Patrick Willis

[patmoran2006]

For all of you on here who know a good amount about Patrick Willis, what player would you say he reminds you a lot of?

I have been trying to study the draft boards a lot lately. If we don't land cato June I really dont think we'll get any kind of impact LB in FA. Willis is looking m ore and more each day like he could be the pick.

I already know the stats, I already have seen the numbers.. I want to know what kind of player he is. Im hoping to hear someone like Johnathan Vilma.

[DraftBoy]

Re: Patrick Willis

For all of you on here who know a good amount about Patrick Willis, what player would you say he reminds you a lot of?

I have been trying to study the draft boards a lot lately. If we don't land cato June I really dont think we'll get any kind of impact LB in FA. Willis is looking m ore and more each day like he could be the pick.

I already know the stats, I already have seen the numbers.. I want to know what kind of player he is. Im hoping to hear someone like Johnathan Vilma.

He's a Junior Seau type to be perfectly honest. He reads plays very well, he has incredible speed, and will blow up plays in the hole. He needs to work on shedding blockers for our system but he is going to be a hell of a LB.

[patmoran2006]

Re: Patrick Willis

well I really think the Bills pick is going to come down to three players at this point.

1- Willis
2- A CB (Hall or the kid from Pitt)
3- DT (If Okoye or Branch are on the board)

ITS THE ONLY THREE SPOTS I see Buffalo going with in round one..
Unless we didnt' resign Kelsay, which would bring Johnson or carriker into the fold.

But since I'm confident we'll resign Kelsay (you all know how much I love it when we bring back our own FA's, the reason we win 5-7 games per year), I'm not counting DE.

So its Willis, CB or Okoye/Branch with the pick.

Willis and the top CBs might not be ranked on most "mock" boards in the top 12, but Levy showed last year how much attention he pays to that ****.
If Willis has the potential to be a total DIFFERENCE maker like a Vilma/Urlacher/Lewis, etc and not just a quality, steady LB, then I guess he'd be a good pick. I dont know, maybe the first name Willis scares me.

[Jan Reimers]

Re: Patrick Willis

I agree on DT or LB as the most logical first round picks. I still don't see CB, unless the Bills - like some posters - have given up on Youboty before his career has really begun.

[patmoran2006]

Re: Patrick Willis

I like Youboty and will be seriously pissed if we take a CB in round one.. It would make last year' s draft far less significant if YOuboty doesnt become a starter in 1-2 years.

[Jan Reimers]

Re: Patrick Willis

I like Youboty and will be seriously pissed if we take a CB in round one.. It would make last year' s draft far less significant if YOuboty doesnt become a starter in 1-2 years.

Plus, we have a bigger need to stop the run, which a big ILB and/or another DT (in rotation with Triplett, Williams and McCargo) will help with.

[patmoran2006]

Re: Patrick Willis

we can all debate who the pick should be and Im sure we will.
But to me there is NO DOUBT the pick ahs to come for somebody who will play the defensive front seven.
You could argue that a guy like Okoye would help us against the run in the middle. You could argue that Johnson or Carriker would be much more complete DE's than the one dimensional play of Denney and Kelsay.. and you could argue that Willis should be the pick, because even if Ellison becomes good enough to start Spikes is a huge risk at this point.

I dont see ANY WAY we draft a RB or WR in round one, I will NOT be happy if we take a CB.. I am NOT down to replace a Top 7 corner in this league with a ROOKIE..

I want to upgrade IMMEDIATELY through the draft, not see the results in 3-4 years in the W-L column.

[bigbub2352]

Re: Patrick Willis

I think Lb will be the choice, but i see us trading down to 18-20 and gettin our LB there, we will see, and i have seen alot on Willis, and he reminds me alot of Vilma, all over the place hits hard and nasty, i like him alot, but i could see us go for Paszyn from Penn State if we trade out

[DraftBoy]

Re: Patrick Willis

I like Youboty and will be seriously pissed if we take a CB in round one.. It would make last year' s draft far less significant if YOuboty doesnt become a starter in 1-2 years.

So taking a DT would not make you feel the same way about McCargo?

[Devin]

Re: Patrick Willis

I think LB, CB, and DE are the 3 most likely. I dont see the Bills going DT round 1 again unless MAYBE Branch fell.

