Originally posted by denali22:
Originally posted by lordfangio:
At the end of the day though, it is still a business. They are super close, but there was plenty documented on how close Willis was with Spikes too and we didn't even offer him a contract after 2010. I obviously hope we can extend him if we can do so reasonably under the cap, but no doubt it will be tricky with one of our higher paid players also being an ILB and it's hard to expect him to take much of a hometown discount when he hasn't been paid yet. It's far easier to take a hometown discount when you're on your 2nd (or more) big contract...very tough to do on 1st, but like I said, let's hope Baalke/Marathe work their magic! 
im a fan of spikes, but he was nowhere NEAR as good as bowman is right now. plus the fact that bowman is 11 years younger than spikes.
I completely agree that Bo is better (though Spikes did arguably play at a pro bowl level in 2010, he was by no means chopped liver)...but 2 things that are important to take into account are that Willis and Spikes, like Willis and Bo, were super close and like brothers...so you can't just say 'ya it's a slam dunk that we'll extend Bo because he and Pat are close' ... it doesn't always work like that (for more proof, Gore was super close with Moran Norris and Bishop Harris)...also, it's not exactly like teams were gonna be throwing 8 figure/year contract offers at Spikes but you can bet your bottom dollar that would be the case if Bo hits the open market...
[ Edited by lordfangio on Sep 22, 2012 at 11:19 AM ]