I guess I'm the only one who doesn't believe in Wilhoite as a legit starter.

Originally posted by cciowa:

Originally posted by Constantine:

Originally posted by NinerGM:
I think it's a very important topic Afrikan brings up. I'll admit I am legitimately worried about Wilhote any time he's on the field. Offenses will immediately read this and just iso their better TE on him as an option out of any running formation. They will force a matchup where he's covering someone in space which was always a big problem. However, I think ILB is very different from what we have at G and CB, particularly G where there's a near flood of talent at OG - and some people who are on the team as "projects" from years past won't make it past the first cutdown day. CB again, I think there's enough depth there to be ok and Brock was better than both CBs who left the team when healthy - and he usually is.

As far as ILB? I'm suspecting Trent has a plan for that and it's quite obvious it's a weakness there. It's just the start to a very long offseason folks. The roster is FAR from set and don't be shocked if we consider trading for a player ala Stevie Johnson. I'm being patient for now but this will absolutely be a concern going into the season.

I hope we make a trade

maybe the team is going to have some camps and practice before they make any move,,. maybe they are fine with who they have and are waiting for camps and practices to see if their evaluations are correct. if they are not, they can still sign a lance briggs but i do not think it will come to that.. by not drafting a inside backer the team is telling me bowman is ok and i got no issue with michael and we signed three backers including wheeler whose best year came when his coach with oakland is now his coach here , so while it may be "obvious" to you it is a weakness,, i do not adhere to your theory

I'm not sure how the coaches or anyone could say Bowman is ok until he actually plays: cuts, hits and takes hits, and even then, there's always a question of will it hold up. Frankly, we know what we have in Wilhoite, but we really don't know if the real Bowman is back. The guys behind them are question marks as well. That's why not taking an inside backer is a head scratcher. Time will tell if Baalke's strategy is a winner. Considering some of his huge misses, I think we have cause for concern, at the least.

He played pretty well last season...a good deal of it w/o Willis. Alongside Bowman he'll be just fine. Baalke brought in vets Bishop & Wheeler and has the younger Moody and Skov for depth. I'm not worried about ILB.

This guy is an average player. Stop comparing him to willis, he will never be that good. Again, thats not a bad thing. We already have a stud linebacker, his name is Navarro Bowman he is kind of good sometimes. Im not convinced any of the linebackers in this draft would have beaten wilhoite for the starting spot, maybe they would have but maybe not. People act like he is terrible, he is not. You are going to have an average player or two on any good team. ITS NOT A BAD THING. No one can afford to have entire sides of the ball loaded with above average to hof talent for very long, get over it, this isnt madden.

Originally posted by philosoraptor:
This guy is an average player. Stop comparing him to willis, he will never be that good. Again, thats not a bad thing. We already have a stud linebacker, his name is Navarro Bowman he is kind of good sometimes. Im not convinced any of the linebackers in this draft would have beaten wilhoite for the starting spot, maybe they would have but maybe not. People act like he is terrible, he is not. You are going to have an average player or two on any good team. ITS NOT A BAD THING. No one can afford to have entire sides of the ball loaded with above average to hof talent for very long, get over it, this isnt madden.

OK,, for the millionth time,,,,, NO ONE is comparing him to willis or at least they should not. i think michael is above average and we could do a heckuva lot worse than having him here. we also got a bunch of guys we signed to compete plus we will see how much moody has gotten better.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Seems likely they'll move Brooks inside and ask him to be the 2-down thumper.

I don't know, maybe he'll compete there. But I think eventually in the future, we'll look for a young star to hold down the spot for a long time.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Seems likely they'll move Brooks inside and ask him to be the 2-down thumper.

I don't know, maybe he'll compete there. But I think eventually in the future, we'll look for a young star to hold down the spot for a long time.

The idea of moving him inside is interesting, but..............


Has there been any indication, even a hint, from Baalke or Tomsula that Brooks will be moved inside?

Originally posted by buck:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Seems likely they'll move Brooks inside and ask him to be the 2-down thumper.

I don't know, maybe he'll compete there. But I think eventually in the future, we'll look for a young star to hold down the spot for a long time.

The idea of moving him inside is interesting, but..............


Has there been any indication, even a hint, from Baalke or Tomsula that Brooks will be moved inside?

i think it is just coming from the heads of some of the zoners , which is probably the worst possible place it can come from . we got bodies to compete at inside back with bowman and michael. lets just wait to see how that works before we go nuts and starting moving people around or signing lance briggs

I would label Wilhoite a "quasi starter" ...he IS good enough to be a starter, but if a younger more athletic ILB with a higher ceiling is brought in, Wilhoite will be back to reserve duty ...but don't get me wrong, I want Wilhoite on our team ...he's a loyal soldier

Wilhoite is a solid backup. I'm really not comfortable with him being the starter next to Bowman. He is limited. I know we've been spoiled with Bowman and Willis, but I'm really hoping someone beats Wilhoite out for the starting spot because right now I see him as the weakness on the defense. He seems like a good dude though and a great teammate.

Unless he has made some drastic changes and improvement in his pass defending game then no. He looked like a dog with 2 dicks out there every time the opponent dropped back to pass

From my understanding he is a good play caller

From PFF on Wilhoite after the last Cards game in 2014:

"Michael Wilhoite: +4.7

Breakdown: As San Francisco linebackers have dropped like flies, Wilhoite has remained in place all season. His 70 snaps in this game sent him over 1,000 for the year, far surpassing the 179 that was his previous high and he put up his best game grade of 2014, built mostly by what he showed in coverage. Allowing four of five passes his way to be completed, Wilhoite limited them to just 17 total yards and just 7 after the catch while picking off the fifth.

Signature Play: 2Q 9:11, his interception came from a clean break on a backfield out route as Lindley tried to jam the ball into a spot that Wilhoite made sure wasn't there."

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Seems likely they'll move Brooks inside and ask him to be the 2-down thumper.

I don't know, maybe he'll compete there. But I think eventually in the future, we'll look for a young star to hold down the spot for a long time.

This makes the most sense.

Originally posted by cciowa:

Originally posted by philosoraptor:
This guy is an average player. Stop comparing him to willis, he will never be that good. Again, thats not a bad thing. We already have a stud linebacker, his name is Navarro Bowman he is kind of good sometimes. Im not convinced any of the linebackers in this draft would have beaten wilhoite for the starting spot, maybe they would have but maybe not. People act like he is terrible, he is not. You are going to have an average player or two on any good team. ITS NOT A BAD THING. No one can afford to have entire sides of the ball loaded with above average to hof talent for very long, get over it, this isnt madden.

OK,, for the millionth time,,,,, NO ONE is comparing him to willis or at least they should not. i think michael is above average and we could do a heckuva lot worse than having him here. we also got a bunch of guys we signed to compete plus we will see how much moody has gotten better.

Wilhoite is a solid starter until someone better comes along.

He is NOT a liability like Dahl.

He makes plays and contributes.

AND as of right now there isn't anyone on the team better to fill his position.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/0ap3000000437397/Michael-Wilhoite-s-football-journey

Here is Wilhoite