For all of you Willis (Ole Miss) fans.

[HHURRICANE]

To keep this in perspective Brady Quinn had 24 reps.



PATRICK WILLIS A BIT DISAPPOINTING: Willis' bench press reps of 22 were a bit surprising. I'm going to look up his arm length which scouts do take into consideration when they're long. It's harder to keep putting that weight up when you're arms are longer. I thought he's at least get 24 or 25. Shouldn't hurt him too much though. ---

http://buffalobills.com/blog/index.jsp?post_id=1002

[gr8slayer]

Upper body strength is overrated. Leg strength is much more important.

[gr8slayer]

Oh yeah, and Willis also ran a 4.49.

[HHURRICANE]

Oh yeah, and Willis also ran a 4.49.

I'm not saying we shouldn't draft him but it's an FYI.

[The Spaz]

Tell the guys he smacked around he can only do 22...lol. Also remember Sean Taylor was horrible at the bench press 8 maybe or something crazy like that.

[gr8slayer]

Tell the guys he smacked around he can only do 22...lol. Also remember Sean Taylor was horrible at the bench press 8 maybe or something crazy like that.
It's all about lower body strength in football.

[Billsrock4life]

It's all about lower body strength in football.

agreed, it is good to have strong arms though, but core and leg strength are much more important.....

[bigbub2352]

I really like Willis and him in the middle would be exciting next to Crowell and a healthy Spikes, that would give us 3 nasty Lbs if Tko can improve on his injury, we would be set there, if he ran a 4.49 that is scary fast for a MLB and he would be a real nice addition

[TedMock]

Also, 225 is not a ton of weight. The number of reps thing is definitely part strength, but it's also part stamina. Brady Quinn doing 24 reps doesn't necessarily mean he is stronger than the other guys lifting fewer times. It doesn't mean he's weaker either. What I'm getting at is you may find some O-lineman out there who does 23 reps but can max out at 500.

[patmoran2006]

Unless Willis is truly amazing to the Bills brass, I'd rather go somewhere else in round one and try to come back with Siler in round two.

I want to say Okoye, but we resigned mighty Tim Anderson.. If nothing else, makes ya think Marv isnt thinking DT in round one of the draft.. Totally depressing.

[HHURRICANE]

I really like Willis and him in the middle would be exciting next to Crowell and a healthy Spikes, that would give us 3 nasty Lbs if Tko can improve on his injury, we would be set there, if he ran a 4.49 that is scary fast for a MLB and he would be a real nice addition

Does it matter who we have back there? When your RB has a full head of steam after running over Anderson it would be hard for 3 Ray Lewis's to stop him.

[Ickybaluky]

I love Willis as a player. The guy shows all over the field and is a good tackler. Those are the traits you want from a ILB.

BTW, Jonathan Vilma bench-pressed 225 23 times and run a 4.53 in the 40. His teammate at Miami, D.J. Williams, bench pressed 225 22 times and ran a 4.54 in the 40.

Seems to me Willis is in good company.

[bigbub2352]

i guess we should look for another rb catcher like fletcher, makes plays 10 yards down feild, cause even though he had 146 tackles we we one of the woirst teams in the league, if i had my true pick at number 12 it would proally be someone to help offense, but if we let fletcher walk and others we need someone to anchor the middleif not willis then someone else

[PECKERWOOD]

I'm sold on Patrick Willis and I think he is the best MLB in this years draft. Let's keep this in perspective too, on average the offensive linemen only put up 24 reps on the bench press. If anything Brady Quinn's 24 reps while being a quarterback is nothing short of amazing.

[X-Era]

To keep this in perspective Brady Quinn had 24 reps.



PATRICK WILLIS A BIT DISAPPOINTING: Willis' bench press reps of 22 were a bit surprising. I'm going to look up his arm length which scouts do take into consideration when they're long. It's harder to keep putting that weight up when you're arms are longer. I thought he's at least get 24 or 25. Shouldn't hurt him too much though. ---

http://buffalobills.com/blog/index.jsp?post_id=1002

I really think the Bills plan to have LB addressed before the draft. They just havent shown much interest in LB prospects, yet they have made comments about guys like Briggs and resigning Fletch.

