ESPN Power Rankings: Willis #1 LB | Page 3

Originally posted by bigginz54:
To think some of us wanted adam Carriker

Looking back at that draft there were some good players taken after him in positions that we needed Revis, Merriweather, Bowe, L Hall, to name a few players off the top of my head. Glad Nowin and mcclueless got this one right IMO

That's a half truth...

Some of us wanted Adam Carriker AND David Harris. The Lambs used Carriker wrong so he disappeared...but he has been solid...better than what we have at DL with the exception of Justin Smith. As for Harris, the guy is a stud...he may not be Patrick...patrick is a once in a decade type player.

The question is: what would be of more value...a solid DE and a stud ILB or one of the best ILBs to play the game? Sure, I'd chose Patrick now, knowing what I know...but I wouldn't be sad if we had gone the other way. It made sense at the time and it wouldn't have sucked if we had done it.

Apr 13, 2011 at 1:43 AM

#37

bigmike55
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Posts: 3,474

DeMarcus Ware is overrated.

Apr 13, 2011 at 7:10 AM

#38

jreff22
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Posts: 65,482

no s**t

Apr 13, 2011 at 9:49 AM

#39

49ersMan420
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Posts: 3,215

"The Truth!"

Apr 13, 2011 at 9:52 AM

#40

TheXFactor
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Posts: 25,593

I wonder where does VD rank with the other TE's? Top 10 def? top 5?

Apr 13, 2011 at 9:52 AM

#41

SybErkRimInAL
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Posts: 59,184

perfect time to trade him for Tom Brady.

Apr 13, 2011 at 9:54 AM

#42

valrod33
Hall of Small
Posts: 137,970

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
perfect time to trade him for Tom Brady.

This

Apr 13, 2011 at 9:57 AM

#43

Apone
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Posts: 1,739

Not surprised Mr. Mackey has him at #3....douche.

Apr 13, 2011 at 9:57 AM

#44

wolfpack52
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Posts: 581

Hopefully he gets a little help in the draft. I think he needs to put some weight on this offseason. He moved faster this year but had trouble shedding blocks. I saw him get pwned a few too many times by FBs

Apr 13, 2011 at 10:55 AM

#45

lamontb
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Posts: 30,036

Originally posted by crabman82:
Originally posted by lamontb:
Originally posted by crabman82:
Originally posted by lamontb:
Originally posted by crabman82:
every great defender has that 1 year where they are clearly the best defensive player in the game, deion in 1994, derrick brooks in 2002, ed reed in 2004, etc. i'm hoping willis has one of those signature years coming up.

Gotta get to the playoffs so he can make some impact plays on a large stage.

it has nothing to do with the playoffs, all the great defensive players had their 1 stand out season where they were clearly the best defensive player in the game, for example strahan won it in 2001 on a 7-9 team, reggie white on a 7-8 team, cortez kennedy on a 2-14 team. its got nothing to do with the playoffs at all, right now willis is in a group of very talented elite defensive players, to truley be special he needs a season where its clear amongst all the best defensive players hes the clear cut best def player that year. i look forward to him having that year sometime soon

But those are defensive ends that rack up sack numbers. For a middle linebacker in a 3-4 he's gonna need to be on a larger scale to get those votes. He isn't in a position to have have many sacks or int's. and those are the glory stats for defenders. For a mlb you need to make plays in the playoffs on a large scale so everybody takes notice. Leading the league in tackles means nothing to most ppl. Ray Lewis had plenty of standout seasons but was an MVP in years that he added playoff performances on top of his regular seasons. That's why the majority of the time the defensive MVP either leads the league in sacks or int's.

the defensive player of the year award is voted on before the playoffs, if a DT on a 2-14 team can win the award i am pretty sure willis can too without making the playoffs, hes a great player but needs to step his game up a bit to justify a #1 ranking, to me its not about national exposure its about more splash plays like his td's against stl and seattle in recent seasons

That's my point. He won't have those type of big plays b/c he's a MLB in a 3-4. That's why I said he needs to be in the playoffs for those extra votes, or at least on a winning team. Kennedy had 14 sacks so it doesn't matter if his team record was terrible b/c he got the glory stats numbers. Either you have a ton of int's or a ton of sacks or you don't win.