ILB, Chris Borland, Wisconsin

It's the other way around Sus. Trade Willis for a first rounder. Borland is much younger, less injured, more reckless abandon at this point in his career. Willis has not and was not putting up this kind of production. He is on past reputation with the WZ. But he has dropped off and gotten older and more injuries have piled up. Borland is cheaper, younger, healthier and more productive. Yes more productive. I said it. Willis did not not have this production or game changing plays in X number of games as an equal number of games comparison.

Originally posted by JustinNiner:
does anyone think Borland is the perfect person to keep Wilson contained. I don't think Wilson will be able to juke Borland in the backfield

I'm the biggest Borland fan here. I called it in the preseason that he would be our best draft pick, in a sea of great picks during the preseason. However...

Borland is not a great OPEN FIELD tackler. That is his ONE weakness.

He can cover, he plays inline like a monster, he can take on blockers with power, he can blitz, but he is not a great open field tackler. He wasn't great at this in college either.
Wilson is one of the most elusive players in the NFL, and he is almost always running around in the open field. Using Borland to spy him would be a waste of Borlands other talents, IMO.

Originally posted by DarthNiner:
Borland just won Defensive Player of the week!

Just wait until we use him to blitz more. It's hilarious because his pass rush is just as good as everything else he does. It wouldn't surprise me to see a multi-sack game coming up for Borland in the next few weeks.

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Originally posted by DarthNiner:
Borland just won Defensive Player of the week!

Just wait until we use him to blitz more. It's hilarious because his pass rush is just as good as everything else he does. It wouldn't surprise me to see a multi-sack game coming up for Borland in the next few weeks.

he's so good in zone coverage though, screw blitzing him.

i have a feeling that he's gonna get a pick six at some point this season. maybe use the ol' bait and switch on derek carr and take it to the house

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Originally posted by DarthNiner:
Borland just won Defensive Player of the week!

Just wait until we use him to blitz more. It's hilarious because his pass rush is just as good as everything else he does. It wouldn't surprise me to see a multi-sack game coming up for Borland in the next few weeks.

he's so good in zone coverage though, screw blitzing him.

i have a feeling that he's gonna get a pick six at some point this season. maybe use the ol' bait and switch on derek carr and take it to the house

He's really, really good blitzing. You haven't seen him do it yet. That's where he does some of his biggest damage. Blitzing right up the middle.

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Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Originally posted by DarthNiner:
Borland just won Defensive Player of the week!

Just wait until we use him to blitz more. It's hilarious because his pass rush is just as good as everything else he does. It wouldn't surprise me to see a multi-sack game coming up for Borland in the next few weeks.

he's so good in zone coverage though, screw blitzing him.

i have a feeling that he's gonna get a pick six at some point this season. maybe use the ol' bait and switch on derek carr and take it to the house

He's really, really good blitzing. You haven't seen him do it yet. That's where he does some of his biggest damage. Blitzing right up the middle.

yeah with his great acceleration i can easily imagine him doing some damage, especially with some delayed blitzes.

Originally posted by Disp:

Originally posted by Rsrkshn:

Originally posted by Disp:

Originally posted by Rsrkshn:
Steady, WZ, steady. Borland has been excellent for these past three games, for sure. But we can, and shouldn't, expect this crazy rate of production for every single game going forward. I just hope that the Zone doesn't turn on him if things go wrong for him on a play or two. Like when he got caked on the goal line against Denver. It will happen.
Also I am concerned about the wear and tear on his body with the costant pounding he's experiencing. He does apparently have a weak shoulder. I just hope it doesn't cause him to miss games this year. Especially at a crucial juncture. If he makes it to the off season OK, I'll be feeling a lot more secure for next season. Niners will then have the time to make sure, whatever the problem, it's addressed.

Why can't we expect it? Sure, he's not going to be this good EVERY game, but so far each game he's played was better than the previous. Dude's an absolute monster that I haven't seen in a long time.

Primarily because he has a damaged shoulder and odds are high that he won't get through the season unscathed. It can be expected the it will effect his performance. Last week he was already wearing a non-contact jersey in practice. And I understand it was the shoulder.

Well again, why do you say that? Gore blew out both his knees in college. He hasn't had knee problems in the pros. You can't say he's going to have a shoulder injury again just cause he had one before. Every starter on the roster has probably been in a no contact jersey at some point this season. Players get dinged all the time and it doesn't mean anything long term.

You're entitled to believe what you will. For the sake of the team, I hope you're proved correct.

At this juncture, I feel the need to be more cautious and temper my expectations.

The WZ tends to swing to extremes. It's either All World or All Bust. Borland has only played significantly in 4 games. Neither his durabilty nor his consistency has been truly tested. It's looking good on consistency, but even there, OC's have no "book" on him. Things may change once they start game planning for him specifically.

I can remember back to CKs first year starting. He was going to be All World. The hype was off the charts. Well, defenses adjusted and he's been a lot less than that. So, I just temper my expectations: Not too high; not too low. But I feel enthusiastic and hope for the best.

On durability: Your point about Gore is well taken. Although I will say that their injuries are quite different. Gore does not have any metal screws inserted at a critical stress joint. The bone around metal is weaker and can fracture or chip because unlike living tissue there is very little "give" in metal. In Borland's case there have been alleged reports that the screws have "moved", and he has been also held back in practice because of his shoulder. So that concerns me for the team's sake. I do not recall that Gore has ever had similar issues with his knees once he came on board.

As I said, I hope that you are and I am unneccessarily concerned. But no one has a crystal ball here.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Originally posted by DarthNiner:
Borland just won Defensive Player of the week!

Just wait until we use him to blitz more. It's hilarious because his pass rush is just as good as everything else he does. It wouldn't surprise me to see a multi-sack game coming up for Borland in the next few weeks.

he's so good in zone coverage though, screw blitzing him.

i have a feeling that he's gonna get a pick six at some point this season. maybe use the ol' bait and switch on derek carr and take it to the house

He's really, really good blitzing. You haven't seen him do it yet. That's where he does some of his biggest damage. Blitzing right up the middle.

In his first game when he came in at halftime against the Rams, Fangio surprisingly sent him on a few blitzes. He got 1 sack and almost 1 or 2 more in just 1 half of play. I think no matter what he's doing in the box he's gonna be disruptive. Dude just knows the perfect angle to take, and the right holes to hit.

Originally posted by JustinNiner:
worst pick. wilhoitte is going to play for bowman. pretty much we wasted a 3rd on a guy to compete for a half season open position and ST player.

Originally posted by ChazBoner:
srsly, this was the worst pick of the draft. could've had this scrub in the 7th round I bet.

#49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio says ILB Chris Borland has gotten burned a few times by abandoning assignment and free-lancing.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) July 29, 2014

Originally posted by bigwads:
Horrible pick when it was made...and an even worse pick now.

Originally posted by susweel:
third round pick for a special teams only player.

Originally posted by matthewabbit:
Looked like a boy against men

lulz