• Please be aware we've switched the forums to their own URL. (again) You'll find the new website address to be www.steelernationforum.com Thanks
  • Please clear your private messages. Your inbox is close to being full.

Patrick Willis RETIRING!?!?! Wow...

Must have a really bad foot injury. Niners window is closed
 
Something with the toe. Wonder if it's the same type of injury that ended Lambert's career?
 
ark steel said:
With Harbaugh not around to teach him how to play football anymore, he probably forgot.
Click to expand...
he couldnt get out of Timmons' shadow
 
Coach said:
Not a huge loss. The guy they drafted in round three last season looked like amazing as his replacement. Borland.
Click to expand...

Borland is not Willis...Borland was for sure a bright spot for them with no Willis or Bowman ...he had some amazing tackle numbers ...but he can't come close to doing for them what Willis did.
 
Coach said:
Not a huge loss. The guy they drafted in round three last season looked like amazing as his replacement. Borland.
Click to expand...

Have you lost your noodle??? Borland is NOT Patrick Willis. But, we shall see how this "replacement" does when he's thrown in the fire full time next season...
 
LeXX75 said:
Borland is not Willis...Borland was for sure a bright spot for them with no Willis or Bowman ...he had some amazing tackle numbers ...but he can't come close to doing for them what Willis did.
Click to expand...

But it's a position that if you go from a great player to a really good player, you're still in pretty good shape. Less dynamic, but still solid. It's a shame though.
 
bermudasteel said:
Have you lost your noodle??? Borland is NOT Patrick Willis. But, we shall see how this "replacement" does when he's thrown in the fire full time next season...
Click to expand...

Borland racked up tackles and was all over the field as a rookie. 107 stops, two interceptions, 5 passes defended and a sack in 14 games, eight of them starts. If Borland started16 games, he's a pro bowl player. Players get better after their rookie season for the most part. To compare stats alone Timmons had 139 stops in 16 games, just one pass defended, and 0 interceptions. Timmons in the pro bowl in 2014.

The other thing to look at is the cost. Borland's very cheap. Willis was scheduled to make $8,268,000. I do not see this as a huge loss for the above reasons.

I'll let a " capologists " ring in, but I think the 49ers can now spend a lot of money elsewhere.
 
Coach said:
Borland racked up tackles and was all over the field as a rookie. 107 stops, two interceptions, 5 passes defended and a sack in 14 games, eight of them starts. If Borland started16 games, he's a pro bowl player. Players get better after their rookie season for the most part. To compare stats alone Timmons had 139 stops in 16 games, just one pass defended, and 0 interceptions. Timmons in the pro bowl in 2014.

The other thing to look at is the cost. Borland's very cheap. Willis was scheduled to make $8,268,000. I do not see this as a huge loss for the above reasons.

I'll let a " capologists " ring in, but I think the 49ers can now spend a lot of money elsewhere.
Click to expand...
I'm not arguing w/ you about that - I do see how you compared Borland to Timmons, who, IMO, is just like Timmons - solid; but not Patrick Willis.
 
bermudasteel said:
I'm not arguing w/ you about that - I do see how you compared Borland to Timmons, who, IMO, is just like Timmons - solid; but not Patrick Willis.
Click to expand...

Willis was a great player, just like Troy was a great player. But age and injury have taken its toll on Willis. You have to ask, at what point is Borland better? I think Borland had an excellent rookie season. I was just comparing his #'s to Timmons to show how good he did.
 
Is Borland ever going to be as good as Willis in his prime?

No.

But that's not the question. Is Borland an acceptable replacement @ $1 million/season vs. Willis with a possible arthritic toe, not 100% anymore and $8 million on the books?

Who knows.

That's the problem with all these big contracts. Mostly, a players BEST film is years 4-6. And these contract end up paying huge money for years 6-10 (even projecting only 2-3 seasons, credit card spending and spreading out the cap burden). There are always exceptions and some players certainly can continue to be very, very good players in years 7-10.

