Whose the better player, Willis or Bowman?

Not the harder hitter or faster player in the 40....better player

There's a reason Bowman posted more tackles.

Much respect to #52 but I think #53 gets disrespected not being recognized as the best LB in the league.

Just noticed this is post 53

Yes, there IS a reason Bowman posted more tackles and it's because Willis has much more talent around him
now and doesn't have to do EVERYTHING on the D. That's why you see him cover tightends a lot more now than before. I remember someone posted up a link where Willis explains that he doesn't "have to take as many chances now" on D because he is able to rely on the other players around him.

Don't get me wrong Bowman is a straight up beast but "there is a reason" Patrick Willis is still labeled as being the best MLB in the game.

Who cares they're both Niners...

All this stuff here about Bowman and Willis. I love how eager people are to shove Willis aside for someone else. Bowman is great but Willis is Willis.

It's like asking a mother which child she loves better

Originally posted by wysiwyg:
It's like asking a mother which child she loves better

Originally posted by TJA85:
Yes, there IS a reason Bowman posted more tackles and it's because Willis has much more talent around him
now and doesn't have to do EVERYTHING on the D. That's why you see him cover tightends a lot more now than before. I remember someone posted up a link where Willis explains that he doesn't "have to take as many chances now" on D because he is able to rely on the other players around him.

Don't get me wrong Bowman is a straight up beast but "there is a reason" Patrick Willis is still labeled as being the best MLB in the game.

IMO you leave the best MLB on the field right?...so which LB gets benched when bringing in the DIME package? Seems to be a statement in itself by the coaches because usually the better MLB in a 3-4 plays the Mike.

So Willis has more talent than the guy playing right next to him? interesting...now don't get me wrong, they are both going to be HOF players

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
All this stuff here about Bowman and Willis. I love how eager people are to shove Willis aside for someone else. Bowman is great but Willis is Willis.

I'm not shoving Willis aside, just sparking a debate. Just curious to see where fans stand with their opinions while stating a case for the player they believe is better.

IMO if your rating them in MADDEN they both should be rated 99.

Originally posted by RishikeshA:

Originally posted by wysiwyg:
It's like asking a mother which child she loves better

not really. What's love got to do, got to do with it?

It's more like asking which Manning is better, Peyton or Eli?

Love Bowman, but Willis is the better player. Willis has better range and is more of a sure tackler. I've seen Bowman miss a lot more tackles than I have seen Willis miss.

Originally posted by wysiwyg:
It's like asking a mother which child she loves better

Yes, so true.

Stupid and divisive question.

They're both special. I think Willis is the most physically gifted, but Bowman's instincts are off the chart.

Originally posted by dyNASTYmode:

Originally posted by TJA85:

Yes, there IS a reason Bowman posted more tackles and it's because Willis has much more talent around him
now and doesn't have to do EVERYTHING on the D. That's why you see him cover tightends a lot more now than before. I remember someone posted up a link where Willis explains that he doesn't "have to take as many chances now" on D because he is able to rely on the other players around him.

Don't get me wrong Bowman is a straight up beast but "there is a reason" Patrick Willis is still labeled as being the best MLB in the game.

IMO you leave the best MLB on the field right?...so which LB gets benched when bringing in the DIME package? Seems to be a statement in itself by the coaches because usually the better MLB in a 3-4 plays the Mike.

So Willis has more talent than the guy playing right next to him? interesting...now don't get me wrong, they are both going to be HOF players

Again, Willis now has more talent around him and he can rely on others to help him make plays. Bowman has better lateral movement so he can cover the quicker RB's or WR's in Dime Packages. That's why Willis is taken off the field. Frank Gore is taken off the field in some formations and he's the best RB on the team, does that mean LMJ or Hunter is better? Walker gets featured in certain formations and not VD, does that make Walker better? You put players in certain packages/formations to utilize their strengths to make it effectively work.

Now if you're talking about a better overall MLB it's Willis by far.

Originally posted by pwillis52beasty:
Love Bowman, but Willis is the better player. Willis has better range and is more of a sure tackler. I've seen Bowman miss a lot more tackles than I have seen Willis miss.

If Bowman misses more tackles... how does he have more tackles the past 2 seasons since starting given Bowman played the TED his first year starting and swapping his 2nd year? Bowman sure tackles more than Willis more often since he started playing next to him. Bow diagnoses the plays really well taking clean angles, smooth and just seems to have quicker reflexes and flow to the ball through traffic.

IMO Willis closes like a heat seeking missile, blowing up lineman in his path to get to the RB while Bowman slithers like a snake and strikes.

Originally posted by SonocoNinerFan:
They're both special. I think Willis is the most physically gifted, but Bowman's instincts are off the chart.

That's how I feel exactly. Keeping that in mind, mind over matter's what matters.