Ive seen people compare Willis to Takeo, Cato June even Lofa Tatupu. Its actually kinda funny. Height wise Willis is fine, however in the NFL id like to see him put on another 5-7 pounds of mass.

He hits/tackles like Seau and has instincts/vision like Seau. He is pretty good against the run, extremely tough (played most his Jr. year with a broken arm and still had 128 tackles) and very powerful for his size. His strength is the run, and hes a great hitter. While I wouldnt call him a liability in coverage....cause hes not.....its certainly not his strong point.

The best comparison id come up with off the top of my head is a slightly smaller Ray Lewis. Lewis is about 15-20 pounds heavier, but they are both tackling machines, both hit like a truck, and both have exceptional field awareness. Neither is going to get a bunch of sacks or INT's but will be good for 1-2 of each a year and both are athletic enough to get up and knock away passes.

This year is a pretty deep LB class, so it wouldnt shock me to see the Bills go elsewhere in the 1st and pickup a LB later.

[patmoran2006]

Re: Patrick Willis

So taking a DT would not make you feel the same way about McCargo?

No because Indy and Chicago have both shown in the past two years the importance of a quality DL rotation.. Not to mention NE's defense sucks (IMO anyway) overall but they still win games with their DL...


We're losing one of the best five CB's in football and I think its STUPID to try and replace that with a rookie.. SIgn a FA like Harper to man the spot for 1-2 years while Youboty continues to develop.

most importantly, we could have Ronnie Lott and Lester Hayes in this secondary and they still would suck until they can stop the run... Okoye or Carriker would be a hell of alot more valuable to this defense than a corner..

I cant even remember the last time not a single CB wasn't even in the top 10 on anyone's draft board.

[patmoran2006]

Re: Patrick Willis

I think LB, CB, and DE are the 3 most likely. I dont see the Bills going DT round 1 again unless MAYBE Branch fell.

Ive seen people compare Willis to Takeo, Cato June even Lofa Tatupu. Its actually kinda funny. Height wise Willis is fine, however in the NFL id like to see him put on another 5-7 pounds of mass.

He hits/tackles like Seau and has instincts/vision like Seau. He is pretty good against the run, extremely tough (played most his Jr. year with a broken arm and still had 128 tackles) and very powerful for his size. His strength is the run, and hes a great hitter. While I wouldnt call him a liability in coverage....cause hes not.....its certainly not his strong point.

The best comparison id come up with off the top of my head is a slightly smaller Ray Lewis. Lewis is about 15-20 pounds heavier, but they are both tackling machines, both hit like a truck, and both have exceptional field awareness. Neither is going to get a bunch of sacks or INT's but will be good for 1-2 of each a year and both are athletic enough to get up and knock away passes.

This year is a pretty deep LB class, so it wouldnt shock me to see the Bills go elsewhere in the 1st and pickup a LB later.

Good analysis and he sounds like he'd be a good fit.

I also agree about depth at LB, and I think at the end of the day we're going DL in round one, unless we do NOTHING about LB at all in FA, which will SEVERLY piss me off.

[Tatonka]

Re: Patrick Willis

i have seen willis play and would not be unhappy with him as the pick, but i dont think he has the speed of a guy like vilma, although he is just as effective, in college at least.

i like timmons from FL St. alot too. i wouldnt mind seeing crowell move to the middle, spikes at Strong side, and timmons at weakside.

[Tatonka]

Re: Patrick Willis

by the way, if timmons was the pick, i would expect a trade down.

[DraftBoy]

Re: Patrick Willis

No because Indy and Chicago have both shown in the past two years the importance of a quality DL rotation.. Not to mention NE's defense sucks (IMO anyway) overall but they still win games with their DL...


We're losing one of the best five CB's in football and I think its STUPID to try and replace that with a rookie.. SIgn a FA like Harper to man the spot for 1-2 years while Youboty continues to develop.

most importantly, we could have Ronnie Lott and Lester Hayes in this secondary and they still would suck until they can stop the run... Okoye or Carriker would be a hell of alot more valuable to this defense than a corner..

I cant even remember the last time not a single CB wasn't even in the top 10 on anyone's draft board.

#1. Your willing to take a DT with the 1st pick to fill what you yourself call a 4th DT spot?

#2. Why in the hell would Harper come here and sign a year or two deal just to know he's going to lose his spot over time to Youboty. He wants to get paid, not be a transition type guy.