[gr8slayer]

agreed, it is good to have strong arms though, but core and leg strength are much more important.....
And the better hip flexibility you have the better.

[Bert102176]

DT in the 1st would be a huge mistake we don't know how McCargo is gonna be yet plus Kyle Williams and the other DT's we have, Willis should be our pick at 12

[TigerJ]

Patrick Willis will probably be a great NFL linebacker. The Bills might draft him, and I'd be OK with that. My thinking is the Bills are more likely to go in a different direction. I suspect if Okoye is still available, he might be the guy, and no, I don't think that would be a mistake. I hope McCargo will develop into an awesome DT, but that wouldn't be a problem. Tripplett is OK, but will never be a superstar. He's more of a rotational guy. Williams isn't big enough to be effective as a fulltime every down one technique DT. The Bills re-signed Anderson, but at a low tender. He's expendable. Okoye and McCargo could give Buffalo two solid starters, with Williams and Tripplett as good rotational guys. Jefferson and Anderson are warm bodies who can be dumped as soon as there's someone better.

[Jersey1031]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AnpoA3yJOoATje8pWAxMqgaF2bYF?slug=ap-nflcombine&prov=ap&type=lgns

I'd love to have Willis...

"It would be a blessing, especially the way I grew up," Willis said, when asked what he would do with his riches. "It would help me take care of those who helped me along the way and make sure that if I have children they won't have to go through what I went through."

Willis endured the kind of childhood experiences no youngster should.

The real-life nightmare began when his mother left home, abandoning her four children and forcing them to fend for themselves with an uninterested father. Willis was 4 years old.

Two years later, Willis was cooking meals for his siblings, and by age 10, Willis was working in Tennessee's cotton fields with his grandmother, earning $110 per week. The money went to his dad so he could pay the family's bills.

As a teenager, the situation worsened. When Willis learned his father was abusing his sister, Ernicka, he turned him in to child services and suddenly, Willis and his siblings needed to find a new family, one that would give them the love and respect they deserved.

When Chris and Julie Finley took in Willis, becoming his legal guardians, things changed. Eventually, Willis earned a scholarship to Mississippi and began emerging as one of the Rebels top players.

As a junior, he led the nation with 90 solo tackles despite playing with a broken finger, a sprained knee, a sprained foot and a separated right shoulder -- pains that paled in comparison to his life off the field.

But just when it seemed everything was finally going right, Willis was struck by another tragic chapter. Last summer, his 17-year-old brother, Detris, a two-way starter on his high school football team in Bruceton, Tenn., drowned while swimming with friends. Willis delivered the eulogy.

He played his senior season like he a man on a mission. Willis finished with 137 tackles, 11 1/2 for losses and three sacks. He was an All-American, the SEC's defensive player of the year and the Butkus Award winner as the nation's top linebacker. He also earned the coveted Chucky Mullins Courage Award, named for the former Mississippi player who was paralyzed during a game in 1989. Mullins died in 1991.

Last month, he added the Senior Bowl's defensive MVP award to his list of honors.

Yet even now, the wounds still cut deeply. Asked to explain what happened to his parents, the soft-spoken, polite linebacker simply said: "There were complications with my dad, and my mother was never really around."

In 22 years, he's overcome more obstacles, challenges and disappointments than most people experience in a lifetime and Willis believes the tribulations have helped him grow as a player, too.

"My real-life experience taught me how to compete through adversity," he said. "No matter what happens, if someone knocks you down, you have to find a way to get up and get the job done. That's what you have to do."

[Kenny]

What I dont get with these strength tests, is why is it testing reps?

Personally I'd like to see what these guys can do at full/max load with the big three lifts: Deadlifts, Squats, and Bench.

[TigerJ]

Sounds like he has great character. You've got to admire that in him. I wonder if once he signs a rich contract his mother will show up on his doorstep with some excuse as to why she had to abandon him.

[gr8slayer]

What I dont get with these strength tests, is why is it testing reps?

