. Can he cover like a elite CB, no. However what LB can? The only thing I'd like to see more of are big moment plays. Yet I'm afraid we'll see less and less of them as he's always in some coverage assignment.. The truly great game changers are allowed to roam. One stat I was suprised to see was how many fumbles he's caused. Again, with the exception of a few, thanks for the weak responses.

so you're saying this thread was a test...............................

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
No player in the NFL makes 5 straight pro-bowls in as many years playing, consistently voted to the all-pro team by AP and holds a DROY to boot, if they are not a great player.

However, in Fangio's new scheme I'm having a really difficult time appreciating P.Willy's value. For the last year I've just chalked it up to my lack of understanding, but I'm tired of that excuse. So I'm hoping someone can break it down for me what it is Willis does that sets him apart (aside for character). Is he really a game changer and if so how? Is anyone willing to help?

Originally posted by ruthless49er:

Originally posted by niners94:

Neither. Everybody knows he's the best in the business.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by 49erfeeeever808:

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
What a bunch of fluff responses......less than a handful of you were even able to articulate why he is good.....LOL. I know he's good, or I should say great, but its like looking at fine art, if you dont understand what your looking at its hard to appreciate. I was just hoping to get a better understanding of "what actually makes him so great?" My guess is that he has elite physical ability, mixed with text book fundementals. Relative to other LBs he doesn't have a weakness. Can he cover like a elite CB, no. However what LB can? The only thing I'd like to see more of are big moment plays. Yet I'm afraid we'll see less and less of them as he's always in some coverage assignment.. The truly great game changers are allowed to roam. One stat I was suprised to see was how many fumbles he's caused. Again, with the exception of a few, thanks for the weak responses.

so you're saying this thread was a test...............................

No, I know he's elite, but its hard for me to see his greatness. Its not like Aldon or J.Smith where its get the QB and you've done good. My guess its the fundementals that make him great, not the "flash."

I was hoping one of the stat guru's would come through with compelling arguments, like they do for A.Smith... I feel a lot of people on this board take that he's great for granted, but like me, not totally sure how to quantify it.

Originally posted by Furlow:

Originally posted by GuessWhosOn3rd:
He is no where near Over-hyped.