Whose the better player, Willis or Bowman?

HAH!!! There used to be a forum called FANHOME (49ERS) and there once was a topic of who was the better CB.. Eric Wright or Ronnie Lott..??

Sure Eric Wright was the better cover corner, but Ronnie Lott was the better player... I could compare this same question to that..

Who is better Patrick Willis or Navarro Bowman...???

Stats can play tricks on you, but if you're on the clock to draft your ILB for the next 10 years.. You'd pick Patrick Willis in a heartbeat...

both are really good

Originally posted by 9moon:
HAH!!! There used to be a forum called FANHOME (49ERS) and there once was a topic of who was the better CB.. Eric Wright or Ronnie Lott..??

Sure Eric Wright was the better cover corner, but Ronnie Lott was the better player... I could compare this same question to that..

Who is better Patrick Willis or Navarro Bowman...???

Stats can play tricks on you, but if you're on the clock to draft your ILB for the next 10 years.. You'd pick Patrick Willis in a heartbeat...

cant find any bowman highlights but this. All I know is that it's not the only play where you see bowman digest the play, attacking quicker.
Still nobody blows up players like Willis.

either way the 49ers got #1 & #2 best LBs in the league

Originally posted by dyNASTYmode:

either way the 49ers got #1 & #2 best LBs in the league

1a and 1b

Gonna take the easy road and say I'm glad we have both of them.

But with the two best ILBs in the game, I'm still mad that Fangio isn't more creative with them. Or is Fangio so vanilla with them because they're so good at what they do?

Bowman gets more tackles because Willis gets more attention. They'll have a player maybe 2 at times just to try to get a block on Willis. I remember against the Ravens listening to the sound FX, they were telling Leach to get on Willis every play he was in.

Stats don't mean everything. Bowman isn't a better player if he has more tackles than Willis. A corner isn't a better corner if he has more INTs than Revis.

I do love Bowman though. Dude played his heart out in the post season. PWilly is the best mlb in the league, Bowman is the 2nd best.

Originally posted by dyNASTYmode:

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?

no. there can only be one manning per team. this is like asking to pick favorite child and I can't even vote because I'm afraid the other will find out!

Originally posted by FunkNinerFlex:

Gonna take the easy road and say I'm glad we have both of them.

But with the two best ILBs in the game, I'm still mad that Fangio isn't more creative with them. Or is Fangio so vanilla with them because they're so good at what they do?

I agree. He has the 2 best and most athletic LBs in the league and he just mans them up with the TE most of the time. Dude needs to get more creative with all the talent we have.

Willis seemed a lot faster before all of the wieght lifting, he looks like a body builder now. Still the man though...

Easiest question to answer
Who do offenses read and focus on?
Willis!!
Thread/

We do have the best Starting LBs in the NFL!!!!
Brooks-Willis-Bowman-Smith

Originally posted by dyNASTYmode:

Originally posted by TJA85:

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.

So Willis can stand on the sideline and rely on Bowman to make plays in dime packages because you admit he moves better laterally, but even more so he's more instinctive and can be trusted in open space. I understand utilizing strengths and weaknesses but to compare offensive packages to defensive packages is offensive.

Again with that more talent around Willis thing...4 players come to mind, Carlos Rogers, Donte Whitner, Aldon Smith, and....Navorro Bowman, 2 of which are in the secondary so the front seven was basically the same because Aldon didn't start since this past year. SINCE Bowman's 1rst 2 seasons starting HE LEAD THE TEAM IN TACKLES, as a TED in his first season and as a MIKE backer in his second season.

Again usually the MIKE backer is more often then not, the #1MLB which is why Willis WAS the MIKE backer in Bowman first year starting, but after he led the team in tackles, guess who became the MIKE backer. Kind of a coaching statement, but Bowman is more instinctive, better in coverage and a better blitzer by far.

How good is strength and speed if your hesitating? That hesitation will change a 40 time real quick don't you say

That's like saying Aldon Smith is better than Justin Smith because he has more sack numbers. So getting more tackles as an ILB makes you better than Patrick Willis?

They have 2 different responsibilities when they're playing next to each other. Same thing as Justin Smith and Aldon Smith. The last 2 seasons Willis was asked more to cover TE's 1-on-1 allowing Bowman to stay behind and stop runs up close. Willis being on the field impacts the LB's greatly much like Justin Smith. I can guarentee you that Bowman will not put up those kinds of stats without Willis being in there. Want proof?

Back in 2011 when Willis was out for those 3 games, Bowman took over Willis' spot and only had 6, 3, and 8 tackles while Larry Grant filled in for Bowman's position and posted up 11, 5, and 12 tackles. Grant had more tackles than Bowman in all 3 of those games, but since we're playing the stats game, I guess that makes Grant better than Bowman by default.

While we're still playing the stats game, Willis has had more PD's than Bowman the last 2 seasons, so what does that make him?

Bowman is a star but he's no Patrick Willis. Aldon Smith is a star but he's no Justin Smith.

Originally posted by InconvenienTTruth21:
Bowman gets more tackles because Willis gets more attention. They'll have a player maybe 2 at times just to try to get a block on Willis. I remember against the Ravens listening to the sound FX, they were telling Leach to get on Willis every play he was in.

Stats don't mean everything. Bowman isn't a better player if he has more tackles than Willis. A corner isn't a better corner if he has more INTs than Revis.

I do love Bowman though. Dude played his heart out in the post season. PWilly is the best mlb in the league, Bowman is the 2nd best.

This.

1. Patrick Willis best in the game
2-5 Bowman is a beast and can be placed in the top 5 although Willis is still #1

I Love Both of them, I do think Bowman is slightly better, BUT THEY BOTH NEED TO BE REPLACED ON 3rd DOWNS by Parrish Cox or an upgraded pass coverage only type LB like the Redskins used to have in Monte Coleman of the 80's and early 90's (strictly a pass coverage LB to replace both BOW & WILLIS on passing downs only), they both got smoked in coverage all season but Bowman did make that big play vs Roddy White on 4th down.