Whose the better player, Willis or Bowman?

navorro is looking as good as he is because of patrick willis. because williscovers so much ground bowman is able to play at the level he is. the fact that willis isnt asked to do as much tackling is a good thing. it will prolong his career . maybe Pwillie has lost a half step from when he came in the league and was running down WRs but he is just being asked to do different things now.

Originally posted by SashRoxx-1:
Who cares they're both Niners...

I know right, both are 9ers and helping us win, GO 49ERS!!!

both are top 2 NFL LB's in the league. Dont curr which is 1 or 2.

They are different players with different responsibilities. You cannot compare them based on statistics. If Willis retired tomorrow he would be first ballot HOF. Bowman has about three more years at the current level to even begin to reach that level.

Originally posted by matthewabbit:

navorro is looking as good as he is because of patrick willis. because williscovers so much ground bowman is able to play at the level he is. the fact that willis isnt asked to do as much tackling is a good thing. it will prolong his career . maybe Pwillie has lost a half step from when he came in the league and was running down WRs but he is just being asked to do different things now.

Bowman looked just as good as he always does when Willis missed a couple games in 2011. So, no, you can't just credit Willis for Bowman's performance like that.

bowman has the explosiveness that willis used to have which is great to dominate in the box close to the line of scrimmage

willis can cover TE's pretty deep in the back field. bowman is never asked to do that.

glad we have both

Originally posted by Niners99:

Willis.

6 years in the league, 6 years all-pro.

Bowman has the chance to be just as good, but hes got some catching up to do.

On the same token, Bowman has started for 2 years and has 2 All-Pro selections. They're both batting 1.000 right now. You can't use that as an indication of who's better RIGHT NOW. Ray Lewis has more All-Pro nods than both of them combined, but you can't try to tell me that made him better than either of them in 2012.

I hate to sound like I'm pulling for Bowman over Willis, but some of the reasons people have against Bowman simply don't hold any weight. It's a nice discussion to have, since both guys are Niners and are locked up for years to come.

Originally posted by iLL49er:

Originally posted by blizzuntz:
Bowman is better in coverage

this can't be further from the truth. willis is the cover LB

My opinion about this is that opposing offenses motion their TE to get them matched up against Willis. I saw this happen a lot against Atlanta with Gonzalez for example.

If Willis does have a weakness, it's in coverage IMO. It makes sense too. Would you rather have Willis in coverage on the TE or the RB? If Willis goes with the TE, that's naturally a better match-up if/when Bowman follows the RB. Moreover, this also then opens up the shallow middle of the field.

Originally posted by iLL49er:
bowman has the explosiveness that willis used to have which is great to dominate in the box close to the line of scrimmage

willis can cover TE's pretty deep in the back field. bowman is never asked to do that.

glad we have both

used to have? why do people think willis slowed down? he still looks like the same old willis to me. dude is a beast. i still think hes our best player

Originally posted by matthewabbit:
navorro is looking as good as he is because of patrick willis. because williscovers so much ground bowman is able to play at the level he is. the fact that willis isnt asked to do as much tackling is a good thing. it will prolong his career . maybe Pwillie has lost a half step from when he came in the league and was running down WRs but he is just being asked to do different things now.

Annoying how everybody gives Willis all the credit for Bowman's production. Willis didn't lose a step, Bowman simply responds quicker when the ball is snapped. Put it this way, Willis would not of had to chase down that WR vs. the Cardinals had Bowman been there because Bowman would've had him wrapped up already.

Originally posted by 9erfanAUS:

Originally posted by iLL49er:

Originally posted by blizzuntz:
Bowman is better in coverage

this can't be further from the truth. willis is the cover LB

My opinion about this is that opposing offenses motion their TE to get them matched up against Willis. I saw this happen a lot against Atlanta with Gonzalez for example.

If Willis does have a weakness, it's in coverage IMO. It makes sense too. Would you rather have Willis in coverage on the TE or the RB? If Willis goes with the TE, that's naturally a better match-up if/when Bowman follows the RB. Moreover, this also then opens up the shallow middle of the field.

gonzo was making great plays that day...if u have watched willis he's shut down plenty of great TE's over the course of the last 2yrs....even the best of them give up something sometimes.

he's not a weakness in coverage

Originally posted by hondakillerzx:

Originally posted by iLL49er:
bowman has the explosiveness that willis used to have which is great to dominate in the box close to the line of scrimmage

willis can cover TE's pretty deep in the back field. bowman is never asked to do that.

glad we have both

used to have? why do people think willis slowed down? he still looks like the same old willis to me. dude is a beast. i still think hes our best player

i recall a quote in the off-season where willis admitted he's not as fast as he used to be but he's got more knowledge of the game to maek up for it

Originally posted by dyNASTYmode:

Originally posted by matthewabbit:
navorro is looking as good as he is because of patrick willis. because williscovers so much ground bowman is able to play at the level he is. the fact that willis isnt asked to do as much tackling is a good thing. it will prolong his career . maybe Pwillie has lost a half step from when he came in the league and was running down WRs but he is just being asked to do different things now.

Annoying how everybody gives Willis all the credit for Bowman's production. Willis didn't lose a step, Bowman simply responds quicker when the ball is snapped. Put it this way, Willis would not of had to chase down that WR vs. the Cardinals had Bowman been there because Bowman would've had him wrapped up already.

Absolutely impossible for you to know this, making it a ridiculous statement. They have different responsibilities. Willis assignments benefit from his experience and savvy. Covering downhill on a RB is MUCH easier than running the seam with a TE. Blocking schemes account for Willis much more than they do for Bowman. If you don't believe me, watch how early OLs bail on their double teams to get out on Willis. They don't do that for Bow. Bowman is very good, and I am glad we have him. Comparing him to Willis is for casual fans, idiot comentators and people who have never had to scheme for a defense before.

Originally posted by iLL49er:

Originally posted by 9erfanAUS:

Originally posted by iLL49er:

Originally posted by blizzuntz:
Bowman is better in coverage

this can't be further from the truth. willis is the cover LB

My opinion about this is that opposing offenses motion their TE to get them matched up against Willis. I saw this happen a lot against Atlanta with Gonzalez for example.

If Willis does have a weakness, it's in coverage IMO. It makes sense too. Would you rather have Willis in coverage on the TE or the RB? If Willis goes with the TE, that's naturally a better match-up if/when Bowman follows the RB. Moreover, this also then opens up the shallow middle of the field.

gonzo was making great plays that day...if u have watched willis he's shut down plenty of great TE's over the course of the last 2yrs....even the best of them give up something sometimes.

he's not a weakness in coverage

Belichik called him the best cover man on our team.