SF's switch to 3-4 and effect on Willis (1 Viewer)

[sholditch]

IMO, Willis is a much better LB than DeMeco Ryans (Willis was consensus top LB in SEC for entire college career) but he's going to be in a 3-4 which tends to dilute the tackle stats. he played Mike in college and stayed in the middle and piled up tackles, what I hoped he would be doing in SF. But the switch to a 3-4 takes away a bit from some of his strength. I don't know if he possesses the quickness to be an effective OLB in a 3-4, and if he's in the middle he's competing for tackles, albeit against no one. Tully Banta Cain will man one of the outside spots, and it looks to be Jeff Ulbrich in the other middle spot if they use Willis there. Anyone have any insight?

 

[Jene Bramel]

IMO, Willis is a much better LB than DeMeco Ryans (Willis was consensus top LB in SEC for entire college career) but he's going to be in a 3-4 which tends to dilute the tackle stats. he played Mike in college and stayed in the middle and piled up tackles, what I hoped he would be doing in SF. But the switch to a 3-4 takes away a bit from some of his strength. I don't know if he possesses the quickness to be an effective OLB in a 3-4, and if he's in the middle he's competing for tackles, albeit against no one. Tully Banta Cain will man one of the outside spots, and it looks to be Jeff Ulbrich in the other middle spot if they use Willis there. Anyone have any insight?

There are a lot of misconceptions about the 3-4 front. It isn't necessarily true that 3-4 backers face more blockers or have more competition for tackles.The RILB spot in this particular 3-4 has produced over 100 solo tackles in nearly every season since 2002. Donnie Edwards, Ray Lewis and Keith Brooking have been very successful in this role.

For now, it appears Banta-Cain and Lawson will play outside with Brandon Moore playing inside with Derek Smith. It would be a major shock if Willis doesn't beat out Smith to play the RILB spot.

 

[sholditch]

Shock? I will eat my own genitals if Willis doesn't beat out anyone in front of him and lead the team in tackles by a wide margin. I'd also be willing to bet that he finishes top ten.

 

[ninerfanatic492000]

3-4 LB can pile up tackles. james farrior has for years(well till age has started to slow him down). Zach Thomas made the switch when he wasn't classified as a 3-4 ILB. Donnie Edwards is a great example as he was uber productive for years and was one of the lightest ILB ever to play the game. Bruschi has very productive fantasy season's soley on just his instincts. the cons or flipside to this equation is what happened to jonathan vilma when he went from a MLB in a 4-3 to a ILB in a 3-4.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

IMO, Willis is a much better LB than DeMeco Ryans (Willis was consensus top LB in SEC for entire college career) but he's going to be in a 3-4 which tends to dilute the tackle stats. he played Mike in college and stayed in the middle and piled up tackles, what I hoped he would be doing in SF. But the switch to a 3-4 takes away a bit from some of his strength. I don't know if he possesses the quickness to be an effective OLB in a 3-4, and if he's in the middle he's competing for tackles, albeit against no one. Tully Banta Cain will man one of the outside spots, and it looks to be Jeff Ulbrich in the other middle spot if they use Willis there. Anyone have any insight?

There are a lot of misconceptions about the 3-4 front. It isn't necessarily true that 3-4 backers face more blockers or have more competition for tackles.The RILB spot in this particular 3-4 has produced over 100 solo tackles in nearly every season since 2002. Donnie Edwards, Ray Lewis and Keith Brooking have been very successful in this role.

For now, it appears Banta-Cain and Lawson will play outside with Brandon Moore playing inside with Derek Smith. It would be a major shock if Willis doesn't beat out Smith to play the RILB spot.

I asked Bloom this same question when debating whether to draft Poz or Willis (I wound up getting both, but that's neither here nor there), and this is pretty much the same answer he gave me, including mentioning Donnie Edwards.

The summary of this would be that playmakers make plays. Willis and Poz are playmakers. Whether it is a 3-4 or a 4-3, the playmakers in IDP will rack up their stats, and the coaches will know who to position where to maximize each player. I wouldn't sweat owning either guy.