What a good GM really should do is start to chart EVERY player and see how film grades vs. years in the league really works. For EVERY position. And try to do some cost analysis on whether these big contracts are worth it and what risks are associated with them.

Again, this isn't about FILM STUDY, which is what these GM/scouts think about when they evaluate Maclin's or Suh's or McPhee's film ONLY FOR 2014!!! That tells you nothing about value. Only historical statistics of players' decline to that.

What happens is desperation to fill holes in the roster they've created by bad planning, bad contracts and bad drafting (i.e. not drafting premium positions or investing enough picks to account for acceptable failures). And the idea one GREAT player is somehow worth three good players and only GREAT players make a difference between winning/losing (that's just not true except for quarterbacks). It ends up being a perpetual problem.

I give some credit because the Steelers have avoided some of these pitfalls and don't seem to intent on winning the "Free Agency Season" in the media (who are just stupid this time of year). But the Steelers are blessed with a franchise quarterback and that deodorizes a lot of stink elsewhere on the roster. I have never considered Tomlin smart enough to avoid impulse spending if he actually had the money some season. I suspect Tomlin would be just like all the other coaches looking very short-sighted at his 2015 roster only. Fortunately, we've been so poor when free agency comes around that Tomlin/Colbert have been forced to make ends meat. And anyone that's had to stretch a paycheck week-to-week knows you bargain shop and spend a lot more wisely.
 
deljzc said:
Is Borland ever going to be as good as Willis in his prime?

No.

But that's not the question. Is Borland an acceptable replacement @ $1 million/season vs. Willis with a possible arthritic toe, not 100% anymore and $8 million on the books?

Who knows.

That's the problem with all these big contracts. Mostly, a players BEST film is years 4-6. And these contract end up paying huge money for years 6-10 (even projecting only 2-3 seasons, credit card spending and spreading out the cap burden). There are always exceptions and some players certainly can continue to be very, very good players in years 7-10.

What a good GM really should do is start to chart EVERY player and see how film grades vs. years in the league really works. For EVERY position. And try to do some cost analysis on whether these big contracts are worth it and what risks are associated with them.

Again, this isn't about FILM STUDY, which is what these GM/scouts think about when they evaluate Maclin's or Suh's or McPhee's film ONLY FOR 2014!!! That tells you nothing about value. Only historical statistics of players' decline to that.

What happens is desperation to fill holes in the roster they've created by bad planning, bad contracts and bad drafting (i.e. not drafting premium positions or investing enough picks to account for acceptable failures). And the idea one GREAT player is somehow worth three good players and only GREAT players make a difference between winning/losing (that's just not true except for quarterbacks). It ends up being a perpetual problem.

I give some credit because the Steelers have avoided some of these pitfalls and don't seem to intent on winning the "Free Agency Season" in the media (who are just stupid this time of year). But the Steelers are blessed with a franchise quarterback and that deodorizes a lot of stink elsewhere on the roster. I have never considered Tomlin smart enough to avoid impulse spending if he actually had the money some season. I suspect Tomlin would be just like all the other coaches looking very short-sighted at his 2015 roster only. Fortunately, we've been so poor when free agency comes around that Tomlin/Colbert have been forced to make ends meat. And anyone that's had to stretch a paycheck week-to-week knows you bargain shop and spend a lot more wisely.
Click to expand...

I think Borland is going to be a very good to pro bowl level player if he stays healthy. I agree with you on Tomlin's " impulse spending ".

In the past our cap had too many expensive older players on the decline. And most of them have not been replaced. I'm okay with a 2nd big contact given to a 5th year player who has earned it, but when they are asking for their 3rd contract, buyer beware! The player will need to be durable, and not have his game based on speed / quickens alone ( Like Hines Ward ). And even then the team should be prepared to cut the player and free up cap space if he's not close earning it ( Troy ).
 
The 49ers are a mess right now with their coach, Willis, losing some of their top free agents and their QB trade rumors. Sorry to hear about Willis though, such a great player.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top