Personally I'd like to see what these guys can do at full/max load with the big three lifts: Deadlifts, Squats, and Bench.
Yeah but reps show muscular stamina.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Patrick Willis will probably be a great NFL linebacker. The Bills might draft him, and I'd be OK with that. My thinking is the Bills are more likely to go in a different direction. I suspect if Okoye is still available, he might be the guy, and no, I don't think that would be a mistake. I hope McCargo will develop into an awesome DT, but that wouldn't be a problem. Tripplett is OK, but will never be a superstar. He's more of a rotational guy. Williams isn't big enough to be effective as a fulltime every down one technique DT. The Bills re-signed Anderson, but at a low tender. He's expendable. Okoye and McCargo could give Buffalo two solid starters, with Williams and Tripplett as good rotational guys. Jefferson and Anderson are warm bodies who can be dumped as soon as there's someone better.

I totally agree.

I think the Bills will probably take Okoye if he is still on the board at # 12 (I'm assuming that Branch will not be)--which may depend on whether B.Quinn falls to Miami or not. If the Bills can get Okoye, I can see them passing on Willis and taking a LB (B.Siler, Fla. or D.Harris, Mich. if they go MLB, R.Alexander, Okla. or even R.Johnson, Miss., etc. at OLB, with Crowell moving to MLB) later in the draft.

Anderson is nothing more than insurance in case the Bills are unable to draft Okoye or bring in a more capable FA DT (which may or may not be possible given the prices that could be shelled out in free agency). His tender is $ 850,000, so cutting him in preseason would not be a hardship.

However, if Okoye is off the board, I can definitely see the Bills taking P.Willis at # 12. The only way that I see them not doing so at this point is if they trade McGahee (very possible at this point) or decide that they need to bring in his replacement now (which I think would be a mistake). In that case, I could see them using their # 12 pick on M.Lynch. Lynch's numbers at The Combine might not have been that impressive, but he is a football player and one who has been very productive during his college career--I think that will figure more into how the Bills view him than his Combine stats.

[ublinkwescore]

Tell the guys he smacked around he can only do 22...lol. Also remember Sean Taylor was horrible at the bench press 8 maybe or something crazy like that.

WooHoo - I'm stronger than an NFL Player!!!!

[ublinkwescore]

Also, 225 is not a ton of weight. The number of reps thing is definitely part strength, but it's also part stamina. Brady Quinn doing 24 reps doesn't necessarily mean he is stronger than the other guys lifting fewer times. It doesn't mean he's weaker either. What I'm getting at is you may find some O-lineman out there who does 23 reps but can max out at 500.


Thank you - for all we know, he may very well have lifted a day or two ago and is still sore as a result - if he did only 22 reps and that is the case, that's actually quite impressive - because I'd imagine that he can probably hit close to 40 reps if in fact that were the case.

[Earthquake Enyart]

He's small and weak. Won't be able to shed NFL blockers.

[Billsrock4life]

He's small and weak. Won't be able to shed NFL blockers.


shedding isn't about strength granted it might help but its all technique

[mysticsoto]

He's small and weak. Won't be able to shed NFL blockers.

Who's small and weak? Patrick Willis is 6'2", 240 lbs!!! Or are you talking about Okoye? Okoye may be small (short) by NFL DT standards, but he is not weak...

[Kenny]

Yeah but reps show muscular stamina.
But it's a strength test... not a stamina test. I would think an explosion of power is one of the most important things in football.


Thank you - for all we know, he may very well have lifted a day or two ago and is still sore as a result - if he did only 22 reps and that is the case, that's actually quite impressive - because I'd imagine that he can probably hit close to 40 reps if in fact that were the case.
I hope that isnt the case... because it would mean he's utterly stupid. He's been working out since he was 16years old and he's got to know by now how his body works (recovery time).


Also, 225 is not a ton of weight. The number of reps thing is definitely part strength, but it's also part stamina. Brady Quinn doing 24 reps doesn't necessarily mean he is stronger than the other guys lifting fewer times. It doesn't mean he's weaker either. What I'm getting at is you may find some O-lineman out there who does 23 reps but can max out at 500.
I get your point... kind of (though I think you're exaggerating a bit too much... Guys who can becnh 5+ plates wont have any problems hitting 30+ reps at only 2 plates).... that being said, -what does it say that a QB is in better shape then a LB? I mean it's not like we're comparing a freak of nature to some fat-assed slob. Both are suppose to be in the best shape of their lives.

[Goobylal]

Willis has long arms. When you have long arms, it's harder to bench. Scouts take that into consideration.